Dennis Foden of ERF Ltd bought DTU 999 for his wife in 1937 and it

was first registered in Cheshire as a four-door saloon.

In 1946, presumably after little mileage in wartime years, the car

passed to Edinburgh ERF dealers, J Bowens & Sons and in 1947
was bought for £700 by Edward Burness, Managing Director of the
London & Edinburgh Shipping Co. and Commissioner for Leith
Docks.
In 1948, Burness decided to have DTU 999 re-bodied as a drophead
coupe at the MG factory at Abingdon, shipping her via the SS
Belravock and London Docks, while sending his chauffeur by rail to
London to pick her up and drive to Abingdon.

The Salmons coachwork fitted, (Body No.236/5495), is believed to

have been from a small supply stock-piled by the Salmons family in
their Norfolk holiday home boathouse when war broke out. Burness’s
detailed specification provided for twin side-mounted spare wheels,
Lucas spotlights, fuel fillers, Lucas Windtone trumpet horns, golf club
brackets, SA style seats and a special dashboard and tool box.

The work at Abingdon took two years to complete to Burness’s

detailed specification, the 14 page factory invoice amounting to a
then massive £1,230, and the car finally left Abingdon in 1950, some
eleven years after the close of normal production - surely this is the
very last VA.

Some 40,000 or so miles later, many of them chauffeur driven, (DTU

999 was used mainly for holidays on Royal Deeside and weekend
jaunts), Burness sold the car in 1963 at which point it was laid-up.

Rescued from a barn by MG enthusiast and author of the MG VA

Information File book, Bill Gardner, restoration commenced in 1986,
the car being meticulously restored to the condition and specification
that it left the factory in 1950.

A complete engine rebuild was carried out, the body frame and
coachwork restored and re-liveried in black with contrasting red
Rudge Whitworth wire wheels, which were respoked, and all
chromium items replated. The hood was replaced by Aston Martin’s
senior trimmer at Newport Pagnell, the previous home of Salmons &
Co.
Since 1995 DTU 999 has covered less than 5,000 miles, winning
awards at numerous rallies and concours d’elegance in Scotland and
at Silverstone. The car still sports its original AA, RSAC and SSCC
badges.
DTU 999 retains its excellent original red leather upholstery and was
fitted with new carpets in 2004.
The only known minor faults include the petrol gauge/sender and rev
counter which require overhauling.
This exceptional and historic MG, presented in the most versatile
three-position coachwork configuration, is offered with a current MoT,
all relevant registration documents, together with an outstanding
portfolio including 300 or so pages of bills, factory correspondence,
including the original sales invoice, and with service history from 1950
and many restoration bills since.