MG Car Club of South Australia

From ... Steve Spong

Sunday 5th November 2017 Finch Restorations - Mount Barker

t was a perfect spring day for our visit to Finch Restorations at Mount Barker , where we had kindly been invited by Peter & Harbinda Roberts , to visit their facilities which they had purchased 3 years ago .

Finch are the oldest , and probably the largest , vintage and classic car restorer in the country . They can undertake coach building , interior fit-outs , plus mechanical works for cars , trucks and even motor bikes . They offer a full service from minor dings and body repairs or just routine serving , through to full ground-up restorations and mechanical rebuilds . They will even build a replica for you if you want !.

We were welcomed with coffee and then given a detailed tour of their premises by Peter , where he gave an account of every vehicle that they are currently working on ( some 2 dozen ) and described the wide ranging scope of the works involved . One project was the reconstruction of a very rare front wheel drive Alvis two seater sports car ( circa 1930 ) that was being constructed from an artist ' s rendering of the time , as detailed technical data was simply not available ( refer photo ).

They have also undertaken an in house project , being an extension of the successful pre-war SS90 & SS100 . They asked themselves " What if SS100 production had not been interrupted by the War , and Lyons further developed the SS90 / SS100 series on the SS100 or Mk V chassis ? Perhaps , Lyons might have evolved an ‘ SS120 ’ eight years earlier than the XK120 ." Finch are therefore

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doing just that and are building a ‘ whatif ’ car ; being a SS100 variant based upon a Mark V , and they can offer a range of coupe and convertible styles . The first model being scheduled for release at this year ' s upcoming Adelaide Motorsport Festival .

There was a great Club turn out for the visit , with :

with all of the MGs being displayed at the front of the premises for photo opportunities ,

The person who travelled the furthest for the visit was Gary Stephenson ' s brotherin-law Dave Rothwell , who was over from the UK . Dave is in fact the manager of Moss Motor ' s UK so was professionally interested in the restoration works being undertaken .

I would recommend that you visit their web-site for a full list of their services plus a detailed catalogue of vehicles that they have worked on over the years . They even have a section dedicated to MGs , so it was great to have Maurice Linehan ' s newly acquired TD along as this had been the subject of a ground up restoration by Finch .

We must have been fairly well behaved as Peter & Harbinda have in fact extended a further invite to the Club and to all MG Registers . Their details are on their website www . finchrestorations . com . au , or I would be happy to put you in touch with them .