VINTAGE CARS
VINTAGE CARS Sir,
Following the few notes of mine on vintage cars seen round Nottingham which you were so kind as to mention in the April ” Rumblings ” in MOTOR SPORT, it has occurred to me that perhaps the activities of a local enthusiast, a very modest man named Charles E. Green and a personal friend of mine, might be of interest for inclusion.
Mr. Green was in 1927 on the staff of the local Lagonda agents. A disastrous fire at their garage destroyed a number of cars, and he purchased one of them, a brand new 1927 touring 2-litre chassis which had carried a heavy saloon body. This was completely reconditioned and tuned up considerably (in course of which the owner made a holiday trip to Devon with a soapbox on the stripped chassis— quite in the old test-driver style), and about 1929 it was fitted with an allpolished aluminium cut-away side fourseater tourer with similar lines to the standard Speed Model of that date. After a number of years of hard touring, the owner decided to build an up-to-date body and recondition the chassis. This work, after about three years’ labour, is now nearly completed, and before long this eleven year old car will be on the road again, but with a close coupled twofour-seater body, again hand-built in polished aluminium by the owner, and dropped axle and springs, the general outline closely resembling the 4f-litre T.T. Rapide. With a by no means supertuned engine doing 27 m.p.g. the owner hopes to exceed 80 m.p.h. without losing any flexibility or smoothness.
About six years ago, Mr. Green made a very successful rebuild on a 1923 Gwynne Eight chassis fitted with a Fiat Eight f.w.b. front axle suitably shortened and a J2 Midget type two-seater body, again hand-built and in aluminium. Though somewhat lacking in accommodation because of the very high chassis line, this car had a remarkably good performance with a speed of over 65 m.p.h. Mr. Green has been a Gwynne enthusiast from the beginning, and at various times has been responsible for some very rapid long-tail two-seater bodies on the Gwynne chassis.
In passing, may I say that I have definite proof that at least one Marendaz Six was fitted with a” cut down” Erskine Six engine. This car, a local resident, ” blew up” or at any rate ceased to function, and is now being fitted, so I am told, with a V8 Ford 30 h.p. engine! How handling will be affected by the greatly increased b.h.p. is at present “just nobody’s business”!
Another interesting local special is an ” S.S„” according to the licence, but apparently a 41-litre Invicta or similar engine is installed in a very light chassis with a small fabric coupe body. Though absolutely free from “fuss or commotion” this is a very fast motorcar and it would be interesting to have
further details. If the owner, a Mr. Simms (?), reads MOTOR SPORT, perhaps he could oblige ?
My own motoring activities have been badly curtailed of late, because of lack of time, and nip dream of a “Red Label” has remained just a dream. But I hope one day to have something worth sending a few notes on to MOTOR SPORT. I am, Yours etc.,
NEVILLE J. Powl,En.
Nottingham.