smooth boot 400
HI guys, I note on Andrew Blows website an early 400 'smooth boot' listed as car 400/180 the 80th car built, how many cars had smooth boots and which was the last?. My car, largely unrestored, 400/159 whilst not a smooth boot shows signs of having been made as one. On the underside forward facing panel it can be seen where the panel was extended to give the deeper boot, from the curve where the spare wheel sat as well as where the top hinges connected. Likewise as time has progressed cracks can be seen where the latch caught at the lower edge of the apperture. Out of interest, how many were fitted with the tubular bumpers?. Here in Australia, as far as I know, none have the smooth boot and only one has the tubular bumpers (a slightly later car) which has the spare on the boot. Curiously, would my car have been converted to spare on the boot lid, here in Australia, or prior to leaving the factory? How was/is the spare secured to the boot face on these early cars? My car also has no slots in the lower wooden windscreen surround for air to blow onto the inside of the screen, was this common on early cars?
Points to ponder! My regards Barry
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