1931 | Lanchester 30 HP

1931 Lanchester 30hp Straight Eight Tourer.
Chassis Number: 8083
Registration Number: TK8587
One of only 126 made and 11 surviving; 4.4-litre straight-eight with dual ignition & no less then 16 spark plugs; expertly restored over a 30-year period; engineering to die for; all-aluminium coachwork; in regular use; a magnificent machine on every level “The gentle giant under the bonnet is so strong, so well-knit, so supple, and of such instant obedience that the heaviest task seems mere child’s play. At 70mph the pedal was not nearly down to the floor. It is a car with a stride, and a big stride, coupled with brakes that make you feel like the Bank of England, the best I have met on any car. Pressing the pedal is like pressing a cushion, and the brakes pull the car up with the gentle but firm insistence of an expert angler playing a trout.” Sunday Times, August 1929_._
“No other motorcar maker has ever received quite so much of the sincerest form of flattery as have Lanchester for their suspension system. The car seems glued to the road, free of pitch or jolt at all speeds. To eulogise the springing would be merely to gild the lily – to criticise would be childish... The engine simply cannot be felt, and it can be barely heard at any speed... It will accelerate from 3mph to 83mph in top gear.” Country Life, December 1928_._
A very very rare car & more expensive then the equivalent Rolls Royce when new. These rarely come to market & once you have driven one & experinced its superlative quality you can understand why people tend to hang onto them as not much approaches the quality short of a Dusenburg.
During the previous ownership, it has been in regular use both for holidays and various motoring events and shows all over the country. This includes the Lanchester Register rally that has taken place in various locations over the years and has been a multiple winner of the Owners Club Shield. Under previous long term ownership since 1994, amazingly there have been only four previous owners and was used only sporadically prior. It was originally owned by a Mrs. Van De Miere who lived in Bournemouth and was one of the very last Straight Eight cars built by Lanchester. It was then sold to a funeral business in Newbury during the war and used as part of a funeral cortège for a number of years.
In 1965, the car was bought by a previous owner who was an absolute fanatic for all things Lanchester. He had the car re-bodied as a replica of the car made for Nancy Lanchester using the original factory drawings and owned the car for the next 30 years and, although he completed the bodywork, he sold the car having never driven it on the road. The previous owner bought it in 1994 with a freshly re-built engine but required re-wiring. The head lamps were re-silvered and converted to twin filament bulbs. The Autovac was rebuilt and the fuel system flushed through. The all-weather gear and windscreen were re-manufactured to good effect with the Auster screen fitted at much the same time. The magneto was rebuilt by Martin Percy and the dashboard required a re-fresh to accommodate an original tachometer and period Tapley brake testing meter. The instrument panel is unusual in that it uses edge-lit Perspex working as a guide for instrument illumination, a technique used in modern fibre optics.
The original spark plug caps on Lanchester cars are unique, they are designed to be easily detachable whilst the engine is running; with only a few remaining, a new complete set were re-manufactured. On the exhaust side, the sleeves were made of a ceramic which was easily broken. These were replaced with of PEEK, a high temperature plastic. An adaptation picked up and used by a number of other Lanchester owners at the same time. The silencer was also completely re-placed by Franklins of Northampton. The interior baffles were in perfect condition however so only a new outer casing was required.
New brake shoes and relined brakes have been installed all round as well as a Clayton Dewandre servo under the driver’s seat to assist pedal effort. The cross-flow engine has a capacity of 4.4 litres with an overhead camshaft, the petrol pump is original with temperature controlled radiator shutters and dual ignition coil and a British Thomson-Houston magneto with two sets of spark plugs (16 in total). The ethos regarding the maintenance and restoration of this motor car has always been to use original parts wherever necessary.
During the previous ownership of this charming example, the owner and his family have enjoyed extensive holidays, car shows and events starting off with the 1995 Lanchester Centenary when it was this very car that appeared on the front page of Classic Car Weekly. Furthermore, the owner won the Lanchester Shield on a number of occasions participating in the appropriate register meetings. This is a truly unique motorcar, reportedly huge fun and highly recommended to any future owner.