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-   -   Hispano Suiza's in India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-war/36079-hispano-suizas-india-4.html)

What horrifies me is that despite original photos being available they have ruined the car now, what with the incorrect size and colour of tyres and the colour of the body, how could anyone sanction such changes, it really hurts.

I hope the Barker Hispano Maharajah special did come to India and is not just a theme refering to exotic styling and is still lurking in "a jungle" somewhere waiting to be carried out by a team of elephants. Its so romantic.
What ever else one could say about the Indian Royalty they certainly were patrons to the arts and crafts of the world and without that patronage the world would be a duller place.

What I really loved in India was getting the denter or the painter or carpenter to do the job again and again until it was right or to use the best materials instead of the cheapest, they had never had that experience and slowly they could produce their best work instead of just doing the absolute minimum to keep the price down on pain of losing their job. I tried to nurture the good ones into a whole different attitude towards their work and it changed their whole focus. There are highly skilled craftsman in India, they just need the circumstances to do their best. But once a skilled team was established, they'd run off and work for others.:) The mechanical side of things was more difficult and I used to end up doing everything.

I know its not in India but as it was inspired by the Alwar Lanchester 40hp with a similar body I thought it was interesting enough to deserve inclusion. Its for sale if anyone's interested, plenty of room for your shopping:).
1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Landaulet




The Lanchester


Coys

lol, its been for sale for some time now, it was recently hired by a london restaurant to ferry customers... i would think the car would be large enough to be a restaurant by itself... well if not a restaurant, perhaps a noodle van? :D

I think its a shame that so many pedigreed cars are reduced to 'pick up and drop' services and wedding cars. They deserve better dont they? I wonder how much it would cost to avail of their sevices. At the same time I suppose its nice to see them in active service and used by people rather than being in storage in a collectors warehouse.

It would make an excellent noodle van :)

The Lanchester appears to have had a raised roof conversion and a windscreen added. A shame the wheels are gone but they could be replaced.

Karlos cars actually deteriorate if you stop using them. Oil seal issues, rust setting in on gears and other parts that need to get coated with oil regularly, valves getting stuck, oil passages getting clogged, rings collapsing, suspension issues, fuel gumming messing up fuel pumps, carbs, and pipelines, are just some of the nightmares as a result of which some low mileage cars end up requiring an overhaul!

Its actually cruel to mothball an automobile. They remain in their best form when driven once in while. In a nutshell if you want to ruin a car, stop using it!!!

Julian, I hope the owner is not contemplating using this car regularly? Why on earth would he get a roof made for this car? The contraption clearly belongs to a bygone era and anyone using this car today would look like a baffoon! Chances are people would break out in laughter at the absurdity of this automobile than sit back in awe as a modern day Maharajah goes by in his horseless sedan carriage Lanchester :)

What is the present status of the Alwar Lanchester? Is she still in the country? Resto completed?

No idea, I took the photo in 1992. Wasn't there some dispute? As there often is.

I believe Vijay Mallya has a Suiza being restored, plus another one apparently still exists in Bombay. Does anybody have more details?

that my friend is part of Mr. Bhogilals collection and is his museum. the people working there are not permitted to give the name of the owner to everyone and some are not even told who they work for. the cars fall under a trust and thats the name given.

Julian whats the asking for the car?

Good Evening Julian ,

Can I take you up on your offer above for help with "those nasty British Cars "-

Need help in sourcing the following :


-for a 1920 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

The complete drive shaft assembly connection from the timing gear case to the magneto .

gratefuL for any information in sourcing the above.

Regards

Karl there's a photo in The Automobiles of the Maharajas on page 312, and on page 301 is a photo of Rajkot's Hispano-Suiza J12 and on the opposite page is a lovely tale of Twinnie, one of Patiala's chaffeurs. A lot of research has gone into this book and I'm enjoying it immensely. All books have a few mistakes. Overall it is magnificent.

As they say POA "price on application"
Coys

As our much missed Awini said, it would make a wonderful noodle van:)
Come back Awini your contributions are greatly missed by many.

the site does not seem to open. i have a friend who is interested in the car. have forwarded the site to him so lets see if he manages something. thank you.

Oh dear, I just clicked on the link Coys in your last post and this appeared:



Try googling Coys you should get it, If you still can't get their site then here are their details:

Coys

Manor Court
Lower Mortlake Road
Richmond
TW9 2LL
United Kingdom Telephone: 020 8614 7888 Collectors Department: 020 8614 7888 Facsimile: 020 8614 7889

More Hispano stories from Harit.