Parked in a suburban shed 22 years ago this well kept example of an unmolested and very original 1976 Moke is my most recent purchase after the owner came up to some Mokes on display recently saying he had a Moke in a shed that "might be good for parts". When I received the email from the owner I decided it was way too original for parts and needed to join others in the orphanage so i arranged a look at it and bought it on the spot.

When I went to pick up the Moke I met the original owner, Dave M., who had had a kind of share arrange with the second owner, Gerry, when the car was first purchased and at some stage money has changed hands but the Moke remained in its original home/shed in Mount Albert Melbourne. Ironically the MOA has their almost annual ten pin bowling challenge further down the same street for some 30 odd years and nobody was aware of the Mokes existence.

Other than a few stickers there is little evidence of the Moke having been altered from how it came from the factory and although onto its second set of tyres for its 69,000km, the tyres are the original winter tread style that it left the factory with. One tyre needed some air to move it after 22 years, but it has been a few weeks now and it is still sitting proudly inflated and looking very new while the other three tyres that got a top up are showing no signs of being anything more than slippery to drive on.

The drive way to reach the small shed at the bottom of the garden in Surrey Hills was quite narrow and with the front left brake being seized in place until about half way up the trailer ramp, so it was a lot of dragging and winching to get it the 30 meters up to the trailer. As you can see by the picture the engine bay was remarkably clean, the hood still in place and although fragile and brittle it did survive the drive home. The general good condition of the Moke can really be attributed to the very dry conditions of the shed that has been its home for so long.

Rust wise there is a little more than I first thought, but for a 1976 Moke it is probably being a little picky too. One seam on the sidebox has a bulge starting, behind the left front guard there is a rust bulge under the paint work and what you can see across the bonnet is surface rust that has been there long enough to be causing pitting. Plan for the moment is go over the rust areas and treat them with a soak in Xtroll Rust Conqueror to stop them getting any worse until I decide what the long term plan is for this Moke.

The colour is N.V. Green that ,along with a number of well intended comments, has given the Moke its name of Envy, The engine is a 998 and from the look of the body panels used it is an earlier '76 vintage as it does not have the removable grille or depression in the firewall for the larger air cleaner but does have the 'afterthought' bracket on the rear for the single reverse light.