Dellow Mark IIB: a hillclimb champion ready for action

When it comes to four-wheel motor sport that’s both fun and accessible, trialling is difficult to beat. And among the most competitive trials cars ever built are those that emerged from the tiny Dellow factory in the Worcestershire village of Alvechurch where Ken Delingpole and Ron Lowe set up shop in 1949 to build their inexpensive, lightweight competition machines.

With their rearward weight bias and tough chassis (which were made from Government surplus chrome molybdenum rocket tubes left over from World War II) the cars proved ideal for hillclimbs and tackling the loose surfaces typically found in trials events.

Among Dellow fans in period was Tony Marsh who went on to become British hillclimb champion no fewer than six times, initially in a Cooper Mark VIII (1955–57) and then in a Marsh-Buick Special (1965–67).

The car on offer with Charles Leith is one of two Dellows owned by Marsh which helped him on his rise to competition stardom and, thanks to his friendship with Lowe, was built specifically for him. A 1953 Mark IIB model which has been supercharged from new, it was used by Marsh for trials, sprints and hillclimbs and brought him successes including a 52.41sec run up Prescott in 1954 and the award of the Committee Cup in the 1953 Gloucester Trial.

In fact, the car held such a firm place in Marsh’s affections that he bought it back during the 1980s and set about a meticulous restoration that brought it to the condition it remains in today.

The present owner acquired it in 2010 from Marsh’s family after Tony’s death the previous year and has used it mainly as a road car, fitting it with a higher ratio axle to give a 60mph cruise. Fitted with a new old-stock gearbox and a competition clutch and benefiting from an overhaul of its Ford 100E engine, the now nicely mellowed Dellow is up, running and ready for action.

In addition to some genuine and rare Dellow components such as rev counter, speedometer and wind deflectors, the car has been upgraded with LED lighting – which, as any long distance trial enthusiast knows, makes life a whole lot easier on those tricky sections in the middle of the night.

In typical Dellow style it comes with a pair of rear-mounted spare wheels while other extras include a hood and full tonneau cover.

Although currently in an ideal configuration for sprints, hillclimbs and auto tests, Leith points out that the underslung exhaust will need to be re-routed before any serious attempts at trialling can be undertaken – and also notes that when it comes to driving the car size matters.

One of the things that makes Dellows such competitive triallers is that they are small and nimble but if you’re much over 5ft 8in in height, forget it. “I’m 6ft 1in and I can only select first and reverse gear,” explains Leith.

But interested parties of shorter stature who fancy entering the trialling fray should defintely give this ex-Tony Marsh Dellow some consideration. And if you buy now, you’ll be in good time to re-route that exhaust pipe and enter the Motor Cycling Club’s Land’s End Trial at Easter. Just a thought…

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Dellow Mark IIB
On sale with Charles Leith, Fordingbridge, Hampshire. Asking: £19,000. charlesleith.com

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