Daimler 4.2 Auto 1983

Description:

For a short video of the vehicle running please click here

A letter from the owner:

If ever there was a motor car that was cherished it was my parents dark blue Daimler 4.2 auto registered in December 1983 as A566 MTT.
My mother Gladys Dorothy Lewis was a force to be reckoned with and when she was told that no more Daimler’s were being made she promptly said ‘in that case I don’t want one at all.’
That did the trick and the Daimler was made for her.  She claimed it was the last one manufactured but perhaps she just liked the idea that no one else had what she had. Essentially it was my mothers car even though my father drove her, it was her pride and joy. It was always kept in the garage under sheets while my fathers Ford rusted away outside.  He used the Ford on his fishing trips and whenever he went out however my mother would not dream of even sitting in it. If they went out together on the 3 mile round trip to the shops she had him take out the Daimler and when they arrived home it was put back in the garage for her to clean and place the sheets over it once again.  She never took it out in the rain.  If it was raining she just waited for fine weather to shop. Her gardener took over the driving when my father passed away and she sat in the back for outings until her death in 2011 at the age of 100. I inherited it then and decided to keep it where it was. I took it to a Jaguar specialist in Exeter who cleaned the twin tanks and the carburettors of detritus.  He also fixed the timing so it would run on unleaded. He used to work on the assembly line and told me that he almost thought he was back there when underneath looking at the bright clean new looking exhaust system. He said it was the best example he had seen outside of a museum. There it sat with the occasional outing into the front yard until I needed the garage as a workshop for improvements to the house. That was 2019 and although I put it under a fitted cover my conscience told me that it was time I let it go to be enjoyed by others and I gradually prepared myself for parting with it. The only thing not original is a new battery fitted in December of 2019 when it had its MOT. The mileage was then 7507 miles.

It is my dearest wish that this little piece of British History which my mother was so proud of owning goes on to a place where people can enjoy its remarkable first 37 years of preservation and something of her story relating to her motor car can live on with it.

Auctioneers Notes: She is quite magnificent, a very rare find indeed. We are proud to have been picked by the vendor to offer this unique piece of British motoring history at our auction on the 24th of April. May be viewed now, by appointment.