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| Re: Vintage Overlanding! Driving Cross-Country back in the day More on the epic journey of #22GX Source
Some excerpts Quote:
Maharaja Sawai Sir Man Singh II of Jaipur was 18 when he ordered a sporting tourer, chassis 22GX, which was signed off from chassis test in October 1930. As with many Indian orders, the dual-cowl tourer had dramatic details including a polished body top, and was finished with nickel plating. The newly completed Phantom II was shipped to Bombay before transport to the Rambagh Palace, the spectacular royal residence just outside the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur.
The sporting Barker Phantom II joined an impressive collection of cars for use on special occasions and trips to polo games, which were a lifelong passion for the young prince. When the dashing maharaja married the beautiful Gayatri Devi, his third wife, in May 1940, the car was no doubt involved in what was then the most expensive wedding ever staged.
The glamorous Indian royals were regular visitors to England, where their homes included Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex. Even after independence, they remained one of India’s wealthiest families. A keen soldier, pilot and sportsman, Man Singh II continued to indulge in expensive cars and private planes. When the couple hosted a party, whether in England or India, it was a must-attend for high society. Over the years, guests at the Rambagh Palace included the Mountbattens, Jackie Kennedy and Mick Jagger. Presumably after India’s independence in 1947 the old Barker Phantom II became unfashionable and sat gathering dust in the maharaja’s impressive 30-car garage. Its low mileage was mostly completed in first gear, convoying slowly in parades, often behind elephants.
When the Hon Patrick Lindsay started planning a honeymoon with wife Amabel in the winter of 1955, they chose to visit Jaipur, where the couple were hosted at the Rambagh Palace. The groom and Man Singh II were of a similar age, and had doubtless met at parties in London. They shared similar sporting interests, including flying, and had both served with the Guards. During his stay, Lindsay – a keen motorist and lover of fine machinery – was invited into the impressive garage, where the 25-year-old Barker tourer caught his eye.
Having already developed a taste for adventure and great cars, Lindsay asked if the old Royce could be bought, but Man Singh II insisted on offering it as a gift. Surprised by his host’s generosity, Lindsay hatched the mad idea of driving the car to England.
In 1962 he made contact with Graham, his close friend and a real-life ‘Indiana Jones’, about joining him on the road trip. Lindsay was always honest about his lack of mechanical expertise, but thankfully Graham was immensely practical and had already driven a vintage Royce from New York to California via Mexico. The plan had amused Man Singh II, but his wife was convinced the car would fail after 10 miles.
Following a few days of rest as guests in the Rambagh Palace, the pair set out for Delhi – but within 100 miles the car ground to a halt. Graham diagnosed fuel starvation and, after cleaning the pipes and single-jet Rolls-Royce carburettor, they motored on, but the engine soon stopped again. The cleaning procedure continued, with several frustrating stops until cotton waste was discovered blocking the system between the tank and the Autovac.
The 170-mile trip to Delhi was made more fraught by overheating, and after various attempts to clean out the cooling system, Graham insisted they stop in Delhi to find a garage with a hydraulic lift to change all the fluids, including the oil. The sump plug proved impossible to loosen, so the whole plate and 12 securing bolts were removed. To Graham’s horror, when the plate was finally prised off, it was 30 seconds before a thick, treacly goo oozed out. Despite assurances back in Jaipur, it was clear the lubricant hadn’t been changed for years, if ever! The maharaja’s mechanic had simply continued to top up the oil rather than change it, and the concern now was that blocked oilways might cause a big-end bearing failure.
Thankfully, the quality of the Phantom II’s engineering proved resilient against such servicing neglect and the impressive tourer purred on to the Pakistan border. After Lahore, while following a gorge near the River Indus, water levels reached 21/2ft and locals had to be enlisted to push the car through the deep tributary. Graham was worried that water had entered the car’s oil system, but plans for a precautionary change weren’t possible because they didn’t carry enough for a complete refill.
The magnificent Phantom II, by now covered in road dust, took the Khyber Pass in its stately stride, only stopping to admire the historic hillside forts on the famous Silk Road. Once into Afghanistan, the roads to Kabul greatly deteriorated but the Phantom II cruised to the capital without trouble, where Lindsay and Graham enjoyed a welcome two nights as guests of the Indian ambassador. Here, Lindsay learnt of the birth of his third son, Valentine.
Ever adventurous, the intrepid pair ignored advice to take the new road through Afghanistan to Iran via Kandahar. Inspired by travel writer Robert Byron they secured permits for the more challenging northern territory. Concerns about the lack of fuel were resolved by fitting a huge 50-gallon drum in the back seat, but this proved unnecessary – fuel stations were non-existent, but each time they stopped en route to the Iranian border, locals would rush out with tin pitchers and a funnel to refuel from private tanks.
A visit to the legendary Bamiyan cave monastery was now the highest priority and large-scale maps were sourced for the challenge of a minor road up to 11,000ft over the Hajigak Pass. The views were epic as the grand Royce motored on, occasionally passing camel caravans of Kochi nomads heading down to warmer regions for the winter. The pre-war tourer even helped a broken-down bus, the extra weight of the petrol tank in the back seat aiding traction as it towed the local travellers to the top.
The pair motored on across the desert with breathtaking mountain backdrops, passing through Mazar-i-Sharif with its beautiful blue-tiled mosque and later Balkh, one of the world’s oldest cities. Lindsay and Graham reported the Afghans to be friendly and ever-helpful, with the car continually attracting attention but no-one touching it. Later, in Iran, the locals were less respectful, leaving handprints on the polished body. ‘One bystander even kicked the tyre,’ wrote Graham, ‘and exclaimed, “Ah, Ford!”’
The month flew by and, with leave running out, the friends agreed to head across Iran to the port of Abadan and ship the Rolls-Royce home; Lindsay and Graham then arranged flights to return to England. ‘We both derived enormous pleasure from our escapade,’ concluded Graham, who felt privileged to have experienced a ‘Golden Age of modern Afghanistan’ before the recent turmoil rocked the country. ‘It was the greatest trip of my life, so exciting and educative. Other than the oil change the car ran trouble-free for 2500 miles.’
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Last edited by KartikeyaL : 7th January 2020 at 22:59.
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