IN 1984 the Swindon Advertiser featured a 1960 Austin Seven Countryman – an iconic Mini – which was being restored by its owner Gerry Taylor.

The reporter of the time said to Gerry: “When it reaches 50, give us a ring and we’ll do another story.”

True to our word that’s exactly what we have done, just in time for the restoration to be complete!

“It’s been a bit of labour of love,” said Gerry, 67, who lives in Newcastle Street.

“I started the restoration back in 1979 and in those 31 years I’ve spent around £16,000 to have the car in mint condition. It just needs a little bit of work on the clutch now but it is taxed, tested and insured.”

The Countryman, affectionately known as the Mock Tudor Mini, was valued at £25,000 in the 1980s, because it could be the oldest model of its type.

Sothebys have told Gerry to get in touch if he intends to sell it, but he has no plans for getting rid of it. Its registration plate of XAM 8 is worth at least £5,000 by itself.

Originally Gerry had seen it advertised for sale in the Swindon Advertiser in 1977 and paid £130 for it and used it as a runabout for a couple of years. But the restoration bug got to him.

The Austin Seven could be the oldest in the country because XAM 8 was registered in August 1960 and the paperwork shows it was the 298th model off the production line. Gerry doesn’t know of an older model.

“It was when it was being done-up for an MoT back in the 70s that I discovered it was a special model,” he said. “It had better fittings than normal so I investigated a bit more.”

Because it has been off the road for more than years than it has been on, the mileage is somewhat low at 38,300. When he was actually driving it Gerry only managed 2,500 miles before it was put on blocks and the long road of restoration began.

Back in 1984, Gerry was at work full-time as the deputy manager at the Dorcan swimming pool. He is now a quantity surveyor and is semi-retired, but still happy to be working, especially now he has more time on his hands because the restoration is complete.

Rather than sell the vehicle Gerry will probably donate the Countryman to the motor museum at Calne where the stipulation is that all cars there must be kept in working order.

People wanting more information on the car should email gerry at gerry.xam8@yahoo.com.