Original - or an modification?

[Tony Griffiths]

From a Facebook post, a mid-1930 Chummy - but with bonnet sides with louvres. I've never seen one like that before - probably an owner's modification?

[Steve Jones]

I know of three similar mid/late 1930 cars with bonnet louvres, all original. One not seen for many years but the other two are around and about.

Steve

[Tony Griffiths]

I know of three similar mid/late 1930 cars with bonnet louvres, all original. One not seem for many years but the other two are around and about.

Steve

Thank you, Steve. That's most interesting.

[David.H]

My AG (short chassis steel body Chummy) had double louvres.

[Tony Griffiths]

My AG (short chassis steel body Chummy) had double louvres.

A picture or two would be greatly appreciated. Yours - and similar kinds - must join those with plain-bonnet sides as the most short-lived of production runs.

[Terrytuned]

My march 31 reg AF 4 seat tourer with alloy body, all original.  Terry.    

[Tony Griffiths]

My march 31 reg AF 4 seat tourer with alloy body, all original.  Terry.

Ah! That's the later car with a short scuttle first built as the AF. They all had louvres in their bonnet sides, the reference in the post is to the long scuttle cars with the short bonnet as used until the middle of 1930. It might have been that, like some of the early long-bonnet cars, short scuttle saloon cars, the open cars also had plain bonnet sides - though one has yet to be found. As a point of hyper-anorak interest, the first AF models had the louvres in two separate pressings, not the single rectangular pressing of all later models, with the bonnet catch on the raised section between the two.

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My AG (short chassis steel body Chummy) had double louvres.

Might you have a picture or two? I'd be very interested to see them.

[Mick Hobday]

I'm a little confused. I was always led to believe that the body code AF, AG, AH etc applied to the body only, ie the actual complete formed body tub, disregarding possible changes of other body parts such as bonnet, doors, screen, dashboard, wings, and also material (steel or aluminium) etc. In which case there wouldn't be AG bodies with both long or short scuttle - they would be either one or the other. So am I correct in thinking that the long scuttle red car (?S 8715) with the loco is an AF; and the green car, Tony's car and the other red car (David's) are all short scuttle AG?
The next change was made with the AH, all long chassis 4-seat tourers from March 1932 up to Sept 1934, including cars with petrol tanks both scuttle mounted or at the rear (no change in body pressings needed for this modification). The Source Book unfortunately confuses things again with an assumed "missing link" AJ body that doesn't actually exist.

[Tony Griffiths]

I'm a little confused.  I was always led to believe that the body code AF, AG, AH etc applied to the body only, ie the actual complete formed body tub, disregarding possible changes of other body parts such as bonnet, doors, screen, dashboard, wings, and also material (steel or aluminium) etc.  In which case there wouldn't be AG bodies with both long or short scuttle - they would be either one or the other.  So am I correct in thinking that the long scuttle red car (?S 8715) with the loco is an AF; and the green car, Tony's car and the other red car (David's) are all short scuttle AG? 
The next change was made with the AH, all long chassis 4-seat tourers from March 1932 up to Sept 1934, including cars with petrol tanks both scuttle mounted or at the rear (no change in body pressings needed for this modification).  The Source Book unfortunately confuses things again with an assumed "missing link"  AJ body that doesn't actually exist.

Hi Mike,
The red car, an early AF is mine, now back to its original blue. As far as I can discover, the stamped body code does apply to other changes as well - and so was used when a new "model" was introduced. i.e. All the AF and AG models that I've seen have had the same overall appearance and the change from AD to AE in late 1929 introduced the much deeper wings - but without beading around the edges. The next wing change was either very late 1929 or very early 1920 when the new deep wings were given a beaded edge - though the model type stayed AE. Upon the introduction of the AF - the modernised Chummy - the appearance of the wings remained the same, but with a wider body, a longer and taller bonnet and a very different chrome radiator.
The red car with the loco looks to have all the features of an AE (though of course, you may be right, and there could be an AE with an AF body stamping (etc) but we'd need evidence. The main known changes on the AG were a steel body shell (identified with a magnet or the two ribs running down each side of the spare wheel and a much-altered dash with a separate central panel for the instruments and glove pockets big enough to camp in.

[Reckless Rat]

Looking at the pics (and it's only an observation) but I see three different model/variant cars:

The first photo with the loco shows a long scuttle car with side vents (not the bonnet louvres) with short bonnet
The Green car is a short scuttle car with side vents (as above) with long bonnet
The latter red car is a short scuttle car with no side vents and the long bonnet