STRUAN ERSKINE

1

What was the first car that you ever owned?

The first car I bought was an MG TD. It cost £300, which was an enormous amount of money to me as I was at Queens University (Ireland) and earning only £5 a week on my family's farm. I had some savings, but my Triumph Tiger Cub had to be sold to make the purchase. The 1951 MG was my final choice after vacillating between the TD, an Austin Healey Sprite and a Fairthorpe Electron Minor.

The TD was a great little car in British Racing Green with a biscuit leather interior, being sold in the Belfast back streets by a delightful car dealer who was very similar to Terry Thomas – he had all the glib sales chat accompanied by a Trilby hat, the mustard yellow waistcoat and the silk cravat. Despite his suspect appearance, he was amiable and at £300 I thought I had a good deal – at 18 years old I had the best girl trap in the world. I adapted the bench seat to fold back, and fitted a special hidden switch to cut out the petrol pump when required. At one time I rolled this car on a downhill bend. It landed on its wheels without its windscreen and hood and with a bent steering wheel, but I was able to drive it back home with no more than a cut finger.

2

What classic car(s) do you currently own?

IntroCar Ltd is now headed by John Tupper, ably assisted by my daughter Annika and a great and enthusiastic staff. I am now gainfully retired to a small farm just south of Belfast surround by mountains of used Rolls- Royce parts of all ages, and have my work cut out trying to restore a 1950 HJ Mulliner Bentley. I also have a 1935 17hp Armstrong Siddeley tourer, a rare car in good order, not to mention several 1920s motorcycles as yet unrestored.

3

What would be your dream classic?

In the later 1960s I started dealing in pre-war Rolls- Royces. My day to day transport became a great original but restored 1926 3-litre Vanden Plas Bentley, which I bought from Mike Berry for £600. I moved to London to work with Mike as the Troubles in Ireland had become seriously disruptive, and developed a love for Edwardian and veteran cars – my favourite was a 1901 single cylinder 4-litre 2-seater which often did the Brighton run. If I'm asked which is the greatest car ever made, it would be a RollsRoyce Silver Ghost. The engineering to me is unsurpassed in a production car of its era – I have owned several and they never cease to amaze me. However, while I would struggle to pick a single car, if I had to choose something to own and use, I would like two – a Silverstone Healey and a Bentley Mark 6.

4

Which car do you most regret selling?

A British Green Healey Silverstone Type E which I bought from Bonds of Kensington for £500 after selling my TD. What a car, and what a driving experience! I loved that car and I would love to have it back. I took it to Canada to start a world tour about 1963/4, when it cost £10 for a single ticket on a Headline freighter from Belfast to St John, New Brunswick. I drove 1000 miles in midwinter to Toronto in this incredible car, almost nonstop on iced roads. There was no heater, and I’ve never experienced such cold. In Toronto I was forced to sell it as I was jobless for a long time. This car is still owned by the Canadian who bought it from me all those years ago. Yes, I would love him to sell it back to me!