1st C.M.R. ,  Thank you very much for your answers. Much appreciated. Always nice to be able to decipher what an old photograph has to tell.   Best rdgs from Holland

Always sad news. May he rest in Peace.

That's a great selection of classic cars, there used to be lots of shows here but not so many anymore. Note the pre-war hood on the white Traction Avant with the doors (the post-war model has louvres).   Did you make any more photo's of the blue Renault R8 Gordini parked behind the red Dauphine Rally? Those were properly fast cars in their time 😊    

I don't know how regulations are in France but here in The Netherlands any Oldtimer vehicle of at least 50 years old is automatically exempt from the MOT so here it would be possible to just do the conversion without making any civil servants blush. Obviously the owner is responsible for keeping it in a safe and road-worthy condition, and you might have an issue when driving in a 'green zone' and the like where the registration gets recorded at entrance.    I believe the diesel engines used by Hotchkiss were actually made by Indenor and were also fitted to loads of French civilian cars of the era.   I did notice the times I went to Normandy in June that at least half of the jeeps present (and there were a LOT) were converted M201's. Usually the more gear is stowed on, the more likely it's an M201. Jeeps however are very popular vehicles (easy to drive, maintain, repair and they fit in a standard garage) and the supply of original WW2 examples is obviously limited; apart from that is that an original WW2 jeep is worth quite a hefty sum. So I can understand why a lot of people look into an M201, which is perfectly fine vehicle in its own right and 99% of the people won't be able to tell it's not made during WW2. Add to that all the jeep-salads and abundant reproduction parts...   I do agree the early Ford flat-top is grille is probably the hardest to find, followed by the Willys slat grille. I did come across a few over the years, but only very rarely.    

Thank you for the info.

I always thought the "why" as just easier than taking off and putting on a cover.  I do not want to disturb the set for now.  

. Now for the rest of the show . . . . . . .   I photographed a lot of the older cars but there were many other cars from the 70's, 80's and 90's which are commonly seen being used on roads today                                          Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30  2O25.    ….

. Stunning find yesterday . . . . . .   One of the Jeeps there yesterday was basically a Willys Jeep reconditioned by the post war Hotchkiss factory , it was fitted with a post war diesel engine that Hotchkiss fitted during rebuilds, however it had a number of genuine Willys and Ford marked parts which I talked about with the owner, He had a very nice ' F ' stamped engine hood amongst other parts,  and the stunning find was he had an early pattern straight top ' F ' stamped grille, these straight top grilles are possibly the rarest of grilles to find, I believe Johan might have one on his Jeep    I jokingly said to two other friends that the three of us should buy it and split the parts, Peter wants the wing-mounted siren, Mike wants the diesel engine as he has a diesel engine in his Hotchkiss that needs replacing, and I could have the straight top grille, but we couldn't afford to do that.    For Diddy the owner of this Jeep it's a sad tale, he bought it to restore to original wartime condition complete by re-fitting an original wartime petrol engine block, however the government vehicle registration department refuse to accept the engine change, they state that it was first registered as a Hotchkiss with a diesel engine and the diesel engine is all they will accept on the paperwork.      Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 29  2O25.    ….

.. The  military section at Sunday's show.   I really had great fun yesterday, I know even before I leave home for the show that my Jeep will never win an award at this show and I don't intend to clean chrome and polish it to do so.  Although I get a lot of very agreeable and appreciative compliments from other Jeep owning enthusiasts at the show, the judges are looking for concours condition vehicles, they would would rather give an award to something flushed down the toilet than acknowledge mine.   This is where I had a lot of fun, when a judge in a yellow hi-viz jacket came across yesterday to tell the owners either side of me that they were first and second cup winners I quickly threw my arms open waving towards my Jeep and shouted ' excellent I got third ' , Mr yellow jacket almost had a cerebral hemorrhage and stutteringly replied ' NO ', third is over there. The judges are unaware that the other row of Jeeps were all post war reconstructions but all painted with numbers and stars representing wartime Jeeps.  I think sometime my booking may not receive acceptance for any up-coming years.        Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30  2O25.    ….

. Hi Iron Bender.   Thank you, I must say it's not such an attractive patch as the standard one shown to the right of it in your collection.   Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30  2O25.    ….