Kenny vowed to track down the classic 1966 Wolseley 16/60 that was his dead father’s pride and joy

AT every classic car show Kenny Blair attends, his pride and joy always draws admiring glances and has won countless awards.

But if onlookers knew the amazing story connecting Kenny to the 1966 Wolseley 16/60, they would be even more in awe.

He spent more than two decades searching the UK for the car that once belonged to his dad, Wilson, who died when Kenny was just a youngster.

Kenny so closely associated his dad with the car which his parents bought new in September 1966 for £682 that when he was finally reunited with the vintage vehicle he vowed it would never again leave the family.

Dad-of-two Kenny, who is showing the car at Ayrshire Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club’s Vintage Rally today, explained: “The car was my dad’s baby. It was top of the range when he and Mum bought it.

“When he died, my mum kept it for a year but it was too big for her, so she sold it to a family friend.”

It was sold again a few years later and Kenny lost track of it, but he vowed to one day find it.

He scoured car magazines, got in touch with owners’ clubs, searched the internet, drove hundreds of miles following tip-offs and finally, after many false hopes, got lucky.

“A guy in Peterborough had gone to an online Wolseley car club to check the paint code after the car got scratched and when he gave them the registration, they realised it was the one I’d been searching for.

“He’d agreed to sell the car to someone else, but luckily it fell through.”

Kenny drove south to meet the owner and agreed a deal.

“He told me to take it for a run,” Kenny continued.

“I could barely move from the emotion and was only driving at 10mph. I kept thinking my dad would be looking down on me so I’d better not do anything to it.”

During his 20-plus year search, Kenny never told his mum, Mary, that he was hunting for the car.

“I took it to her house and told her to come out and see what I was driving,” he smiled. “When she saw it she burst into tears.

“She’s 84 now but comes to a lot of the car shows with me.”

The car, with just 47,000 miles on the clock, still has the paperwork signed by Kenny’s dad and is MOT’d at Brysons Car Centre where it was originally bought.

When it turns 50 next year, it’ll go on display in their showroom.

“I’ve had lots of classic cars over the years but this is my pride and joy and it will never leave our family again,” Kenny said.