Are Daimler Darts becoming more widely appreciated?

[Gawsworth]

I noticed a good clip of Jay Leno's Daimler Dart restoration, he seems quite taken with the car. Win Percy and Chris Evans are relatively recent admirers and Quentin Wilson (who has 2 I believe) has been a fan since he bought his first while at university.

[Rangeroverover]

Are you the ????? Omnibus company I bought a red dart, overdrive etc from in the late 80s and sold a dark blue one to, based at Gawsworth Hall?

[dartissimus]

Google Earth, Holmfirth

[forsure]

First car I travelled at over 100mph in - around 1963-ish. Friend of my dad's was servicing one, he'd treated it to some Redex and took it out for a blast. He picked us up on the way; we saw 100 on the M1, and then 105 on the road from Hemel to St Albans. I was in the back seat and the hood was down; thrilling experience for me - aged 10.

Eta: You're right about Quentin Willson's enthusiasm:

Edited by forsure on Saturday 30th May 14:10

[medieval]

I think they always were to be honest - always seemed to carry a premium although the beauty of the front end looks was very much in the eye of the beholder


Those Edward Turner V8s are wonderful though..........

[gothatway]

Tut tut. Some pedant will soon be along to tell you that they're called SP250s, not Darts, because GM (?) objected.



See, told you so !

[dartissimus]

The script is pretty close to the Dodge Dart script as well

[gdaybruce]

Back in the early 70s my brother was stopped for speeding on the M1 in his SP250. He had been cruising at his customary 110mph and was flagged over by a police car which pulled out from a slip road in front of him. The officer asked him if he was aware that he was being chased by another police car which had been pursuing him for a good few miles but couldn't catch up and so had radioed for assistance. In due course a police Jaguar pulled in behind. The driver's comment was "if they charge you for costs this thing needs a new engine - it's been boiling for miles and there's no oil pressure left!" Luckily, my brother got the standard fine and three points and was left feeling rather good about the Daimler's ability to outrun a police Jag! He and I then went on to spend a fortnight cruising to Italy via as many Alpine passes we could find. This proved that a) the SP250 made a great tourer, b) it could outrun an Alfa GTV on the straights but was a challenge on the bumpy hairpins and c) a Porsche 911S was decisively quicker (everywhere!).

I asked him recently, out of all the cars he's owned (Lotus, Alvis, Lagonda, to name a few from a long list) which would he have most like to have kept. I was slightly surprised when he said the Daimler.

[hygt2]

gdaybruce said:

Back in the early 70s my brother was stopped for speeding on the M1 in his SP250. He had been cruising at his customary 110mph and was flagged over by a police car which pulled out from a slip road in front of him. The officer asked him if he was aware that he was being chased by another police car which had been pursuing him for a good few miles but couldn't catch up and so had radioed for assistance. In due course a police Jaguar pulled in behind. The driver's comment was "if they charge you for costs this thing needs a new engine - it's been boiling for miles and there's no oil pressure left!" Luckily, my brother got the standard fine and three points and was left feeling rather good about the Daimler's ability to outrun a police Jag! He and I then went on to spend a fortnight cruising to Italy via as many Alpine passes we could find. This proved that a) the SP250 made a great tourer, b) it could outrun an Alfa GTV on the straights but was a challenge on the bumpy hairpins and c) a Porsche 911S was decisively quicker (everywhere!).

The Daimler Dart SP250 was used as a police car as well, the Met used them to chase bikers from Ace Cafe around North Circular. Funny that both the Triumph 110 and the Dart's engine were designed by Ed Turner and both were designed to do 110 (illegally and legally respectively).

[a8hex]

gdaybruce said:

and c) a Porsche 911S was decisively quicker (everywhere!).

Should have bought a Mini then
Damn it why can't I find the film of the Mini overtaking the 911 up the hairpins now that I want it.

[roscobbc]

As a 'youf' I remember a black police SP coming out of Romford nick or the courthouse next door.

[aeropilot]

hygt2 said:

The Daimler Dart SP250 was used as a police car as well, the Met used them to chase bikers from Ace Cafe around North Circular.

My old man was a Met copper back then, and as a car mad kid, I can still vividly recall going to the 'old' Wembley nick with my old man in the late 60's and gawping at a Met. Dart parked in the yard. It was one of the last left in Met service at the time, and while Dad was in sorting paperwork, he arranged for one of the traffic officers to 'keep me occupied' for half an hour by taking me for a ride around the block in the Dart...... happy days

[Yertis]

IMO these are some of the ugliest cars ever built.

And apparently they handle appallingly, though I admit I've never driven one so am happy to be corrected on that score.

[gdaybruce]

Yertis said:

IMO these are some of the ugliest cars ever built.

And apparently they handle appallingly, though I admit I've never driven one so am happy to be corrected on that score.

"Striking" is the word that comes to mind but also aerodynamic and practical with a big boot. I always think they look much better without the (optional) front bumper. Agreed that the chassis and steering left quite a bit to be desired but the engine was undoubtedly the stand out feature: smooth, torquey and by the standards of the day, powerful. I recall it produced a fantastic V8 exhaust noise at somewhere around 4000 to 4500 revs. Overall, as with many cars with quirky looks and the odd flaw, it was a car with real character.

[SP250]

I bought my first car a Grey Daimler Dart SP250 from a dealer in Mill Hill. The previous owner was Lord Baden Powell' son.
The registration number was 222 TAU. My brother drove it at around 130mph on the M1 with me as a passenger.Daimler in Willesden serviced it, replaced the discs etc. Lovely car, a chap in Watford made a replacement soft top. Unfortunately I damaged it near Warminster, Wilshire some time later and I left it at a garage for repairs. Before repairs were carried out I received a letter from the garage saying the car had been stolen. It was never found and as I was only 3rd party insured I received nothing for it. Must be somewhere. I still have the log book and the user/workshop manual.Great looking car sadly missed.

[gothatway]

SP250 said:

I still have the log book.

So you'll have the chassis and engine numbers probably - presumably the car hasn't resurfaced with a new registration ?

[dartissimus]

Darts have numbers for engine,chassis, body and gearbox, the club registrar has over 1500 recorded out of the 2500 made.
Unfortunately the body and chassis numbers are on removable plates so the chances of finding them in any form is remote.
Also, I believe that a Dart in bits is worth £6/7000 today so it would probably have been broken up.

[V8 Fettler]

hygt2 said:

The Daimler Dart SP250 was used as a police car as well, the Met used them to chase bikers from Ace Cafe around North Circular. Funny that both the Triumph 110 and the Dart's engine were designed by Ed Turner and both were designed to do 110 (illegally and legally respectively).

Did not the T110 and Dart V8 pre-date the 70 mph limit?

[swisstoni]

Yertis said:

IMO these are some of the ugliest cars ever built.

And apparently they handle appallingly, though I admit I've never driven one so am happy to be corrected on that score.

I'd love to know what the story was on the design of this car. The front is fantastic IMHO and then you walk around the back to find some 50's American sedan rear end!
Big shame as it had a lovely V8 too.

[johnxjsc1985]

Its a car I just cant make my mind up about. the prices have gone up last few years too.