[travancore]

One fabulous car,

Then:



and Now:



Chrome spears have appreard on the wings, as well as a rear spare cover.

I am wondering of the period picture was the trademark Sunglow + Black. The running lamps seem to be black as well (not chrome)

[Bulldogji]

Looks much better THEN, rather than NOW!

The convertible top in the earlier picture seems to be at a rakish angle giving the car a sportier look. Somewhere during restoration, the angle has changed to a boxy look. The fender skirts also seem so unnecessary .

Take a close look at the rear fender tail edge. Seems modified to give a sharper look?

The embellishments, not needed on such a handsome car.


But then, that's my opinion.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by Bulldogji

Looks much better THEN, rather than NOW!

The convertible top in the earlier picture seems to be at a rakish angle giving the car a sportier look. Somewhere during restoration, the angle has changed to a boxy look. The fender skirts also seem so unnecessary .

Take a close look at the rear fender tail edge. Seems modified to give a sharper look?

The embellishments, not needed on such a handsome car.


But then, that's my opinion.

The hood also extended farther back, closer to the spare - in the period picture.

Other differences - slanted Tri-Star originally, flag mast holder between door and semaphore (similar to Duesenberg) gone.

Given other "fender skirted" Holkar cars - Duesenberg, Lagonda, Hispano, PIII etc, I wouldn't be surprised if it did have fender skirts originally.

You are right Bulldogji, somehow the original looks more appealing!!!!

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by Bulldogji

Looks much better THEN, rather than NOW!

The convertible top in the earlier picture seems to be at a rakish angle giving the car a sportier look. Somewhere during restoration, the angle has changed to a boxy look. The fender skirts also seem so unnecessary . But then, that's my opinion.

I agree 100% with you that the car looked much better earlier but; I do not think the body lines of the car were tampered with during the restoration.

When I look closely at the 2 photos, it seems that every angle, whether it be the windscreen, the leading edge of the doors, the radiator grill, the rear quarter of the convertible top, the angle of the hood (bonnet) air intakes etc., all look much sleeker in the b&w photo.

Now, it does not make sense to me that a presumably world class restoration facility would change every angle on the car and make it look less sleek and more importantly, completely unoriginal. It would almost entail making a completely new body and new trims.

My humble conclusion, and I'm pretty sure this is the case, is that the b&w photo gives a distorted side profile of the car. The car looks much sleeker than it actually is.

Looking at the Duesenberg photos with the actor standing alongside the fender, there is a distortion too, a weird sort of angled look.

Looking more closely, I can surmise that the reason for the distortion is that these are not scans of the photos, hence not a flat image of the photo. Instead, these are photographs of the actual photos which the person has clicked from a side ward angle giving the cars a partially distorted look.

I think this is the reason for the unusually rakish lines of the Merc.

I've attached the 2 photos of the Duesenberg which was posted on the forum earlier and have highlighted the edges of the actual photos to clarify what I'm talking about.

These are photographs of the originals (not scans) and have been taken at an angle leading to distortion. I cannot point out the original photo's edges on the image of the 540K because it is likely that the image has been cropped so the edges aren't visible anymore except for a little bit on the top left.

Any views, gentlemen?

[FINTAIL]

A Ponton in Pune.



Credits- www.theautomotiveindia.com

[travancore]

A Benz in Bombay, ca. 1910.

Messrs. Schelechtendahl & Kohler of Bombay were the Indian agents for Benz

[the mole]

Originally Posted by travancore

A Benz in Bombay, ca. 1910.

Messrs. Schelechtendahl & Kohler of Bombay were the Indian agents for Benz

Attachment 1318506

I think (open to correction) this is pictured at the Oval Maidan with the high court building visible at the back.

But Wow! I think this may be the oldest photograph of a Daimler Benz/Mercedes product in India

[kasli]

Originally Posted by travancore

A Benz in Bombay, ca. 1910.



Messrs. Schelechtendahl & Kohler of Bombay were the Indian agents for Benz



Attachment 1318506

Is this oval maidan ? Or around. Fantastic snap and a similar car used to be in the South . No idea on its current where abouts

Thanks for sharing

Cheers

[Vintage Khan]

123 Twins...owned by Shujath Ali Khan (of PIT STOP Madhapur fame), a prolific collector & restorer from Hyderabad...

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by Vintage Khan

123 Twins...owned by Shujath Ali Khan (of PIT STOP Madhapur fame), a prolific collector & restorer from Hyderabad...

Looks like they are parked at the main entrance of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Was there some event or rally there "?

[FINTAIL]

What do we desire from a classic? Is it originality? It being in a good condition? Or is it merely about rarity?

This W123 240D is a Puneri car, that has been here for nearly 3 decades. She was originally bought by a Maharashtrian diplomat, in West Germany, circa 1984. Being a diplomatic car, I believe it ran on diplomatic plates in Berlin.

On closer observation, the car had a couple (actually- more!) of German inspection stickers, one of which began with a - "-85", presumably signifying the date of inspection to be sometime in 1985. The original Poona RC book was presumably present, and so were many German papers.

The hood was popped open- and on the chassis plate, it was, as usual inscribed- Made-In-Western-Germany.

The battery terminals had a metallic blue spray over them, IIRC- Signifying that the car had recently undergone detailing at some 3M workshop. Before you ask, the OM616 was buffed, and whilst at idle, that thing felt so damn smooth! Hardly any clatter, apart from the rhythmatic movements of the camshafts and valves. The idle was just a rapid click-click sound.

The car is now in the hands of the diplomats nephew, who is a joy to speak to. Pretty knowledgeable, and I think he mentioned that he had 2 more Mercs, one of which was a W123 coupe. So....anyway, took a coupla contacts from him, and two classic car lovers were talking business.

There is a sticker reading- SCHS on the rear windscreen. Presumably German, and nearly 3 decades old. Oh- the paint is original, as well. Number plates look nice...and period.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby take the wraps off......MAF 1449.



I looked at the mint, crackless dashboard, at the VDO Meters. The familiar dials were visible. The odometer proclaimed that she has run- 3k kilometers. (This being a Euro Market- meters were in KMPH)

WHAT!? 3k? The owner assured me, he had just done 100,000 kilometers recently. I had missed seeeing the zero on the other side of the odo, you see. LOL

[amit V8]

From the Statesman rally...

[vivriti]

Originally Posted by Vintage Khan

123 Twins...owned by Shujath Ali Khan (of PIT STOP Madhapur fame), a prolific collector & restorer from Hyderabad...

They both look American spec with the beefed up bumpers and recessed headlights. One is however with yellow tinted foglights which makes me wonder.

That color was popular one. I think it was named Colorado Beige.

[vinay kamath]

A fintail 190 at New Delhi

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by vinay kamath

A fintail 190 at New Delhi

This- (or a similar 1962 W110)- in blue was also for sale, in New Delhi, circa 2008.

Ladies & gentlemen, KBT 9630, W110 Fintail in Thiruvananthapuram (aka Trivandrum!) is seen here:





Another W110 in duotone (or a half-saree- as Stanher prefers to calls them!) is seen beside it. Notice the lemon below the front tyre. A shubh aarambh?

Work-in-progress () -



A Mill of a Heckflosse- what looks like an OM621 is seen below:

The #Evolution. Oh, W115, where art thou?


The car has been discussed here previously: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...india-102.html

Credits to the pic: https://www.facebook.com/continentalauto - Thanks to Justin.