VETERAN TYPES

VETERAN TYPES

AN extremely fine pre-war Mercedes has come to light at the Corsica Coachbuilding Shops at Cricklewood. It is owned by Capt. A. S. Belleville and is one of the legendary” Ninety” Mercs., of 1913 vintage, the official h.p. designation being 37/00, and R.A.C. rating 41.9 h.p. ” Baladeur ” wrote up one of these cars in his ” Veteran Types” articles in MOTOR SPORT of December 1932, this being the car then owned and regularly used by B. A. Blyth, who later had to go to New Zealand as an air-line pilot. We believe this car is now owned by John Morris. Capt. 13elleville’s car has been thoroughly reconditioned and will be used, apparently, on the road. It differs only in detail from the car previously described. The big engine has four cylinders of 130 x 180 mm. (9,491 c.c.) in pairs of two, with three pushrod operated o.h. valves per cylinder. A Zenith carburetter on the offside feeds via a heated manifold. On the near side a central drive from the camshaft drives the water-pump and a Bosch Z4 magneto in tandem, the latter firing two plugs per cylinder. Four plated exhaust pipes emerge from the bonnet on this side and feed into twin silencers incorporating a cut-out. There is a big cooling-fan. The chassis number is : Daimler Motoren

Gesellschaft 17671. Final drive is by side-chains enclosed in metal chain-cases. There are big brakes on each side of the differential assembly. The radiator and bonnet line have been lowered slightly and a new Corsica two-door four-seater sports body fitted, cOmplete with hood, folding screen with Lucas wiper. and new instrument board containing an oilgauge, rev.-counter reading to 2,000 r.p.m., lighting panel and 100 m.p.h. speedometer. There is also a Wassersaule pressure-gauge on the floor. There are four control pedals, the brake and gear levers are external and the steering wheel is cord bound. The wood wheels have metal discs to match the flaired wings and short running-boards, and they carry new Dunlop herring-bone tread 895 x 135 covers. The headlamps are Zeiss, and the dynamo is driven by whittle-belt from the carden-shaft. From

the rear this exciting motor-car resembles. a touring Rolls-Royce of 1925-7 vintage. Actually, it was last registered in Lon.don. in 1919. It is probably the only one of these extremely famous and rapid cars. in running order in this country, and we hope to hear more of it.

John Morris has had the wretched luck to crack a cylinder of the Big Benz, after spending years mending the gearbox, but. he hopes to get new pots cast, and we hope to see this car running in the veteran class at Vintage S.C.C. and other meetings.

this year. Chambers has disposed of his baby Peugeot and Mills is working hard on the 1907 Renault, imbibing more speed. R. G. J. Nash has new pistons for the Lorraine and Forrest Lycett is so pleased with his Alphonso Hispano, as overhauled and de-cob-webbed by McKenzie, who has fitted one of the oi iginal carburetters, that he has been doing quite a bit of touring with it. The veteran class at Shelsley-Walsh seems a probability. In another sphere, Nash is rebuilding a Gordon Bennett Bleriot aeroplane at Brooklands.