Frank,
There were several Princesses. Yours being.....um.... commonest in the
MG1100/1300 America "family" as Austin Princess. There was a Vanden Plas
Princess in the 40's-50's-60's with various much larger engines.... 3 litre
and 4 litre. I have a picture of a '48 Austin Princess 120hp 6-cyl 119"
long ("a long wheel base is available"!!) In '48 it sold for $6325.00. This
is the only one that I have a picture of. I've sold parts for the 4 litre
variety, which I suspect is the $30,000 model you mentioned. The Vanden
Plas name also comes up in the Jaguar line, even currently. I'm not sure if
it is any more than a deluxe trim package, however. I'd like to know more.
Peter C
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At 11:04 PM 11/3/98 -0500, Frank Clarici wrote:
>Does anyone know what
>> a Princess is?
>>
>>
>Yes I know what a Princess is.
>It is (was) basically an MG1100 with wool carpets, leather seats, fold
>down picnick tables, fancier grille work, driving lamps, and so on.
>I happened to buy a 63 MG Princess Vanden Plas off the back of a junk
>car hauler for $75 a few years back. I put a battery in it and cleaned
>up the points on the fuel pump and drove it around for a month before I
>sold it. I entered it in 2 local car shows, it was in very good shape
>but did need a clutch (slipage)
>After I sold it I found out that the MKI Princess Vanden Plas was worth
>near 30,000 dollars (US) and I sold it for the same $75 which was what I
>paid!!! I did keep the new battery.
>The buyer started restoration but got divorced and I think the car was
>scrapped. I still have the original engine and drivetrain (Mini set up)
>With the chrome Princess valve cover (which fits a Sprite)
>The car was a 4 door MG1100 with a Mini engine (front wheel drive).
>I wish I had restored that insted of the Mini which I really hated.
>
>sorry for rambling, I hope everyone now knows what a princess was.
>
>Frank
Peter Caldwell
1 very rough Innocenti
(the Sprite with an accent)
among other LBCs and 4WDBCs
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