[Bulldogji]

Harit,
Dilip De's car restored by Swadi was different.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by harit

Hi Faster, here is the photo. I edited it a bit, cut out the truck and the loaders (or unloaders). The number plate is the same.
And if anyone recognizes that lovely bungalow in the background.
Where is that car now? Still in India?

Cheers harit

The car in the colour photo below was sold with the following description:

Built on the longer 132 inch wheel base platform, this 1921 Cadillac Model 59 is fitted with the roomy, 7-passenger open touring car body. Finished in a striking red with black fenders and black leatherette upholstery, the car was recently fitted with a new black cloth top. An older restoration that has seen good use over the years, this right hand drive Model 59 is believed to have spent most of its life in India. The long list of accessories includes tilt reflector headlights, a hinged steering wheel, varnished wood spoke wheels, rear-mounted spare, spotlight and a Klaxon horn. A great Cadillac for tours and road events, or a highly enjoyable mount for weekend drives where these cars quality and performance can be experienced.

Same car as Harit's picture ?????





More pictures here:http://www.secondchancegarage.com/pu...e-59-front.cfm

[harit]

Originally Posted by Bulldogji

Harit,
Dilip De's car restored by Swadi was different.

No, its the same car, at Swadi's she was red, MRG 3332. Car owned by Protos Engineering, one surfaced on E.Moses road, Pratab Roy saw it before me and got it. Then languished in Colaba in a workshop where lots of parts were lost, then aquired by the De's and sent to Swadi. I am dead sure on this, went to Protos office to try to get her.

Originally Posted by travancore

The car in the colour photo below was sold with the following description:......this right hand drive Model 59 is believed to have spent most of its life in India....Same car as Harit's picture ?????

Wow, now that imports have opened to some extent, (still can't register them for road use ), ex-India cars keep popping up. Sure this id the same, I even know who exported it. See if you can contact and get some history. I think she went legally as did the Cord. I love the way these stories pan out, and such stories require lots of contributors to fall in place.

Cheers harit

[travancore]

Originally Posted by harit

Wow, now that imports have opened to some extent, (still can't register them for road use ), ex-India cars keep popping up. Sure this id the same, I even know who exported it. See if you can contact and get some history. I think she went legally as did the Cord. I love the way these stories pan out, and such stories require lots of contributors to fall in place.

Cheers harit

The Cadillac was sold for a mere $22,000 in 2012 by RM Auctions (in my neck of the woods of all places)! Seems to have been sold again in 2013.

http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1052497

It says the car was in the State of Bahar (Bihar?) until repatriated in the 1960's; and in the same ownership since 1985.

[harit]

This is among my favorite threads here, bringing out history of late 1960/early 1970 when I started to get interested in old cars. We have seen a lot here, learnt and fitted pieces into a jig saw puzzle.
Recently I received some automobilia from an estate, and there was this cutting. It was written by Historicus, I am hoping that Faster knew of him. Unfortunately the newspapers identity and date have been cut. But he mentions last year Lord Montague was in India, that may have been 1970, and then this article is from 1971. Historicus seems to have been a person involved in the vintage car scene at that time, he traveled abroad to see car Museums.
Some observations/comments:
The Lanchester referred to is the Rewa car where I have posted a photo before. It seems to be now in Germany.
Mention is made of Bombay Vintage car club, was that the VCC?
The article mentions the 1921 Cadillac pictured above, it had no tyres to run on. Apparently it was still in India in 1971, as was the Maybach of Patiala.
Amir's dad and Rolls are mentioned.
It seems that the Nizam owned an ex-Hitler armored car, no idea about this.
Have a look at valuation also.
All in all interesting, na?

Cheers harit

[Faster789]

[DKG]

Priceless photographs and such fabulous cars. You are truly fortunate to have spent time with these machines. Thanks for sharing these treasures.

[KartikeyaL]

Where are these cars now?

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Faster789

Attachment 1350745

Faster, as always, I cannot thank you enough for sharing. Everytime you manage to pull out such gems! I do hope you can tell us more about the cars/event?

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

Where are these cars now?

The first large drophead is an AC, could be the car currently with the Bhogilal collection. I don't think a second car like this survives in India, but will be happy to be proved wrong. Cedric has taught us that that strange leather wrapped plate is a dealer temporary plate.

The second car is a Rolls Phantom II with very handsome Barker Tourer coachwork. The car is probably #91XJ, I don't know if it survives. Factory records simply say the car was delivered to "Indian Stock". Harit had written about this car in the past, and the probable owners.

The third car we all know very well, the Rolls Phantom II Continental, #62UK. Very much alive and well, and one of India's most stunning cars.

The fourth picture interests me particularly. We see a Lancia (Lambda?) Tourer, registered BMX 5. A friend clearly remembered seeing the car when he was much younger, probably in the 1960s, advertised for sale. He remembered that at the rear were mounted double spare wheels. I had made a mention of this in 2008 here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vinta...tml#post799721 (Miscellaneous other cars in India)
The other car is the Lagonda V12 currently in the Bhogilal collection.

The next is a real stunner - I don't know much about Alfas but we can clearly see this car is pretty special. I would really wonder whether it survived (pretty likely that it does, somewhere). There was an ex-Holkar car in Bombay of the similar era, but I think with a Gurney Nutting Coupe body (hardtop) which does survive, albeit derelict. I could be wrong, and these could be the same car.

