Restoration of 1936 Squire 4 seater

The car was bought to us as a barn find. Built in 1936 by the ill-fated Squire car company LTD. Adrian Squire had set out to build one of the best sports cars money could buy, using knowledge gained from his experience at MG. Unfortunately, his dream came to an end in 1936 when the company went into liquidation. Tragically, he was soon killed in an air raid on the Bristol aircraft factory in 1940.

Today these cars are incredibly rare and often, each is quite different.

Chassis number 1501 had a body made by Ranalah. Our first job was to gently strip the car and catalogue everything. The chassis was then straightened and repaired where needed. Whilst this was being done, I removed all of the outer aluminium panel work from the original Ash frame. Funnily enough the ash frame was the sent to our current workshop’s location to be repaired by Nick Jarvis Snr and Nick Jarvis Jnr. Nick Jarvis Jnr still owns the property where Luke Martin Coachworks is now based – he has restored and made many wonderful cars over the years.

The body panels were dipped and thoroughly cleaned before being repaired using new sections that were gently let into the original piece. Aluminium is extremely durable but age and fatigue can harden it and make it brittle. Many of the edges cracked as we peeled them away from the frame, so I had to anneal the original aluminium and weld new sections in place. These joins were then cleaned and gently planished to shape.  Once the chassis was built up and rolling, we could then start the rebuild process. The ash frame was reunited with the chassis and then the outer panels reinstated onto the frame, taking care to match original processes and materials.

Some parts were missing all together, such as the dashboard. I created a new one from original photos and drawings. The important front grille was also badly damaged and had been repaired in the past so I carefully crafted new sections and veins to bring it back to its former glory.

Overall, a very satisfying build and a chance to bring a piece of one man’s dream back to life.