French Talbot dreams getting real

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Some time ago PreWarCar bought a badly neglected French Talbot saloon and since then a lot of work has been done to get it on the road again. Initially most work went into identifying the car as it had no papers and only the chassis number was known. With invaluable help from the Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register and the French Talbot Club (thank you Patrice Delangre, thank you Bill Clark, thank you Stig Fransson, thank you Charles van Lookeren) we finally concluded that we own a 1931 Talbot K78 Long. The differences with the better known M75 are the very long wheelbase, the larger bore of the engine and a slightly different radiator design. After getting the car registered (thank you Jan Altena) we needed to get it home and as we didn't look forward to a trailer trip with 1850 kilos on top we decided to drive it home 100 miles. Despite the fact the car still needs a lot of fettling and hundreds of small repairs, the 'big lumps' are functioning. However the car had not been run more than a few testmiles since 35 years, so it promises to be somewhat of an adventure. 

At the wheel of the large and heavy Talbot we found this is a most serious saloon. The long wheel base (3400 mm), weight (1850 kilo), well adjusted Hartfords give a comfortable ride, better than expected, even the dreaded speed bumps which are all over in Holland are taken with a smile. The 2,8 litre engine isn't exactly swift but pulls the heavy car with ease with a comfortable 55 mph cruising speed. More is possible for certain yet with an engine which has not seen any training over the past years we kept with a steady 45. Gearshift with a long stick is easy when taking the time for it and do some double declutching when the box asks for it. Steering is heavy, that plus the long bonnet, low windshield and long gearstick give the impression you're at the head of a roadtrain more than an elegant French Berline. On short turns one has to keep ones eyes wide open while guessing where the left side and the end of the car are going. In general you need both halfs of the road in tight corners which is something to think about when cruising the countryside...

As said still lots of things need to be done (dashboard is still a bit rough, yet at least the oil pressure gauge is working) to make the car a worthy member of the Pre-War Salooning community, but the beginning is there. We'll keep you posted.

(Illustration Claude Berton, courtesy French Talbot Club, photos Rick Nicolaas)

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