1938 Lagonda V12 Short Chassis Drophead

1938 Lagonda V 12 Short Chassis Drophead

Chassis number: 14064

Registration number: FBU 447

One of around 28 surviving V 12 Dropheads of which half are in private collections and museums. This is a rare car & represented the epitome of stylish pre-war motor cars. Under the current ownership. the car has been regularly used & is often to be seen at the local pub & cricket pitch rather then shut away in a never opened garage. as a result. the car is lightly but pleasantly patinated similar to ones favourite arm chair.

A massive engine rebuild was undertaken in 2001 (for which there are photos & bills on file) & less than 5000 miles have been covered since. The car is thus mechanically very strong & accelerates up hills behind modern cars in a most un-prewar like fashion. Paintwork is older dark green whilst the interior is green leather in very useable & tidy condition. The roof which almost never is put up. despite erecting very easily is a beige mohair item in close to new condition.

The previous owner. Charles Good (descendant of former MD of Lagonda) had the car for 15 years and spent a great deal of money on tidying it all up. He stored it every winter and paid to have it recommissioned each spring. The specialist that he used for storing and working on the car charged him nearly £100 k over that time although that did include a complete rebuild/restoration of the engine after serious problems poss due to crankshaft failure. So the majority of the engine components were replaced with new (from LMB and Lag Club) and it was rebuilt by Mel Cranmer in 2001 (pictures available). who many consider to be the best at these V 12 engines. The fact that Mel had done this work was one of the attractions of the car for the current owner who was looking for & indeed got trouble free vintage motoring from it.

The current mechanical condition is excellent - everything works. The current custodian does the basic maintenance programme every year against a schedule (replacing all fluids. removing all wheels to check brake shoes. plugs and points. thorough greasing. etc etc) and also has an MOT-type check done every year. This is partly to prove that it is roadworthy and as a fallback. in case there were an accident and the other party claimed that the car had not had an MOT for years. so he needed some proof of its good condition. Also. the tester is very picky and always trying to catch him out. so that is a good test!

A brief history which is the same as the details held by the Lagonda Club archive is in the photo gallery. It is one of the few cars for which the archive has all of the histories since leaving the factory. I have to emphasize how well the car drives & how powerful these V 12 Lagonda are. It is a superb machine that conducts itself in high speed touring mode with aplomb. whilst being comfortable for four full sized adults.

A large gallery of high resolution pictures may be viewed on our web site.

Office 01375 379 719
Richard Biddulph 07967 260 673
Paul Fox 07955 588 019

We accept credit/debit cards.
Part exchange welcome.
Weekend & evening viewings welcome.
Viewings by appointment please.

Prestige House.
9 Globe Industrial Estate. br/>Grays. br/>Essex. br/>RM 17 6 ST

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