Snippets of news and comment from Rod Ward –
Not in the book
AR075 Citroën: 90 years: A 2cv converted to a six-wheeler (a 2×6?). From our experience owning a 2cv, it would need a much bigger engine in this form. As a four-wheeler ours could barely drag itself into a fast-moving stream of traffic, so with the extra weight and friction… (Photo Bruno Boracco).
Not in the book
AR085 Pedals and Motors (possibly also AR040 MG Album or AR43a Riley Album?): A tradesman’s delivery bicycle with a Cyclemaster motor fitted, and purporting to have been operated by the MG and Riley parts department at the Abingdon MG factory. Any ideas if the livery is genuine?
Not in the book
AR035 On Three Wheels (though that title only described British-made three-wheelers): A Dutch clog-maker operated this mobile sales vehicle in the 1930s. It is a German-built Rollfix three wheeler, with custom-made bodywork.
Not in the book
AR088 Out of their Element or possibly AR120 A Car less Ordinary?: Jameson Wind Wagon, made in the USA in 1929. (Photo Harvey Goranson at the Lane Motor Museum). The lane Museum says: The Boy Mechanic (published in 1925) offered hundreds of detailed drawings of things a boy could build. One chapter was titled “Building a Wind Wagon.” It is unknown how many were built but this one was constructed in the late 1920s by 15-year-old Ted Jameson (Uncle of racer, author, and commentator Sam Posey). The angle-iron frame is mated to a beam front axle with a pair of bicycle-style wheels. It is powered by a Harley-Davidson v-twin motorcycle engine which, instead of driving the wheels, drives an airplane propeller. The wind wagon has neither front nor rear suspension. It also has very little torque, so its acceleration and hill climbing abilities leave something to be desired. It was found to work best on a frozen lake. Posey refers to it in his autobiography The Mudge Pond Express: “When Mudge Pond froze over in the winter, the Wind Wagon would whistle across the ice, my mother hanging on for dear life in a rudimentary back seat while Teddy, his eyes nearly blinded by the freezing prop wash, tried to skirt the holes in the ice.”
Not in the book
Chevrolet (we don’t have this massive subject in our forward publishing plan as yet): Simon Pirie at Wood Richardson, the York-based printers of the Auto Review books, is a photography buff. He took this photo of a customised Chevrolet in Gloucester, then enjoyed himself manipulating it to produce this dramatic shot. Looks like a Leeds registration…
Not in the book
AR146 Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles: From the days before the 1926 merger of Daimler and Benz. In 1909 this Mercedes (DMG) 50hp lorry was equipped with a Krupp 75mm high velocity gun, to shoot down observation balloons, the first mobile anti-aircraft platform. Modified and developed versions, with armoured bodywork and stabilising jacks, saw service in the Great War. One can only imagine the stress put on the lorry chassis by the recoil from the gun. This vehicle is described, but not pictured, in AR146, for publication in November 2018.
Not in the book
AR144 Studebaker Album: A rather sorry for itself Studebaker Champ pickup, from the last year of production in 1963-64. In a sad ending for a great American marque, with the last two years of production in 1965-66 in the smaller factory in Canada, there was no space to make pickup trucks (or Avanti sports cars). (Photo H-S Transport Collection).
Not in the book
AR148 Lamborghini Album: A Lamborghini five-door sports estate car? Pietro Frua’s Faena concept car from 1978. There are a couple more photos of it in this book, scheduled for publication in the first quarter of 2019. (Photo via Wolfgang M Buchta, Austro Classic).
Not in the book
AR146 Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles: This is a Mercedes-Benz O319 minibus from 1966 preserved in Moritz-AutoRetro livery. The book is due out in November 2018, but this photo is not included. We had so many excellent photos from our worldwide team of contributors that there just wasn’t the space to get them all in. (Photo Fabrizio Panico).
Not in the book
AR149 Mercedes-Benz Unimog: Yes, this is a Unimog, but fitted with a new cab and a Perkins Diesel engine. We couldn’t work out what model of Unimog is underneath (possibly a 404 S?) so the illustration had to be left out of the book, which is slated for publication in the second quarter of 2019. (Photo H-S Transport Collection).
