1922 Vauxhall 23/60 OD Tourer

Description

Fabulous top quality Vintage touring car; in the current ownership for 41 years; 4.0 OHV engine; only 1,000 miles since full restoration including new ash frame and aluminium body; one of only around 1,300 made and perhaps 100 surviving; driven 80 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 thoroughly established, the firm being renowned for producing handsome, finely engineered cars on a par with Bentley or Sunbeam. Indeed, Vauxhall are often credited with producing Britain’s first sportscar – the Prince Henry C-Type.

Under the inspired leadership of their celebrated Chief Engineer, Laurence Pomeroy, Vauxhall moved to even greater heights with the launch of the 30/98 in 1913, widely acknowledged as the finest British sporting car of the Vintage period.

During the Great War, Vauxhall’s popular 25hp model became the transport of choice for staff officers 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 by rear wheel brakes only (transmission and drums). Front wheel brakes were offered as an option and from 1924 onwards they became standard, no doubt saving 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 (the O denoting OHV). 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.

Priced slightly below a comparable Rolls-Royce, the 23/60 was in production from 1922 until 1926 and proved particularly popular in Colonial markets, transporting Imperial nabobs across the toughest terrain of the British Empire in impressive style. Approximately 1,300 were made, of which only around 100 are thought to survive today.

When General Motors took over in 1925, Vauxhall’s ‘golden age’ came to a close and things were never quite the same again.

First registered in Bedfordshire in 1922, this 23/60 OD was acquired by our vendor way back in March 1984 at which point it was a complete 23/60 chassis (no. OD109* - see footnote) with original OHV engine (OD110), gearbox (G332OA), rear axle (AB3314/A), radiator and dashboard. The bonnet, scuttle and wings had survived but the rest of the original Grosvenor Limousine coachwork was beyond restoration, as shown by photos on file.

Quite apart from being an automotive historian of some repute, our vendor is also a trained physicist and aeronautical engineer with an impressive collection of Vintage cars, many of which he has restored himself in his well-equipped workshop (lathes, milling machines etc). He tucked the Vauxhall away until he could find time to rebuild it, spending the intervening years tracking down various missing parts (instruments, magneto etc) and amassing a wealth of technical literature to assist with the task (a fraction of which is shown in the photos).

In 2009, shortly after he had retired, he finally had everything in place and over the next three years he carried out a meticulous restoration, retaining as much originality as possible, the whole process recorded by invoices, correspondence and many photographs on file (most on two CDs and a USB stick).  

All the original running gear was restored as required, as was the original OHV engine which was fully rebuilt with new pistons, liners, bearings etc. As the original limousine body was beyond redemption and our vendor already had other imposing Vintage saloons to run around in, he elected to fit a new four-seat tourer body that was professionally made in aluminium using the original drawings of one fitted to a 1922 Crossley 19.6 which had the same chassis dimensions. This was fitted to an all-new ash frame, professionally made to a very high standard (see photos).

The dash instruments were all refurbished and the interior was retrimmed with buttoned black leather upholstery, new carpets and a new tonneau cover in two sections to cover the front/rear passenger compartments as required. All six wheels were rebuilt and fitted with a new set of Excelsior 880x120 tyres supplied by those good chaps at Longstone Tyres.

Finally finished in July 2011 when it flew through its MOT with no advisories recorded, this expertly rejuvenated Vauxhall has been in regular use since, covering some 1,000 miles over the last dozen years. We are told that it goes as well as it looks, cruising happily at 50mph with more in hand if required – although it has front-wheel brakes only so you need to keep your wits about you in the cut-and-thrust of modern traffic.

Gamely driven some 80 miles to the sale, it has been starting easily and running well as we have moved it around on site, with healthy oil pressure.

On offer here at a very enticing guide price (the last 23/60 OD we sold made £65,000 in 2017), this magnificent machine is only reluctantly for sale due to an impending house move and consequent loss of storage. All it needs now is an enthusiastic new custodian who can reap the rewards of all the good work so recently carried out.

*Please note that when our vendor originally acquired the car in 1984, he could not find the chassis number so he used the serial number of the front axle, 3777, when applying for the V5C. During the restoration it became apparent that the chassis number was actually OD109 as this was painted on the underside of the bonnet and stamped into the timber frame in several places. Vauxhall historian Arthur Archer confirmed that it was standard practice at Vauxhall not to stamp the number into the chassis during the period when this car was made. Our vendor did not bother to get this error corrected by DVLA but this car is well-known to the Vauxhall Register who have it listed as chassis OD109 and they will be able to assist in getting the chassis number corrected on the V5C should the new owner wish to do so.   

Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]