Classic Rolls Royce's in India

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

3BT121 Drop head coupe Mayfair 1937 June orig. UK Reg DYR 232 Winner of L'Exposition, France 1937
It came to India later so is not in the first owner list.

3DL200 First owner is listed as the High Commissioner for India then later was given to the King of Afghanistan.

The main point of interest for me is that there are 22 cars in this list so one of them maybe didn't go to India. These 4 cars were originally registered in the UK with the following Registration numbers:
3BT121 Drop head coupe Mayfair 1937 June was first registered in the UK as DYR 232
3BU 50 The Maharajah of Darbhanga's car was first registered in the UK as DXR 555
3BU 76 The Maharajah of Jaipur's car was first registered in the UK as DYK 487
3DL 90 For Indian trials was first registered in the UK as FXX 100
I presume that the "Indian trials" car never went to India? Does anyone have any record of 3DL 90 in India?

Julian,
I forgot to comment on 3BU50 & 3BU76, both were shipped to India (I can name the ships !!)

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Superb find!

I wonder if that ridiculously tall 3AZ47 Hooper Limousine is the Poona Phantom 3 that was cut to make a convertible.

Karlosdeville,
Johan Poonawalla's PIII is 3CM37, a low roof Park-Ward saloon now chopped off. 3AZ47 is in Pranlal Bhogilal's collection.

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by DKG

Obviously the author Jane Windover has things mixed up!!

3 CP 116 and 3BU198 are both 1937 PIII

She has incorrectly referred to 3BU198 as a 20/25 on page 52.

So according to the book two PIII's came to Hyderabad, both Windovers. And GTK19 is a 1936 20/25 in all probability.

Any help in identifying whether these cars survived would be great. I think 3CP116 is in England or Europe, someone posted a picture somewhere.

Hello DKG,
3BU198 was sold by dealer William Bastow (GB) in 1972 but it has not resurfaced since. It never went to India, the Rajah of Rajpipla had bought it for use at his Old Windsor residence.
Andre Blaize

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Nice collection. I think DLK 641 was a PI ? This was the car we had a bit of a race with down the Gurgaon road in one of the Delhi rallies, I was in the Hispano H6B. What fun!
The 1912 Ghost is lovely and still has the original trembler coil and box.
In the late eighties the father asked me to work on their cars but I was too busy.

Julian,
DLK-641 is PI #100DC, a 1926 Barker limousine de ville now in the Chander family.
Andre Blaize

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by travancore

The Yellow "Khan" 1913 Silver Ghost is shown on page 16-17 of "The Classic Rolls Royce" by G.N.Georgano and is identified as Chassis 2366

The coachbuilder is Cann & Co., Camden Town, London
Specialised in the White steam cars, but also Benz, Brasier, Delaunay-Belleville, Minerva 18hp tourer (1912), Napier 30hp tourer (1909), Renault and Rolls-Royce.

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Boat tail (built by Barker) ?
This unique example of a stylish and flamboyant hunting car was custom-built and outfitted for the Maharajah of Rewa of India. The sculpted boat tail design has wood veneer strips on the top portion of the rear deck, much like the veneer on a wooden speedboat.

The caption for this car says it’s a Barker body, but the records say the
Maharajah of Rewa bought this car with a Hooper body:
Phantom II 86XJ Hooper Open Tourer in Feb 1930.
Over to you Travencore?
Attachment 4803
Image from Old Rolls-Royce - Page 3 - German Car Zone





An interesting topic is that of Indian Coachbuilders. This photo mentions a company called Khan. Does anyone know anything about them? The Darbhanga Delauney-Belleville’s body was built by the French Motor Car Co. in Calcutta (it has their plates on it).
Attachment 4804
Image from Rolls-Royce by George Bishop




1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Attachment 4805
Attachment 4806
Image from Concept Carz and Prototype Vehicles


Factory Records show that 47 AG was ordered by G Mein Austin of Calcutta, Rolls-Royce agent, for his esteemed customer, His Highness the Raja of Santosh. The car was shipped to Bombay on 14th April 1921. Although Factory Records do not detail the coachbuilder, it has been suggested that the elegant aluminium coachwork was crafted originally by Stuarts of Calcutta and Factory Records show that the chassis was specifically designed to carry ‘6 seater Open Touring’ coachwork. It appears that the car was later owned by The Hon. Raja Sir Manmath Ray Chowdhury, Kt. of Santosh, and by 1927 was in the ownership of a Mrs Burchard in Paris. It seems likely that the magnificent Stephen Grebel headlamps and the running board-mounted tiger-hunting spotlight would be original fittings, in common with many other Silver Ghosts supplied to valued Maharaja customers. In later life the fenders have been modernised in 1930’s fashion and this feature has been retained by subsequent owners. From Bonhams auction 2005 details

Stuart? I thought it was Steuart.

Steuart and Co., coachbuilders
Robert Steuart, the coachmaker, was designated "state coach-maker" as early as 1795. He produced palankeens for the Mysore princes on the order of Cornwallis. The firms had contracts for the state howdah for the Prince of Wales' visit in 1876, a silver-decorated carriage for the Maharajah of Jind in 1878, as well as carriages for the Newab of Bhawalpore, the Commander-in-Chief of Nepal and the Amir of Kabul.

