[SafeDrive]

Fantastic, absolutely great. Can you please share a few pics with the top down too?

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by DKG

My boss has already mentioned he would want that to happen !! I think once the car heads back to Chennai and more family members see the car they may just agree to doing up the Caddy too

I won't be surprised if a lot of his friends start pestering him to have their cars done up at TVS too

Deepak,

I just today chanced up on this thread. I was away from the forum for a few days in June when you actually started this thread and hence, I suppose I missed it.

No words to describe the transformation of this car. Superb!

May be we can see a TVS Classic cars division in the offing soon

Hope some day people like you would bring back TVS to the quality of work they had and which had made them the reliable people.

(Speaking of Classic Cars division, after seeing this thread I have sent you a PM)

By the way for your future reference, Harley Davidson has one of the best heat resistant balck paints I have ever seen. Its available in HD Parts in 5 ounce spray cans.

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[wasif]

Car looks great indeed but the proportions of the soft top do look a bit askew specially along the sides

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by wasif

Car looks great indeed but the proportions of the soft top do look a bit askew specially along the sides

Wasif, DGK had the books to work with hence the diamentions could be/should be correct.

However, when you look at othere Ch Master Pheton pictures it looks slightly dispropotionate on the sides and the rear quarter.

I am attaching a picture of the 1955 CMP from the site A Picture Review of the Chevrolet from 1916 to 1942

In comparison TVS CMP's top looks different. Actually the dropdown edges looks much broader over all in DGK's design thus contributing to a much more chunkier look. The other one is much more sleek.

Now we really don't know if waht is in the refrred site is accurate or not.

Nothing diminishes the value of the work that has gone in to the TVS Car.

Best Regards and Drive/Ride Safe

[DKG]

Originally Posted by ajay2233

Why does the vehicle sport a Temporary AP registration?

I work for a dealership and we use these test plates when we take cars out. The plates are insured independently and hence regardless of whether a car has insurance this simply ensures the car is covered.

Originally Posted by vintagepoint5

there was no opening from back side in top to view cars coming from behind, usually oval/rectangle shape transparent plastic opening used to be in top cars.

Yes the glass window is yet to be installed. We just finished the top Saturday so I was more keen to take her out for a drive to check how the top behaves. Will install the window soon

the last bow in the top seems to be a little bigger, is it adjustable or it is originally like this.

I had the same doubt when we first installed the new bows. These were made by professionals in the US and he had categorically rejected the warped bow drawing I had sent him (of what came off the car) as being incorrect. I am assuming they know better ! From inside, the rear bow now has the right amount of headroom too, so I am inclined to think this is how it should be.

Sadly there are hardly any period pictures of this model of the Chevy to compare notes with. These were very few, only 543 ever built so not much in terms of pictures to compare with.

The rear bow cannot be lowered without the bow being cut in size, which I think would be inappropriate considering all the others were made perfectly to fit the car.

I am not an expert to say if this is correct or not, but I opted to go along with what the bow mfg recommended.

I think rear indicators seems still need to fix and front indicators next to headlights also would be better, the small lights before wind screen is far away if originally these were indicators.

The car never came with indicators. At the rear was a single combination lamp which combined the brake lamp and the numberplate light

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Can you please share a few pics with the top down too?

Will do. I had a sleeve made for the top when down, looks smart. Will take some pictures and post soon.

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

May be we can see a TVS Classic cars division in the offing soon

That would be fantastic. That's something I would love to devote all my time to !!

By the way for your future reference, Harley Davidson has one of the best heat resistant balck paints I have ever seen. Its available in HD Parts in 5 ounce spray cans.

If they use a coating for the silencers and it lasts then yes that would be a great solution. Thanks for the tip

Originally Posted by wasif

Car looks great indeed but the proportions of the soft top do look a bit askew specially along the sides

To be very honest I really don't know how it should be. Like I said I have gone purely by what the professional bow maker from the US sent me.

By the way I owe a big thank you to Mr. Manvendra Singh for most patiently bearing with me and answering the many questions I asked him about how the top should be done. When eventually he saw the top he seemed to approve of the way it was made

I have no knowledge of what a factory finished Master Phaeton top would look like. There are no pictures available off the internet sadly

[DKG]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Now we really don't know if waht is in the refrred site is accurate or not.

This is the only picture of a Master Phaeton on the net. The other one is of the car top down. Not a single period picture is available.

Interestingly Mr.Manvendra Singh went over the top in detail and didn't say anything about this aspect. He had guided me in great detail on how the top should be stitched.

I am not an expert on the matter so I guess with the bow mfg being very emphatic about how this bow should be made and Mr. Manvendra Singh also not commenting about it I opted to accept this as appropriate.

But I am open to accepting this as wrong if someone can come up with a period picture of the car.

Its unlike most tops we see on other cars and perhaps that's why we find it odd. In summary I honestly don't know !!

[DKG]

Some pictures of the underside of the car. We made sure every component on the underside looked like it had just been made

[harit]

I can only repeat, great job, hood and all.

Originally Posted by DKG

Just excited to share the car with enthusiasts who obviously will be interested.

I am hoping one such magnificent car presently in Bombay makes its way to our workshop !

Are you sure about the enthusiast? Maybe future competitor

Originally Posted by DKG

Yes the glass window is yet to be installed. We just finished the top Saturday so I was more keen to take her out for a drive to check how the top behaves. Will install the window soon

From inside, the rear bow now has the right amount of headroom too, so I am inclined to think this is how it should be.

The rear bow cannot be lowered without the bow being cut in size, which I think would be inappropriate considering all the others were made perfectly to fit the car.

