[harit]

Originally Posted by harit

I do not think that Allied Motors represented Humber.

Oye I thought wrong. Allied Motors apparently did represent Humber also.

Originally Posted by mbz180

I have recently been in communication with Mr. Jean Claus Rossfeldt, the curator of the Rolls Royce archives. He says that now that the registration is complete, he will try and find out more about the car through his contacts.

Travancore, don't you have any details on the car? I only ask because you normally are able to provide the chassis no. by taking a single look at the photosBest Regards Prithvi Tagore

Hello Mr Tagore,

Any luck on info about your ancestral Rolls?

Well, it should have been 109MG, a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost originally sold to Profullanath Tagore, Calcutta, bearing registration number 8489, body by Mann Egerton. AND, the car is alive with a collector in USA. Somehow the BLA alphabetical part of the registration was not known to them(those who told me). Sold around 1968 by Mr. Hari Agarwal of Calcutta. The name Coco Mckenzie has been heard, not much known may have been a dealer. This car participated in the Statesman Rally in 1967.
Apparently the present owner is a private person, I do not know the name, now you have to do your networking.

Cheers harit

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by harit

Oye I thought wrong. Allied Motors apparently did represent Humber also.



Hello Mr Tagore,

Any luck on info about your ancestral Rolls?

Well, it should have been 109MG, a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost originally sold to Profullanath Tagore, Calcutta, bearing registration number 8489, body by Mann Egerton. AND, the car is alive with a collector in USA. Somehow the BLA alphabetical part of the registration was not known to them(those who told me). Sold around 1968 by Mr. Hari Agarwal of Calcutta. The name Coco Mckenzie has been heard, not much known may have been a dealer. This car participated in the Statesman Rally in 1967.
Apparently the present owner is a private person, I do not know the name, now you have to do your networking.

Cheers harit

Wow wow Haritji! You have outdone yourself! Mann Egerton? That would be quite rare for them to body Silver Ghosts from the little that I know. Now that yo9u have the chassis no. I can do my networking and find out.

I'd be forever grateful to you for this, you don't know how much this means to my Dad and me

Many Thanks &
Warmest Regards

Prithvi

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by harit

Oye I thought wrong. Allied Motors apparently did represent Humber also.



Hello Mr Tagore,

Any luck on info about your ancestral Rolls?

Well, it should have been 109MG, a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost originally sold to Profullanath Tagore, Calcutta, bearing registration number 8489, body by Mann Egerton. AND, the car is alive with a collector in USA. Somehow the BLA alphabetical part of the registration was not known to them(those who told me). Sold around 1968 by Mr. Hari Agarwal of Calcutta. The name Coco Mckenzie has been heard, not much known may have been a dealer. This car participated in the Statesman Rally in 1967.
Apparently the present owner is a private person, I do not know the name, now you have to do your networking.

Cheers harit

Some astonishing news!

Boy Bentley gave me the contact details of the person who owns the car now, and he was also kind enough to share with me his telephone number which he got of the net.

I have just gotten of the phone after a half hour conversation with the current owner in America!

He kept repeating that he was so excited that he could't stand it, finally bringing to a close both our quests about the history and ownership of the car.

The gentlemen says that it is the only complete Series "O" Silver Ghost in the world existing, and it was made in 1921. The car still retains its non-original bumpers (which are opened as the garage is not large enough) and the spot lamp. It also has a gun rack holder behind the front seats, added no doubt by the marketing pros that sold the car. He was also given the story that the car was used by an Indian Maharaja for hunting tigers (what else!).

When he bought it, the cars woodwork was destroyed by a fire and the engine was seized. When he opened up the engine, he found that someone had over heated the car so badly, that number 1 and number 6 pistons had seized. He changed the rings and pistons, and he was surprised to find, on measuring the crankshaft journals and bearing diameters, that, in his own words "they measured exactly the same as when Henry Royce had built it".

He also said that he bought it from an old lady, and paid 3 times the value of the car in its shape, about 10 years back, paying $75000 for it. He bought it from the lady, after selling a very historical car, a Mercedes Benz 540K, originally presented by Adolf Hitler to the arms manufacturer, Alfred Kruppe.

