1939 BSA Scout
Buy for £17,250

Registration No: KMF 54
Chassis No: E2118
MOT: Exempt

Motor Car Location: Hertfordshire

• Very rare and innovative front-wheel drive 1930s sportscar
• Massive history file and treated to a superb, engineer restoration 1,200 miles ago
• Original handbook and reputedly 'the best example known to the BSA Owners' Club'

Although perhaps best known for their armament and motorbike production, Birmingham Small Arms was in fact a large conglomeration of engineering industries in the early twentieth century, It acquired both Daimler and Lanchester in its motoring division, using the formers engines and latter's coachworks in its cars. Along with Morgan and others it produced three wheelers but were notable in their vehicles being front wheel drive, reducing the wear and rear-wheel replacement difficulties of the rear wheel drive cars. A range of models both three and four wheel culminated in the Scout, introduced in 1935. This sold well and development continued until the Series 6 in 1939. In all 3,000 scouts were produced before the war made BSA return to armament production.

KMF 54 is a Series 6 that has been painstakingly restored to the highest level. The history file contains numerous receipts from the period 1989 to 1991 running into thousands of pounds, even then, for parts and chroming. The file also contains the original handbook and a wealth of information on the care and maintenance of these cars.

With only 4 former keepers this vehicle is heralded as probably the best example of a Scout in existence. The car has been cherished since its restoration since the paintwork remains excellent, the chrome unblemished, the interior trim as new, the engine starts and runs like a dream.

The vehicle drives very well and can keep up with modern traffic. Driving with the windscreen down you can only smile.

Launched in April 1935, the BSA Scout quickly developed a reputation for amazingly sure-footed cornering thanks to its admirably low centre of gravity and advanced front wheel-drive. Based around a conventional ladder frame chassis equipped with independent transverse-leaf front suspension, a 'live' rear axle and drum brakes, the newcomer was powered by an 1075cc (later 1204cc) four-cylinder engine allied to three-speed manual transmission. Available in either two-seater or four-seater guises, lighter variants of the model were reputedly capable of nigh on 70mph. Arriving in October 1938, the final Series 6 cars sported 'easy clean' wheels and an improved engine design with a better lubricated three-bearing crankshaft, more water jacketing, larger valves and a downdraught carburettor. Production of the Series 6 was curtailed by the outbreak of World War Two making survivors few and far between today.

For more information, please contact:
John Markey

john.markey@handh.co.uk

+44 (0) 1428 607899