Bud,
I did an article for Moss Motors on the Swallow-Doretti. A car that saddly
was built for only one year, 1954. In the course of doing some research &
background history on the car I discovered that the name Doretti wasn't an
Italian
name (Not in this case anyway!) but a play on words coined by Arthur Anderson
and his daughter, Dorothy Deen the owners of a fledgling auto accessories
company named "Cal Sales" that did business in the late 1940s and 50s, possibly
even into the early 1960s. Since many GI's (and others) who had discovered what
a
blast these little British Sports Cars could be. As the sport or hobby grew
so did the demand for quality replacement as well as customizing parts for
their lightweight, speedy cars. Thus Anderson and his daughter, Dorothy Deen (a
beautiful, blonde, quintessential " California Beach Girl" who was featured in
many of the Cal Sales ads for auto accessories) made sure that Cal Sales both
imported and had parts made to fill the needs of the fast growing ranks of
British sports cars. Badge bars, mirrors, racks for carrying suitcases, boxes,
and more. And as the early fifties ad in your website shows, about that time
they started calling part of their product line "Doretti" which was a play on
the
name of Andersons daughter Dorothy (or Dor-ett-i) The following is from the
Swallow-Doretti website managed by englishman Ken Yankey, a prime advocate
historian for all things related to the Swallow-Doretti sportscar. Although not
an
MG, still the Swallow Doretti has its place in automotive history.
"...In the late 1940's American West Coast interest in imported sports cars
provided an ideal opportunity for the Cal Specialities Company to manufacture
and sell a line of accessories with the Italian sounding "Doretti" brand name.
The company operated by Dorothy Deen and Paul Bernhart, sold products such as
luggage racks, aluminium valve covers, wind wings and sun visors to local
dealers who retailed these popular items to sports car enthusiasts. (for more
on
the history of Cal Sales, Doretti and Swallow Coach Works go to:>
www.doretti.co.uk
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