He also said the when he opened the gearbox, it had no wear on it at all, and was convinced that it was used by a Rolls Royce certified driver. I told him that this was true, as my grand dad had told me that the driver was sent to England to get trained in driving and repairing the car.

The car was restored, especially its fire ravage wood work, over a period of 6 years, and the owner tells me that it regularly participates in Concours and Events and it is the cynosure of all eyes, as this car is one of the very few Rolls Royce's in his town which retains its original coach built body, by Mann Egerton that too. He says that car is currently valued at well over $200,000!

I now have an open invite to visit the US and meet with and drive the very same car that was in our family nearly 90 years ago when it was new. He said that he has 9 vintage cars, including another Rolls Royce, but out of all of them this was his favorite.

As the cars engine had seized, it wasn't used for decades, and when he bought it 10 years back, it only had 30,000 genuine kms on it (kms not miles). He has added another 30000 to that. In fact when I called him he said that he was working on the car and putting in a new radiator core. The car has all its original gauges, and working clock. The only extra gauge he has put in is a water temperature gauge.

The entire body is in aluminium.

I will be sending him the ownership history and period photos of the car as well as all stories I have of the car, and he will be sending me detailed photos and the remainder of the history of the car. He also said that he has a copy of a photo when the car was new.

I am at peace as at long last, as a life long obsession of tracing this car, finding out whether at all she still exists, and speaking and sharing pictures and information on this wonderful car has finally ended.

He confirms that the Chassis No. is 109MG.

I would like to thank 2 people for helping me with this life long quest:

a) Shri Harit Trivedi who shared the Chassis number, gave me a picture of the car, and did some serious searching to find out about this car. The Chassis No. was very very vital.

b) Anton (aka Boy Bentley) for correctly identifying the current owner on the basis of the chassis no., finding out 2 pictures, and also getting the phone number of this lucky gentleman who owns the car.

Thanks to you both, you will never know how grateful I am.

In the meantime, before I can share the current pictures, here are 2 pictures spotted by Boy Bentley as the car is today.

[avishar]

This is one of the most wonderful stories that i have come across in team bhp.Really sometimes we lose friends,loved ones but mbz180 you had lost the whereabouts of this beautiful Rolls,and now you know where she is,safe and better than ever.What a feeling it must be for you!
Was following this story and happy to see a good ending to it.

[harit]

I too loved this story and the ending.
While talking to Mr. Tagore, he told me that the family also had a Vauxhall Hurlingham. Here she is, apparently at the very same exhibition as the Ghost was. The setting is so similar. And this car too was with dealers who basically promoted exports. maybe someone will recognise the gent and the lady. They may be from Calcutta.
This was at the Statesman Rally in 1968. The car is of 1930, Vauxhall Hurlingham Sport
That was a lovely car and I do not know of another.
Slightly OT, but fits here.

Cheers harit

[DKG]

Originally Posted by harit

The car is of 1930, Vauxhall Hurlingham Sport

Wow what a fabulous car ! Harit you are now a Sherlock Holmes par excellence

[kasli]

Really a lovely find but why cover the snaps of a car thats already out or junked . Cheers

Originally Posted by harit

I too loved this story and the ending.
While talking to Mr. Tagore, he told me that the family also had a Vauxhall Hurlingham. Here she is, apparently at the very same exhibition as the Ghost was. The setting is so similar. And this car too was with dealers who basically promoted exports. maybe someone will recognise the gent and the lady. They may be from Calcutta.
This was at the Statesman Rally in 1968. The car is of 1930, Vauxhall Hurlingham Sport
That was a lovely car and I do not know of another.
Slightly OT, but fits here.

Cheers harit

[harit]

Originally Posted by DKG

Wow what a fabulous car ! Harit you are now a Sherlock Holmes par excellence

Actually its very simple. Share your stuff with others and they will share with you. This covers photos and information. And what one hides will anyway come out sooner or later. Only condition is that one should have something to share!

Originally Posted by kasli

Really a lovely find but why cover the snaps of a car thats already out or junked . Cheers

Actually the reason is obvious. Give me some old pictures, and I will give you. That really works, believe me. Infact some existing pictures are difficult to get "out", for example one friends father had shown me his family album when I was not collecting such pictures. When I started, the father had unfortunately expired, and it took the son (my friend)4 years to pull it out. Some people have to be goaded.

