Whilst the restoration team has been busy, firstly
renovating a 1958 MGA and currently restoring the 1960 Standard Ensign, the
data team has been hard at work in front of computer screens or with noses
buried deep in books and manuals.
As was explained in our very first blog, the Heritage Motor
Centre has a total of around 300 vehicles in its collection (see About
us). The first task for all the
volunteers was to inspect these vehicles and fill in a survey condition report
accompanied by photos of all damage and defects.
A detailed survey,
inside and out, was undertaken on every vehicle in the collection
When this survey was completed those who wanted to get their
hands dirty and play with cars started the restoration work, whilst those of us
who liked the warmth and comfort of an office, started to compile all the data.
Thanks to the computer skills of team leader Doug Armer, an excellent and easy
to use Excel spreadsheet was created for all this detailed information to be
entered and then recorded on a central data base.
All smiles from the
Data Team
Alongside this we also had something in the region of 7,000
photos to sort through. Each vehicle in the collection has its own identity
number, so this had to be entered against every photo, plus a brief description
of the photo content. When complete, the
photo data could then be married up with the survey reports. This project initially looked somewhat
daunting, but once we all became familiar with what was required, the end
became a reality.
The Curator, however, had other plans for after we'd
finished this project and that is proving to be daunting.
More details in the next blog which, due to
holidays, will not be until early October.
