Name that car

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Chris_R
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Re: Name that car

Post by Chris_R »

I think the first 5 cars are Hillman Minx's, from 1932/33.
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David Davies
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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

Hi Kevin/Simon - it is a 1 1/2 Litre RME 1954. Identifiable by the speedo which goes up in 10's whereas the 2 1/2 Litre goes up in 20's with 100 on the clock, also a rev counter on this one. Picture below is of the 2 1/2 Litre I owned 10 years previously. I grew up in an RME. Dad once tried to see what it would do on a straight near Ringwood and got up to 70 (top speed 76) when Mum intervened "Slow down, Sidney!!!" - that was the end of that. A few years later we touched 90 when doing 30 - the speedo had gone haywire.

Chris - the 3rd, 4th and 5th cars are as you say Hillman Minxes, but not 1 and 2. The photo is taken in 1933. The wings and radiator of the Minx changed the following year.

Which leaves cars 1, 2, and 6 and the answer to question 2 to be solved???
IMG_0591.JPG
IMG_0591.JPG (88.56 KiB) Viewed 2007 times
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
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Kevin Birch
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Re: Name that car

Post by Kevin Birch »

Didn't know that about the speedos, you learn something every day :D You and your father had some great cars in the past, reminds me of some my dad had. Triumph 2000 MK1 with which he towed a caravan all across Europe in the early '70s. Mk10 Jag reg ROB123, that plate would be worth a fortune now. Etypes, MGBs, 3L Capri and nuerous MK1 Granadas, Happy memories.
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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

I have always loved the Triumph 2000 Mk1 - a group of us got invited to the Police Station when at primary school and one of the officers had one as a patrol car. I asked how fast he had been in it. 95 mph down Gravel Hill near Poole. That got me hooked. I have always promised myself a Mk 10 Jaguar and came very near to buying William Lyons old car. Wonderful interiors. They are rather big however!
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
Used to own CV8 MkIII 112/2457
Author of Jensen: The Surviving 3 1/2 & 4 1/4 Litre Cars
David Davies
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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

Cars 1, 2 and 6 in the Clarke Bros line up are still to be identified. Chris R has already identified cars 3.4 and 5 as Hillman Minxes. Also o/s the connection between the gent on the left and the boy on the right, and my old Riley RME.

How well do you know your pre-war cars?
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
Used to own CV8 MkIII 112/2457
Author of Jensen: The Surviving 3 1/2 & 4 1/4 Litre Cars
MikeWilliams
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Re: Name that car

Post by MikeWilliams »

Could No.6 be another Hillman but an Aero Minx?

Nos. 1 and 2 have such similar features to the others that surely they must also be Hillmans, but bigger?

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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

Hi Mike - yes the 6th car is a Hillman Aero Minx, recently introduced to the model range in 1933. The following year the wings changed. Yes, cars 1 and 2 are Hillmans and yes they are larger. Which model were they however, now rarer than hens teeth?
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
Used to own CV8 MkIII 112/2457
Author of Jensen: The Surviving 3 1/2 & 4 1/4 Litre Cars
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Chris_R
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Re: Name that car

Post by Chris_R »

It's the split bumper that's throwing me out, it's quite a rare design. It's a feature of the Minx but 1 & 2 are larger cars. Are they a 20? Or a Wizard?
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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

Top work Chris!.

Yes, cars 1 and 2 are Hillman Wizards (a model I had never heard of before I researched the history of my Riley RME supplied by Clarke Bros!). They were made between 1931 and 1933, with a 65mm bore or a 75 mm bore, or 2.1 and 2.8 Litre engine. I think the first car may be the 7-seater version only introduced in 1933 with the larger engine and the second car the six light 2.1 Litre Saloon. There was a variety of bodies available. Styling changed a bit between 1931 and 1933. Unfortunately for Hillman they did not sell well, 7,000 in total, compared to the 4-cylinder Minx. The Wizard is very rare car today, I think there are only 4 in the world of all body types.

Which leaves one final riddle to solve. What is the connection between the man on the far left and the boy on the right, and the1954 Riley RME I used to own?
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
Used to own CV8 MkIII 112/2457
Author of Jensen: The Surviving 3 1/2 & 4 1/4 Litre Cars
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Re: Name that car

Post by MikeWilliams »

Well, I can only guess at the connection, but there is a small Riley badge at the top of the garage so they probably supplied your RME new. I assume all the people in the picture are employees or family .. beyond that I have no idea!

But I have a question for you David - you've not mentioned the seventh car? Did Hillman supply chassis only to specialist coachbuilders? If not, then why is it there?

Mike
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Re: Name that car

Post by David Davies »

Good question Mike. I thought Hillman made a lot of their own bodies but as with most makers, including Jensen, you could just buy the chassis and do your own thing with the body. Will check my Hillman books though.

To round off the story, Cliff Clarke on the left, the eldest of the three Clarke Bros, was supplied with my Riley new in 1954 when aged 69 and still a semi retired director. He did 33000 in it until aged 80 when he gave up driving. It was then laid up. His nephew, Arthur, the boy on the right, inherited it in 1975 but, busy with his own Ford dealership, mothballed it until 1995 when he retired aged 68. It was then recommissioned by his dealership and between 1998 and 2015 did a further 10,000 miles going to Riley Motor Club meetings. I bought it at 43,000. The engine was incredibly quiet and sweet and brought back many happy memories of growing up with my father’s one, which I never got to drive because I was too young.

So Cliff and Arthur Clarke in this fascinating photograph were the first two owners of the Riley during its first 61 years.
Jensen S-Type Tourer 1938 S44
Alvis Speed 25 1938
Mercedes CL 600 V12 2001
Used to own 1938 S-Type Tourer S34
Used to own CV8 MkII 104/2229
Used to own CV8 MkIII 112/2457
Author of Jensen: The Surviving 3 1/2 & 4 1/4 Litre Cars
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Re: Name that car

Post by Roh »

Chris_R wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:02 pm Lagonda Rapide?
That was my guess.
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Martin R
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Re: Name that car

Post by Martin R »

Lovely reading the story behind your Riley!
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Kevin Birch
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Re: Name that car

Post by Kevin Birch »

Great story Dave, hope its documented with the car for future custodians of it.
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Re: Name that car

Post by SRD »

Fascinating story with the pre-war Hillmans, thank you for sharing it.

I am curious what is the survival rate of these cars like?
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