Description
Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Viewing: Tues 8th April from 12pm
Auction: Wed 9th April from 9am
Location: IWM Duxford Airfield, Cambridge CB22 4QR
1948 Dellow ‘Pre-Production MkI’ Trials Car
Estimate
£12, 000 - £14, 000
Buyer's Premium applies (subject to a minimum charge and VAT)
£
Bid
No boost
Lot details
Registration No: KXS 569
Chassis No: RY142488P
MOT: Exempt
Built in 1948 as one of c. 21 pre-production Alvechurch Trials cars
Originally registered to a Mr Ostroumoff as 'BOE 940'
Restored to a high standard having been awarded the 'Andy Holdaway Trophy' in 2020
Supplied with period photo's and letters to confirm it's history
Founded in 1946 by Ken Delingpole and Ron Lowe, Dellow began life as a competition car preparation specialist with a sideline as agents to both Wade-Ventor superchargers and the HRG marque. Producing road-going sports cars for the enthusiast to use in trials, rallies and hill-climbs, they operated from premises in Alvechurch, near Birmingham, from where the duo had taken their first tentative steps as manufacturers in 1947, building replicas of Ron Lowe's famous Austin 7-based trials special, 'The Flipper'.
An Alvechurch Team car with period competition history that is well-known to the Register, chassis RY142488P is said to have been built in 1948 and is one of c. 21 early pre-production prototypes built between 1947-1948. The MkI finally entered production in 1949 and evolved into the MkV before production came to an end in 1956. In total, only some 300 units were produced. The cars typically featured a 1, 172cc Ford 10 engine dropped into an A-frame chassis with a lightweight tubular steel structure made from chrome-moly military surplus rocket tubes! Early models had an all-aluminium body, a Ford beam front axle with a transverse spring and short Panhard rod, quarter elliptic springs at the rear, and Andre Hartford friction dampers. Most cars were fitted with a 3-speed Ford gearbox and Ford cable and rod-operated drum brakes.
Chassis RY142488P, was originally registered as 'BOE 940' and first owned by George Ostroumoff. With numerous sporting trials entered during the late 1940s and early 1950s, photographs and press clippings in the car's file, show it at the 1949 SUNBAC Vesey Cup Trial, and an excerpt from Motorsport reveals it won the Team Award at the 1950 SUNBAC Colmore Trial, competing as part of the Alvechurch Team. Led by Ron Lowe himself, this marked the closest Dellow came to having a Works team.
For over 50 years, the car was owned by Mr. Alan Lee before being acquired and subsequently restored by Tony Martin of Pershore. Martin was awarded the Dellow Register's Andy Holdaway Trophy in 2020 for the quality of his work. The restoration included fabricating a new body, installing hydraulic brakes, fitting Morris Minor rear shocks, converting to an alternator and 12v electrics, adding a rev limiter, installing a Dellow twin-carb manifold, a Morgan ‘Silver Top’ cylinder head, a new radiator core, a new steering box, and more. In 2021, the Register described chassis RY142488P (registered as 'KXS 569’ today) as being in "very good condition mechanically, bodily, and in overall appearance". Road legal, this historically interesting trials car has competed in several events since the restoration and is ready for enjoyment on the road or further competitive exploits. Supplied with period images and Dellow Register correspondence.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
