Perhaps a coincidence but a strange one that somehow my father and I had a little role to play in ensuring the well being of these cars!!
In 1967 when the seventh Nizam passed away his grandson Prince Mukkaramjah was crowned the eight Nizam, as per the wishes of his grandfather. My father has known Prince Mukkaramjah from the late 50's and often the Prince spent time at our home enjoying a relaxed evening. Well before his grandfather had died Prince Mukkaramjah had constructed a modern palace for himself which he named Chiraan Palace which was to be his home whenever he stayed in Hyderabad. He had a row of garages styled in a staggered manner where most of his cars were housed.
Following his coronation once during a meeting Dad asked him if he was aware of a group of very special cars locked up in garages opposite to the King Kothi palace. Mukkaramjah didn't know. He immediately ordered for the shifting of the cars to Chiraan and had a taller shed constructed to house them. Had this fact missed the young prince's notice for long, there was a fair chance some greedy souls would have gotten their hands on these priceless beauties.
Ironically after 40 years when a decision was taken by the Prince and Princess on shifting the cars to Chowmahalla Palace where they would remain as a museum exhibit for eternity the task found its way strangely into my hands.
I had cleaned up the cars sometime in 2007 extensively while they were in Chiraan Palace. Shifting these cars was a daunting task. Given their age and being priceless the risk of damage was to be avoided at any cost. I was aware that all the bodies being based on wood would be prone to damage were any pressure exerted on them during loading or unloading.
For a quite a while I had to rack my brain in figuring out how to load them onto trucks and unload them without damage. I was not convinced hauling these cars up a 3 foot high incline to load into a truck would be free of risks. They are very heavy. I decided not to rush things
It was in Bombay as I met up with fellow enthusiast Nitin Dossa that chanced upon an imported recovery truck used by him for the WIAA of which he is President. On return to Hyderabad I convinced the estate that while the cost was higher using this imported truck was the only way I could ensure safe transfer of the cars. The estate agreed.
And what a joy it was to see the job well done.
Here you see the cars in their home for the past 40 years
There were some challenges to be overcome. The front left wheel of the Fiat had corroded and a couple of wooden spokes were completely eaten away. There was no way I could lower the car onto such a wheel. I had to fabricate a hub that mated a central shaft to a Jeep wheel so I could atleast move the car. Designing the contraption I spent an afternoon having it machined out. It worked perfectly and I was able to lower the Fiat onto the floor.
Next the garage was blocked by a huge Michigan Bulldozer, which in its time was apparently the world's largest, and used by Mukkaramjah personally to "carve" out all the walkways in Chiraan palace grounds, something which thousands of walkers enjoy today. There was no way I was going to attempt shifting this monster. But I had to move two cars directly blocked by the dozer. I ended up using my trolley jack to pull the cars sideways so I could roll them out.
As the Rolls still had its tyres on I tried filling them with air. Three of the wheels held up well and a third just about long enough for me to load the beauty onto the truck
Here you see my Truckair compressor hammering air into the Rolls
The beauty out into the open after many years. You can see the Michigan Bulldozer by its side
The truck lines up and lowers the bed
The winch attached, it was now just a flick of a switch to load this magnificent beast.
By now I was elated that I had taken the right decision to bring in this truck all the way from Bombay. I relaxed and stood aside taking pictures as the electric winch hauled the beauty up
![The Nizam of Hyderabad's Collection of Cars and Carriages-raw00029.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/pre-war/53614d1692878301t-nizam-hyderabads-collection-cars-carriages-raw00029.jpg)