Freewheel- Letter from Gus
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:36 am
Hi all,
Reading through the latest Freewheel I was fascinated to see the letter from Gus with a picture of a soft top Rover, asking what body it has. I don’t have the answer to that but looking at the pictures of this very interesting car I’m inclined to think it must be a ‘special’ of some kind and not a factory build. The front is very Rover and the wings could be modified originals. However, it is the rear that puzzles me most as the axle width is very narrow begging the question where the spring hangers are? This leads me to wonder if this car was built on a different chassis altogether. It also appears to sit much lower than a 34 Rover, but that could be the angle of the picture and the long grass. The wheelbase also looks a bit shorter. There is no sign of trafficators, suggesting the car may have been built in the late 50s or 60s when flashing indicators became more usual.
I’m reminded of the specials that were popular around that time like the Dellow, built on the Ford Poplar chassis. My uncle had a great little sports car built on a Ford 10 chassis that was similar in concept to an early Lotus but using the original front axle cut in the middle and hinged somehow to give a kind of independent set up. It certainly was a time of DIY innovation as more people aspired to car ownership but the cost of anything sporting was prohibitive, hence the re-use of unfashionable pre War cars. Re-cycling at it’s best!
Back to the Gus’s pictures; this looks like a great little car and one is left wondering what became of it?
Tony.
Reading through the latest Freewheel I was fascinated to see the letter from Gus with a picture of a soft top Rover, asking what body it has. I don’t have the answer to that but looking at the pictures of this very interesting car I’m inclined to think it must be a ‘special’ of some kind and not a factory build. The front is very Rover and the wings could be modified originals. However, it is the rear that puzzles me most as the axle width is very narrow begging the question where the spring hangers are? This leads me to wonder if this car was built on a different chassis altogether. It also appears to sit much lower than a 34 Rover, but that could be the angle of the picture and the long grass. The wheelbase also looks a bit shorter. There is no sign of trafficators, suggesting the car may have been built in the late 50s or 60s when flashing indicators became more usual.
I’m reminded of the specials that were popular around that time like the Dellow, built on the Ford Poplar chassis. My uncle had a great little sports car built on a Ford 10 chassis that was similar in concept to an early Lotus but using the original front axle cut in the middle and hinged somehow to give a kind of independent set up. It certainly was a time of DIY innovation as more people aspired to car ownership but the cost of anything sporting was prohibitive, hence the re-use of unfashionable pre War cars. Re-cycling at it’s best!
Back to the Gus’s pictures; this looks like a great little car and one is left wondering what became of it?
Tony.