[travancore]

Originally Posted by Alvis

I am here in Abu Dhabi without any reference books, and at the mercy of Google, but can someone with some reference books check out if any Phantom I or II was delivered new to the Khan of Kalat, circa 1927. The body is by Hooper.
It was gifted by the Khan to his Chief Advisor ( a friend of our family ) and stayed in the same family till quite recently. It has now been acquired by some so called collector. I know of some pictures on the net so will try to upload if possible.
Any info on this car would be welcome.

Thought for a minute that I had hit the jackpot researching PakWheels - only to find out the Kalat RR reference / thread was by "Alvis"

Hi Alvis, I am going through the "Derby Phantoms" and not having much luck yet! The problem may be with the way the name is recorded (Khan of Kalat vs given name. Were they also referred to as Wali ?). Some that seem close / remotely possible are listed below:

Chassis / Year / Owner

Phantom I:

45-LC / 1926 / Hooper Open Touring / Bombay Stock
71DC / 1926 / Barker Open Touring / Nawab Wali Ud Dowla (this is more likely a Hyderadbad noble)
80TC / 1926 / Hooper Limo / Princess Farid es Sultaneh
66LF / 1927 / Hooper Cabriolet / V&S Motors
86RF / 1927 / Hooper Open Tourer / Chhaju Ram Chowdhury

[DKG]

Originally Posted by travancore

71DC / 1926 / Barker Open Touring / Nawab Wali Ud Dowla (this is more likely a Hyderadbad noble)

Yes Travancore Wali-ud-Dowla is the son of Sir Vicar-ul-Umara (Prime Minister of Hyderabad) who built the famed Falaknuma Palace. The picture posted a few posts earlier is a lovely shot. Wali-ud-Dowla's son Habeeb Jung had this car and his daughter was my classmate. Little did I know such a fabulous RR was in their house along with another 20hp RR. Would have atleast tried to acquire it when they tired of it instead of losing it to Europe.

[Julian UK]

I am probably on the wrong track but I found this. He was a Khan of Kalat State with a Rolls Royce?

Col Mir Haider Khan (Retd) - First Indian Officer in the British Army, A much respected village Elder, a man of distinction. He served as the last Defence Minister of Kalat State before its annexure to Pakistan. A major landlord of Pirpiai and a notable person of the Babar tribe. He was a man known for his flair and principles. He was an avid antique collector and owned the only Rolls Royce in Pakistan for a number of years. Most remember him as the man that put a face to the village and probably is the architect of making the village what it is today (died in 1973).
Pir Piai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Surely their must have been many Rolls Royces in the West of India by the time of partition?
I am probably mixed up with the distinction between the surname Khan and the title. Please excuse my western ignorance, only trying to help.

[Julian UK]

Here is an interesting article about a Rolls Royce 25/30 GUL80 Gurney Nutting 2 door Fixed head Coupe first owned by Allied Motors Bombay and then the Maharadza of Kotah, Sir Umed II Singhji Bahadur.
There are some nice Rolls Royce Advertisements, some from a well known respected book. I don’t know if anyone has already covered this car. It appears to now be in Finland.

http://www.rrbew.co.uk/Pdfs/StigGUL80.pdf

[Chhayanat]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Here is an interesting article about a Rolls Royce 25/30 GUL80 Gurney Nutting 2 door Fixed head Coupe first owned by Allied Motors Bombay and then the Maharadza of Kotah, Sir Umed II Singhji Bahadur.
There are some nice Rolls Royce Advertisements, some from a well known respected book. I don’t know if anyone has already covered this car. It appears to now be in Finland.

http://www.rrbew.co.uk/Pdfs/StigGUL80.pdf

Owing to my accidental association with several RR Gurney Nutting 25-30 hp cars, I read the article a few months ago, without marking the Indian connection which is plain enough. I have to say with respect that the black repaint with red wheel spokes is not my favourite colour combination, though it was very common in the 1930s. This is a useful addition to the website, thanks to your attention to detail.

