The Car, Boat, Plane Thing!!

by Henry Shaw.
(Northampton)

Hi again Tony.
I think it is time now to show you perhaps the oddest of my creations. It would be back in 1965 that I purchase for £5, a 1936 Riley Merlin saloon from a friend. It had the 1400cc twin side cam cross flow overead valve engine, with Zenith carb. The gearbox was an Armstrong Sidley preselector type with a torque tube drive to the rear axle. The car had all the niceties of manual advance, retard ignition and mixture controle. The speedo was controled by the engine, so the correct speed could only be read in top gear!
However the body was completly shot. So I decided to put an all wooden body onto the cassis. Even the front and rear bumpers were solid oak. My brother rewired the car (he was a genious with electronics), we both overhuled the engine and I did most of the body work. It took over a year to complete, but it certainly caused a stir wherever we went. The rest of the bodywork was pine frame and marine ply cladding.
I sold the car in 1976 to a purchaser in London who proceded to remove all my handywork and rebuild it as a rather nice original Riley Merlin open sports car. I believe it is regularly shown up an down the counry.
Hope this is of interest.
Yors the wacky motorist. Henry Shaw.