In Print

A reader has thoughtfully sent us two publications of motoring interest. The first is a Burnham Signs brochure, which illustrates some of the vehicles used by the firm, which supplies the AA, Duckhams, London Transport, etc. with road signs, down the years. Their 1907 van needs an expert to identify it. Other pictures are of Mr. F. Y. Burnham’s 1921 10 h.p. Citroen tourer, similar to the one in which I was driven by a relation’s chauffeur along the S. Wales lanes of the period, the Company’s 1932 Austin 10/4 van, which should interest the Austin Ten DC, and their modern Ford Transit.

The other publication is a very nicely illustrated Rosser & Russell Ltd. advertising brochure, interesting to me because it refers to how this well-known firm of heating, ventilation and mechanical engineers bought its first motor van in 1913, and of its association with George Constantinesco, the Romanian scientist. Although it is stated that Constantinesco developed his famous propeller interrupter gear at the Company’s Queen’s Wharf in the later years of the 1914/18 War, and a howitzer that blew itself into the canal at Alperton, his automatic transmission isn’t included. He is, however, credited with tuning a Citroen for Lord Halsbury, using a form of steam injection, which is said to have resulted in a speed of 85 m.p.h. on the Kingston By-Pass. This seems fast, but the car may have been a r.w.d. Citroen Six of the period.

From the magazine of the Malaysian & Singapore Vintage Car Register we learn that bits of the famous R. T. Horton offset single-seater K3 MG have been coming to light which may result in the car being rebuilt to near its original form. Also, that this year’s Malaysian GP was won by B. Tyler’s Model-T Ford.
W.B.