Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Panda car restored
The City of Dundee Police Morris Minor was bought by Dundee Museum of Transport for £2,050 on auction website eBay in January.
The 1970 motor had fallen into a state of disrepair, despite the efforts of the previous owner to repair the chassis.
However, following the work of a number of restoration experts — including identical twin car restorers Jack and Gavin Bowden — it is ready to go on show at the museum’s Emergency Vehicle Day on Sunday.
Museum of transport chairman Jim McDonell told the Tele that efforts by museum staff to restore the car had been “meticulous”.
He said: “As far as we know it’s the last Dundee panda car that’s still in existence. lot of information and photographs — they have said they’ll have uniforms we can display alongside.”
During the restoration process, the Morris Minor was completely stripped back and rebuilt, with as much of the original bodywork and upholstery retained as possible.
Jim said the car was about “75 per cent there” but added that it was far from mechanically ready for the road.
“We’ve kept as much of the car original as possible,” he added.
“We’ve had to give it new wings but we’ve got it all looking brand new.
“The goal is to have it back to full working order — like it was during its working life.
“We intend to take it to shows to do outreach work in the next few years.”
Emergency Vehicle Day takes place at Dundee Museum of Transport on Sunday from 10am-3.30pm.
Entry is £4 for adults over 16 and £2 for children, with families of two adults and two children admitted for £10.
DUNDEE’S oldest surviving panda car is finally ready for public display after a painstaking six-month restoration.