"THIS IS NOT A PASHLEY," asserts the eBay ad for a 1959 Indian Patrol Car. "Documented."Although they are super rare, a number of these fascinating, Royal Enfield based Indian Patrol Cars have come up for sale recently. I've assumed that they were made by Pashley in Great Britain, and shipped to the U.S. for sale as Indians, like the rest of the Royal Enfield line in 1955 to 1959.
I asked the John, the seller who says his Patrol Car is not a Pashley, for details. He replied:
"I have the factory paper work and manual to show it is a Indian Patrol Car with the factory sale brochure, and the title says Indian. I know who ordered it. I am the second owner. The Pashley has a different tank and has box rails."
Certainly there are differences between the Indian Patrol Cars we've seen advertised for sale in the United States and pictures of Pashleys found on the Internet. The Pashley three-wheelers seem to have come in a range of designs.
The Indian Patrol Cars seem to share one design, and it looks less sophisticated than some Pashleys. Is the rear end shown in John's ad just the same Patrol Car frame and box Indian was using before it began rebadging Royal Enfields?In any case, three speeds and reverse seems to be the standard transmission. John's ad gives us a nice look at the linkage for the tank shift.
I love it...I was showing my wife,and she asked (rather wearily)"How much is it?"...it'll be interesting to see what it sells for...
ReplyDeleteI would like to keep the facts correct about these machines. If the vendor thinks that the non-Royal Enfield parts of this machine were made in the USA by Indian, he is mistaken.
ReplyDeleteThe manufacturing side of Indian were long out of business by the time this was made, all the RE-Indians being UK-made as part of a deal which involved the Indian Sales Corporation. There is no doubt that the Indian Patrol Cars were made by Pashley, although some parts were sourced from outside suppliers in the UK. The original US-made early 1950's Indian Patrol had a completely different frame arrangement and rear end design. Note - not Patrol CAR - that term only applies to the RE-Indian machines.
Pashley 3-wheelers did indeed come in a range of designs, this being just one of them; the Pashley factory designation was Model HD. It was the only one sold in both Indian and Pashley versions, though there were detail differences, most notable being the use of a disc front wheel on many of the Pashleys.
The rails on top of the box of this particular machine are not standard, either for an Indian or a Pashley. This machine also appears to have the footboards modified wider than standard.
Out of interest, this same machine was offered for sale at Indian M/C Twin Cities recently, asking price $20,000. They claimed it was one of only 8 known to exist, whilst the current sale details say 'only 8 made'. Neither claim is true - there were, and still are, more than that.
My name is Rick McGinty and I have a 1960 original indian patrol car but I am missing some parts. I was wondering if I could get some detailed pictures,and purchace a copy of the owners manual, and I was wondering what the exact size of the tires are, and if there are any available. If you would please email me at sisco_sporster@yahoo.com
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