The next is a Lancia Astura with dual cowl bodywork. I'm quite sure the car survives in Bombay, now bright red, and a superb car indeed.

The next is the marvelous Cadillac V16 with Farina coachwork delivered new to the Maharaja of Orchha, and later with actor Sheik Mukhtar in Bombay, before being exported. I think currently with the Bob Lee collection in the US.

Next is a 1931 Rolls Phantom II with a Sedanca deVille body by Freestone & Webb, #179GY. I think the car has been with the Tirwa family from new, and probably still with them.

Next is a 1915 Ford Model T which survives in Bombay and regularly used - a treat to see her pottering around Bandra bylanes with the whole family aboard.

Last is an early Fiat (pre-1920?), again a well known car, was owned for a long time by a Parsi gent (probably pictured?) before moving to the Bhogilal collection.

Overall not a bad survival rate!

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

Where are these cars now?

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Faster, as always, I cannot thank you enough for sharing. Everytime you manage to pull out such gems! I do hope you can tell us more about the cars/event?
Overall not a bad survival rate!

The car #7 is also seen here: Cadillac V16 with Farina coachwork :



Photo Credits: You know who.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

The second car is a Rolls Phantom II with very handsome Barker Tourer coachwork. The car is probably #91XJ, I don't know if it survives. Factory records simply say the car was delivered to "Indian Stock". Harit had written about this car in the past, and the probable owners.

The other car is the Lagonda V12 currently in the Bhogilal collection.


The next is a real stunner - I don't know much about Alfas but we can clearly see this car is pretty special. I would really wonder whether it survived (pretty likely that it does, somewhere). There was an ex-Holkar car in Bombay of the similar era, but I think with a Gurney Nutting Coupe body (hardtop) which does survive, albeit derelict. I could be wrong, and these could be the same car.


Next is a 1931 Rolls Phantom II with a Sedanca deVille body by Freestone & Webb, #179GY. I think the car has been with the Tirwa family from new, and probably still with them.

This Phantom II (at least to me) is still unidentified. As Karl said, there are a great many similarities with the Baroda 91XJ. However, the easily changeable colour and registration differ.


Believe the Lagonda is also ex-Baroda. There is a story that the car was a replacement for an earlier car which was "lost" before delivery (ship sank ?)


The Holkar Gurney Nutting Alfa (in Coupe form) still exists, derelict and unloved. So this is likely to be a different car


The first owner of the Tirwa Phantom II (179GY) was Cdr. Glen Kidston, one of the Bentley Boys.

[wasif]

Originally Posted by travancore

This Phantom II (at least to me) is still unidentified. As Karl said, there are a great many similarities with the Baroda 91XJ. However, the easily changeable colour and registration differ.


Believe the Lagonda is also ex-Baroda. There is a story that the car was a replacement for an earlier car which was "lost" before delivery (ship sank ?)


The Holkar Gurney Nutting Alfa (in Coupe form) still exists, derelict and unloved. So this is likely to be a different car


The first owner of the Tirwa Phantom II (179GY) was Cdr. Glen Kidston, one of the Bentley Boys.

Would love to see period or recent pictures of this Holkar Gurney Nutting Alfa Coupe. Have they been posted somewhere ???

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by travancore

The first owner of the Tirwa Phantom II (179GY) was Cdr. Glen Kidston, one of the Bentley Boys.

Wow, thanks for the correction. Tirwa would have been the first Indian owners? Incidentally I'm told Simon Kidston is also from the same family.

[harit]

Lovely lovely photos, I love this thread.

The first car is indeed the AC, now with Pranlal collection. It has lost its original engine though. It was in Cuffe Parade, a Parsi family owned it, maybe Bhabha. Very handsome car. This photo is from the forum was probably put up by Karl.





Compare the two photos.

The next Rolls is the same one where a numbers of photos are available, most taken during an outing. It may have been a Rolls Demo car, X registered in the beginning of 1930's.

The Jetha Rolls is up on blocks, and is this the Jetha godown, or some workshop?

The Lancia BMX 5 has appeared in a photo of a parade before, will post when I find it. The Pranlal Collection Lagonda is well known.

The Alfa has been noted by all and curiosity has been aroused. I can say for sure that it is not the Dady Seth car, that one had three headlights, one in the center and the Gurney Nutting body. It is in Indore and has lost engine + gearbox. The registration number was also different.

The Lancia is the Asture, went on to Delhi Mr. Gill and is currently seen around in Mumbai.

The V-16 Caddy is the Sheikhs, and I had put up this photo recently on another thread.



The Tirwa Rolls is still with the family, this photo and others following seem to have been taken late 1960/early 1970 at some event. Many photos exist of that event. The car exists but is locked up and not conserved.

The model T of 1914 is an old participant from the 1960's. At a recent event in Mumbai she was dubbed a 1915 and placed behind the lead car also a 1915 Ford T. Rearranged to change the order of the parade, not only Cartier changes the year of manufacture to suit designs.

Fiat is well known, now with Pranlal. It is of 1913, not 1908 or 1909 as claimed. See the scan below taken from a brochure of 1960.



Cheers harit

[travancore]

I am no expert at identifying Alfas; and do not pretend to know what happened to the Holkar 1750 that we have seen before.

Is it possible that the car was rebodied to the tourer we see in Faster's collection ?