Happy ending for scrappage Standard
A 1959 Standard Ten that enthusiasts rescued from scrappage has taken pride of place in the Scottish village where it was sold new.
‘Bluebell’ was unveiled at the opening of the Halkirk Heritage and Vintage Motor Centre, which features a collection of classics owned by the late Edward Sutherland, one of the enthusiasts who helped to save the Standard four years ago. Since then, volunteers and members of the Caithness and Sutherland Vintage and
Classic Vehicle Club have been busy raising funds to establish the new attraction.
The Standard, sold new in Halkirk in March 1959, was traded in for a new van by its owner in 2018 and spotted just days before it was due to be crushed. Enthusiasts alerted our sister magazine Practical Classics and the Standard Motor Club and a rescue bid and petition were launched. PC editor Danny Hopkins negotiated with Ford and the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, while deputy editor James Walshe travelled to Scotland to rescue it with classic car fan Tom Sayles and the Standard Motor Club’s Bob Alexander. With a resolution achieved, the PC team drove Bluebell to the 2019 Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show. After a spell at the Dundee Museum of Transport, Bluebell has now returned to its spiritual home in Scotland, where Standard Motor Club chairman, Peter Lockley, handed over the keys. He said: ‘It’s great to see the car in among so many special classics, all of which have been cherished by Edward Sutherland’.
❚ Read the car’s full story in Practical Classics, on sale Wednesday, 11 May.