By the way I owe a big thank you to Mr. Manvendra Singh for most patiently bearing with me and answering the many questions I asked him about how the top should be done. When eventually he saw the top he seemed to approve of the way it was made. I have no knowledge of what a factory finished Master Phaeton top would look like. There are no pictures available off the internet sadly

Are you using a frame in which a glass will fit? Glass should be bevelled. Frame can be oval or rectangular.
Rear bow appears correct, head room is important. Rememebr, folks sat in these cars with their hats on.
Why seem to approve? I read something in that.

Originally Posted by DKG

Interestingly Mr.Manvendra Singh went over the top in detail and didn't say anything about this aspect. He had guided me in great detail on how the top should be stitched.

I am not an expert on the matter so I guess with the bow mfg being very emphatic about how this bow should be made and Mr. Manvendra Singh also not commenting about it I opted to accept this as appropriate.

But I am open to accepting this as wrong if someone can come up with a period picture of the car.

Its unlike most tops we see on other cars and perhaps that's why we find it odd. In summary I honestly don't know !!

The bold word say a lot! The roof line appears to be correct, must see the car personally. You can examine accurate 1:24 scale models of upmarket cars like Packard made by Franklin or Monogram which have this type of body and hood. You will see that your line appears quite correct.

Cheers harit

[DKG]

The following is an email on the fourth bow:

"Hello Deepak,

I have just talked with the top bow company. He will check the dimensions when he gets back to his workshop. He will be out of town until next week. He wanted me to let you know that the unusual curve on your #4 bow is not an original design. His company has been doing top bows for 44 years. They have seen this before and it is caused by the top pads and straps pulling on the wood for many years and it causes it to become misshapen. He says that he can make the #4 bow exactly as your original but he will guarantee you that it is wrong. The additional cost to match your original bow will be about double the original quote. He would also want you to send the original bow for him to copy. He tells me that the original top bows were straight across.

Please advise which way you want to proceed.

Steve"

Now here was a situation where a craftsman whose family has a 44 year history of making bows in the US tell me that what I sent them in terms of drawings for the last bow are wrong. I obviously don't know enough to insist they do the bow like what came off the car. So I left it to their judgement to send me bows that were appropriate for the 1933 Chevrolet Master Phaeton.

That said I had the same reservations as Vintagepoint and Wasif about the size, but just had to shrug my concerns off as my possibly not knowing enough to decide this was right or wrong.

Harit you are very right about the headroom thing. There is no way you can wear a hat on the old bow height. The top would have touched a 6 footer's head let alone hat. Now a six footer with a hat can sit inside comfortably. So I guess you are right in saying this seems to be the correct design.

The rear glass has a chromed metal frame. Don't know how exactly the bevelled glass should be so right now we are installing it with a plain laminated glass. If and when I get to see the correct bevelled design its just a matter of undoing a few screws to install the glass

[voodoochild]

DKG,
Absolutely stunning job, brilliant workmanship!! Hats off!

Hope she goes a million trouble-free miles.
Rahul

[ajay2233]

DKG Sir,

Though I am not sure if this could be a reason , just letting my thought out regarding the fourth Bow.

Saw an old cycle rickshaw yesterday with the top down and this struck me.

The 3rd and the 4th make a "Y" shape, when the top is down , the 3rd should be smaller than the 4th so that they can settle in Line with each other . Also I guess the 4th would be a bit wider so that the 3rd can settle inside the 4th easily (imagining 2 concentric semicircles). If there is excessive space between the two, it is better as there is more space for the top to be folded in between without much friction. Lesser the friction , more the life of the fabric. Also it improves the headroom.

May be they came up with the current design after facing the problems with the original ones.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers,
Ajay

[karlosdeville]

She looks fantastic Deepak, you must be so proud. I love the underside finish and detail, it is the mark of a quality job. I also think the plates look neat in period US style, though a tad out of place to see in an Indian car.
I assume the exhaust is stainless steel? I was told that these units are prone to crack after high usage, and was recommended MS instead. I'm asking as I'm in the midst of restoring my Tiger 100 bike, and I have been suggested MS bent pipes and SS mufflers.

[leadf00t]

@DKG the end result id truely awesome.

I do not have a eye to look into details of a vintage however the car does look very very sweet and like it has just walked out of the factory. Its a treat to watch the clean underside.

Congrats on your achievement .

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by DKG

This is the only picture of a Master Phaeton on the net. The other one is of the car top down. Not a single period picture is available.

Its unlike most tops we see on other cars and perhaps that's why we find it odd. In summary I honestly don't know !!

Deepak,

I am attaching three pictures here (one is a better version of the picture I had up loaded already)

One is of a 1931 Chevy Pheton (pic credit - Toyata car Museum) and the Other one is a 1933 Chevy Standard (?) Pheton (pic credit "liveauctioneer")

I have also put all of them in one sheet to give you an idea where the TVS CMP's top looks slightly odd.

I think the hem line should have been more parallel to the body line up to the forward arm of the 'Y' bracket. In you design its gradually dropping to the point of back corner instead of staying parallel till the foraward arm of 'Y'. The 4th bow it would appear is exactly as in other cars and as such your US Craftsmen were absolutely correct.

When you compare you can find that TVS CMP's top looks slightly different. That is all. But it still looks really great.

I am also attaching a picture of a 4 Door Pheton (pic credit - "remarkablecars", which shows the Top folded and covered with a Dust Cover. Probably some thing you have in your plan of things as well.

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[r_nairtvm]

Combo picture I was trying to put in with post 134 (it did not get uploaded earlier)

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram