Obituary - Dennis Brown - Committee Member

Dennis Brown – Committee Member

I am sad to report the passing of a Standard stalwart, Dennis Brown.

Dennis passed away in March following a short illness, aged about 94.

His funeral will take place at 

Cwmbran Crematory, Tre-Herbert Road. Cwmbran, NP44 2BZ.

It is at 11am on Tuesday 21st April.

And afterwards at the The Chainbridge Inn, NP15 1PP.

Dennis tells his own story about his involvement with Standard Motor Cars, here:

“My interest in Standard cars goes back to my early childhood when we lived out in the countryside between Coventry and Birmingham. My father worked for the Standard Motor Company for 47 years, having started as a Fitter at Canley Works in 1922. The site of the works is now occupied by a modern retail park!

It was at this time that the Flying Standard range of cars ( Flying 9, Flying 8, and Flying 12 ) etc. were being introduced, and I was impressed by their “modern” styling, particularly the “waterfall” radiator grille with the Union Jack on top. And I said to myself “I’ll have one, one day.”

While my main interest at this time was with the Flying range of cars, at the back of my mind were the pre-1930 cars, particularly the "Shouldered Radiator" models such as the Teignmouth and Selby.

When W.W. II broke out in 1939, father was transferred to aircraft production, at Ansty between Coventry and Leicester, working on final commissioning and testing of aircraft produced by the Standard Motor Company. The most famous of which was the Mosquito.

At this time father had a second-hand 1934 2-door Standard Little 9, blue with black wings and registered KV 7350. Now Ansty was about 30 miles from our home and with no public transport father was given a petrol allowance for commuting. We also had a small allowance for private motoring, so on the rare occasions when father had a weekend off, we would have a ride out into the countryside.

At the end of the War, father was transferred to the Experimental Dept at Fletch North as an electrical fitter working on prototypes of new models. Consequently we were always up to date with what was happening at the “Standard”.

Well time kept passing by, I served my apprenticeship, did my National Service, got married, had a son, and moved to South Wales. But never got round to buying a “Flyer”.

And then I had the opportunity to retire early and I thought to myself now I will!”

Phil Homer adds:

So he did! The Flying 12, in particular, I remember, he took on holiday with his late wife, Shelia, as far as the Shetland Isles and back, and he did it twice! He also became a valuable Committee Member of the Standard Motor Club and supported all our major events.

Thank you Dennis, you will be sorely missed!

Fortunately, Dennis documented his fleet of Flying Standards some years ago:

1938 Standard Flying 9

Having decided to buy a Flyer it was now where from?

During all those years I could not recall having seen one, and having not yet heard of the Standard Motor Club I started to go through the ads in the classic car press. But as is often the case, there were none advertised for sale.

Eventually, in May 1992, I saw a 1938 Flying 9 advertised by the late Doug Connell in Kenilworth. So, a quick ‘phone call and one sunny Sunday afternoon off we went to Kenilworth. There, peering out of the gloom at the back of one of Doug’s storage sheds was DZ 6588. So we pushed it out into the sunlight. It’s paintwork was a bit faded, the chrome had lost some of it’s shine, and water had got inside, but it looked just as I remembered them.

Then the obvious question, does it go? Of course said Doug. So we connected up a battery, and, sure enough, after a bit of “churning” away it went. Now for a test drive. It wasn’t taxed, or M.O.T’d so a road run was out of the question, but we did manage a 60 yard round trip on  Doug’s drive. Well the steering was a bit stiff, the brakes didn’t work very well and there was a “clonking” noise from the back axle. But what the heck I’d found my Flyer.

So a cup of coffee, a bit of negotiation, and it was mine!

Doug agreed to tax and M.O.T. it and deliver it to Raglan which he did a few days later.

At the first opportunity I took it for a drive round the local lanes and the truth slowly dawned on me, this car was going to need some serious work before it was really useable.( now where have I heard that before?)

We used it locally for a while to get a feel for what needed doing, and also joined the Standard Motor Club so that we had access to information, spares, etc., and could also discuss any problems with people more knowledgeable than ourselves.

