1913 Daimler 30hp Landaulette

Lot details
Registration No: Un-Reg
Chassis No: 11171
Mot Expiry: None

This once-magnificent vehicle still commands awe, even its present decrepit state. Most remarkably, it is complete in all respects except for a few minor trim items. Even the undertray beneath the engine and gearbox, usually the first part to be discarded, is still with the car and in very sound order. The monumental task of restoring this Daimler will surely bring in return satisfaction and rewards of a similar magnitude.

At the time this car was built, the Daimler Company of Coventry was the equal in quality and prestige with the finest motor manufacturers in the world. Whilst Rolls-Royce pursued a one model policy with the 40-50hp 'Silver Ghost', Daimler offered an extensive range of models from 12hp to 57hp in four and six-cylinder configurations. All featured Knight patent double sleeve valve engines, a design chosen for its silent running qualities, an important consideration for the 'carriage trade'. The 30hp was one of the larger six-cylinder models, current from 1912 to 1915, and the 30hp engine had a bore and stroke of 90 x 130mm, giving a swept volume of 4962ccs. The cylinders were cast in pairs, and the engine was set inclined downwards at the rear in the frame, to give a straight drive train to the worm drive rear axle, the worm being placed underneath the wormwheel. A cross-shaft at the front of the engine drove the Bosch ZR6 high tension magneto and the water pump. There was dual ignition, the magneto being augmented by a Bosch coil. Priming cups were fitted to assist winter starting. The huge flywheel incorporated a cone clutch, and a clutch stop was fitted to facilitate upward changes. The fuel supply was by air pressure, and the dashboard of this example features a large brass hand pump for initial pressurisation of the rear-mounted fuel tank. There was a separate 4-speed and reverse gearbox, with right hand change, and the handbrake operated contracting bands on the outer aspect of the large diameter rear drums. The foot brake (the right hand pedal - the accelerator was centrally-placed) was a transmission brake. Suspension was by semi-elliptical springing all round.

This car has full electrics, and much of the original wiring remains in place, as does a beautifully-made junction box within the rear frame, and the horn push button on the dummy door adjacent to the chauffeur's seat. CAV Model 'F' headlights are fitted, the sidelights and single rear light are detached but are thought to be available. The steering wheel, with five spokes, a Daimler feature, is in excellent condition. The engine turns freely on the handle. The detachable wire wheels carry 920 x 120 beaded-edge tyres, three of which were found still to hold air! The dashboard contains a Stewart speedometer with a 0 to 60mph range, which also has a trip mileage recorder, and the odometer reading is 50,419 miles, which might possibly be the correct total mileage of the car. Also mounted on the dashboard is a CAV-Bosch switchboard to control the electrical system.

Although the upholstery is in tatters, sufficient remains for accurate reproduction to be achievable, as also applies to the folding rear quarter mechanism: present too are the occasional rear seats and even one of the silk roller blinds above a rear window. Detached but with the car are the two panels and side stanchions of the windscreen, the roof-mounted luggage rack, a rear mudguard, the handbrake and gear levers and a number of other smaller parts.

No coachbuilders' plates are apparent, and it is likely that this most handsome and impressive body was the work of Daimlers' own top-class coachbuilding department. The registration number formerly associated with the car, 'BA 879', is a Salford issue from the beginning of 1913 - the reference books state that first issue for 1913 was 'BA 872'. The chassis number, however, places the car in 1913 production. It is said to last have run in 1927, and the vendor purchased it more or less as it now appears from an address still in Salford: he was told that the original owner, whose crest remains clearly visible on the rear doors, had been a Director of the Manchester Cotton Exchange. The paintwork surely is the original, now very dull but once a deep green with black mudguards and wheels. The car has a Veteran Car Club dating certificate, no 786, quoting 1913.

This Daimler offers a rare chance to acquire a top quality vehicle of this age which has never suffered the possibly misguided attentions of earlier 'restorers', and, with careful work, will once again become the most handsome and imposing carriage it was almost 100 years ago.