Rick
| Click
above for1928
Fabric bodied Exmouth, |
Click
above for 1924 Warwick, |
Click
above for 1927 V6 18/36 |
Click
above for 1926 V4 Doctors Coupe. |
Many thanks, Rick, for sight
of Len's rare and superb Standard collection. You will have to
let us into the secret of how he drives them all at once?
If you click on each of the
cars you will see an enlarged picture of each of them. (with
apologies for the camera lens errors!)
If you own a Standard in New
Zealand, you really should belong to the Standard Enthusiasts
Club, just contact r.j.hil@paradise.net.nz
Update of 7th June
2005........................
The
following is extracted from the Newsletter of the Standard
Enthusiasts Club of New Zealand., Winter 2005 Edition (yes,
it's June, so midwinter in the Antipodes!)
I
am very grateful to the editor, Rick Hill for his permission
to reprint this article in full:
I wanted to restore a British
car of course, one that was rare in New Zealand. Involved in
my Father's furniture removal business, driving and
maintaining Bedford lorries in Ilford, England and then here
in New Zealand driving buses, owning a taxi and later a petrol
station, motor vehicles have always been a big part of my
life. My name Len Browell from 145 Mount view Road, Wanganuii,
New Zealand. My telephone number is 06-343-6790 and I am the
proud owner of four vintage Standards. A 1924 Standard Warwick
a 1926 Doctors Coupe, and 1927 18/36 V6 and a 1928 6 cylinder
Standard Exmouth.
The 1924 Warwick was the first Standard I restored. I
found it in a little town called Waverly and it was just one
heck of a wreck. It took us hours and hours to get it onto the
trailer because the wheels where buried into the ground and
had trees growing up through the floor boards. My son Frank
and I expected to take about half an hour to collect it.
Eventually we got it loaded and on our way home a Jaguar went
flying by and the driver flagged us down. He was a stock and
station agent who visits farms and buys stock for freezing
works etc. He said "What are you going to do with
THAT?" To which I replied" I hope to restore
it", .-Well I'll give you the address of another
one", which is in Rongotea, about 30 miles from Wanganui.
I said thanks very much and off we both went on our way. My
family were waiting at home in anticipation and when they saw
the great rusty heap on the trailer with weeds and fern
growing out of it, they fell about laughing.
I stripped the car right down to the last nut and bolt and
anything else that would come off it. Three of the wheels were
absolutely rotten (cast iron). This dismayed me as part of the
chassis was rusted badly as well. When you looked at the thing
I had bought for, I think, fifty dollars, well, you couldn't
help but wonder what I could have been thinking of.! I tried
to get wheels everywhere but couldn't buy them in New Zealand
so I thought, oh well, I must go and see ?he people in
Rongotea the Jag owner had told me about, to see if I could
buy that car. I didn't reaiiy know what it was at this stage,
I didn't know it had been re-built into a farm truck. Anyway,
I went to see them and they said," Oh no, we couldn't
part with it. It was our Mother's pride and joy." I
realised I wouldn't be able to get any parts anywhere in New
Zealand, so after some time I visited them again and told them
I'd like to restore their Mother's car, using parts from the
first car.
The gentleman and his sister
discussed my proposal and eventually agreed that if I restored
their Mother's car, then they would sell it to me. What would
I offer them? Oh my goodness me I thought, and suggested a
hundred dollars. After another long conference they agreed to
accept. I paid them a small deposit and said I'd be back the
following Saturday with the trailer to collect it. The chap
said "Righto, I'll have it out all ready for you".
When we went back the next weekend to pick it up, it wasn't
ready at all, it was still in the barn. They had all sorts of
gear heaped on top of it. Finally he hooked his tractor on it
and pulled it out. Clunk went something and I thought,
"What the hell was that"? Anyway, when we got it out
we found he'd broken the Standard Legion mascot that was on
the radiator. I gave him the money and that's the last we saw
of him. They didn't even offer us a cup of tea, but I suppose
that's beside the point! Anyway we finally got it home and low
and behold most of it was very very good except that it had
been built into a truck, (photo)
I started stripping this second car (truck) to the very
bare bones and found that the cross member in front underneath
the radiator was absolutely rotted through. This happened to
be one of the only good parts left on first Standard I bought,
so I used that. I had to bolt it on because I couldn't rivet
it as it should have been but, it's still on there. I then
spent 9 years building the car from there up. I had to start
thinking of how to build the body on the back to match, which
not having had any experience as a motor body builder, posed a
few problems I can say.
My brother-in-law, Roy Bentley offered to build the frame
for me. He studied the car and worked out all the angles. He
had a brilliant photographic memory and could build anything
he set his mind to. We used sheet aluminium because that was
how the car was built originally. Hood irons and hood bows
where the next problem. I found a bloke who had some hood
irons and he lent them to me to get a pattern made. A engineer
made them up for me because they are quite intricate. When I
got them home they didn't fit onto the back of the car,
instead of going on top of the windscreen where they are
supposed to lock on, they went about a foot either side. I
thought, what have I done now!! After talking and scheming we
found we'd made the back too narrow and sloped it the wrong
way. Instead of following the curve of the car, we should have
built the very back of the car wider than the front. Anyway, I
had to make up wedges to fit the hood irons to. The next
problem was to fit the wood to the hood irons. They had to be
graduated to make the hood look good. In the end I made
"all the wood for the irons out of plywood. My wife
Louisa spent countless hours finishing the interior woodwork
till it glowed. We've had the engine completely overhauled.
The pistons were cracked and I couldn't get any actual
replacement pistons. Thirty odd years ago, we had an old boy
in Wanganui who had a new and second-hand car parts shop which
stocked (or could get) any part imaginable. I had to ask,
"Please Mr Lee, can you find pistons to match these for
me"? He replied ' Leave them here and come back in about
a week, and I'll find something for you". Anyway ,1 went
back in a weeks time and he said "Well I've found the
nearest thing your ever going to get anywhere". They were
Simca pistons. He said that the gudgeon pins would have to be
bored out slightly to take the correct gudgeon pins. Other
than that they are exactly the same, so, fair enough, there
are Simca pistons in the 24 Standard. We managed to get a hand
book for the Warwick and when it was new in England it was
called an all weather car because it had a roof and side
curtains. We've done a lot of happy miles in it and still use
it regularly for weddings. Brides like the roomy back seat
area for their big frocks! It goes very well now and I'm very
happy with it. There are about 12 Warwicks in the British
Standard Register. Louisa and IJiave driven hundreds and
hundreds of happy miles in it. We've worn out a set of tyres.
When I first started restoring the car I ordered five tyres
and they cost me seventeen dollars each. That was trade price
because I was in the motor business and knew a bloke in the
tyre trade and at seventeen dollars each tliaf was a good
buy-They now cost me two hundred and seventy dollars each! I'm
very proud of this first car I restored.
192718/36 V6 Standard.
Then I heard of a 1927 six cylinder Standard going for
sale. Another wreck, so I thought, nice, a 6 cylinder car,
probably put a caravan behind that, not a big one just a
little one, and we could go all over the country to vintage
car rallies. It would be marvelous to have our own bed plus it
would be a lot cheaper than staying in motels. This car had a
colossal amount of work to be done on it. No instruments with
it, no windscreen and a lot of other parts missing. I made the
dash panel out of a piece of walnut that I managed to find in
a local timber merchants. Fitting some of the spare
instruments from the 24 which worked out very well except
there was no oil pressure gauge for it. I eventually got an
oil pressure gauge with Standard 4 written on it and several
other things including a clock. This car has 500X21 inch tyres
which are very hard to get in New Zealand. The upholstery is
leather, 2 bucket seats in the front. When I was restoring the
car the fire wall had a fair size hole in it and I couldn't
make out what this was for. I had a petrol tank made and
fitted it at the rear, under the spare tyre, instead of under
the dash (where I later discovered it should have been) This
left a lot of room so I fitted a nice big parcel tray in the
space. We decided to paint the car the same colour as the 24
which is caramel. Jeremy Collins sent me an advertising poster
of the 18/36 which he had blown up and to my surprise I had
chosen almost the exact colour except that the top half of the
Standard in the poster was black. I also fitted a battery box
to the left running board which seems in the right place. The
poster notes that the car cost 335 pounds. I believe this car
was displayed at the Earls Court Motor show without the
engine. The engine that was subsequently fitted is the first
of the 6 cylinder experimental Triumph engines. It is still
magneto and when I tell people that I can drive this car all
day without a battery they are quite surprised.
Jeremy Collins (Christies Auctioneers) and his wife Heidi
have been over twice from England to borrow the 1927 18/36 to
drive in the Pan Pacific rally which lasted 2 weeks. The
second time was for the South Island 50th birthday rally in
which he did almost 2000 miles, some of it over Molesworth
Station which is the biggest sheep farm in New Zealand. 70
miles of this was over very rough farm tracks for which they
needed special permission to travel on. Some vehicles were
stranded by the road side, but the Standard which is quite a
cumbersome thing just kept going and I was very proud of what
it had achieved. There was quite a large English contingent
that came down for this rally. I believe Jeremy Collins wrote
an article for the Standard magazine about this trip.