Here is a Rolls, unidentified. I only know, not sure, that it was in Punjab with a Sikh family, not a Maharaja, from new. This car is surely not around anymore, let us see what comes up.

Cheers harit

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by harit

I too loved this story and the ending.
While talking to Mr. Tagore, he told me that the family also had a Vauxhall Hurlingham. Here she is, apparently at the very same exhibition as the Ghost was. The setting is so similar. And this car too was with dealers who basically promoted exports. maybe someone will recognise the gent and the lady. They may be from Calcutta.
This was at the Statesman Rally in 1968. The car is of 1930, Vauxhall Hurlingham Sport
That was a lovely car and I do not know of another.
Slightly OT, but fits here.

Cheers harit

Haritji,

You have outdone your seld yet again What a lovely sporty car this is! I must honestly say that my great granddad sure had refined tastes if he chose to buy such beauties.

Thank you very much.

Warm Regards
Prithvi

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by park-ward

Julian,
The white boat-tail in the Sinsheim Technik Museum is 8PY with Tony Robinson replica body.

Is this the same car? Picture found online:

[travancore]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Is this the same car? Picture found online:

Attachment 520095

Attachment 520096

Chassis "8-PY" is a Phantom II chassis number. This car definitely looks like a Silver Ghost (?). Maybe, there was a typo in the original chassis identification.

[sabinesnubbing]

Harit,
Excellent photos as usual
Since the old cars you are posting are nearly all long gone, do you have to cover the registrations? Seeing them can help us I am sure.
Cheers
Cedric

[harit]

Originally Posted by harit

..............told me that the family also had a Vauxhall Hurlingham. ........... maybe someone will recognise the gent and the lady. They may be from Calcutta. This was at the Statesman Rally in 1968. The car is of 1930, Vauxhall Hurlingham Sport. That was a lovely car and I do not know of another. Slightly OT, but fits here. Cheers harit

Come on Kolkata, do none of you recognise that gent? He is still around!!!

Originally Posted by harit

Actually its very simple ................ Here is a Rolls, unidentified. I only know, not sure, that it was in Punjab with a Sikh family, not a Maharaja, from new. This car is surely not around anymore, let us see what comes up.Cheers harit

Have all forgotton this Rolls? Hoping to get some info soon

Originally Posted by sabinesnubbing

Harit, Excellent photos as usual. Since the old cars you are posting are nearly all long gone, do you have to cover the registrations? Seeing them can help us I am sure. Cheers Cedric

Sometimes I cover deliberately, sometimes it just happens. Anytime you require something which I had covered please let me know.

Cheers harit

[Joyce Faulknor]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Hi Steve, isn't this 23RC which belonged to Maharaja Umed Singh of Kotah? They are similar.
Here is a photo Henk uploaded, now over-restored in my humble opinion.

Attachment 34127


71DC below photo from this forum

Attachment 34128

[IMG]best rolls photo[/IMG]

My family just purchased a 1925 Phantom I with the Barker torpedo tourer body, chassis number 23RC. We are trying to find out the history of the car. We have obtained the original build sheet, but there are questions that need to be answered.

We were told that the car was a gift from King George V to the Maharaja of Kotah, because Kotah was a prime province for marble. The paperwork shows Sahib Bahadur who was also known as Uhmed Singh II. It was to be used as a tiger hunting car.

Any information that could be provided about the car and the relationship between King George V and this Maharaja would be appreciated.

[harit]

Originally Posted by Joyce Faulknor

My family just purchased a 1925 Phantom I with the Barker torpedo tourer body, chassis number 23RC. We are trying to find out the history of the car. We have obtained the original build sheet, but there are questions that need to be answered. We were told that the car was a gift from King George V to the Maharaja of Kotah, because Kotah was a prime province for marble. The paperwork shows Sahib Bahadur who was also known as Uhmed Singh II. It was to be used as a tiger hunting car. Any information that could be provided about the car and the relationship between King George V and this Maharaja would be appreciated.

Congrats on the purchase. Can you please post a picture of the car today? Does she still have those excess Grebel lights? Please post a picture, and we shall revert.

Cheers harit