1926 Frazer Nash Fast Tourer

Lot details
Registration No: PF 5858
Chassis No: 4520
Mot Expiry: Exempt

- Supplied new via J.B. Fenwick Ltd of Glasgow to Mr Brown

- Continuous ownership from 1933 to date

- Extensively restored by marque specialist Ian Lock Engineering during the mid-1980s

- Sparingly used since completing the Frazer Nash Raid to the South Tyrol (June 9th - 23rd 1989)

- Correct-type Anzani 1.5-litre engine allied to three-speed chain-drive transmission

- Inspected by Winston Teague, Registrar of the Frazer Nash Car Club

Further Info;

According to the late David Thirlby's authoritative tome `The Chain Drive Frazer Nash', this rakish Fast Tourer was completed in July 1926 and supplied new via J.B. Fenwick Ltd of Glasgow to a Mr Brown. The earliest document on file - a buff logbook issued by Leeds County Council during February 1933 - gives the 2+2-seater's chassis and engine numbers as 4520 and RH4520 respectively. The Frazer Nash remains registered as `PF 5858' with chassis number 4520 to this day.

Interestingly, David Thirlby records its initial chassis number as 1097. It is pure supposition but the issuing of a new logbook in 1933 may have been triggered by the Fast Tourer receiving a factory replacement chassis. Chain-Gang `Nashs have always encouraged spirited driving and it is not unknown for accident damaged cars to have been rebuilt by the works in period.

`PF 5858' boasts a continuous ownership history from 1933 to date. Not only is the buff logbook augmented by a green continuation one but Nigel Griffiths Esq who owned the car from 1966 - 1972 did much to research its earlier history via letters to his predecessors. Mr Griffiths' correspondence reveals that the Frazer Nash passed through the hands of The Vale Engineering Co and Chiltern Cars as well as various private keepers and that it was re-bodied and uprated with an Alvis 12/50 `big port' engine and rod brakes over time.

Entering the current family ownership more than thirty years ago, `PF 5858' joined a number of other `Nashs including a TT Replica and Le Mans Replica etc. Entrusted to marque specialist Ian Lock Engineering for an extensive `chassis up' restoration during the mid-1980s, the Fast Tourer was returned to original specification. Beautifully wrought, its aluminium over ash bodywork mimics that shown in various accompanying Motor Sport magazine road tests. A correct-type but substitute unit, its 1.5 litre Anzani sidevalve four-cylinder engine is allied to three-speed chain drive transmission (complete with a Frazer Nash Car Club-sourced replacement bevel box).

The refurbishment was completed in time for `PF 5858' to complete the Frazer Nash Raid to the South Tyrol from June 9th - 23rd 1989 which progressed via Brooklands, Pirmasens, Stuttgart, Innsbruck, Merano and Bolzano. Sparingly used since then, the Fast Tourer has recently undergone a sympathetic recommissioning (fluid change, check over, chassis greasing etc). Trimmed in Blue leather, the 2+2-seater upholstery is protected by a Black double duck hood, hood bag, and tonneau cover.

Puzzled by the discrepancy between the chassis numbers quoted for `PF 5858' in 1926 and 1933, the vendor's agent took the Fast Tourer to Winston Teague, the Frazer Nash Car Club Registrar, for inspection earlier this year. Mr Teague spent several hours examining and photographing the car. Chain Gang `Nashs are notoriously easy to replicate, however, it is our understanding that the chassis which underpins `PF 5858' has many of the `hallmarks' of a genuine factory frame.

For example the side rails are made from the right thickness of metal and there are signs of repair to traditional areas of weakness such as the `Admiral's Walk' etc. In the absence of corroborating paperwork there can be no absolute guarantees as to the chassis frame's provenance. That said it appears correct and prospective purchasers are encouraged to contact Mr Teague for his opinion on the car.

Nicely detailed, this delightful Frazer Nash is described by the vendor as being in `very good overall' condition with regard to its engine, transmission, electrical equipment, bodywork and interior trim. Worthy of close inspection, `PF 5858' would afford its new owner entry to one of the old car world's most enthusiastic owners' clubs.