[john a milne]

Last years Statesman ha some great big cars and some very interesting little ones.

3. The 1934 Cadillac was done up by Sanjay and finished off within days of the Rally. I took photos every day for the last 10 days and will post them. some of the interior work had to be finessed after but stil was very presentable for the judging.
1. The 1912 Standard Coventry was done up a long time ago by Shashi Kanoria with a "modification" creating an arched side door. A great car that some day should be put back to original.
2. !962 imported l.h.d. Fiat wagon. Quite rare I understand, and has had a fair refurbishing done to it.
4. 1960 Messerchmitt. Properly restored worth a big bundle in N.A. where small cars are going for out of reach prices.
5. 1935 Rytecraft. A boat builder turned car maker.

THE BEST WEB-SITE TO CHECK OUT CARS IS... "RM AUCTIONS"... THEY ARE THE WORLDS FINEST AND BIGGEST #1 AUTION HOUSE WITH GREAT PHOTOS AND WRITE UPS!

[john a milne]

The amount of work done in this very short period was remarkable! All the more as other cars were also being finished off including preparing the 1924 Rolls, which won a prize at the Cartier Show,that had been shipped in for the Rally and Sanjay's own stable of five cars. They indeed burned the midnight oil!

I live a 10 minute drive so it's great to be able to drop in and see the Magicians at work. What fascinates me is so much of the work is done on the ground particularly the tinsmiths who make hub caps out of nothing. A number of years back Sanjay had done up a basket case Dodge Kingsway and two of the hub-caps were missing. I was a judge that year and thought they were all original. Afterwards I found out not and I still had a hard time distinguishing between the new and old.

I've been visiting some of the other Restoration Work Shops here and would be pleased to post some of the photos as there is interest by some of the Antique Mags in N. A. to see ,what's happening and how, here in India.



WE CAR "CRAZY GUYS" ARE A UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD !

[Prabal]

Originally Posted by john a milne

Last years Statesman ha some great big cars and some very interesting little ones.

2. !962 imported l.h.d. Fiat wagon. Quite rare I understand, and has had a fair refurbishing done to it.

I'd seen one of these Fiat 103 Familiares at Nagpur Railway Station in 1978/79. Red and black in colour. Maybe Anjan would remember or know if she's still around.

[sgchaudhuri]

This is a collection that is very well know to the people of Calcutta! I chanced uponit when I went with my father to his friends garage, 'Mukherjee Udyog' to get my car serviced! Uncle was as usual very generous and allowed me to sit in the 1912 standard coventry in one of it's test runs! That was exciting! Here are the pictures of some of the other cars that were there! Have a look and comment!
Souvik!

[wasif]

Hi Souvik

You did get lucky indeed, some great cars to be seen there.

Some questions, what cars are UPL 4187 and BRT 792. Is WBD 236 an Alvis ?

Also please post more pictures.

Any idea what cars are those that can be seen on the left and right of BRT 792 ?

[sgchaudhuri]

Originally Posted by wasif

Hi Souvik

You did get lucky indeed, some great cars to be seen there.

Some questions, what cars are UPL 4187 and BRT 792. Is WBD 236 an Alvis ?

Also please post more pictures.

Any idea what cars are those that can be seen on the left and right of BRT 792 ?

Yes! Wasif the WBD 239 is indeed an Alvis, like you know, very rare, havn't seen ony other! Unfortunately there arn't any more pictures! The 2 other cars that are seen in the background i don't remember their names!
I'm sure some of our experts on BHP can identify them!
Can you refer a book/website that will help me identify classic cars?

[wasif]

Originally Posted by sgchaudhuri

Yes! Wasif the WBD 239 is indeed an Alvis, like you know, very rare, havn't seen ony other! Unfortunately there arn't any more pictures! The 2 other cars that are seen in the background i don't remember their names!
I'm sure some of our experts on BHP can identify them!
Can you refer a book/website that will help me identify classic cars?

Souvik.

Thanks for the clarification. I knew it was an Alvis by the look of the front grille and its very low stance. Is that a front wheel drive model ?

What garage was this and who ownes all those cars.

Regarding books on old cars try to buy an Encyclopedia of Cars, the best is the Beaulie Encyclopedia of Cars nbut is expensive and I don't know if it is available in India.

