Vintage Thing No.161 - DHS 3 Special

The DHS 3 special has tremendous patina

Simon Knight was my scratch bouncer for the 2020 Exeter Trial. Binky still hadn't recovered from some tumbles on the 2019 Testing Trial so I asked for a last minute substitute and Simon was the result. We'd had nothing to do with each other beforehand but got on like a house on fire during the 2020 Exeter trial and when he bought the DHS special later in 2020 I was very intrigued by it.

David H Small was the son of Reginald Small, partner of Farnham Jowett dealers Barnett and Small. David built a series of specials - possibly as many as seven - for racing and trials and this particular example features a handmade tubular chassis not unlike the contemporary rocket tube Dellow chassis.

All up and running and ready for Heritage Trials

Simon has contacted members of the Small family in his research into the car and was able to speak to Peter Figg, David Small's long-standing friend and frequent trials passenger. Although 92, Peter could still remember David's cars clearly and had much to say about their trialling exploits. Consequently, Simon has determined that his car is DHS 3 and that at least two others were built by David. It took some effort to confirm the chronology and numbering but the DFS specials this can be summarised as follows.

PPK 129 is DHS 1, SBP 4 is DHS 2 to 3b and Simon's car is DHS 3! Simon's car was originally registered TPF 4 but was APB624A as bought. However, he got an age related plate for DHS 3 so now its registration number is OUY 81. Its chassis number, of course, is DFS T.

So that's a chassis letter, not a number. Maybe it's T for Three. Hang on, though, it could just as easily be T for Two....

Confusion arose because SBP 4 had several iterations alone, leapfrogging Simon's car from 2 to 3b. Simon said, "From what Peter Figg told me, my car was not started until 1952 or so and both it and SBP 4, the racing/hill climb/sprint car, were used concurrently."

The DHS 3 had Ford front wheels with Austin rear wheels, complete with hub caps or nave plates.

Simon bought the DHS 3 Special from David Baldock, a classic car dealer in Kent who owned the car for a couple of years. 

Like the Dellow, the DHS 3 uses a Ford E93A 1172cc engine with twin SUs. Front suspension is a Ballamy swing axle complete with Ford hubs and wheels. Rear suspension is Morris leaf springs supporting an Austin Devon commercial rear axle and wheels with lever arm dampers. Brakes are mechanical using cables. 

 

Simon believes the Ford gearbox is a close ratio unit but the DHS special definitely retains the 6 volt electrical system.

Scuttle mounted spotlight could be used for reading signposts at night or viewing sections with 6 volts.

 

David Small used a cut down front grille from a Jowett Bradford van. In 1953, when he completed the car, Barnet and Small were still Jowett dealers. They sold their last Jowett that same year and, after a brief flirtation with Singer cars, made the far-sighted decision to take on a Volkswagen dealership.

Flathead head gasket anyone?

There's still a built-in period interior map light, the starting handle is clipped into the inside of the engine compartment, with a windscreen-mounted searchlight that's adjustable from the cockpit, and a handmade fly off handbrake. It originally had windscreen wind deflectors and hood so it must have been built from the outset with long distance trials in mind.

One feature I particularly like is the spare head gasket taped to the underside of the bonnet.

The DHS 3 has a grille from a Jowett Bradford van.

The DHS 3 came to Simon with a number of neat features. The petrol filler cap is accessed in the boot floor and the petrol "gauge" is a home made alloy rod to dip the tank. 

That's where specials of this vintage can throw up problems once they come to be restored. It can be really difficult to identify the components on specials and bitzas. Simon is intent on both re-commissioning the DHS 3 special and retaining as much of the weathered feeling as possible. So far, nobody has invented a tin of instant patina.

It also came with a Barnet and Small rubber key fob and a 1953 tax disc showing the original registration TPF 4, which was retained by the family when Simon's car was sold and is now a personal plate. 

 

DFS 3 was originally registered TPF4

"I asked Peter if the front grille and part of the bodywork was also Jowett and the question jogged his memory enough to say that the cars - DHS 1, 2 & 3 - all had bodywork carried out by E D Abbots of Farnham. Considering the relationship they already with them as Jowett dealers it’s not surprising at all and explains the high standard of the workmanship and collaborative styling that extends across David's cars."

Simon also owns a Dellow and, along with many other Dellow and post war trails cars, competed with it in the Heritage trial near Chard in July 2021. 

Peter Figg gave Simon a curious insight into the trials scene of the time. It seems Dellow owners were regarded as snooty when compared with the special builders of the time. This may have been because they bought their cars ready made and had disposable income. The Impecunious Enthusiasts of the time may have felt jealous.

Simon is also a Dellow owner so can't possibly comment.

What fascinates him is the similarity in construction between specials of this era. 

The DHS 3 looks so inviting in this view

"It's interesting that David Small says that he designed/built DHS 2 (IIIb) with tubular chassis rails in 1950 and I’m wondering what the general scene was like back then in terms of competition chassis development. Would it be possible to establish who was first with this idea perhaps?"

Answers on a postcard, please!

Then there are the similarities between the Dellow and DHS 3. Both are constructed out of lightweight tubing and use the same powertrain and suspension components. Noticing and noting the detail differences between the two cars is turning into a rewarding line of enquiry for him. 

Simon has also uncovered David Small's involvement with the 1958 Okrasa Special but that's for another time.