[brat001]

sad sad .....may they rust in piece.hope someone has the heart to restore them someday...

[speedy]

Great find Ram and an excellent naration of the car. the ford v8 looks restorable.. maybe difficult but not impossible either. wow almost 30 years that the car has been standing there, i wonder what went wrong.
i also did notice what looked like the front end of an old truck to the right (steering side) of the car. what was that?

@ Awini you need to visit the place for the signage. they might just sell it to you.

[V-16]

Amazing find Ram. The attendant must be wondering that after so many years, whos this guy showing interest in this old heap. I know as ive been a victim of suck glances and questions too. Incidentally i know three persons who have the same car one a 47 another a 49 and another 49 coupe which was offered to me some time back in full working condition but you know sometimes we do silly things like refuse such an offer only t repent years later.

[Naren4140]

well it can be restored to great shape ..but needs a lot of TLC and an enthusiastic mechanic /painter to get it road worthy...!

[karlosdeville]

Superb find Ram, we must drive down together and see this car again. BYH is a Pune registration, I assume Sangli-Miraj didn't have an RTO back then. Does it have one now?

Here is what the dash would have looked like, with that lovely half ring.



Can I go off topic for a bit as well? Here is a well restored Plymouth originally beloning to the Royal family of Miraj. Can anyone tell me why the plate says Miraj (Senior)?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

...I assume Sangli-Miraj didn't have an RTO back then. Does it have one now?

...royal family of Miraj. Can anyone tell me why the plate says Miraj (Senior)?

The State of Miraj was founded before 1750 and was the former capital of the State of Sangli before the British times.

In 1820, the state was split into Miraj Senior and Miraj Junior branches. Before 1948, Miraj was the capital of the princely state of Miraj Senior. When India got independence from the British, the princely states of Miraj Junior and Miraj Senior merged and formed part of the Deccan States Agency under the Bombay Presidency.

Both Mirajs (senior and junior) were merged into the Miraj taluka and became part of the district called South Satara in 1949 along with the Tasgaon, Khanapur, Walwa, Shirala and Jath talukas. The Patwardhan dynasty's red plates of the princely state of Miraj Senior announce the status of Miraj taluka when the 1954 Plymouth Belvedere convertible was current.

In Nov. 1956 when the state of Maharashtra was formed, Miraj Junior and Miraj Senior including Bombay became part of Maharashtra.
In 1960 South-Satara was changed to Sangli district with its headquarters at Sangli in the Miraj taluka.

Today, there certainly is a separate RTO for Sangli. Their plates start with MH-10. Miraj and Sangli are twin-cities, headquartered at Sangli.

OT1: Miraj is one place where you can still find a Taangaa stand! Chal Dhanno! Here's one I found in the major five-road chowk called Gandhi Chowk.

OT2: I found Miraj to be a very dusty place, where every fourth building was some kind of hospital ! The number of donkeys (even some white ones dyed pink!!!) to be seen was so many, it wasn't funny. Miraj is full of the three "D"s. Dust, Donkeys and Doctors.

Ram

[V-16]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Love the bleck Merc Heckflosse in the second pic and the Yellow Camaro (is it?) in the first. Where were these pics taken?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by V-16

Love the black Merc Heckflosse in the second pic and the Yellow Camaro (is it?) in the first. Where were these pics taken?

The yellow car is not a Camaro.
It's a 1970 Ford Mustang standard convertible (model 76A).

In 1970, the outboard headlights of 1969 were replaced by simulated air intakes which you can see. That and the door handles and the plain black wheels with small chrome coned hubcaps give the car away.
Model 76B would have had the styled steel wheels instead.

Don't know where the pics were taken but looking at the sandstone colored latticework and concrete mosaic tiled parking lot with yellow parking markings, I'd think it was the LeMeridien, Pune.

Ram

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by ram

Don't know where the pics were taken but looking at the sandstone colored latticework and concrete mosaic tiled parking lot with yellow parking markings, I'd think it was the LeMeridien, Pune. Ram

Ram you are a genius. You remember seeing the Mustang when we went to meet Mr. Sameer Ajgaonkar? This is the same car GDL 4545. And yes you are right this is LeMeridien Pune hosting the Pune Festival rally on 03Sep'06



Continuing the slightly off topic trend. This car is standing at one service dealership of a prominent car maker. I know its a Ford but its quite deceiving to know if it is a Model A or a T or a Ford V8? Karl says its a model 'T' whereas the plaque on the car reads otherwise. Can experts chip in?





EDIT 2:

An ICE-Cream treat for anyone who guesses this car right:









Year, make, model anyone?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by speedy

...i also did notice what looked like the front end of an old truck to the right (steering side) of the car. what was that?

It is the cowl, firewall and windshield of a 1950s Dodge "Parrot-beak" truck.

There was also a complete specimen "MHL 418" with a kerosene tanker body.

They were assembled and sold by Premier Automobiles along with the Dodge Kingsway and Plymouth Belvedere cars. The engine was a 5.8 litre I-6 diesel that developed 120 bhp and drove a Rockwell differential.

[pic edited from PAL booklet scan courtesy: Karl Bhote]

Ram

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by ram

After forty something years, in that shed, I saw an old friend: Esso’s iconic Mr. Oildrop man.
Just as SK "Bobby" Kooka created the Air-India maharajah, Norman Tate (1915-2006 …he passed away at 91) created Esso’s Mr. Oildrop Man.
When I was a kid in the early 1960s, Esso pumps gave away a little plastic keybob -- the Esso Oil Drop Man in his white suit and yellow head. Does anybody have that old plastic keyfob with the Oildrop Man?

Ram

I wish I had one of those keyfobs! I found on the dash of my delight, however, an old sticker of the oildrop man with the Happy Motoring caption & the name/ph.no. of the pump....stuck reverse!
I'm guessing this sticker was stuck there back in the 60s. The first owner must've had the keyfob as well!

[karlosdeville]

All hail Ram! Fantastic!

And Kiran, I never said that Ford was a model T, I said a model B, or possibly even a V8.

[agspins]

Originally Posted by moralfibre;

Year, make, model anyone?

Is it a 1925 Buick sedan........

[awini]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

EDIT 2:

An ICE-Cream treat for anyone who guesses this car right:









Year, make, model anyone?

Im thinking 1920S FIAT...??

[agspins]

yes awini, it looks like 1920 fiat 509......