With regards to websites try Conceptcarz, and Ultimatecarpage. Both are very informative and feature a lot of interesting cars.

Wasif

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by sgchaudhuri

This is a collection that is very well know to the people of Calcutta! I chanced uponit when I went with my father to his friends garage, 'Mukherjee Udyog' to get my car serviced! Uncle was as usual very generous and allowed me to sit in the 1912 standard coventry in one of it's test runs! That was exciting! Here are the pictures of some of the other cars that were there! Have a look and comment!
Souvik!

Thanks for sharing, more are always welcome.

We would love to know more about the Standard, since you know the owner could you get some history on the car for us? Also ideally the chassis number, the Standard Motor Club UK has been curious about this car.

Originally Posted by wasif

Some questions, what cars are UPL 4187 and BRT 792

UPL 418 must be a Dodge/DeSoto/Plymouth Tourer - what say?

BRT 792 appears to be a Wolseley

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by sgchaudhuri

This is a collection that is very well know to the people of Calcutta! I chanced uponit when I went with my father to his friends garage, 'Mukherjee Udyog' to get my car serviced! Uncle was as usual very generous and allowed me to sit in the 1912 standard coventry in one of it's test runs! That was exciting! Here are the pictures of some of the other cars that were there! Have a look and comment!
Souvik!

A relative had given his Maruti for servicing at Mukherjee Udyog. Went along with him to take delivery and had a chance to ogle at the beauties. Mukherjee "Uncle" certainly wasn't so generous with me. Didnt allow me to take any photos. I guess some comments I made about the restorations also pissed him off!

Anyway, here's a short account of what I saw:

1. The Alvis stood out as the most interesting exhibit for me. A few months back C&SC magazine had carried a test on the famous Type 4.3 tourer, praising its roadholding and smooth transmission, and called it the best open top British tourer of 1930s.

I initially thought I was looking at the famed 4.3 in flesh, but the body looked different in many places. A good look at the internals, followed by subsequent R&D on Alvis confirms its a 1937 type 12/70.

The 1937 Type 12/70 was made in 2 distinct avatars. The first was a Drop Head coupe, characterized by a higher doorline and single carb.



The other type was the tourer, with a SS100 like doorline and dual carb. The car at Mukherjee Udyog is this car.



(Pics courtesy Alvis Owners Club of UK)

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

UPL 418 must be a Dodge/DeSoto/Plymouth Tourer - what say?

2. The Nash - UPL 418 is in fact, a 1928-30 Nash tourer, something like the car shown in the pic below.



While the general quality of restoration was very good, I was shocked to find the car wearing Ceat 7.50X16 LT (Light Truck) tyres. I asked Mr. Mukherjee why he couldn't go the full hog and fit proper period tyres. He gave a gruff reply as to why tyres are impossible to find etc etc. Certainly didnt increase my popularity rating!

3. The SS100 - There was a white SS100 standing, belonging to the same owner. It was fully done up and going for testing. Unlike the other SS100 n Kolkata, which wears a full on windscreen, this one had the split racing screens (like the car below). The instrumentation and trim was fully correct. Truly a quality restoration.



While I was there, Mukherjee and his people took out the car for testing. The sheer visual drama that an automobile like this generates reminded me why I loved classics once again!

4. The Crossley - See the big black car, which is the last pic in Souvik's post? Its a 1918 Crossley. I knew little about this marque till I saw the car in flesh, and heard it start up. The car's interiors have been done up since Souvik's pic. Now its fully covered. That day the mechanics were working on the engine.

I must admit that antique cars like this scare me. Was scared when I saw PS Bose's Model T, was scared when I saw the Coventry, and was scared now. Unlike post 30's cars, they have little in common with modern automobiles, and trying to learn their mechanical secrets is like having to unlearn whatever one knows about cars.

This Crossley had an engine like a locomotive engine, heeeeuge and covered with brass. The radiator was made of copper. The flywheel was atleast 15" in diameter! When they started it up, the engine note was mechanical. No growl, no purr, no roar. Just very loud whirs and clicks, like a loco engine.

5. The Standard Coventry - Much has been said about this car, so I'll just briefly cover it. The body is not original, although the restoration has been extremely well done up. If there was one car in the whole lot which seemed like a labour of love, this was it.

