1. A restored Daimler 15 seen here in the 1970s.
Chris contacted me in 2008, sending me photos of his current fleet of restored classics, which I hope to feature in the Your Cars section shortly. He's been restoring cars for many years, as this photo clearly illustrates, showing two cars that he once owned 30 or so years ago. The car nearest the camera is a 1934 Daimler 15, parked alongside a Wolseley 9, the latter being his first restoration, in 1970. The Daimler was completed in 1976.
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Chris adds: "Attached is a picture I have scanned & hope it arrives clearly to you. It's of my Wolseley 9 (the first car I restored in 1970). The other car is my 1934 Daimler 15, which I restored in 1976. Sadly I've got rid of both of them now. I'm the bloke in the picture with the long hair;on the right, and thats my daughter by my side (incidentally I've now lost that hair & am now retired! more time to spend on my other 6 cars though!!). Both cars were in a very poor state when I acquired them."
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Thanks again for the pic Chris, both cars look fantastic! The Daimler 15 of 1932 - 1934 was only built in moderate numbers, and was available as a
4 door saloon, a 2 door fixed head coupe, a 4 door cabriolet, and also a drophead coupe, of either 2 or 4 seats. These Daimlers, including Chris' black 15hp example above (AHP 584), had an engine size of 1939cc.
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2. A Daimler 15 seen on a road run in the 1950s.
Next a much earlier photo of a Daimler 15 saloon, this time taking part in a road run for pre-war cars. The sight of a four door A35 driving by suggests a date in the 1950s/early 1960s. The location is Blackpool, as evidenced by the tram lines visible between the pavement and the promenade. Since putting this page live, I've discovered that the Daimler was competing on the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car
Rally of 1963. Just visible in the car's window is an entry pass for the event, with the letters L.A.C. on it. Maybe this stood for the Lancashire Automobile Club (founded in 1902)? Two other pre-war cars can be seen following the Daimler.
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The Daimler's registration was TJ 8164, a Lancashire series used between December 1932 and May 1935.
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Update! Latest news regarding TJ 8164.
In 2011 Peter dropped me a line with recent developments regarding the Daimler 15 shown above. Amazingly the car still survives, albeit not in the same condition as it was in Blackpool during the early 1960s:
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"Hello, I was browsing the web when I found a picture on your site entitled "A Daimler 15 seen on a road run in the 1950s". How pleased do you think I was when I realised that TJ 8164 is my car!
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I found it in a dilapitated carpenter's workshop in 2007. Unfortunately the years since that photograph was taken have not been kind to it. The tax disc in the car was dated 1968. Its engine was seized due to someone removing the cylinder head at some time, and much of the car was in pieces in boxes inside it. Woodworm had entirely eaten the floor away. Vandals had smashed the windscreen. Fortunately the instruments and fittings were untouched.
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The workshop was due to be demolished as the land it stood on had been sold. Bits of the car were strewn everywhere. These were collected together and the car was towed to my garage where it's been ever since. Safe at last..........
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Since then I have freed the engine up and found new piston rings for it. It had been stripped due to a failed small end I think. I have now located 6 nos con rods and a complete gasket set. I've also located all of the missing parts and had some re chroming done.
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Everything is in incredible un-worn condition. It has never been welded and needs none now. Mechanical parts show very little wear. It has rod and cable brakes. Interior is complete but has suffered worst but I plan to save it and use it. I plan to start restoration this year. I have even located a previous owner who had the car in Preston, Lancashire in 1961, so it's probably him driving it in the picture! He told me it is an ex MOD staff car.
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Oh how I dream of seeing this lovely car return to the road."
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Great to hear that the car still survives, good luck with the restoration!
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3. 1933 Daimler.
Thanks to Godfrey for sending over the next Daimler 15 photo to feature here. This was his father's first car, a 1933 model, and is seen parked with his father sat on the front bumper. Godfrey adds: "The photo was taken by my mother in about 1953 when they lived at Langford Maldon in Essex. My father was stationed at RAF Marham near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, and would always recount the story of how on his first journey back to Essex for the weekend, a big end bearing went. He dismantled the engine and replaced the bearing with the help of the RAF workshops and mechanic friend who had advised him to buy the then 20 year old Daimler. My mother, who was an RAF driver in the WAAF during the war, said the steering was heavier than the Bedford lorries she had to drive!"
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The 15hp Daimler, registration AGW 490, first took to the roads of London sometime after April of 1933. It served in Godfrey's family for two years before being replaced by a 1949 Austin 16.
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4. 1936 Daimler saloon.
A photo now from a batch I bought online. The location is an unidentified quayside, where at this precise moment in time, three gents are shown busying themselves with a recent haul of fish. Parked to the side, with the central gent's coat draped over its radiator, is a 1936 Daimler. The ASC registration series points to it spending the first years of its life in and around Edinburgh. 1936 was a year that saw several revisions and improvements made to the 15hp model, including "fuller" front wings when compared to the earlier type. The position of the windscreen wipers was also moved from above, to just below, the opening windscreen. The example shown below has also been fitted with full-width wheel discs.
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The photo has several pencilled notes on its reverse, most of which are legible:
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"Transferring the fish from the sea box to the metal tanks in which they are to be conveyed to you by car".
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The village of Broughton, in Biggar, Scotland, is also referred to.
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 6.
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A larger, 20hp, Daimler, with coachwork by Arthur Mulliner, can be found on this page in the vintage gallery.
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