Humber back with rally winner, 60 years on

A VINTAGE car enthusiast was yesterday reunited with the beloved vehicle he last drove in the Fifties after it was restored to its former glory by the current owner – who found a clue that helped him find the pensioner.

Bert Davidson, 83, thought he had seen the last of his 1929 Humber saloon, which he sold for £185 nearly 60 years ago, until he was contacted by engineer Robin Wills.

Mr Wills’s father Ken, a solicitor, also once owned the car – in the Seventies – but sold it to fund an upgraded central heating system in the family home.

His son, 46, later decided to track it down again and in 2007, following two years of research, he discovered it was in California and was owned by Lotus designer Martin Waide.

It emerged the car had travelled across the Atlantic four times, but had not been driven since 1979 after its engine blew up.

Mr Wills paid £10,000 for the car, and spent a further £6,000 restoring it to working order over nine months. He It took nine months and a total cost of £16,000 for Robin Wills, pictured with wife Anna and son Harry, to buy and restore the Humber spotted Mr Davidson’s name on an enamel badge on the Humber’s dashboard, which also indicated that it had been entered in Scotland’s 1959 Kildrummy Rally.

Further research showed it was driven by Mr Davidson, who had won his class in the vintage vehicle event. The men met yesterday in Mr Davidson’s hometown of Elgin, Moray, after Mr Wills towed the Humber 300 miles on a trailer from his home in Brancepeth, County Durham, with his wife Anna and son Harry, nine.

Mr Davidson, a retired mechanic, said: “It was a great experience. He’s made a beautiful job of the car.

“The memories came flooding back. I was very surprised and delighted when he got in touch with me.”

He told the BBC: “I had a run around the block in it. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.”

Mr Wills added: “When I first called him he was shocked to find out about the car. His face lit up when he saw it today.”