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1934 Avon Standard Special 16Hp 4 seater Coupé
The Avon Standard before it leaves on a long journey to the South of France (unspoilt hi-res photos are available on request)
Late in October I received a phone call from the South of France, from
Michel Mousett. He tells me that he has just purchased the Avon 16Hp
that had been advertised in the October edition of the Standard Car
Review. He intended to fly up from Lyon to Birmingham and then by Train
from Birmingham to Derbyshire where the seller resided. He then faced a
1000 mile drive home in an unknown car, bought without being seen.
I wished him good luck and asked me to send his story. I need not have been concerned.... Hi Phil,
So,
here she is: the Avon 16 arrived in her new home in the south of France
on last thursday after a 970 miles road trip from Derbyshire.
"Unfortunately",
I have not many stories to tell about this journey which
was spent with very few problems: just a worn battery replaced on Tuesday
morning and an untight spinner which was dangerously becoming loose
on the right rear wheel.
Apart
from that, driven most of the time at 50 mph, the car worked perfectly
all the way.
The oil pressure and water temp remained very good all the time, no overheating even in the heavy traffic through Birmingham and a surprisingly modest 250cc overall oil consumption, thus confirming the serious engine renovation work described by Ken, the very friendly seller.
The
cables operated brakes proved to be very smooth and efficient,
even better than those on my other 16hp which probably is 400 kg lighter.
I
had several times the opportunity to check the efficiency of the
single screen wiper...well...let's talk about something else...lucky I
brought a flask of RainX with me!
The sliding sun roof proved to be perfectly waterproof and very pleasant to use when open under blue sky.
Dealing
with the gearbox was somewhat a bit strange
at first: there was no security to prevent from engaging reverse gear
which is very close to first, but one needed to lift the lever to go
from 2nd to 3rd!!!
Though
Ken assured me this was absolutely normal, I had a little doubt about it
but I nevertheless changed the gears this way back home.
Since then, checking the lever system confirmed what I thought: a steel
plate secured by 4 bolts under the base of the gear lever support
was just fitted the wrong way.I
just had to turn it front to rear and I've now lost
the security between 2nd &
3rd but I need to lift the lever to engage reverse gears, which seems
more convenient to me...
On last Sunday, we used it for a small local rallye and it naturally
drew a lot of attention as something very exotic here.
Even
in England, quite few people know Standard cars, so just try to imagine
in France!
Kind
regards
Michel The Avon 16Hp arrives in the South of France
October 2011 |
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