During this time I decided to try and trace the history of the car, which although it has a N. Ireland registration, had a supplier plate attached to one of the doors for Fowler & Armstrong Ltd. of Durham. Enquiries showed that this garage had been demolished some years earlier and is now a housing estate.

Further enquiries with the D.V.L.A. gave the date of first registration as 24/3/36, registration number CUP 625 (currently re-issued and not available), Commission number AB 5551, and exported to N.Ireland on 1/8/91. It is interesting to note that AB 5551 identifies the car as a model 9B, built in late 1937!

Now currently the car has commission number N 13971 which was allocated to a Flying 8!! Checking with the N.Ireland Vehicle Licensing Authority, their records show it was first registered on 30 June 1939, and exported on 5/10/92. You will recall I purchased it in the U.K. in May 1992!!

So, what is it? Well as can be seen from the photographs it is definitely a Flying 9, and it was originally registered CUP 625, because during restoration we found the original rear number plate underneath the Irish one.

I won’t go into details of the restoration, except to say that my son and I wanted it to look as near as possible to how it left the factory. The car was stripped down to a rolling shell and the bodywork sorted out and painted professionally. With my son I carried out the mechanical work. The rear axle “clunk” was found to be due to about 1/3 of the crown wheel teeth having rusted away! The engine had good oil pressure and was just cleaned and painted, and a complete new wiring harness fitted.

Restoration was completed in 1996, since when the car has won numerous cups and trophies at shows around the country.

Finally if anyone knows the whereabouts of Reg No CUP 625 I would love to know.

1939 Standard Flying 9

When it became obvious that the Flying 9 would be off the road for some time I looked around for  something  which we could use in the meantime.  Eventually I saw a  advert for a 1939 Flying 8 for sale in East Anglia. After much debate with my wife, along the lines “one Standard is enough, if you buy another one, DZ has to go”.  I sort of agreed and we went to see it.  Apart from some dents in the bonnet & roof, none of which had broken the paint surface, it was in good original condition.  It had been in the same family since new, although with a numbers of drivers, and came with original buff log book, original registration number, M.O.T. certificates going back to 1962 and a load of spares.  So we went off to lunch to discuss what to do next and after a test drive, when it became obvious it was much more usable than the Flying 9, we agreed to buy it, and a couple of weeks later we trailered it back to Raglan.

Its most famous claim to fame is featuring in the March 1997 “Practical Classics” re-run of the “Birdlip Route” along with a postwar 10, a Vanguard Phase 11 and a Vanguard  Vignale

Before the original Standard 9 was introduced in the late 1920’s a  test  route was devised to demonstrate the abilities of the new car. The route covered most of the severe hills in the Cotswold’s, Birdlip was the first, hence the name, followed by Cleeve Hill, Fish Hill, and  Sunrising Hill.  Briefly the test was to run two cars continuously day and night for one month, covering a set distance of 153 miles every 6 hours.  The actual running time was 5 hours 50 minutes, 10 minutes being allowed for filling up and servicing, giving a average running speed of 26 MPH.  Fuel consumption worked out at 37/40 mpg, and a total of 18,000 miles.

Seven drivers were employed, each having 6 hours on and 15 hours off, with each driver driving each car alternately, enabling him to distinguish any dropping off of performance between the two cars. On stripping down the cars at the end of the test, the cost of spare parts to restore the cars to first class condition was less than £5 for the two!!

It is true to say that the re-run was a much more leisurely affair. It took place over 2 days just before Christmas 1996, with a overnight stop in Gloucester, but, despite the cold, wet and windy weather, the original route was successfully completed.

Apart  from routine running repairs the “8” is still on the road, having covered over 6,000 miles since we purchased it.

1939 Standard Flying 12

During the time the Flying 9 was under restoration we had used the Flying 8 to attend local rallies and shows within easy travelling distance of home. However with the “9” now back on the road we were becoming somewhat bored with sitting on rally fields all day, and were looking for something which would enable us to use the cars for longer runs.  During this time we had got to know one Terry Oliver, owner of a very nice 1935 Ten, who suggested that we join the Forest  of  Dean  Historic  Vehicle  Club.  The F.D.H.V.C. is open to all makes of cars up to and including 1955, and organises a monthly day trip of around 100/120 miles, to places of interest, plus a annual two day trip. Just the sort of thing we were looking for.

In the early Spring  and  Autumn when the days are quite short we found that we were often running home in the twilight, which can be a bit hair-raising when we are plodding along at 40/45 mph, less on hills, and everyone else is doing 60/70mph.  So we decided we needed something larger and faster for these runs and what else but a Flying 12!

So the search began.  Eventually we came across an early 1939 Twelve de Luxe with normal suspension. It looked in reasonable overall condition, with good original seats and interior trim, but without a M.O.T. due to brake problems. One thing we were not happy with however was pop riveted sections under the sills, but never the less, they seemed sound, as did the rest of the body. Working on the basis that we could put right any mechanical problems, and after a short run round the block and much haggling it was ours.  

How wrong we were!

Shortly after purchasing the “12” I started a 2 year restoration course at a Bristol college, at which we could take in our own cars to practice our new found skills on.  

So after removing the engine, running gear and interior trim, off it went to Bristol. Job one was to replace the pop rivets in the body sections and weld them into place. So out with the pop rivets and a quick look to see that everything was O.K. underneath. What a surprise, there was nothing underneath except Chicken wire and newspaper,  which meant we would have to fabricate whole new sections. Suspicions aroused we went on a thorough check of the rest of the body.

This car had obviously been in a very serious near side accident. The front axle had been re welded together, as had the track rod and steering arm. The front wing was like a corrugated iron sheet, once we had removed the filler, and only the paint was holding the back wings together. So there was nothing for it but to start a rebuild from scratch. 

As time went on I teamed up with a fellow course member by the name of Adrian and we became a two man team working on the car full time at college. Fortunately we had completed the major bodywork before the course finished so the remainder of the bodywork was easily done at home.

By this time nothing surprised us, even when we found that the con-rod little end bearing’s had disappeared a long time ago and new con-rods were required. At the present time the body has had a bare metal respray, with a replacement front axle from a 1936 “12”, new track rod ends, the engine has been completely rebuilt and refitted in the chassis, and we are in the process of sorting out where all the wires in the replacement loom go!

1930 Standard Selby

We came across the Selby by accident.  Once again we were visiting the late Doug Connell in Kenilworth, this time with some more members of the Forest of Dean Historic Vehicle Club, namely Brian & Ruth Cozens, who were looking to possibly purchase a classic car.

Meanwhile, Sheila & I were having a nose round Doug’s various sheds when we saw this Standard Tourer tucked away in a corner. Not recognising the model we asked Doug who told us it was a 1930 Selby Tourer, and was already sold.

Perhaps at this stage I should explain just what is a Selby Tourer.  It is a model of the 9H.P. car introduced in September 1927 of which two prototypes, a fabric bodied saloon and a open four seat tourer, completed 18,000 miles in one month, on what became known as the “Birdlip Run”.(see Flying 8 page).  The cars were available in two specifications, short wheelbase with 1155cc engine, and long wheelbase with 1287cc engine, the “Big 9”. 

These were the last cars to feature the distinctive shouldered radiators.

Our car is a 1930 Selby Tourer first registered on 2nd March 1930, being one of the last of this range of cars to be built.

Now back to how we came to own this car.  About a month after first seeing the car, we were back a Doug Connell’s and hey presto, there still in the same corner, was the Selby.  More discussion with Doug and 3 days later it was ours!

We know nothing of the car’s history prior to 1960/61 when it was restored by Messrs E.Foulds, motor engineers of Keighley Yorkshire. The car was then sold to the Peter Black Collection also in Keighley in February 1967, and then “disappeared” until July 1995, when it was offered for sale by Smallbone & Sons of Birmingham.  We purchased it on 30 May 1998.  Since then, it has been used quite regularly throughout the summer months for both day trips and the annual weekend get-together with the Standard Register.

Over the years we have discovered that “Selby’s” are rather rare beasts, until quite recently there were only two example known to exist worldwide.  However, a third one surfaced at the auction at Beaulieu last year having been “lost” for over 20 years. This is an earlier model than ours, being first registered in 1929.  So now there are 3!!