[Alvis]

Hi Nigel,
Nice to see you here.
Karlosdeville has posted the pictures from the e-bay sellers description and this is the car that was on e-bay. however what leaves me with serious doubts is that the Nawab of Bahawalpur must have had another 500 or 540 K.

You can find those pictures here. Fabulous!

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/728925-post85.html

Why I say this is that as a young child of about 7 or 8 in 1963/4 I clearly remember a 4 door Mercedes parked in the garage of Bahawalpur House in my school ( Chief's College, Lahore ). Even at that age I was crazy about cars and I had permission from Prince Abbassi ( who was in the senior school ) to sit and play at the steering wheel during the evening playhours. This car was black with red upholstery and was a 4 door. I can only guess that it was a 500 or 540 because the Nawab would not use a 320 or something.
As of now there is no Mercedes in the Bahawalpur collection or what remains of it. So where did it go??
Any comments, or additional information would be welcome.

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by Alvis

Hi Nigel,
Nice to see you here.
Karlosdeville has posted the pictures from the e-bay sellers description and this is the car that was on e-bay. Why I say this is that as a young child of about 7 or 8 in 1963/4 I clearly remember a 4 door Mercedes parked in the garage of Bahawalpur House....As of now there is no Mercedes in the Bahawalpur collection or what remains of it

Hi Alvis, I was hoping that you would have photos of the Amir's car which was a 500 K or 540 K and was bodied by Barker. I think I remember someone saying they would find out for you. Can't remember who though
Nigel

[Julian UK]

Alvis, maybe Travencore can help with the Mercedes whereabouts.

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

EDIT - while on the subject of the Gandhi movie, did you see this Renault featured? The owner tells me it was part of the movie. I think it was a BYF regn. Excuse the picture quality, its all I could manage

Carl, I couldn’t find the Renault Celtaquatre only the other Renault pictured below.
A few more cars in the “Gandhi” film:
1936ish Morris 8









1912ish Renault 12CV





Which I think is this car, which used to appear in the Delhi rally in the 80s






Guess the car time







Another Fiat maybe a 505?







The same DB18 Daimler that’s in Delhi.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Guess the car time
Attachment 12278
Attachment 12279Attachment 12280
Attachment 12282

Another Fiat maybe a 505?
Attachment 12281

Heres the same model T at a recent rally in Shillong.

Are you sure the other is a Fiat? Looks kinda like an early Citroen dont you think?

[Julian UK]

I thought it might be a T but the radiator looks decidedly locally made. You are probably right about the Citroen. I have never before studied these types of cars......

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

I thought it might be a T but the radiator looks decidedly locally made. You are probably right about the Citroen. I have never before studied these types of cars......

The radiator is just one of the things that looks loaclly made on this car

There are a massive number of vintage cars in Assam, all in running condition, but sadly none in good condition.

[awini]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Guess the car time

Attachment 12279Attachment 12280
[ATTACH]12282

the red car is a 1918 ish (claimed 1915) Chevrolet that belonged to Mr Narendra Nath of Premnath Motors, and the location is the Roshan ara Club, of which my Great Grandfather was a founder member, they wanted our studebaker too for the movie because it has actually been used by Gandhiji, but my brother insisted on driving it himself, so....

[Julian UK]

Originally Posted by awini

they wanted our studebaker too for the movie because it has actually been used by Gandhiji,

Was this the Studebaker that used to be driven down to the Delhi rally from somewhere up in the hills in the 80s early 90s? I can't remember the owner's name. It used to get the furthest travelled entrant award.

[awini]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Was this the Studebaker that used to be driven down to the Delhi rally from somewhere up in the hills in the 80s early 90s? I can't remember the owner's name. It used to get the furthest travelled entrant award.

no that was a 1934 dictator from bareily,now in delhi, our car has been with us from new, its a 1930 commander

[DKG]

Originally Posted by awini

no that was a 1934 dictator from bareily,now in delhi, our car has been with us from new, its a 1930 commander

Fantastic. Not many families have lovingly held onto their machines like this. You must be deeply fond of the Studebaker.

Do please tell us about the Gandhiji connection. Any pictures?stories to tell?

[awini]

Originally Posted by DKG

Fantastic. Not many families have lovingly held onto their machines like this. You must be deeply fond of the Studebaker.

Do please tell us about the Gandhiji connection. Any pictures?stories to tell?

oh yes, i know the Studebaker and karmann inside out, i grew up with them, but the studebaker survived in the family only because we lived on a large plot, and the car was not in the way while it was bricked up from the fifties, then the vintage movement started....
well, my family is one of the older families of Delhi, spanning about 9 known generations here. my great grandfather , Rai Bahadur Amba Pershad,was very involved in public life and founded several religious, social and educational institutions in Delhi, he and my grandfather were secret supporters of the nationalist movement. one of their friends was a kashmiri gentleman, through whom, my great grandfather got acquainted with Pandit Motilal Nehru, and several leaders of those days used to meet at our house sometimes, on one such occasion the Studebaker was used to bring Gandhiji from Dr Ansari's house in Darya Ganj, and later dropped him off at what is Mandir marg today. i don't have any pics (most of our family photos were destroyed when we were shifting house in the mid eighties) but i have his and a lot of other autographs, that my father took at home and on visits to their homes with my grandfather and great grandfather.( i have M.A. Jinnah's autograph dated about 8th August 1947, taken when my grandfather went to bid him goodbye, just before he left Delhi)
only a few pics are left, among them are Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Shastriji, Lord Linlithgow, the then Viceroy etc. no cars in them though.

[Alvis]

awini

Someone i know in Karachi has recently bought a 1924/5 Studebaker and a Hupmobile from Lahore.
Both cars were one owner/family and spent most of their life in Quetta, and are the most original cars I've seen for a long time. They were in their original paint, but the new owner has opted for a repaint.
He also has a Silver Ghost from the Bahawalpur garages. I am looking for the pictures and will post as soon as I find them.

Great family history, I too lost a priceless collection of photographs in 1978 when the roof of one of our garages collapsed in the monsoons and we were all out of Pakistan. The damage was irretrievable, my grandfather had pictures from 1930 of the GT road from Peshawar to Delhi and how it changed shape upto 1947, also the Srinagar Road from Rawalpindi. Some have been salvaged and I will post some of the car pictures.

[DKG]

Wow Awini, that's truly special. Do please document all those stories while the elders are around.

I can almost visualise the excitement at your home in those years as they met and discussed at length the various activities and strategies. How critical those moments were. The destiny of a nation was being carved out in many such meetings around the country.

I think elsewhere in the forum you could perhaps share detailed accounts of what transpired. Please do it as these are social documentaries and have historic significance

Do please consider when you have the time.

I have come upon some vintage film footage taken by Raja Pratapgirji of Hyderabad of Bombay in the 30's and the pre independence rallies. Its mindblowing.

[Julian UK]

DKG is right, Awini and Alvis please do record your experiences otherwise the details get lost for ever. At least if a few copy and paste and compile the details it will be recorded and preserved. The depths and layers of family car's historys need preserving for the generations to come. Some of them will be very interested. Never assume it will be better done elsewhere, it won't...

[Alvis]

Some pictures of the Studebaker and the Hupmobile. Both cars seem very original in the pictures and have been in single family ownership having long outlived their original owners!!