01-05-2018, 08:33 AM
The details highlighted in that article do seem most strange; by the beginning of 1939 the days of the Ruby were numbered (the Big Seven had been on the market for a couple of years, and the Eight was about to be introduced), so it doesn't make sense to modify the model to such an extent. Nevertheless,they don't sound to be a later owner's modifications.
The article also mentions the retention of the chrome radiator on the van for a couple of years after the introduction of the Ruby. This is not an unusual scenario in the van world: the A35 van continued long after the saloon was discontinued, and the old-style A55/A60 van never received the Farina treatment. And in more recent times, even the VW Golf Cabriolet retained the Mk1 style right through Mk2 production. In the case of the Seven van, I think this was largely because of difficulty in incorporating a suitable rear petrol tank for the van body - the AVJ van retaining the scuttle tank, albeit with a petrol pump, right through to 1937.
The article also mentions the retention of the chrome radiator on the van for a couple of years after the introduction of the Ruby. This is not an unusual scenario in the van world: the A35 van continued long after the saloon was discontinued, and the old-style A55/A60 van never received the Farina treatment. And in more recent times, even the VW Golf Cabriolet retained the Mk1 style right through Mk2 production. In the case of the Seven van, I think this was largely because of difficulty in incorporating a suitable rear petrol tank for the van body - the AVJ van retaining the scuttle tank, albeit with a petrol pump, right through to 1937.