1928 Delage DR70 Weymann Saloon.

1928 Delage DR70 Weymann Saloon.

Chassis number 26290
Engine Number 922
Registration number YV2757

Chassis number '26290'. with engine number '922'. was imported by J Smith & Co. Delage's main UK agents. who added the six-light Weymann saloon body. This reduced import duty and the DR70 retailed at around £600.

The car was purchased new by R S (Reg) Dixon. of Brandon. Suffolk. managing director of Fox Umbrellas. It was first licensed on 27th April 1928 and taxed up to 1955.

Reg Dixon had three children and one of their young neighbours in the 1930s was Peter Holmes. who later became a Ford dealer and garage owner in the same town of Brandon. Indeed. in 1955 he made his first new car sale to Reg Dixon. who was beginning to find the Delage too big for him. Some ten years later. Reg's widow asked Peter Holmes to take the Delage off her hands. Peter Holmes kept it in an old cowshed for another ten years before carrying out a certain amount of restoration in the mid-1970s. as recorded in a local press report of January 1975. He managed to drive it only 12 miles (on trade plates) before putting it back into store. A new-style V5 registration document was issued in his name.

The Delage was bought by the previous owner in March 1996. It was by then in a "barn find" state. even if it had - allegedly - been driven into the auction hall under its own power. Restoration work did not start until a year later. when the new owner retired from full time employment. and the project was to continue on and off for another ten years. The body was removed and stored separately after repairs were carried out to the wooden frame. New ash was used to replace any defective timbers after stripping off all the outer fabric and the internal linings and upholstery. All the seats and doors were stripped bare before repairs and re-trimming commenced.

By this time the engine was out. and the axles were removed to overhaul the road springs and renew their badly worn bronze bushes. The chassis itself was stripped of wiring. pipework and all other fittings. Cleaned down to bare metal and undercoated. the chassis then went off for re-spraying. Then followed a long process of reassembly. All the copper pipes were renewed and all bright work re-plated in nickel (by London Chroming). The instruments were overhauled (by Vintage Restorations of Tunbridge Wells) and all six wheels re-spoked and shod with new tyres. The electrics were totally rewired and some modern driving aids such as stoplights. indicators. dipping halogen headlight bulbs. rear reflectors and a windscreen washer installed.

The wings and bonnet were re-sprayed by Fourways Engineering. of Borough Green. who had also helped by repairing the spring shackles. The paint was chosen to match the colour of the Everflex material used for the car's exterior. which is itself as near as possible to the original 'Delage Blue'.

Re-covering the exterior. attaching all the linings. making up carpets and re-upholstering was carried out in stages over many months. in West Malling. by John 'The Trim' Taylor. an ex-James Young craftsman. now retired. Several hides were needed for the leather in the seats and door linings. The rear luggage trunk was of later re-construction by the owner himself. using an old one picked up at auction as a pattern and for its fittings. which were re-plated.

In 2003/4 the engine went away to Rugby for a total rebuild. New cylinder liners were pressed in. new pistons sourced. bearings re-metalled. etc. After refitting the engine. there were still a lot of other jobs to do. including the remanufacture of a distributor and overhaul of the dynamo. before the Delage was given its first ever MoT test. The car was then re-licensed in August 2006 - a gap of 50 years since the last tax disc had expired! The opportunity was taken in 2007 to overhaul the gearbox and fit a water temperature gauge and two electric fans. Very few miles were covered in 2007 and 2008.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

Want to buy this car?