Wait and See Part 2:

The successful completion of the expedition across Africa was a PR success.  The cars, Wait and See were sent on a tour of Jowett dealers across the UK and then used at the factory for moving parts around. Both cars were rebodied with Long 2 bodies with a Dickie seat. Car number 1 (Wait) was written off in an accident whilst working at the Jowett factory and car number two (See) was sold to a new owner in London and parked in the cellar of his terraced house. 

The trip across Africa took a toll on the cars and they were not so reliable or enjoyable to drive when they returned.  As a result, the car wasn’t driven much and languished in the cellar garage.  During the London Blitz the whole terrace of housing was destroyed and the site was levelled and covered over to create a car park.

With echoes of King Richard the 3^rd (another Yorkshireman) the car remained undiscovered under the car park until developers acquired the site in 1999.  As part of the ground works the car was discovered in the underground cellar, complete but damaged.  They recognised it as a Jowett (it said so on the grill) and contacted a Jowett enthusiast.  Following an inspection, he agreed to take the car with a view to restoring it.

It was decided to restore the car and it headed north to Bradford, home of the Jowett.   This is where David’s father Kevin (pictured below) was commissioned to bring the car back to life.  Upon stripping the car, the experienced restorers realised that the chassis had been modified and further research identified the car as the lost African car, See.

Rather than restore the car with its replacement body from 1928 it was decided to restore it with the Safari body using period photographs to make the body and wheels up.  On completion, the owner couldn’t cope with driving the car and persuaded Kevin to buy the car and keep it in Bradford.

The car has now passed to Kevin’s son David and it can be regularly seen at Jowett events.