Help in determining type of Jowett

[countrydiyer]

Hi all,

I have an old Jowett or should i say frame and bits but i havent a clue what type it is.I vaguely remember my dad telling me the body was made from timber and a material of some description. I have taken a few pictures although please excuse the quality as i couldnt get at the vehicle in question due to old farm machinery,old motorbikes,old sinks and everything else thats in there but if you need any thing answered i will do my best to help.

There is a brass plaque on top of the radiator grill with the jowett engine number 643595 if this is of any relevance.

I would alsolike to know is it beyond restoration and its value currently and of course restored.

Many thanks in adance

Regards

Mark.

[countrydiyer]

extra pics

[AlanBartlett]

Firstly welcome to the forum, Looks like a good starting basis there for a project. From the engine number now im not sure on this but others will be able to be sure but your engine is either a 1934 or a 1936 so it could be either year as its age, Im sure many others on here will point you in the right direction.

[k. rogers]

The engine must be a '36 if it starts with a '6'. However, judging by the radiator the car is a 32/33 model so must have had a replacement engine during its history. Is it a saloon or a convertible?

[countrydiyer]

Hi again

Firstly, thank you Alan for such a warm welcome to the forums

K.Rodgers....To be honest im unsure as only the chasis is left although a think its a saloon for old conversations with Dad,also, if this makes sense i remember something about a 3 speed gearbox with a neutral for free wheeling down hills....sounds strange i know

The engine itself i couldnt confirm if it has been replaced although when it was put away it worked!!

[countrydiyer]

Is there anywhere else on the chasis i could gain more information?? Or perhaps on the ....dashboard in one of the pictures??

[AlanBartlett]

The Chassis number would have been located somewhere in the bulkhead on the engine bay side I think. A little plate with square plate with chassis numbers stamped on it. This maybe a different number to the engine as ken suggested maybe a replacement engine. as the engine and chassis number were the same. Perhaps someone could confirm this. maybe Tony Fearn or George Garside. When they read this topic.

[countrydiyer]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the info and i shall have a good check round it tomorrow when the sun is up.

So now i know the year,what about model and where would i see a picof what it used to look like?? I am perhaps biting of more than i can chew in thinking about restoring this lol

[AlanBartlett]

Depending on what year the car is and if it was a saloon it would look something along the lines of this. It is also dependant whether the chassis is a long or short model.
Short being something like this photo or long adding two rear opening doors. a four seater instead of a two.



Restoration takes time and alot of patience I know when I started restoring my inherited jowett, I didn't have a clue about cars or how they worked let alone what was under the bonnet. But through asking alot of questions to different members of the club and posting various topic questions on here I finally got there. Never be afraid to ask questions. The more you ask the more you know. And you'll get there in the end.

A brief link to how I got into jowetts
http://jowett.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=498

[countrydiyer]

What can i say Alan bar "absolutly stunning piece of machinery"

Unfortunately going by the car that you restored the one i have needs a tad more work lol

Isnt the car i have though made from cloth and timber where as the one in your picture depicts an aluminium/metal car??

Is there a market for cars in my condition??? To be honest im probaly giving up before i start as im building a house at present then have a jukebox to restore not to mention a WW1 propeller so time is against me and would rather see it in good hands than stuck for another 40 years in my garage.

[AlanBartlett]

All depending on the roof styling, they were all mostly made of ash wood frame work underneath and then skinned in steel, aluminum on some later models. Take a look at the gallery for more pictures of jowetts

[Chris Spencer]

Mark - From what I am reading between the lines it would sound like the body is too far gone for restoration - however, you appear to have a complete chassis & bulkhead - hence this would make excellent underpinnings for a lightweight sports special body - these can be easily fabricated even by the home restorer - probably this is the better restoration route for the car - do have the bonnet for the car ?

[countrydiyer]

On my look around yesterday i didnt see a bonnet but thats not to say it isn'nt there.I would say yes although will confirm that tomorrow when i have another look..I would say your right Chris in the respect of the sports body although i wouldnt know where to begin,Perhaps something for when i retire and have a bit more time although im still curious to its value.....

[Jack]

The club has plans to get the wooden frame components remade at the moment - worth getting in touch with Paul Beaumont if you want to register interest, though you'd need to be a member of the club to get access to these parts.

The car does look like a lot of work, but then many cars have been restored from worse.

If you don't have the time or inclination to do it, I'd say that unless you are tied to that particular car you may want to consider selling it and getting a car for restoration that suits your lifestyle at the moment - there are loads of Jowetts out there which are in reasonably good condition and just need a bit of TLC to get them on the road (or keep them on the road) whereas this is going to be a fairly big job that if you did alone would probably take you a year or two just to get on the road, and that assumes a lot of time invested.

As for value, ebay is your friend, it will sell for whatever it is worth. My uninformed opinion is that a car in that condition will probably sell for well under £1K unless it has some significant historical importance above other similar cars of its type, which we can check in the club but is unlikely. The important thing is that it won't sit there unrestored for a long time, because the greater the time it sits there, the more the rust fairy will come and damage things, parts can get lost, seals perish, unless you store the car in very controlled environment this is almost inevitable. Sell it to a keen restorer and you know it will get back on the road and become something special, leave it where it is and restoration becomes more and more difficult...

Just my opinion, others will disagree, but I'd think about whether you want to do this, or whether you want someone else to do this. Either way the cash in your pocket will probably be similar, unless you pay a professional restorer in which case it will be a lot less before you're done

Jack.

[countrydiyer]

Hi Jack,

Thanks very much for the info, it gives me something to think about on whether to sell it or not....

I went back into the garage to0day and moved a few old sinks and found another Jowett chassis. so lets re-cap

1st jowett 643595 on brass plate and below that i read ( AT....beside which it said ignition) ....whats this stand for?????
found a plate on the back of the radiator which said "serck radiator company,Belfast" and stamped "00042"...any ideas??
i pretty much searched every part of the engine and frame and found no more plates or ID marks.

2nd jowett. Looks exactly the same chassis although there was no brass plate to be seen nor even looks as if one was evver there.Again i checked 80% of frame and most of engine and nothing.On the back of the radiator was "33395" and on the aluminium?? casing of engine "1170". Bar these 2 sets of numbers the only other thing was the oil cap had a nice etched "castrol" insgnia ......You can also faintly make up the gear markings...3 gears and a revverse i think.Any ideas on this one???? I know, i ask alot

Also,where if anywhere exactly would i find Id marks??? on the chassis???