Paltney

Paltney

Specs Mentioned:

Make/ Model – Paltney – open-type, two seater (1913)

Engine – 250cc, single-cylinder 4-stroke, JAP engine, rear mounted

The featured Paltney was first owned by Major C.A Gibson, a veteran of the second Anglo-Boer War, which ended in 1902. However, as a prisoner of war and having lost an arm, his daughter is said to have got the Paltney specially built for him with tiller steering and shipped from England in 1913 to his home in Kandy. The car was subsequently owned by Major Gibson’s close friend, Urial Mendis.
The journey of this Paltney, from its abandonment in 1940 to reaching a garage in Lindula over a period of 35 years was eventually located in 1975 by vintage car aficionado and Assistant commissioner of Motor vehicles, Tilney Pieris who meticulously restored the car to an excellent running condition. The car however was modified to run with a steering wheel after an unfortunate collision with a bus in 1990 that damaged the tiller steering mechanism.The original car had tiller steering outside the car on the right-hand side. The brakes, clutch and accelerator are cable operated.
The car was acquired by the President of the vintage car club Ceylon, Farih Fauz in 1992 and sold to the current owner in 2004.