[Caddy]

On a recent trip to Ooty, spotted a few interesting cars. I'm sure members from south would be aware of these cars.


Sadly, not all are well maintained and seem to be kept just for show with the hope that no one will inspect them too closely. One notable exception seemed to be the Baby Hindustan.

All pictures taken with permission.

Morris at the Taj Savoy, Ooty -














Austin? Ooty -







Red seems to be the most popular colour in the hill station. This was spotted near tea factory Ooty. Met the owner and requested him to look at Fiat classic car club on Tbhp. He also has a Willys low bonnet.







Red colour again, and my personal favorite, our family had a light blue baby Hindustan (tiger) when I was a kid. We pushed and pushed dad to get rid of it and buy a modern Ambassador! I only wish he had not listened to us!



Hood ornament is obviously handmade. Note that 'Hindustan' is spelt 'Hindusthan'













Great Hubcaps...





I'm Sure the hill station hides many more beauties.

Rain and mist in May! Near Kodanad.

[SuperSelect]

Wow, nice find Caddy ! The Millecento's quite a looker, except for those alloy wheels. .
Hey wasn't the Hindustan Motors' name actually spelt as "Hindusthan" in the early days ?

[karlosdeville]

Thanks for sharing Caddy. Sometimes some real gems can turn up in the unlikeliest of places. Ooty has been known to house some nice cars.

The Fiat looks nice, pretty clean. Any more pics of that car?

Yes, Hindustan Motors used to be Hindusthan once upon a time, my 62 Amby is too. Did the Tiger's wheels come with those large Fiat-type slots? I don't recall. The wheelcap too looks like a local creation based on the 1100TV wheelcap style, albeit with an 'H' logo. Very cool.

[beejay]

There are indeed quite a lot of classics and vintages in Coonoor and Ooty.
I am aware of many people who have a collection of more than 3 vintages in their garage.
The Brake inspector in the RTO,Ooty has close to 10 vintage cars and a further 10 classic bikes in his collection.In fact he even drives them to work every day.Coonoor and Ooty put together houses close to 10 Beetles and most of these cars are in pristene condition.Moris Minor,Landmaster,Willys low bonnets are a common sight.
Wish to mention there is a garage in Ooty that even specialises in conversion of high bonnets into low bonnets.

[rjstyles69]

Looks like you missed a visit to King's Cliff in Ooty,the place holds few vintage cars parked there purely for eye candy.

[Caddy]

Thanks, Superselect and Karl. I was not aware of the fact that they spelt Hindustan with an H. However the bonnet (side) and boot badges spell it without an 'H' (see pics) so I guess they must have been for the later models.

[Rotorhead]

Having grown up in ooty, during my school days, the place was abundant with vintages, one could see vanguards, dodges, vauxhalls , heralds, plymouths and morris pretty often plying on the ooty coonor highway . Coonor and ooty taxis were mainly vauxhalls and vanguards.

[Gasolinejunkie]

Originally Posted by beejay

The Brake inspector in the RTO,Ooty has close to 10 vintage cars and a further 10 classic bikes in his collection.In fact he even drives them to work every day.

Yeah, I was going to say that. He has some awesome old British cars that he used to bring up to my school quite often, once he gave me a ride in an Austin of England from the 30s. I remember having a look inside the engine bay and the battery was bigger than the engine.
I made up my mind that I’d get a job in the RTO if I want a semi dodgy collection of imported cars or superbikes.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Looks like you missed a visit to King's Cliff in Ooty,the place holds few vintage cars parked there purely for eye candy.

Kings Cliff was part of our honeymoon itinerary. Beautiful old planter's bungalow tucked away in the highest reaches of Ooty. Nice rooms with fireplaces, awesome food spread. Definitely worth a visit.

Anyway, coming back to the point, there was only one classic parked outside. Seems to be a permanent fixture there. It was raining incessantly all 3 days we were there, so I never got the chance to inspect her closely (and anyway, had promised my wife that I wouldnt talk cars for those few days!). Couldnt even get to open her up though, as none of the staff on service knew where the keys were!

Any suggestions on the make?

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

Coonor and ooty taxis were mainly vauxhalls and vanguards.

Here's a pic. someone took of a ph 1 Vanguard taxi junkingg away in Ooty (although from the MSZ regn. it seems to be originally a Madras one- I guess once the cars that were taxis became obsolescent there, they were mostly pushed off to the districts)

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1154478-post27.html

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Anyway, coming back to the point, there was only one classic parked outside.
Any suggestions on the make?

It seems to be a '52-54 Hillman Minx.

- lovely old Bungalow btw! Just the right kind of atmosphere to be home for a classic!

[beejay]

[quote=Stanher;1306706]Here's a pic. someone took of a ph 1 Vanguard taxi junkingg away in Ooty (although from the MSZ regn. it seems to be originally a Madras one- I guess once the cars that were taxis became obsolescent there, they were mostly pushed off to the districts)

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1154478-post27.html


It seems to be a '52-54 Hillman Minx.

The Vangurad has been restored and sold off to Kottayam.This same car has even featured in a print advert after restoration.It was indeed a Hillman Minx.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Any suggestions on the make?

I believe this is the same car. Can't remember where I got the pictures from, probably the forum itself.

[beejay]

Yes this is the same car. The car still lies at kings Cliff and has not moved an inch since.
I guess this is kept for takers keeper's.
Cheers,

[kannan666]

When I was at the Taj Savoy last time round in March 2007, this was what was parked at the same spot, a different Morris in black !

[john.sw]

I spotted this perfectly restored vehicle at Mavanalla at the bottom of the Segur ghat road near Ooty last February.