1965 TVR Grantura 1800S
No Reserve - 1 owner from new!

Registration No: GWJ 717C
Chassis No: 413/65/5/1038
MOT: Exempt

• Purchased by the late vendor new, and retained by him ever since
• Reputedly 1 of only 128 1800S examples produced
• Matching chassis and engine numbers; a very rewarding recommissioning or restoration project
• Offered with the original buff logbook

The first production model TVR, the Grantura dbéuted in 1958 and went through a series of developments leading to Mk. I to Mk. IV and 1800S models, with production ceasing in September, 1967. Hand-built at the TVR factory in Blackpool with varying mechanical specifications, the Grantura was also offered in kit form. All cars featured a cocktail of Austin-Healey brakes, VW Beetle or Triumph suspension parts and BMC rear axles. The Grantura bodyshell was made from glass-reinforced plastic and made use of a variety of proprietary components, with a front-hinged bonnet. Buyers could choose from a range of powerplants which, depending on the model in question, included a choice of side or overhead valve engines from Ford, a Coventry Climax unit, the MGA engine and, ultimately, the 1,798cc BMC B-series. Later Mk. IIIs were all equipped with the B-series, and the 1800S was rendered distinctive by its bobtail rear end with Ford Cortina lights.

With fewer than 1,000 of all Granturas made, and reputedly just 128 of the 1800S, opportunities to acquire one are scarce. To acquire one that has been in single ownership from new must now be almost unheard of, but we are delighted to present just such an opportunity. The late Mr. Stephen Simpson was a young sports car enthusiast in Sheffield when he bought this Grantura in 1965, and he kept it for a full sixty years (though during 1968 it was briefly registered in a friend’s name, who ran the Toll Bar Garage in Grindleford), using the TVR in anger regularly on hillclimb events.

At some stage, the TVR fell out of use and it is now offered for sale as a project for restoration or recommissioning, as it has not been on the road for some twenty years or more. However, it is an extremely original survivor, with matching chassis and engine numbers. Since the bodywork is fibreglass there is obviously no need to worry about rotten panels, and the interior ought to present well after a clean. We think the restoration will certainly be worthwhile to save a rare and uncommonly original example of a magnificent but often overlooked sports car.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452