1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

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47p2
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Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by 47p2 » Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:59 pm

There's no denying the 20hp car looks stunning, just a shame that it wasn't restored to original specification and without the 'extra' bits

dhbuchanan
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Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:01 pm

Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by dhbuchanan » Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:48 pm

Thanks for that info. on the tyres, Luli. I don't know whether that's Hebrew or Arabic on the the licence plate of your car,(and on the wheelie bins in the background of the photo) but it sure seems to be located in a sunnier spot than the UK right now.

So the Ebay auction ends with a bid of £47.5K on a car which, we are told, has restoration invoices for $350K! That huge gap between sum offered and money spent must be some kind of record. Where will it go next, I wonder? The reserve was not reached,so Crail may well be flying a kite on the auction site to get a feel for the market. The problem is that the 20 DHC has been customised, at vast cost, for the States, yet very few there will have any idea what it is. Even in the UK, where it was originally built, its profile is absolutely minimal.

If anyone hears any further news of EWK 592, and there are some sharp-eyed surfers out there, would they kindly post it on this forum? I'd also be interested in hearing about the experience of anyone who has fitted these new Excelsior radials to a P1 or P2 as I'm tempted to go down that road now that the correct wheel size is available, albeit at a stiff price. If the effect is as transformative as fitting radials to a P4, it should be well worth a try.
1939 20 H.P. Salmons Tickford D.H.C.

p2roverman
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Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by p2roverman » Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:30 pm

Have now checked Tim Walker and Chesterton Coachworks' web sites. It's now clear that the initial chassis work was done at Tim Walkers, while the painting and some or all of the body construction was done at Chesterton Coachworks. Both have photos, the Chesterton one showing the car in bare metal. I'm trying to decide from their photo how much of the body and wings are in aluminium, I'm inclined to sat all of it but what do others think.
Mike Evans

p2roverman
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Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by p2roverman » Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:45 pm

Further to my last message, if you search through Chesterrton Coachworks' site you will find a rear view of the car. The bootlid is not fitted, and a sloping storage area has been built into the back of the body. For some reason this does not incorporate the original boot space. The actual body either side of the boot opening appears to be original in shape (if not in structure) so it would be possible to reinstate the original arrangement.
Mike

p2roverman
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Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by p2roverman » Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:13 am

Further to my earlier post, Feb 2013, I can add one more unfortunate occurance that has happened to this Rover. As most of you will know, only three 20hp drop heads were made to the 1940 specification before the war stopped production. This was the third, chassis no 0540003. As mentioned, I had to supply a replacement chassis to one of the restoration companies. I found out later that when the car was eventually re-registered (don't know if in the UK or USA) the chassis number of the donor chassis was used. So not only has it lost much of its originality (boot lid, wings, bonnet etc) it has also lost its unique identity. What a shame.
Before anyone comments, I'm aware that technically a vehicle's id is that of the chassis, but it's easy to re-stamp a different number, and in my view essential when dealing with a car that is virtually unique.

p2roverman
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:52 am

Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by p2roverman » Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:19 am

Having just seen Luli's photos, I was pleased to see the original car/chassis number plate still on the bulkhead. How this now equates with the later chassis number I understand the car to now be registered under I don't know, but at least the proof of what the car actually is still exists on it.

AbeSan
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Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:04 am

Re: 1940 Rover 20 Tickford Drophead on ebay

Post by AbeSan » Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:29 pm

That's wonderful. You don't see the original chassis number plates on cars like that every day.

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