As John says ... photos would help ... at that age it should be a Kent crossflow 1600 ... cracking motor ... straightforward and easy to work on and there's fine parts support from the likes of Burton etc. Gearbox would have been 4 speed (though some owners upgraded to the type 9 five-speed in period or after ... well worth doing) ... with your friend's permission the interior trim panels cpme off easily with screws so you can check.out the wooden framework ... the door-hinge uprights, sill plates below the doors and cross-piece under the spare wheel reward a good look ... wood replacement can be done but it's time-consuming and sometimes out of the comfort-zone of those of us more used to metal bashing on cars (I bit the bullet and replaced quite extensive parts of the framework as mine was badly neglected when it arrived, and I'm no genius!) ... in general the car is just like a big meccano set and great for garage-diy ... especially ccompared to modern things with acres of plastic covers and weird, one-off fastners.
There's a few crossflow 4-seaters on here and they're much loved by their keepers.
K
