Lot Ended
Description
Stunning polished aluminium coachwork; lusty 4-litre four-cylinder on
twin-SUs; loads of space; full weather equipment; ex-New Zealand car with
history; the ultimate Vintage Tourer of the period; driven 35+ miles to the
sale
At the turn of the last century, Vauxhall’s
reputation as a builder of cars for the top echelons of society was well
understood, the Vauxhall being considered somewhat more sporting in nature than
its competitors. Indeed, Vauxhall are often credited with producing Britain’s
first sportscar – the Prince Henry, or C-type model.
The Prince Henry’s
spiritual successor, the 30-98 made its debut as early as 1913, although very
few left the factory before war broke out. Vauxhall’s popular 25hp model became
the transport of choice for staff officers during the War and when hostilities
ceased, Vauxhall soon introduced their new models, the D-type 23-60 which was an
updated 25hp and the E-type which was a mildly revamped pre-war 30-98
model.
Both shared many features, the D-type having a longer and heavier
chassis than the overtly sporting E-type, the former proving particularly
popular with outside coachbuilders who often fitted formal closed coachwork
rather than the elegant open offerings from the factory.
The D-type 23-60
used a four-cylinder monobloc 3,969cc fixed head engine, producing about 60bhp
at 2,000rpm, driving through a four-speed gearbox. It was good for over 60mph
with factory open coachwork. Front brakes were initially considered sissy and
retardation on the 23-60 was supplied by the two rear brakes and a transmission
brake. However front-wheel brakes were offered as an option and from 1924
onwards they became standard which no doubt saved a few cars from ending their
days in a ditch.
As early as 1922, the D-type 23-60 had been given
overhead valves, the 30-98 having to wait until early 1923 to be similarly
upgraded. They were known from then on as the OD and OE respectively. More bhp
was on offer but it came at the expense of some of the extraordinary flexibility
of the earlier cars due to a shorter stroke, although they were still strong
performers by any measure.
Prices were generally slightly below those of
the comparable Rolls Royce, although Vauxhall began to drop their prices in
response to the recession of the early 1920s. The 23-60 was in production from
1922 and was eventually dropped by General Motors shortly after their takeover
of Vauxhall in 1925. Around 1,300 examples were produced with fewer than 10%
thought to survive today, although there is a very active
club/Register.
OD775
was specifically built up for Ian McKnee of Victoria by Max Houston of The
Vintage Garage at Central Mangrove north of Sydney. It was the intention of
McKnee to use the car in the Paris to Peking rally, however this never happened
and he passed away with his dream unfulfilled.
It is thought that the
mechanical work was done by Gavin Sandford-Morgan in Adelaide, the car ending up
in Grant Cowie’s workshop ‘Up The Creek’ where it was given an overhaul which
included a new camshaft to 30-98 spec which cheered up performance no
end.
It
has a new body built along the same lines as OD233 and has an upgraded engine
with twin-carbs, Alvis brakes grafted onto the original unbraked 23-60 axle and
the footbrake operating the four wheels with the handbrake on the transmission
brake.
The car was sold to the late David Skyrme who lived on The Bay Of
Islands at the top of the North Island in NZ. The car got little use before it
was subsequently purchased by our vendor and shipped to the UK and
registered.
OD775 having spent its formative years in Australia
was registered in NZ with a new local VIN, which is what currently shows on the
V5C now that it is back here – not that it matters. The car is well-known to the
23-60 Register.
The car has had further work to the handbrake just
recently and was driven some 35 miles to the sale. It has been running onsite
exhibiting the typical Vauxhall smoothness for which they were famed, the
Lanchester balancer aiding this, masking the fact that despite its four-litres,
it only has four-cylinders.
On offer at a very realistic price level for
a quality Vauxhall, it comes with a good hood, full set of sidescreens, tonneau
covers and lots of nice period fittings, including CAV lighting and a period
Wyvern radiator mascot.
For those who can’t quite stretch to a 30-98,
this well-presented 23-60 looks super value.
Contact
[email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT