----- Original Message -----
From: "Dusan Klavík"
Subject: Flying 12 Saloon?
Mr. Phil Homer
Dear Phil,
Recently I have visited your website and liked it very much. I
am a member of a Czech reenactment club focusing on the
Czechoslovak army serving in Great Britain during the WW II. We
take part in most of the local military events and have got
several British military vehicles. I know that the British army
used Standards during the war, especially the Utes and Flying
10s or/and 12s. In our army archive I found that the
Czechoslovak army used Standards in its units too. They used
British equipment and vehicles. I do not know which types
of Standards they particularly used but they might have used
both Utilities and Saloons.
Last week I bought Standard car
which I believe is the only Standard in the Czech Republic. I
intend to restore the car and make it like as it served in the
army at the beginning of the war i.e. in brown color. I would
like to ask you for help with identifying the car first. I
believe it is 1936 Flying 12 Saloon with 1608 ccm engine. In the
attachment please find five photos which might help the
identification. I found a number on the engine R/H side and it
says> DB 3587E, besides this there also
stands>Standard 12 and B 23 7. The body commision number is
on the L/H side and says 10S - 20480. I also found a little
plate on the body in the engine area which says Standard Motor
Ltd Coventry and than lists several Standard car patents with
their equivalents in other countries. I haven`t found this
numbers in your website commission section. I believe that the
extra lights (see the photos) on the rear mudguards are not
original and were added during the use, because the tubes are
made of galvanized sheet and the lights are made in
Czechoslovakia and are probably from an old type of Skoda car.
The engine is not running but it turns manually, which is a good
thing. The body doesn`t seem to be rotten except of the sills.
There are few things missing such as the front seats,
speedometer, gearbox cover, several door and window handles, the
front windscreen, ignition timer, dynamo and rear bumper. Do you
think these things are still obtainable?
Feel free to use the photos for
your use if you like. I understand I have to join the club to
get access to the spares you stock, even if I do not take use of
your other services. Is there any copy of manual book for this
car available? Thank you for your reply. I am looking forward to
hearing from you soon.
with best regards
Dusan Klavik
Czech Rep.
Hello Dusan,
Thank you for your kind comments
about the website.
You correctly identify your car
as a Flying Standard 12. The ignition coil has been mounted on
the bulkhead rather than on the top of the cylinder head where
it was originally. (They are often moved there because they
get too hot). If you unbolt the coil you will find
underneath it the small plate giving the commission number of
the car. That will enable you to identify the exact date of
manufacture from this page on the website:
Having said that, I am almost
certain it is 1937 as it appear to be mechanically and bodily
similar to my own, except mine is a drophead coupe not a
saloon. As you say the extra lights are an addition, otherwise
the car is in original condition. If you think the car is
restorable we will try to help with parts. I suspect
that not many will be available off the shelf and may require
some searching, but nothing is impossible if you are patient
and resourceful
I will suggest the following:
The front seats, advertise
in the club, but fit "modern" seats in the meantime
speedometer, I believe I have
one, I will check.
gearbox cover, this was made of
rubber and has rotted away. Make another from thin steel plate
several door and window handles,
ask the club spares officer
the front windscreen, this
is flat glass - do you have the frame, in which case you
can get the glass cut to fit
ignition timer, what does
that mean? If you mean distributor, it appears from one
photograph to be sitting in the battery box?
dynamo, ask the club spares
officer. I can advise the Lucas partno later
and rear bumper, is, I think
identical to the front, so you may have to use that as a
pattern to have one made.
I am not aware of a workshop
manual for this car but if you contact Ian Leggett regalia@standardmotorclub.org.uk
he may have an owners manual for the car that he could sell
to you. That will be most useful when restoring the car
I hope that starts to help. Ask
more questions on our forum?
Regards,
Phil Homer
