TUCKED away in northern Scotland is one of the rarest cars in the world. It is a Mumford Musketeer three-wheeler and one of only 11 ever made.
The Mumford is owned by Gary Aitken, from Aberdeenshire, who came across the Musketeer in 2018 and was intrigued enough to have a look.
Gary said: “It was a bit of a shock when the garage door was opened to reveal the car buried under bags and all sorts of general junk.”
He originally thought he’d just get the car running for some fun and added: “After draining the 18-year-old fuel and going through the car, the engine fired up. It turned out to be a Vauxhall Chevette engine and I’ve improved the carburettor and exhaust since.”
This success was tempered by the realisation the Musketeer needed a full rebuild. Applying his previous experience, Gary got stuck in.
This work was made trickier by the Mumford’s poor original quality, as he explained: “The car was really badly made from new. The body panels were appalling and everything needed to be sorted.”
Undeterred, Gary worked on the Musketeer and its unusual rear-drive set-up. The car uses the Vauxhall engine and gearbox as they were in the original donor car.
Power is transferred to the single rear wheel by a clever arrangement designed by its creator, Brian Mumford. It was in a rough condition but fortunately Gary had a friend with the right tools to fix it.
The bodywork turned out to be different from one side to the other. Gary said: “It was obvious the two sides bow out in separate ways, so the car was not symmetrical. I spent a lot of time sorting this and making the windows.”
Looking to improve entry to the low-slung trike, Gary wanted to raise the height of the steering wheel.
This should have been easy as the car was supposed to have a removeable dash to aid maintenance. Gary said: “Clearly, they had given up on that idea by 1978.”
Undeterred, Gary moved the steering wheel up by eight inches to give more space for the driver’s knees. With the car resprayed bright red and the hood fitting snugly to ward off the weather, the Musketeer was back on the road.
Gary said: “It feels quite quick, though I stick to around 55mph as the handling is not the Musketeer’s strongest point. It’s also won a few trophies, including one for rarest car at a local show.”
If you fancy seeing this rare and unusual trike, Gary’s Mumford Musketeer will be at the Royal Deeside Motor Show on July 2 and 3 at Kincardine Castle, Aberdeenshire.
One thing’s for sure, you won’t see another.
