1927 Amilcar CGSS Special Roadster

For sale by auction on Saturday 30 November 2013 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
Unveiled in the summer of 1926. the CGSS was one of the
quintessential French voiturettes that could be registered
within a lower tax bracket at the time. This model was a
development of Amilcar's successful line of sports cars known as
the CGS with the extra 'S' standing for surbaissé and
described the model's lower chassis.

The CGSS featured a revised camshaft. larger sump volume. br/>improved steering box. short wheelbase and larger brakes. The later
examples also featured a four-speed gearbox. Buyers had a choice of
various body styles from a coupé to the iconic staggered-seat. br/>pointed-tail roadster. The 1074cc four-cylinder engine from the CGS
was fitted but in a slightly higher state of tune delivering 35hp.
It was also available with a Cozette supercharger for
those who needed more power. Thus equipped. a CGSS won the
1927 Monte Carlo Rally driven by Lefebvre. Designed as an
enthusiast's first racing car. many customers purchased the CGSS to
drive during the week and to compete in events on the weekend.
Today. the CGSS remains one of the most sought-after Amilcars as
well as a landmark example of a late 1920s sports car.

This story. in any detail. begins in 1973 when Trevor Pask
spotted a 'small ad' in Exchange & Mart for an Amilcar. The UK
was being strangled by the 'three-day week' and a small garage
operating in Hanwell. West London. had a proprietor with a passion
for these iconic French voiturettes. After a brief telephone call. br/>they met and struck a deal for £75. It was stored in a lock-up some
miles away and hadn't been opened for five years. The tyres were
flat and the currently-fitted Vauxhall 12 engine had seized; it was
winched out and taken home.

After judicious amounts of WD40. some fresh sparking plugs and
some elbow grease on the flywheel. it fired up and Trevor Pask was
soon seen lapping the perimeter road at Brunel University. It was
then put away for six or seven years with the occasional blast
around the campus.

It later transpired that a friend. Desmond Peacock. was having
his CGSS re-framed and skinned and. with the skin off his car. Mr.
Pask made some patterns from his very original frame and had
another ash unit made up. Roy Hartin of Hartin Panels in Putney
re-skinned it in aluminium including the distinctive 'Eldridge
Cowl'. and thus the restoration process had begun.

The engine and gearbox were removed. Hartin re-made the fuel
tank and the lamps. wing stays and struts were also all rejected.
The propshaft assembly also went. along with the engine mountings
and steering box bracket. And so began the process of collecting
the requisite parts through the press. autojumbles. the Amilcar
Register and various trips to France. Eventually the correct parts
for a new toque tube came together. a brake cross-shaft and cockpit
instruments but unfortunately still no engine and gearbox.
Eventually one turned up in a rolling chassis of a car. 'bought for
spares'. as well as many other extra parts. By 1984. the car was
assembled using re-built brakes and "new bearings in everything
that turned". The new frame and body was then added and the
car you see here was beginning to come together. The coach-trimmer
then arrived and spent a week on the staggered seats. trim and
black tonneau cover. all of which complemented the exquisite. br/>seamless aluminium coachwork.

Marchal headlamps were finally added and The Trevor Pask CGSS
was complete.

Paperwork exists within the history file detailing drawing. br/>bills and UK registration document both modern and buff. Many MoT
test certificates also accompany this car as well as a period
photograph of a similar car with Eldridge Cowl. YM 55. powering
round the Greenford Track in September. 1927.

There is no doubt that this car has been assembled through a
combination of knowledge. experience. patience and. above all. br/>passion. The craftsmanship employed is impeccable and the
bodywork is nothing short of poetry.

Want to buy this car?