Name this car....

[wlaidlaw]

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Could it be a 1957 Crosslé 1, built in Northern Ireland? 

Wilson

 

[pippy]

No, gentlemen, neither a Connaught nor a Crosslé.

A couple more clues? The chassis is of multi-tube construction; the engine is the ubiquitous Ford 100E unit and the mechanicals were from a Morris 8!

The company was started just a few years after the end of WW2 hostilities and the marque was still producing cars in the early 2000's. In total there seem to have been somewhere in the region of 17,000 cars made over the years and all of them (AFAIK) have been of the 'Sporty' sort so it IS a well-known marque; especially here in the UK.

It shares having a troubled history with the likes of Aston-Martin and Lotus and likewise went through several very distinct periods of ownership. Fairly recently there were plans to release a new model and one example of the proposed new car - dsigned in part by Gordon Murray - was displayed at the Goodwood Revival in 2017 but, sadly, the project came to nothing.

Last pic and all I have to offer!

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Best of luck!

Philip.

[wlaidlaw]

Could this be a car made by one Trevor Wilkinson? 

Wilson

[pippy]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

Could this be a car made by one Trevor Wilkinson?...

It most certainly could, Wilson, and indeed it is!

Would you like to have a pop at stating the significance of this particular vehicle?

Philip.

[wlaidlaw]

55 minutes ago, pippy said:

It most certainly could, Wilson, and indeed it is!

Would you like to have a pop at stating the significance of this particular vehicle?

Philip.

TVR was founded in 1947 by Trevor Wilkinson (who gave his name to the make - TreVoR) in Blackpool as Trevcar Motors. He built his first car in 1949 using a multi-tubular chassis, Morris 8 mechanicals and a Ford 100E engine to which he added his own design metal bodyshell. This car sadly no longer exists but its successor, TVR No 2, does and is owned by a current TVRCC member. I think this is the car pictured in your post from the sky blue colour. The 100E engine would most likely be 1098cc side valve, and although no powerhouse, is light and reliable. Various companies like Willment and Elva (IOE) offered complete or partial overhead valve conversions. 

Wilson

[pippy]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

...He built his first car in 1949 using a multi-tubular chassis, Morris 8 mechanicals and a Ford 100E engine...This car sadly no longer exists but its successor, TVR No 2, does and is owned by a current TVRCC member. I think this is the car pictured in your post...

Spot-on, Wilson.

Apparently the very first TVR was sold to a cousin of Trevor and it was crashed. Parts salvaged from 'No. 1' were used in the construction of 'No. 3'.

This car, the second TVR constructed, is the oldest surviving TVR and is on long-term loan to the Lakeland Motor Museum which can be found in the Lake District town of Backbarrow. Having no clue about the history behind the origins of the marque before I paid my visit the car was absolutely unknown to me and I was surprised to see the little 'TVR' badge on the front of the car. On which note - and I quote from an article whose link I will post at the end of this reply;

"Currently owned by TVRCC member Richard Wright, No 2 has been in the Wright family for over 50 years......Trevor helped Richard with the restoration sending correspondence from his then home on the Spanish island of Menorca and even made the front badge by hand when the car was finished."

As I have already posted the 'full car pic' (as much as was possible!) here's a snap showing the rather cute little home-made badge and its position on the nose;

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For anyone who can reach the museum I would highly recommend paying it a visit; an absolutely fascinating gold-mine of a place with an astonishing collection including many craft - original and replicas - connected to Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son, Donald.

One particular highlight for me, personally, were the many hundreds of wonderful exhibits to do with cycling; both in terms of fully-built cycles from all eras and, especially, the associated paraphernalia.

To finish off here are a few links. First to the museum;

https://www.lakelandmotormuseum.co.uk/

Second to a brief history of this car;

https://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/early-tvrs.html

Lastly to the Wiki entry which includes, as might be expected, details of 'No. 2';

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVR

I hope that little 'intermission' to the scheduled programme was of some interest and thanks for playing!

Philip.

 

Edited July 30, 2024 by pippy

[wlaidlaw]

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My next door neighbour 40+ years ago, was a man called George Whelan, who knew an extraordinarily diverse group of people and when one popped in there of an evening into his workshop, you might notice a dark purple London taxi sitting outside and inside was Sir Laurence Olivier, sitting on an old oil drum, chatting to George. One of George's brothers was a bishop and the other a general in the Irish Army. George had been regular army from 1926 to 1946 but with a rather chequered history, first as an officer and later as a sergeant and then British Police in Palestine from 1946 to 48. 

George was a good friend of Leo Villa, Sir Malcolm Campbell's long time mechanic. When Leo died in 1979, he left George a magnificent pair of 6 inch diameter stop watches, mounted on a plaque, with one second per revolution of the main hands (I seem to recall they were Heuer Mikrograph watches) used to time Sir Malcom at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1935 at 301 MPH, all engraved on a brass plate on the wooden plaque. George just stuck them in a cupboard and never looked at them but I asked him if there was any chance he could leave them to me in his will or sell them to me. What will was his answer.

George died in 1982 and his nieces from the Irish Republic came over to dispose of his possessions, which included 2 barns full to the roof of old lawnmowers, tractor parts and a couple of disassembled Rolls Royce cars. I asked the nieces, as an old friend of George and my wife had known him even longer since she was 9 years old and we had been feeding George at least once a week for the last 5 years of his life, if we might buy a couple of items to remember him by. We would happily pay full valuation price. The items I would like were the pair of Malcolm Campbell stop watches and a lovely victorian era exhibition grade model of a steam table engine. Certainly they said but sadly we never heard anything more and when I chased them up, they said that they never found those items, so they may have been stolen from his workshop after his sudden death and I have a very good idea who the thief was. 

Wilson

Edited July 30, 2024 by wlaidlaw

[stuny]

Who would like to step-in for Wilson and post the next mystery car?

[stuny]

Let's try this one.  all the usuals, please:

 

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Stuart,

Perhaps a car from the USofA from around the1950's or the 1960's?

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited August 2, 2024 by Michael Geschlecht

[Indeepthought]

1961 Corvette….

[stuny]

Not corvette, not US, much newer than '50s or '60s.

[stuny]

2nd and 1stcrops below

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[wlaidlaw]

Lexus LC500? 

Wilson

[stuny]

Not Japanese.

The mystery car is the first automobile from this manufacturer, debuted as a concept in Geneva.  Years later the firm is doing well.

[stuny]

Another piece, along with the first 2

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[Indeepthought]

Qiantu K50

[stuny]

Not a Qiantu.

The manufacturer was bought by another car company, that generally allows their acquisitions to remain fairly autonomous.

[wlaidlaw]

Rimac, now acquired by Bugatti. 

Wilson

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[stuny]

Wilson wins again.  It is the Rimac Concept One from 2011, the first Rimac car.  If I recall, VW bought Rimac and put Rimac (the man) in charge of Rimac & Bugatti.  the photo below is at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles.  If you like cars, and are near downtown Los Angeles, plan on at least two hours there.

 

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