The gear change is a gate change and it and the hand brake
are on the right hand side, which makes it a bit hard getting
into the drivers seat (especially if you have big feet like
me) I don't know what she does to the gallon. I've never
bothered to find out as driving it is my hobby, so I don't
worry too much. She is very luxurious looking inside, all
leather upholstery and real wood paneling. I had a windscreen
made for it because I didn't have the original for it. It was
made to fit the hole which was a mistake, when above the
screen sttould have been blocked off. The big windscreen is a
big sun trap and the bright NZ sunlight doesn't help! The 1927
Standard has power assisted brakes on the rods with a Clayton
Deware Servo. This makes easy work of the foot brake. She's a
large car weighing over 26cwt and takes up a lot of room in my
garage.
1928 Standard Exmouth
About 50 miles from where we live I found another Standard.
It's a fabric body Exmouth, 6 cylinder side valve (where the
others are overhead valves) The fabric body had been restored
but the rest of the car was in boxes so another jigsaw began!
This car cost me $3000. Tyres, engine, gearbox all had to be
restored and the unfortunate thing was that the speedo drive
in the gearbox was missing. I couldn't find one anywhere. I
found all sorts of drives for the gearbox but none of them
fitted or worked properly. I ended up fitting an electric
speedo which was for a bicycle, which seems to be calibrated
right and tells me how many miles an hour I'm doing. It's
nearly a 2 litre car. The speed limit in New Zealand towns is
30mph. I've never had any fear of getting a ticket for
speeding on the open road as the cars top speed is about
45mph. A friend from New Plymouth sent me a cutting that he
had discovered in an English church magazine about an Exmouth
which an Austrian fellow entered in a rally round the
mountains of the Alps. He hadn't done nothing special to it,
it was just as it came from the manufactures. He didn't try to
lighten it but drove it hard and won his class against all the
other flash cars which was quite a wonder feat. Another
cutting was sent to me from a very old auto car magazine about
the Standard Exmouth and the write up was exceptionally good.
9 didn t have a handbook for this car so this article was very
helpful. It went from near enough stop in\ top gear. I had
been crashing the gearbox because I had been trying to go too
fast in the gears which. could do in the other two cars. This
engine seems to have such a torque on it that you're into top
before you know where you are. I have not been able to find
the correct headlights for this car so have fitted two
(possibly Austin) solid beam headlights with park lights to
match. I finished this car in 2000 and we have done 6 rallies
in it. My daughter Frances has driven 5 of these and I ve only
had the chance to drive it once! We use it for all sorts of
occasions. It's simpler to drive than the earlier ones as the
gear lever and brake are on the left and the accelerator is in
the usual place rather than between the clutch and
brake.
1924 Doctors Coupe
I haven't had much time to do a lot of research on this car
which is now completely restored It belonged to a car firm in
Wellington and was the fleet salesman's. Who had it next I
don't know but I managed to track back two owners. One of them
a Mr. Gilmore has gone to Australia so my chances of getting
in touch with him is remote. I'm picking that the coupe came
out to New Zealand as a chassis and then had a body built on
it. I can only find four of the old Standard square head
screws that they would have used in the days it was built and
they were on the plate that covers the starter motor on the
floor boards. That seems to be the only body part that is
original Standard as far as I can find out The body was an
absolute mess. Somebody else had taken it to pieces and thrown
a lot of the wood away because it was rotten but that all
gives you clues as to how to rebuild it. I have since found
out that the car was found in a chicken run in Rangiora and I
think the body was made in Christchurch as a piece of wood had
the name of T8 Lloyd of Christchurch marked on it and I
wondered if this body building firm is still in Christchurch?
A Warren Birch found it with the remains of a Pall Mall. I got
two steering wheels with the car and I m not sure which is the
correct one. Their part numbers are 62589 and 64473 The cars
engine number is 65955. Warren Birch moved to the North Island
and took the car with him. I brought the car from Roy Smith in
Lower Hutt. It's old license plate number was 345 (?) 544 and
I'm wondering if the question mark denotes the year or council
that registered it
The 1924, '27 and '28 and now the '26 Doctors Coupe are all
now in mint condition. I have got lots of Standard
memorabilia, curiosities, spare parts and precious junk in my
2 garages which people have given me or that I have found at
boot sales or swap meets. I've even got a little post card
that you were to fill in and return to the Standard
Motor Company when you brought a car- someone gave me a little
Standard note book. All these collectable items give me a lot
of pleasure.
Len Browell
June 2005
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