My New Acquisition
Discussion
OK so not an Aston Martin but a cousin or more accurately an ancestor of...
It's always been an ambition of mine to enter the world of pre-war cars, or post vintage thoroughbreds if you prefer. I've just acquired this beauty and although not an Aston Martin nor indeed a David Brown Lagonda I feel there's a certain synergy with my Aston which it will join in the garage. To say I'm excited is an understatement. It's a 1933 Lagonda 16/80 Special Six T7 Tourer to give it it's full name (16hp and 80mph not that I'll be doing that in a car that's over 80 year old!). Like Astons of that era it has the centre throttle and gear selection pattern laid out opposite to the norm with 1-2 to the right and 3-4 to the left, oh and a right hand side gear lever - all good fun!
It's always been an ambition of mine to enter the world of pre-war cars, or post vintage thoroughbreds if you prefer. I've just acquired this beauty and although not an Aston Martin nor indeed a David Brown Lagonda I feel there's a certain synergy with my Aston which it will join in the garage. To say I'm excited is an understatement. It's a 1933 Lagonda 16/80 Special Six T7 Tourer to give it it's full name (16hp and 80mph not that I'll be doing that in a car that's over 80 year old!). Like Astons of that era it has the centre throttle and gear selection pattern laid out opposite to the norm with 1-2 to the right and 3-4 to the left, oh and a right hand side gear lever - all good fun!
Edited by RichB on Friday 9th October 21:12
Jon39 said:
How is it that your old cars look so brand new? Wonderful...
I bought from an old gentleman who was a retired engineer from Longbridge. It was his retirement project to restore it which he did a wonderful job of. Sadly at 81 he is suffering from macular degeneration and has been told to stop driving. Rather then just look at it in his garage he took the difficult decision to pass it on to another enthusiast. Me 
Rich looks fantastic, it is great fun driving a pre war car and generally feels like you are going faster than you actually are, you also get great comment from people. Do you have much history for the car pre the previous owner? It looks quite big, I only had space for a Pre War A7.
Edited by dig123 on Friday 9th October 22:56
Edited by dig123 on Friday 9th October 22:57
History goes back to about 1960 but no records prior to that. For a long period it was owned by a chap called Harold Cross who was one of the head honchos at Austin, Longbridge. The story goes that he got the car as a bit of a backhander from one of Austin's main suppliers! Don't know how true that is but he started a restoration as a side line at Longbridge and the chap I bought it from prised it away from him after many year of wanting it. As I said he then fully rebuilt it but other than that I can't get much further back. He did write to a previous owner in Edinburgh who promised him photos of the car just after teh war but they never materialised. I have a buff log book from the early 60s but no other. Indeed, I wonder if I wrote to Swansea they may have the older ones?
Thanks Ian, you knew I was chasing something pre-war and with Ecurie Bertelli wanting £200k even for a 1.5 Litre the Lagonda seemed like a good idea. Actually I rather like the fact that it's a comfortable 4 seater and will accommodate picnics hampers, cricket sets and other stuff in the summer. Should be fun !
Just out of curiosity Rich - how hard is it to drive - I think you mentioned that the accelerator pedal isn't the same place as a modern car - and the gearbox is reversed. Is it easy to get used to?
http://www.austinmemories.com/page194/page194.html
http://www.austinmemories.com/page194/page194.html
Edited by RobDown on Friday 9th October 22:44
Edited by RobDown on Friday 9th October 22:53
Not sure Swansea will be able to help as I believe the destroy old records, the Heritage Motor Centre may be able to help http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/archive-ser...
RobDown said:
That's the chap, Harold Cross, Cheif Projects Engineer. It was his car for many years..
That's a beautiful restoration and car. How things change... I once toyed with the idea of getting my first car back from 50 years ago - an Austin Healey 100/4. But I recently spoke to an owner of a 3000 which has better mechanicals, and he said driving was a chore compared to today's sophisticated engineering. He had to plan 100 yards and more ahead for braking as they were simply not that good. I'm yours is even more challenging in the stopping department, but looks like a lot of fun nonetheless.
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