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Established July, 2001. Edition 2724
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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The daily Magazine & Marketplace
dedicated to the pre 1940 car
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November: 138 new - 89 sold/expired
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Andy Watt is a distant relative of Louis Coatalen, the French engineer who designed aircraft engines and racing cars. At the turn of the previous century Coatalen also worked for Humber as chief engineer. Recently Andy found some pictures of Louis together with a letter (click!) dating from 1952 to Gordon Wilkin (editor: Wilkins, sic!) then editor of The Autocar. The pictures are of a Humber 8-10 during a non-stop run from London to Coventry on April 29, 1905. They seem to be taken at the beginning of the run with a clean car and a very dirty one at the end. Andy wonders if someone knows more about this non-stop run in 1905, but also why Gordon Wilkins went to see Louis Coatalen almost fifty years later. Who can tell?
Update by Malcolm Jeal: "The journey from London to Coventry by Louis Coatalen on a 8-10hp Humber is described in a 1-page article in The Autocar of the 6th May 1905, along with a near 'head on' photograph of the car leaving the London start. The purpose of the journey was principally to demonstrate the flexibility of the 1910cc four-cylinder engine, consequently the whole run of some 90 miles was done in third (that is top) gear. The anonymous Autocar writer (as was the convention in those days)was impressed that this relatively small car performed without fault: "this top gear run was accomplished without apparent effort"; and the car successfully climbed hills on the route even when Coatalen slowed it to a brisk walking pace at the approach to these inclines. Your comment that Gordon Wilkins was Editor of The Autocar in 1952 is I think incorrect, although I do not have a copy of that period to check. I think that by 1952 Maurice Smith had taken over as Editor from his father Geoffrey; around this period Wilkins was briefly Technical Editor, which may possibly explain why he was in touch with a brake company."
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Tintin & Snowy; Tintin & Milou; Kuifje & Bobby; Tim & Struppi. Who hasn’t enjoyed the comics of the roving reporter and his little fox terrier? Tintin’s adventures were drawn by Belgian artist Georges Remi, who was better known as Hergé. From 1929 until his death in 1984 he wrote twenty-four of Tintin’s albums. Many of his earlier comics were also published in the Belgian newspaper supplement “Le Petit Vingtième”. This mysterious looking gouache graced the front page and comes from “The Blue Lotus”, published in April 1935, about Tintin’s struggle against a gang of drug smugglers. Titled “Where we see how Mr. Fan-Yeng is taken care off”, it is one of the many artifacts to be sold by Artcurial during their auction of comics on November 21-22. However, gems like these don’t come for peanuts. Artcurial estimates the Blue Lotus to sell at 35.0000-40.000 euros which is not outrageous for an artist with this fame between here and Hong Kong! (photo copywright Moulinsart / Artcurial)
UPDATE by editor: we wouldn't be surprised if the car depicted is the same as the Renault Reinastella which you can find at the Tin-Tin pages of François de Dardel.
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Now if you know about Amilcars, you may know that keeping these vintage jewels on the road is a labour of love. So keeping a car like that on the road in the former Soviet Republic is something which is really not simple to understand. Still at least one man managed and deserves our deepest respect. See the photos found by Ivan Barentsev of the pick-up that managed to survive. Now the amil-archeologists have the pleasant task to determine which exact type it is. Here is another shot which is showing the real Amilcar 'amateur'. More good news: the car has survived until this day. However not in its kolchoz livery but in a post-Soviet racing disguise. It is showing many Amilcar features but all 'upgrades' make the total hard to judge. So (check this first !) and give us your opinion.
UPDATES (II) came in form Glenn Robb, Detlef Kayser & Ivan Barantsev. Ivan tells the car is in the Letland car museum and that the first owner was factory driver Eugeny Kansky (who know more about him?). Anyway this may fit togehter with the remarks of Glen Robb: The car seems to be a G type and last time I saw it, it was in a car museum in Riga. The story is it ended there with a guy who who worked at Amilcar, Paris, and competed with the car in rallys etc. Detlef adds: "This strange Amilcar has already been treated in the British Newsletter of the Amilcar Register some years ago. There were several discussions about it and it seems to be a G or L chassis. But one should remember that a saloon bodied Amilcar G with a compressor once won its class in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1927 when it started from Königsberg (then still Germany). Could it be that very chassis?"
Updates (I) came in from Jos Cox who claims the engine to be an M-type. Craig Little adds: It's certainly not a CGS as it doesn't have the waisted front to the chassis with out-hung front springs. The front axle and chassis set-up looks typical G series tourer and this is supported (if you'll pardon the pun) by rear cantilever springs which are typical G series and also common to the Larger E type. But the E had a fore and aft drag link and there is no sign of it that I can see. So I'll say it's a G Series even though the hole at the base of the radiator doesn't quite add up. If it's not a G it could possibly be an M.
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