Rare
find in Mumbai, India - 16Hp Avon Special
This Avon was
brought to my attention earlier in the year by Tom Roach of the
Canadian High Commission in India. The photographs got misfiled in
the depths of my hard drive but have now come to light, so I have
decided to make a feature page from them
Tom travelled to
Mumbai to inspect this Avon. Its a 6 cylinder, believed to be a 16Hp
and 1935 in manufacture. The owner wishes to sell but has an optimistic
view of its value.
Click on any of the pictures
to see an enlarged version:
Tom
writes:
Here
is my short list of what I found wrong with the car. I was not
able to start the engine as no battery was available and there was
no water in the radiator. I was, however, informed that it had
been started in the past 6 months.
-
The
tire size is 5.25 X 5.5 X18. This size is not available in
India and this is the major reason why the car is off the
road.
-
The
hood frame had a modern canvas cover on it and this is in bad
shape.
-
The
wood frame needs work. For example, the hinges on the doors
are loose indicating rotten wood.
-
All
the chrome needed redoing.
-
No
tools, no jack, no starting handle.
-
Base
of the windshield is missing
-
No
ID plate.
-
LH
king pins and tie rod ends need replacing
-
Two
inches of play on rim of the steering wheel indicates that the
steering box needs overhauling.
-
Brakes
don’t work
-
Leather
interior has been replaced with vinyl
-
Instruments
don’t work
-
The
entire body, including the inside of the engine compartment
has been thickly coated with resin and this is now flaking
off..
-
As
you can see from the photos, the car was converted to 12volts
using inappropriate components. The original 6volt parts are,
however, still on hand.
The
owner wants about 12,500GBP for the car, though I imagine would
bargain for less. This is way beyond my capabilities. Considering
the amount of work the car requires, I could afford about 1000GBP,
max.
As
the car is older than 1950, exporting it would require the new
owner apply to the Indian Government for permission. This is not
as onerous as it sounds, but would require some diplomacy.
All photos: Tom
Roach
If you would like to
know more about this car, with a view to its purchase and rescue,
please contact the webmaster
in the first instance. If anyone knows of another of the same model,
please tell us about it on the Club
messageboard
I am aware that there are other cars
and information that could be added to this site to make it more comprehensive, so if you
have material and photographs, please let me know. Please send me, Phil Homer, a
message at: Phil Homer
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