[Julian UK]

A Daimler and a Hispano I restored in New Delhi in the 90s


Daimler 20/30hp 1920 ex Maharajah of Hyderbad 11/2 year restoration

1927 Hispano-Suiza H6B 6.5 Litre completed 5 or 6 Delhi Statesman rallies.

Outside our house in AIIMS campus




Belonged to the Raja Nanpara de Momdi, bought in Lucknow where it had been used to deliver vegetables by a subji wallah.
20 months effort resulting in pneumonia from which I never fully recovered, but she is a pleasure to drive.



In Lucknow 1990 where it was found.

The gory bits, new crankshaft (Tufrided EN24, all that was available at the time but 3000ks and no problems…yet?! (Hispanos suffer from crankshaft cracks and cylinder block erosion, this one had major crankshaft journal cracks.

Bad photo but shows the block, as opened, half full of Aluminium hydroxide, at worse they eat themselves up from within. This one was not too bad.

The old and new crankshafts in the back of Mr. Seth’s Maruti.

The third crankshaft finally installed.. some quality control issues had to be addressed…

All back together.
A lovely car to drive and many rallies have shown her to be a good result.
Restoration can be satisfactory in India contrary to popular belief; it just needs perseverance and the necessary infrastructure.
The car now has a better hood made from German hooding, the double layer material used on current Mercedes and BMWs.
More to come if anyone is interested

[awini]

i remember this car well, when you were working on it in Mr seth's garage in about 1991-92. this it the first hispano i saw.. a very imposing car, absolutely lovely!! the daimler, as i remember didnt have a working autovac and an incorrect dynamo, have they been sourced now?

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Daimler 20/30hp 1920 ex Maharajah of Hyderbad 11/2 year restoration

Nice cars, Julian. Er- Maharajah of Hyd. o you mean the Nizam of Hyderabad? He was later on given the title Raj Pramukh though, post Independence.

Belonged to the Raja Nanpara de Momdi, bought in Lucknow where it had been used to deliver vegetables by a subji wallah.

I recall reading about this car in a local car mag....but it was mentioned to have belonged to the "Nawab of Rampur" (before being sold to the sabjiwalah)....that must've been an error on their part....

Restoration can be satisfactory in India contrary to popular belief; it just needs perseverance and the necessary infrastructure.

True. And finding the right workmanship for the job.

More to come if anyone is interested

Yes please!

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Restoration can be satisfactory in India contrary to popular belief; it just needs perseverance and the necessary infrastructure.

I quite agree with you on this. Infact when I took a junked Packard completely apart and worked on it frame up, the day I drove the rolling chassis on the road no words can express the richness and depth of that experience.

When restoring cars there's a simple rule followed abroad..Do it once..do it right!!!

If you cut corners during any work on a machine you invariably compromise the restoration.

A world class restoration would entail deep pockets, ample time, thorough research, quality parts and materials, and expert workmanship with a sharp focus on a no compromise detailing process.

Here in India for one aspect of the above or the other the final product invariably gets compromised.

But that doesn't mean that a world class restoration cannot be achieved. The fact remains however that it is yet to be achieved.

Ironically one of the most well known restorers from India just acknowledged it recently.

[Julian UK]

Even the top restoration companys here in UK can be naughty. They have severe economic pressures due to exhorbitant cost of everything here. It is only economical to restore the most expensive cars here. I think car owners in India would be better off restoring their cars in India especially as the internet makes sourcing of parts easier.
(You can pay £650 for a water pump in UK then sometimes one will discover that the item was in fact made in India). HO HO

Caveat emptor


Hi to Awini and Stanher
Regarding the Daimler and Hispano , I think they are both still on hidden electric pumps due to the petrol gum problem maybe the petrol is better these days. Same dynamo.
Of course it’s the Nizam of Hyderabad. I must stop posting at 2 in the morning. Apologies in advance for all the errors I will be making. Ho Ho
How’s the Lagonda? Lovely car.

[DKG]

Julian

From the photographs I can tell the Daimler is identical to the town car owned by Raja Dhanrajgirji (a wealthy banker from my community). It was used by his mother and they had bought it new. It would have had a 4 digit number plate in front of the radiator. I have slide pictures of the car in a rotten condition lying in the palace grounds till it was sold along with a 36 Packard super 8 convertible(now in Bombay). you'll find a picture of these cars in Manvendra Singh's book

I remember it had a 2 digit chassis series no. on the body plate, indicating a low production run of this body style

[dominator]

Julian..I am sure you will not remember me, but I met you when you were working on Ranjits car in delhi, on his farm.my dad was assisting him with the minerva at that time.

[Julian UK]

I can't remember but hi Dominator! Is that anything to do with a Norton Dominator?

[dominator]

yup!!! dominator as in Norton Dominator.Do you still have the Indian Scout ?

[Julian UK]

No Scout, had 11 Chiefs in the past (photos coming in the motorcycle thread) now I've just finished these two Indians:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...4-indians.html
Which Dominator do you have?

[dominator]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

No Scout, had 11 Chiefs in the past (photos coming in the motorcycle thread) now I've just finished these two Indians:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...4-indians.html
Which Dominator do you have?

At present I own a 1955 Model 7 & 1952 Model 7 ( plunger ). I have owned an 88 , 99 and a 650 SS before.

[Julian UK]

Some more 1920 Daimler 30hp photos:
Body off and body fitting: Most of the body wood was very bad.






Worm differential, all bearings replaced but the worm gears were ok.


Clutch to separate gearbox coupling


The gearbox


Before. The whole bottom of the fuel tank had rusted away, Luckily all the fittings remained apart from the drain plug.





Any original carved wood window surrounds were restored and the same pattern carved in the replacement pieces, some of the carving can be seen here.


Beautiful sharp picture of the engine with one cylinder removed.


And now my greatest shame…

3 pictures of the front end damage incurred when a queue jumping empty Haryana bus stopped dead and I went straight into the back of it the day after one of the Delhi rallies. I had to restore the radiator for a second time, luckily it has vertical tubes with discs so it was relatively easy to restore. The top tank is aluminium and the bottom one cast iron!! And both were eaten up so I built a brass tank inside both, top and bottom.



[FONT=Arial]Worst day of my life….[/FONT]

[Julian UK]

Well here's another Daimler, you've probably seen this one elsewhere.
The elephant carriers must have been in great demand at that time and also the sling makers All that German silver


Picture Source : Daimler Century by Lord Montagu and David Burgess-Wise

It could go in the Maharajah's thread but we've got to keep the Fiat/Jeep threads at bay. Or do we need two seperate thread sections pre-war and post war. Or quality and quantity. Please don't take this suggestion too seriously.


Where there are visible vapours having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration

[karlosdeville]

Here is a close up of the Rewa Daimler Boa Constrictor horn. Rewa also had this Rolls Royce, also now out of the country.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Or do we need two seperate thread sections pre-war and post war

Pre War and Post War seem just fine to hold pictures of assorted makes. Bentleys surely deserve a dedicated thread so please post these pictures in a Bentley's in India thread. Also a Rolls Royces in India thread is in order.