6. Other cars - Other cars I saw included a 46 Rover Saloon and a 1961 Austin Cambridge (A60). The former was still being done up. The latter was fully restored, having white-green dual tone exterior paint and beautiful white interiors. But again wrong choice of tyres! It belongs to a local Doctor who uses the car as a weekly driver.

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

We would love to know more about the Standard, since you know the owner could you get some history on the car for us? Also ideally the chassis number, the Standard Motor Club UK has been curious about this car.

Ownership of the Standard (as well as all other cars except the A60) seems to be a hush hush affair. Perhaps the Kanoria connection will give you a clue.

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

BRT 792 appears to be a Wolseley

Though BRT 792 had left the day I went, I did verify. It is indeed a Wolseley.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

2. The Nash - UPL 418 is in fact, a 1928-30 Nash tourer

While the general quality of restoration was very good, I was shocked to find the car wearing Ceat 7.50X16 LT (Light Truck) tyres. I asked Mr. Mukherjee why he couldn't go the full hog and fit proper period tyres. He gave a gruff reply as to why tyres are impossible to find etc etc.

3. The SS100 - There was a white SS100 standing, belonging to the same owner. It was fully done up and going for testing. Unlike the other SS100 n Kolkata, which wears a full on windscreen, this one had the split racing screens (like the car below). The instrumentation and trim was fully correct. Truly a quality restoration.

Interesting to know about the Nash - are there any more we know about of similar vintage?

These odd sizes of tyres are near impossible to source locally - I would cut him some slack. Importing the genuine item would cost around 15-20k a piece I should think - frightfully expensive. Its tempting to make do, perhaps temporarily, with local stuff that will atleast get the job done.

Did you confirm that the SS Jag is indeed an SS100? There were similar tourers in other spec too like SS90.

[john a milne]

Great to see these cars being readied for the Statesman Rally on January 10th with judging on the 9th.

These cars are owned, according to the The Statesman list of entries, as belonging to Pramod Kumar Mittal. They were originally owned and restored by Sashi Kanoria who sold them many years ago.

I've seen and judged these cars over the past few years and am pleased to see that they are now being better prepared for the Rally and hope might even win a trophy this year.

The Crossly is awesome and I understand it was one of 4 or 5 that were imported for the Royal Visit.

Don't be scared of these Oldies and Goldies, most of them are very basic, easy to repair and a delight to drive.

[rahul4640]

Gentlemen,
Today in the afternoon I went to meet a friend of mine, who has come to Calcutta after three years and is staying up near the Gurudwara near Harish Mukherjee Road, when I saw this car.

Please excuse my ignorance gentlemen, I am not at all familiar with vintage classic cars. But although this car had the red coloured Rolls Royce RR emblem and the spirit of ecstasy, the car has horizontal radiator grille, much unlike the vertical ones which I have normally seen in pictures. Was it also common in old Rolls Royce cars?
Regards,
Rahul

[KPS]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Gentlemen,
. But although this car had the red coloured Rolls Royce RR emblem and the spirit of ecstasy, the car has horizontal radiator grille, much unlike the vertical ones which I have normally seen in pictures. Was it also common in old Rolls Royce cars?
Regards,
Rahul

Hi Rahul,

The horizontal grille indicates this is a 20 HP RR. In the the RR thread will get more information, a I will post your picture there

Cheers

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Gentlemen,
Today in the afternoon I went to meet a friend of mine, who has come to Calcutta after three years and is staying up near the Gurudwara near Harish Mukherjee Road, when I saw this car.

Please excuse my ignorance gentlemen, I am not at all familiar with vintage classic cars. But although this car had the red coloured Rolls Royce RR emblem and the spirit of ecstasy, the car has horizontal radiator grille, much unlike the vertical ones which I have normally seen in pictures. Was it also common in old Rolls Royce cars?
Regards,
Rahul

Rahul,

This is a 20 h.p. RR which (except for some early ones which had no slats and very few which had vertical slats) normally came with horizontal slats.

Since I've been going to the Statesman Rally (15 years approx.) this car has been a regular participant. Used to be maroon with black fender till 6-7 years ago after which it was painted in it's current colours.

Belongs to a family in Howrah, though I think I heard someone say that it changes hands last year, not sure about this, though it might explain why the car was near the Gurudwara quite far away from it's home in Howrah.

Regards
mbz180