Daimler Regency One-O-Four DF310

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Daimler’s new range of large cars launched in the early 1950s did not prove the success that the venerable Coventry firm had hoped for.

An emergency rate of Purchase Tax and the general economic gloom which pervaded the early part of the decade favoured Daimler’s own cheaper Conquest models. Launched in 1951, the 2,952cc six-cylinder Daimler Regency DF300 was little short of a disaster with only 52 finding buyers. Its 80mph top speed was just about enough, but its prodigious thirst and eye-watering price tag kept buyers away.

A mild 1954 facelift in the form of the MkII DF304, incorporating numerous luxury touches inspired by Lady Docker, the wife of Daimler’s flamboyant chairman, did little to boost either the sales figures or the spirits of the company. Which was a shame because the cars were substantially better built than comparable Jaguar offerings of the same period and were aimed at quite different customers who should, in theory, have not cavilled at the substantial price differential: £1,680 for the Jaguar MkVII against £2,324 for the Regency.

The final version, the 1955 Regency One-O-Four DF310, fared little better, despite a much-improved specification. The 3,468cc engine of the MkII was given a new cylinder head and a higher compression ratio which boosted power by 30% to 137bhp. With upgraded brakes and interior, it was renamed the One-O-Four because a prototype achieved 104mph during testing, this being the era before open road speed limits had been introduced. Only 66 were sold before it was ignominiously dropped from the range in 1957.

This 1956 Regency One-O-Four, with Wilson preselector gearbox, is clearly in need of some major TLC. Driven into a shed many years ago, it looks a solid basis on which to start, its engine remaining free. There is no paperwork associated with the vehicle, although the Surrey-issued number 637 APB is still on the DVLA computer so its new owner should be able to acquire a V5C in the normal manner.

Exceedingly rare and eminently saveable, this fine old Daimler is crying out for a knight in shining armour to come to its rescue. It is being offered here at no reserve so please bid vigorously and it could be you who wins the honour of saving it for future generations to enjoy.