Alex Sebbinger is closely involved with the Princess and Ambassador owners' club, so I guess it comes as no surprise that his fleet includes this very nice "wedge".
Here is the story of this Wolseley saloon in Alex's own words:
1975 Flamenco Red Wolseley 18/22
Built April 1975, Registered May 1975. Restored December 2001 - March 2002
It was one morning in 2001 I received two e-mails about a Wolseley Wedge which had come up for sale in Birmingham. I had been after one of these cars for a while and now one had turned up for sale! After contacting the owner (a tense time!) and arranging a viewing, it was off to Birmingham to take a look.
Upon arrival, JWA 420N certainly "smiled" to say "BUY ME NOW!". Needless to say, I did!!!! Before seeing JWA, I had been told at club meetings that this car was one that was formerly Concours but had been used regularly, with the inevitable result. This informatino was right as its post-concours years had seen several minor problems occur.
Corrosion was not too bad, which is testament to how the car was looked after in its earlier years and to the way it was made. What rust had started to appear was mainly cosmetic; the tops of the front wings by the "A-Pillars"; all wheel arches were bubbling around the chrome trims; the door bottoms were rusty, especially the drivers one; and a few other minor things. Matters were made worse by the kind addition of a large "key" scratch down the whole off-side of the car at one point duiring its stay in Birmingham.
On the plus side though, the interior was first class, the vinyl roof and panels were excellent, most of the badging was present, the structure needed little work and the mechanics were doing the job well.
With such a special car and the rarity of replacement panels, I decided to leave restoration work to professionals. In time, all the necessary parts were found and it was off to the restoration centre for work to commence.
Strip-down went well with only a few "extras" found which were easily rectified. By Christmas 2001, JWA was stripped down and looking very sorry for its self indeed! Fast-forwarding into January, there was a big difference, the new panels were on (two front wings, rear arch panels, drivers door skin) and it was undercoated ready for two pack top coat.
By the end of January, JWA was a different car; resplendent in its shiny Flamenco coat as seen above, it was all back together and ready for the road!!! Of course when you pick up a restored car you leave it until a sunny, dry day, right?! Wrong! It poured with rain the whole way home, starting the minute I left the workshop. Typical. On return home, the first job was a thorough wash and clean!
Apparently, JWA 420N is the earliest known roadworthy Wolseley. With that in mind, everything had to be done to 110% and it certainly has. Now it is complete, JWA will certainly be out and about for many years to come (provided the weather is dry!!)...
Since the restoration was completed in 2002, the car has been to several events and has received much attention. The first "outing" was to the Bromley Pageant, and was followed by an invitation onto the Wolseley Registers Stands at both the NEC in November 2002 and at Alexandra Palace in March 2003. The best thing about these shows is taking the car there, seeing the car attract people to look, then driving home knowing that this is a very special wedge indeed.
Austin Ambassador Vanden Plas
Alex's resplendent Ambassador takes its place on the Vanden Plas stand at the 2003 International Classic Motor Show.