Julian,
The white boat-tail in the Sinsheim Technik Museum is 8PY with Tony Robinson replica body.

[Julian UK]

Welcome aboard Park Ward! Thank you for filling in so many gaps. Is that Granville in France? You started The Ghost Club? I hope our humble efforts here are not too embarrassing....

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by DKG

Is this car not a 20hp (horizontal slat grill set)? The signboard seems to incorrectly refer to it as a 26 silver ghost?

Exact, it is a Twenty, chassis #GPK71 (with incorrect oversized headlamps)
Andre Blaize

[Julian UK]

Originally Posted by park-ward

Exact, it is a Twenty, chassis #GPK71 (with incorrect oversized headlamps)
Andre Blaize

For anyone interested there is a article by a previous owner of GPK71 on the Vintage Bentley site
Vintage Bentley article :: The Vintage in India (July 1945)

and also one on the Bhopal Bentley 6 1/2 litre
Vintage Bentley article :: The Nawab of Bhopal's Game Hunting Car (September 1926)

[park-ward]

Julian,
Thanks for the tip. Interesting article and a very interesting forum: the best one I've seen for a long time. I've found photos of cars that I had only heard of and the members are particularly helpful and enthusiastic. I've identified almost all the RR that are posted but I have photos of RR in India which are still to be idententified and when I get used to the forum, I'll post them. I wrote to my friend Yohan Poonawalla this morning because some of these cars attended the same rally as his 20/25HP and he might know the owners. Let's wait and see...
Granville is in France indeed, in the Bay of Mt St Michel in Normandy. And yes, I'm the RR nuts who founded the Ghost Club 22 years ago ;o)

[travancore]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Welcome aboard Park Ward! Thank you for filling in so many gaps. Is that Granville in France? You started The Ghost Club? I hope our humble efforts here are not too embarrassing....

Welcome aboard Park-Ward!

You will not believe the timing - an assignment for myself this weekend was to invite you to join our forum.

I have long been an admirer of your pictures in Flickr.com and more importantly your expert comments and identification of the hundreds of pictures on various photo sharing websites.

Hey you may even find a few of your pictures (with credit here!)

I was hoping you could identify some of the Silver Ghost cars on your Flickr RR photostream - we are really lacking on Chassis #'s for Indian Silver Ghosts!

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by travancore

Welcome aboard Park-Ward!

You will not believe the timing - an assignment for myself this weekend was to invite you to join our forum.

I have long been an admirer of your pictures in Flickr.com and more importantly your expert comments and identification of the hundreds of pictures on various photo sharing websites.

Hey you may even find a few of your pictures (with credit here!)

I was hoping you could identify some of the Silver Ghost cars on your Flickr RR photostream - we are really lacking on Chassis #'s for Indian Silver Ghosts!

Hello Travancore,
You can throw your cell phone away, RR wave lengths cover the globe ;o)
I have the id. (chassis number) of all the SG posted on my Flickr stream. Just ask ;o)
Actually all the SG ever made are listed in my database with chassis & engine numbers, owners, coachbuilders etc.. I'm slowly updating all this stuff from various sources but in the long run, it will be worth it. All the other RR models are already done, that's about 30,000 cars in all and about 50,000 different owners.

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Ok once you're used to them, grabbing at thin air
Attachment 3930
Attachment 3931
Are you sure that steering wheel is original? Look at the special curves of the lower photo the PIII wheel looks like they've chopped a lump out

the car with the cut steering wheel (non original!) is a 25/30HP, chassis #GZR30 by Vanden Plas. There's a photo in Those Elegant RR page 231.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by park-ward

Hello Travancore,
You can throw your cell phone away, RR wave lengths cover the globe ;o)
I have the id. (chassis number) of all the SG posted on my Flickr stream. Just ask ;o)
Actually all the SG ever made are listed in my database with chassis & engine numbers, owners, coachbuilders etc.. I'm slowly updating all this stuff from various sources but in the long run, it will be worth it. All the other RR models are already done, that's about 30,000 cars in all and about 50,000 different owners.

I did notice that you do have all your pictures identified by chassis #'s

My concern was tring to figure out which ones came to India or had an Indian connection! Think I could only identify the Jodhpur (50-RE ?), Patiala/Kadoorie (Chassis 1958) and the Nabha Car ("Taj Mahal").

Is your SG database published on the web somewhere - could you provide the link if it is ? Cheers!

I have scoured every Dalton Walton book I could lay my hands on - still came up pretty short on SG's.

Also, if indeed 700+ RR's came to India - they are surely not all captured (or identified as "India cars" in the widely known and repected chassis registers / books. My assumption (may be wrongly so) was that many of the "Motor Show" cars may have ended up in India.

[park-ward]

Originally Posted by magiceye

Attachment 3757

Clicked this beauty at the Atria Mall in Mumbai. They would not allow me to get inside to click and told me to click from outsied if I wished to do so and am glad I did.
Can someone identify this model please.

MSC-2300 is a Park-Ward Wraith, chassis WLB25 owned by Vijay Mallya.