[travancore]

Anyone have any idea which car this is ?
(source VCCCP - Cars in India Miscellaneous)

The pictures have file names SimlaXXXX, if that location means anything to anyone





The boattail with the little trap door looks very similar to that on the Nawab of Bhopal's 1926 Hunting Bentley 6 1/2 (Thrupp & Maberly)

[awini]

Originally Posted by travancore

Anyone have any idea which car this is ?
(source VCCCP - Cars in India Miscellaneous)

The pictures have file names SimlaXXXX, if that location means anything to anyone

Attachment 13188

Attachment 13189

The boattail with the little trap door looks very similar to that on the Nawab of Bhopal's 1926 Hunting Bentley 6 1/2 (Thrupp & Maberly)

this car was the Asansol shooting brake, now being locally rebodied as a replica of a Vizianagaram car which is lying in the same garage for many years.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by awini

this car was the Asansol shooting brake, now being locally rebodied as a replica of a Vizianagaram car which is lying in the same garage for many years.

Was the shooting brake an original body? Is this the car? It upsets me to see so many people now taking the liberty of rebodying priceless irreplacable cars.

[awini]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Was the shooting brake an original body? Is this the car? It upsets me to see so many people now taking the liberty of rebodying priceless irreplacable cars.

dont know if it was an original body, but this is not it, it looked much nicer than this.it was black, i think this is a ghost taxi from M.P, and the rebodied car is a new phantom

[Alvis]

travancore

No, the title for Kalat is not Wali, it is "Khan of Kalat". Wali is or rather was the title for the ruler of Swat, ie the Wali of Swat. From the list so kindly put up by you, if I had to make a choice I would opt for the first one, the Bombay Stock.
I do, or rather knew, the car well but my dear friend Mohsin Ikram has taken on a tough stance that it IS a P II and not a PI as I think. When I was in physical sight of the car I was too young to distinguish between the properties of I or II, so honour has to be redeemed!
Thank you for looking up, Kalat did have some other nice cars like Packard and Caddys but not much has surfaced about them.
Take care


Julian UK

Col Haider Khan did actually serve in Kalat but he never had a Rolls Royce, rather a Bentley 6 1/2 litre Speed Six. I missed getting that car by one day to someone else in 1971. I was 15 then and my grand father had remembered that Col Haider had a Bentley and it might make a good first car for me!!
We drove down to Nowshera from Rawalpindi in our Bentley R type ( B31TO) but Col haider told us that he had just sold it to a common family friend yesterday who had it towed behind a Jeep. And the sale was well within our planned budget, we had budgeted Rs 5000, it was sold for Rs 4,500.
Very sadly the car was purchased with the intent of exporting it out and within three months it had left for the UK.
Take care

[manikjeet]

Originally Posted by travancore

Attachment 13189

is the blue car a Pontiac GTO

if yes can we have some more pics

[Alvis]

Three of the cars from Bahawalpur at the time of their auction around 2006 or so. Hope they have found loving and caring homes after years of sad neglect. Pics are courtesy of Pakwheels.

Any further info comments would be welcome.

[DKG]

Does anyone have pictures of the Faridkot cars?

[Julian UK]

This photo seems to be doing the rounds and certainly deserves a place here.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah in a Rolls Royce of Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Abbasi.
I found it on the Indo-Pak friendship site. There is something about the top of the radiator that is unusual... It seems to have a light on the off side front mudguard but the near side mudguard looks very, very odd, I think BWP 1 (post 183 a Siver Ghost) also had these type of lights. Were they a Bawalapur thing? I'd say this was a PI or PII not sure which but the photo looks rather suspicious..

[travancore]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

This photo seems to be doing the rounds and certainly deserves a place here.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah in a Rolls Royce of Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Abbasi.
I found it on the Indo-Pak friendship site. There is something about the top of the radiator that is unusual... It seems to have a light on the off side front mudguard but the near side mudguard looks very, very odd, I think BWP 1 (post 183 a Siver Ghost) also had these type of lights. Were they a Bawalapur thing? I'd say this was a PI or PII not sure which but the photo looks rather suspicious..
Attachment 13354

This particular photo looks heavily retouched.

According to Pakwheels.com and VCCCP, the car used by Jinnah and Mountbatten (loaned by the Nawab of Bahawalpur) is a 1924 Silver Ghost (BWP-31; Barker Chassis # 70TM). This car has been restored and does the VCCCP rally circuit regularly.

Pictures below courtesy :Home - Chassis Register