hi jean
not sure if i ever gave you details of my Bond bought back in 2005= here goes
BOND MINICAR MARK A Reg no. NTC 553 CH. NO.A/10/196 ENG. NO. 932/8842
PALE POLYCHROMATIC GREEN
122CC ( most have been uprated to the more common 197cc )
LHD
All the details are correct and as registered to Lancashire registration authority in 1951, but thereby hangs a mystery.The chassis number A/10/196 tells us , each year had a letter code ,that the car was built in the first year of production 1949 .the 10 relates to the 10th month in that year. 196 signifying the 196th minicar off the production line.
So this is a very early Bond , about the fifth earliest survivor I think. Although the car was then built in October 1949 why was it not registered for the road until 2nd July 1951, and possibly why was it then possibly the first left hand drive to be built ?The cost of exporting the Bond originally would have been substantial , the cost of re-exporting back to England 18 months later would surely have been prohibitive . various contacts have suggested a New York Motor Show at about this time so was this a factory show model brought home afterwards . do any American contacts have the answer ?
