New owner has answers and some questions about his 1959 Indian Patrol Car

The Royal Enfield based Indian Patrol Car offered on eBay recently finally went to Bill Erickson of Oswego, Ill. If anyone out there is an expert on these very rare, 1950s Bullet-engined three-wheelers, he could use some information.

For starters, does the number 1033 on the left crankcase tell him anything useful?

Bill was kind enough to pass along some information on his purchase:

"This patrol car came from a farm in Western Ohio and had been there for quite some time. At one time (probably many years ago) the father and son decided to try and restore it. They took a bunch of parts off of it and then the father died.

"This should be quite a project. I am going to be struggling to figure out where everything goes and which pieces are missing on mine. At this point I am going to see if I can attempt to collect the missing parts and start on a restoration."

Bill noted that I was incorrect when I guessed (based on pictures) that the Patrol Car has no rear suspension and might not have a differential.

"First, there is a bit of suspension on the back — there are two adjustable shock absorbers. See attached pictures:

"Also, there does appear to be a differential on the rear drive as both wheels can spin independently. This should make cornering much easier :)"

If you have any words of wisdom for Bill, email me at david@royalenfields.com and I will pass them along. Or, leave a comment on this post.