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1959 BUCKLER TYPE DD2 'MISTRAL' - OUD 487
- Chassis - Type DD2 Buckler multi-tubular space frame
- (manufactured in 1956).
- Front Suspension - Buckler Split axle IFS utilizing modified Ford E83W parts.
- Steering - Buckler design, but using Ford E93A steering column & box.
- Rear Suspension - Buckler Trailing link with a Pannard rod, using Ford 100E 4:4-1 axle.
- Brakes - Modified Ford 100E 8” hydraulic drum brakes.
- Engine - 1172cc Side Valve Ford 100E (Heavily modified & tuned by Murray).
- Gearbox - Ford 100E fitted with Buckler C/R gears & Laycock de Normanville overdrive unit.
- Bodywork - Remoulded copy of the car’s original 1957 Microplas fibreglass ‘Mistral’ Mk II bodywork.
1956 - 1959
The car was built by its first owner Mike Totman at Buckler’s Caversham Rd Reading premises beginning with a new DD2
space frame manufactured in December 1956 at Buckler’s Crowthorn Works.
1959 - 1960
When finished, the car was painted in “Old English White” and then registered by Mike Totman in July 1959. He then
drove the car until the following year, before selling it to Mike Fielden as he was getting married.
1960 - 1963
Mike Fielden repainted the car in red and raced it during 1961, but was then tragically killed in an accident in June 1963,
when he was hit by another car while sitting in a Lotus in the pits at Silverstone.
1963 - 1983
Nothing is known about the cars history from 1963, until it was found derelict and hidden under a large blackberry bush in May 1983, by landscape gardener Mr R G Mould, while clearing a garden in Redhill for the new owner.
1983 - 1987
OUD 487 was salvaged by Mr Mould and given to his nephew Mr George Luck, (then aged 14), who stripped everything
back down to the space frame and then began trying to restore the car.
1987 - 1989
Having struggled with the restoration work; in 1987 George Luck agreed to sell OUD 487 to Buckler Register members
Peter Silverthorne & Stan Hibbert. They then had the car’s space frame professionally restored, before selling the car on
as a restoration project to Nick Totman, (Son of the original owner and builder of the car).
1989 - 2012
Nick Totman then rebuilt and restored all the mechanical parts of the car and after finding the original body unusable,
bought and began to fit a new remoulded copy of the original fibreglass Mistral MK II body.
2012 – 2016
In October 2012, Nick Totman sold OUD 487 to Joe George. Joe then had the fitting of the replacement Mk II Mistral
body professionally completed and he also finished off all of the other restoration work that was still required. But it took
until December 2015 to get the bodywork ready for repainting in her original 1959 colour of Old English White.
May 2016
The remaining restoration work and rewiring were completed in the early part of 2016 and in May she was finally able to
go back on the road again, with her original 1959 registration number and now back in her original colour.
2017- 2018
2016-17 saw the start of the fitting of the ‘Nice to Have’ items on OUD 487, beginning with the fitting wire wheels, (which
were a 1950’s Buckler option) and in August the completion of her alternative scuttle and racing windscreen.
It was also apparent that for road use, a tonneau cover would be required and a hood. But the two had different fixing
requirements in the same locations. So both had to be mounted on over cloaking pieces so that their fixings were on the over cloaking pieces and were interchangeable so that the fixing requirements did not clash.
2018 -2019
The hood work followed and was designed to give the same side profile as the hoods seen on the 1950’s Buckler adverts,
but the back then had to be adjusted, to provide the room for the boot lid to open. The low profile of the hood made
driver /passenger access into the cockpit difficult, so a zip was fitted in the hood to solve this problem.
Driving her on modern roads quickly made it very apparent that she was a car that was geared for the roads of the 1950’s
and this gearing was not well suited to prolonged high speed running on modern motorways. So an Overdrive (which was
another 1950’s Buckler optional extra) was required.
A Laycock de Normaville overdrive conversion for the Ford 100E gearbox was available in the mid 1950’s but had to be recreated, before one could be fitted to the car.
2019 - 2021
OUD 487’s seats were re-covered and minor changes were made to her headlights. Then a new radiator air intake duct
was installed and her fuel tank was replaced with a purpose made unit that followed the design of the tank that was fitted
in the DD1 prototype, but adjusted to the DD2 design and enlarged to give a bigger ‘road use’ capacity.
I have known this car ever since it was built, because my best friend who I met at kindergarten, is the youngest son of Derek Buckler, who designed all the Buckler cars.
So I sort of grew up with them.
My particular car was built by my best friends elder brothers best friend, in a space he was given to build it at the back of the Reading Buckler works.
So I remember it being built and I also saw it regularly at his house when it got on the road and before it was sold by the original builder when he needed the money to get married.
So you will not be surprised to hear that I was very keen to buy it when I found out that it might be for sale in 2012.
1959 BUCKLER TYPE DD2 'MISTRAL' - OUD 487
by Owner - Joe George