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| At the outset, I would like to thank the K S Raman Art Foundation, particularly it's Director Ms. K S Manorama, for recognizing the contribution of Mr. N Sripathi Rao to the vintage and classic car movement in Karnataka, by facilitating him today. It is indeed my privilege to speak a few words on this occasion. Mr. Sripathi Rao is a person driven by the power of knowledge and the challenge of the task on hand. He is one the few people that I have known who is not motivated by money. There is a saying that the height of the mountain is determined by the depth of the valleys. Mr. Sripathi is a person who deepens the valleys to ensure that the car owners scaled higher peaks of recognition. Mr. Sripathi Rao's contribution to the vintage and classic car movement in Karnataka is not quantifiable, but I am happy to say that his legacy will live long. You all have seen the wonderful 1932 Plymouth parked here today, as a tribute to his work. Some of you have seen the before and after pictures of this car and I am sure that in itself would guarantee our utmost respect to his contribution. Some of the great cars brought to Karnataka by Mr. Sripathi Rao includes the 1903 Renault, Ex-Bikaner, 1930's Sunbeam 7 Seater Tourer, Ex- Kolhapur, 1930's Buick phaeton, Ex-Purnia, to name a few, all of which are currently at the Manjusha Museum at Dharmasthala. He is also has the privilege to be an advisor to the Manjusha Museum, a privilege very few were granted and retained. I have brought a few copies of a small article on the masterful restoration if the 1903 Renault by Mr. Sripathi Rao, which I request you all to share. This is one project very few would have attempted, forget about succeeding! With technical support from K S Raman, he plunged head-on into this project and completed it in record time. As one the beneficiaries of Mr. Sripathi's work and sharing, all I can say is that learning from him has been a privilege and his teaching on the cars is something I will not forget. With that I once again thank the K S Raman Art Foundation for felicitating Mr. Sripathi Rao for his contribution to the vintage and classic car movement in Karnataka. Please put your hands together for Mr. N Sripathi Rao and the K S Raman Arts Foundation. Thank you |
| On an early winter morning in January 2009, whilst we were driving back from my hometown in Coorg, we received a call from a very close friend and restorer Sripathi, that he had news of a large vintage American car for sale. Whilst we tried to probe on the possible make and model, the person who gave the lead, confessed knowing very about the car. All he could say was “big American car, with big lights, seven passenger sedan and had been in long term ownership with a reputed family”. For us this was big news, as these clues pointed to an important car. It was located in Bellary, about 190 miles north of our home in Bangalore. Without delay we planned for Sripathi to leave in the night so we could close out the deal the very next day! One must understand that very few vintage and classic cars have survived in India. Well known Marques or important body styles are in great demand. Speed is the essence for concluding such deals. Rightfully, sellers are looking for the best price, so we needed to finalize the deal before others become aware. As luck would have it, we were first off the block! Sripathi was in Bellary by morning and was the first visitor to see the car. He called us to explain that it was a beautiful 1932 Plymouth, seven-passenger and the car was largely intact. The owners agreed to our offer and by noon we had loaded the car for shipping to Bangalore. Searching the net we established that the car was a 1932 Plymouth PB. Much to our surprise this appears to be the only PB in India. In the absence of a reference car, Tod Fitch’s wonderful website www.33ply.com, helped us to understand the various Plymouth's in the first decade, particularly the details of the 1932 PBs. I came across POC website and wrote to the Club, informing them about this find. Much to everyone’s surprise, this car was discovered to be the oldest PB seven-passenger amongst the three cars known, as per the Club’s record. The car featured in The Plymouth Bulletin # 302 (May-June 2010) under “Letters” A car with Chassis # 1697856, Briggs Body # 537-185, Engine # PB20694, 4 cylinders, leather trim and 6 wire wheels was built on April 11, 1932 at the Detroit Plant. The car was shipped to India on May 9, 1932 with the destination being Madras, India. The original owner G V C Naidu, was a well known distillery owner from Bellary. On his passing, the car was inherited by his son in 1964. The car was in use till the late 1970’s, before she was permanently parked in a secured covered parking. The combination of dry weather and a closed parking ensured that the car was relatively intact. It is believed that in the last 10 years the car was in the open and did see some deterioration. What we missed was the caravan, which was with the car since 1945 (as per road tax records), unfortunately got burnt accidentally, a few years earlier. Other evidences of the caravan in the car, was the locally made hitch and provision for additional fuel cans behind the rear number plates. Legend has it that the original owner used to go on his hunts in the PB and caravan, camping in the forest to ensure a successful hunt. Here are pictures of the car when we saw it for the first time in 2009. Though extensive restoration was required, no significant parts were missing. When the car landed in Bangalore, it generated a lot of interest amongst the vintage enthusiasts across the country. No one had seen a Plymouth PB before! Offers to buy out the car in its present condition were flying fast and thick. Unsolicited advice on how we should restore the car tested our patience to the very end. Our restorer Sripathi, with the active involvement of my dad, Prithvi Ganapathy, started on the ground up restoration of the car, almost immediately. The 2008 Financial Crisis ensured that the parts we sourced from USA, well within our budget. Mainly sourced from various suppliers found on eBay, our restoration progressed at good speed. Whilst the original color combination was maroon and black fenders, we decided to try a more unusual color combination. We searched the net for possible color combinations in that period and we were inspired by the cream body with mustard fender seen in the 32 Phaeton, at the Walter P Chrysler Museum. Similarly, we debated a lot on whether we should retain the modifications done to locally incorporate the hitch and fuel cans holders. Since the caravan was missing, we decided to not retain these and tried replicating the original rear of the car. The car came home on March 31, 2010 almost 15 months since we acquired the car. Some details of the restoration may be seen in the following link on Team BHP, http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-wa...lux-sedan.html The car has over the years, post restoration received much publicity. This beautiful car has helped me cement many a wonderful relationships amongst vintage and classic enthusiasts across the country. The car also helped raise the profile of the per-war Plymouth's in India. I have been a member of POC since 2010, probably the lone POC member from India and this association has helped me learn and appreciate Plymouth’s more. I have also since acquired a 1954 Dodge Kingsway convertible coupe, which is basically a rebadged Plymouth Belvedere (P25), but with a larger Dodge engine. Thank you for reading my story and I hope to continue to contribute to POC on the Plymouths in India. You can reach me at subbaiahkp@yahoo.co.in |
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Originally Posted by KPS
(Post 4274073)
I am very proud to say that the Plymouth has featured in the award winning Plymouth Bulletin, published by the Plymouth Owners Club Inc, USA. The fact that the car made it to the back cover of the magazine, is indeed a proud moment for me. KPS |
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Originally Posted by KPS
(Post 4320390)
Last evening we very privileged to host Rob Elliot, who is the Technical Advisor at the Plymouth Owners Club Inc, for 1964-65 Plymouths. He has owned Plymouths for more than 50 years clap:. Currently has 1957 convertible and 1965 two door sedan and lives in Calgary, Canada. He happened to come to Bangalore for a few days on work. He was very keen to meet us and see the car. Here is a picture of Rob with my Dad Attachment 1704865 It was great spending time with Rob and discussing Plymouths! Cheers KPS |
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