"12/25" Humber

Sir,

My 1926 “12/25” Humber, after nearly 20 years in a cart shed near Retford is still very fit, having covered barely 21,000 miles since new. Apart from the 600 by 20 wheels and tyres, a repaint and a few odds and ends, the car is in its original state : even the piston rings and most of the lamp-bulbs are those with which it left the factory.

The coach-painting was carried out in yacht-enamel, by an amateur yachtsman friend (who did the brush work), with myself as labourer. We worked in the open, for lack of a suitable building, and the final coat had to be put on section by section and allowed to dry under a tarpaulin. The superb materials and workmanship which went into this car are a constant source of pleasure to me, and of wonder to the “utility” motorists of today, many of whom come to scoff but remain to praise. One can get in and out without knocking one’s hat off, and the excellent accessibility of every working part reminds one that in 1926 owners were supposed to know something about the vehicles they drove. The whole car has scarcely a fault, and many virtues, and as long as there are any left like her I shall not be tempted by parabolic curves, built-in babble-boxes, or mobile cocktail cabinets.

 I am, Yours, etc.;

Frank D Longhurst,  Kenton.