CoachBuilt Prams

What a great site! Anyway, we'd like to find out how to clean the canvas hood and our Churchill pram's approximate age. Long live the pram! Roddy and Laura Sergiades.

Roddy,  Laura   I  think   I   explained to  you - was it in  the Guestbook (I  have b een  to bed  since then!) I  wonder?   -  how  I      clean  my   hoods  and  aprons.

Sandra

i am just buying a churchill pram to renovate can anyone tell me anything about them please and where i would get spares from.  apparently mainly need screws and nuts.  need 2 hood screws, 2 screws which fit handle to body, couple of domed nuts that fit onto the body and some screws to attach brake.  any ideas or advice.   i am yet to receive it so not too sure, but this is what the seller says it requires.  will need new hood and apron. any advice on where can get this done too? 

Angell at 11:07AM on Mar 12, 2010

i am just buying a churchill pram to renovate can anyone tell me anything about them please and where i would get spares from.  apparently mainly need screws and nuts.  need 2 hood screws, 2 screws which fit handle to body, couple of domed nuts that fit onto the body and some screws to attach brake.  any ideas or advice.   i am yet to receive it so not too sure, but this is what the seller says it requires.  will need new hood and apron. any advice on where can get this done too? 

Good luck  Angell.  The problem with screws for any pram, other than a Silver Cross, is the size of the thread. Many of the pram companies were  British and they used imperial measurements.  Most screws available today are metric and do not fit.

I have a Churchill pram, which is in very good condition but I have not been able to source replacement screws.  I have had a horrendous quote from a local engineering firm to make me a set of screws as they would have to manufacture a dye??!!  I have also tried all the usual people like Graham and Alison.  Graham's quote was, "rarer than hen's teeth."

My pram has a gray hood and apron, a beautiful cream body and chassis and  coachlines in the same gray as the hood.  It was intact when I bought it and the screws went AWOL after I took the hood off to have some work done on it.  It went away to the upholsterers with its hood screws and came back missing them. Of course, the guy says he never had them and I can't prove he didn't!!!  I now share the hood screws between the Churchill and my Millson (her screws fit the Churchill)

I have found out a little about the company. The Churchill Pram company was based in Glasgow and ceased trading in 1982.  Very little is known about this company, the transport museum in Glasgow has several examples of their prams but only one 1971 leaflet!  They are also appealing for information and memorabilia, as they are moving to a brand new building soon and want to organise an exhibition.

What is clear is that the prams were of high quality and distributed across the British Empire.  There is an example on sale at the moment on Preloved but prior to this I have seen less than half a dozen come available.  I know Shezzy has one as well and another collecter I know has a model that came off the last production line at Churchill's.

Sorry to be so negative.  But  that's part of the excitement with collecting old prams.  Its the thrill of the chase and I am sure that someone, somewhere will most probably prove me wrong and come up with some excellent advice on where and how to get screws for the pram.

Best wishes - Sian

You are   right  Sian,  it  is   part of  the thrill to have  a  rare  pram isn't it?     Thanks  for  your help on  this,  I had  forgotten that  they were    a  Glasogow   company.

Sandra

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