Lanchester LD10 Saloon

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

THIS CAR HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN AND WILL NOW BE IN OUR 16th JULY SALE. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

One of the world’s oldest car makers, Lanchester built its first motorcar in 1895 and went on to produce a succession of technically advanced cars that were easily on a par with Rolls-Royce for their engineering brilliance and ingenuity

The model on offer today is a 1951 Lanchester LD 10, a high quality small saloon produced between 1946 and 1951. Built on a sturdy chassis, the LD 10 retained the time-honoured fluid flywheel pre-selector transmission while coil sprung independent front suspension was a new feature. The 1.3-litre engine was of OHV configuration and developed 40bhp, sufficient to propel the car to 69mph. Early cars had all steel bodies by Briggs but some later ones, as here, had coachbuilt aluminium bodywork by Barker.

As the original buff log book confirms, the car was first registered at the Coventry tax office in March 1951 to a Samuel J Brindley. In 1955 it was acquired by Patience Daniels of Cinderford, the Girl Guide Commisioner for the Forest of Dean who was to keep the car for the following 35 years.

The next owner acquired the car in 1990 at which point it was still in totally original condition throughout. He repainted the car in the original black, rechromed much of the brightwork, attended to a couple of small patches of corrosion on the sills and overhauled the electrical system. New kingpins and vertical link bushes were also fitted a couple of years ago. The brown leather interior is all original and nicely mellowed giving the car a wonderful character.

The current owner has continued to cherish the car, meticulously recording any work done on an Excel spreadsheet which also charts when any future maintenance will be due. Lightly but regularly used over the last 25 years (old MOTs showing that the mileage has risen from 76,600 in 1972 to just over 77,300 today), the car is said to drive beautifully and will be driven some 50 miles to the sale.

Supplied with the aforementioned buff log book, modern V5C, original owner’s handbook and much technical literature relating to the model (including an article on this very car in the Lanchester Owner’s Club magazine), it is only reluctantly being sold due to a change in circumstances.

Altogether a beautifully preserved example of what is now a rare car from a once illustrious manufacturer.