Vintage Minor Register

The photo below was one of many sent to me by the late Bev Hicks, which was believed to depict the prototype McEvoy RC 300, but on closer inspection today, it is clearly not.

The rear bumper carries the wording 'JENSEN SPECIAL', but look closely and you can see that the instrument panel is OHC and it has an M Type steering wheel. It also has Magna wheels with dummy knockoff hubcaps, and a pork pie rear lamp. If the car is OHC based, then it must have been re-bodied by Jensen, as they didn't body Minors until 1932, when McEvoy designed the body for them. It has a rear tank which must be SV, and it has odd straight headlamp supports that don't look like the swan-necks fitted to the M. Also, the doors are rear-hinged - unlike any other Jensen of McEvoy Minor seen to date. The photo looks like a publicity photo (the hood bag is obviously touched up - far too neat), but what a hotchpotch of parts and not an M Type McEvoy.

One intriguing photo and an intriguing car - how sad that Bev is no longer around to tell us where he found it.

Is it possibly a Hornet?

This is a really good picture.Something as clear of an an M Type McEvoy would be a great find too.

ian judd wrote:Is it possibly a Hornet?

Ian, that is a distinct possibility - looking closely at the radiator profile and calormeter design. I'd love to find a front view. I'll pass the photo on to the Wolseley guys for their comments.

McEvoy started making his specials with the Minor in 1932 and designed the body for Jensen to make, so this, and the Magna wheels mean that this car was probably built in 1932 (the car looks new in the image). I'm not sure without checking when the early OHC Hornet ceased production, but I though it was prior to 1932? If so, this may have been a customer's car rebodied?

is it the light or are the tyres on the car blacked while the spare looks used? Also those spinners look like they are on the original hub caps which aren't minor? They look more like 10/4 ones which added to the wheels means it might not be a new car, just newly bodied? Can you blow up the picture to look for evidence of a new body on a not new car?!