Many years ago I went to Cornwall to view a very rare, pre war Daimler four door cabriolet that a fellow club member was keen to sell. The car required more work than I was prepared to undertake at that time, and I passed the information on to another, more experienced enthusiast, who purchased the car and started a comprehensive restoration. The chassis and running gear have been refurbished, many ancillaries have been repaired and new parts fabricated, in readiness for refitting to the car.
Due to the acquisition of a more exciting project, the restoration stalled and the car was covered over with a water proof sheet and stored outdoors. Fast forward a decade and the car was once again about to be sold. Although I have promised myself that I will not take on any more full restoration projects, I could not resist this one.
The Daimler is one of around a dozen fitted with four door cabriolet coachwork by Salmons and Sons, and one of only six known to survive. Most Salmon’s cars of this era have the Tickford winding head, this model, thought to have been built only on Daimler and Rover chassis, has a spring assisted mechanism.
The car was built in 1939 but not registered until 1946, I at first thought that this chassis was one damaged when the Daimler works were almost destroyed during the blitz. Many chassis including DB18s stored at the works, were wrecked in an air raid in September 1941. Several of this batch were repaired and sold after the war, one DB18, just 7 chassis numbers away from this car, was recorded as damaged but later salvaged. However I have subsequenlty discovered that this particular style of coachwork was only built by Salmons before the war.
Dennis Mynard’s book ‘Salmons & Sons The Tickford Coachbuilders’, reveals that several Rover and Daimler chassis were delivered to Salmons at Newport Pagnall, in late 1939 and not fitted with bodies until 1940. These cars were put into storage ‘for the duration’ and sold as new cars in 1946, this Daimler was undoubtedly one of these. The first owner must have been delighted with this luxurious and very stylish cabriolet. It should be remembered that in post war, austerity Britain, the purchase of a any new car was subject to huge purchase tax and covenants regarding re-sale, ‘Export or die’ was the watchword.
The cabriolet is constructed on the reliable and rugged 2 1/2 litre DB18 chassis, I have had several cars of this type and have every confidence that this will be a straightforward project. Unfortunately I really must complete other projects before finishing this exciting motor car. I plan to safely store the car and its many (catalogued) component parts in a secure dry garage until the day comes when time is available to carry on with the project.
Having got myself into the position of having too many projects, one of the side effects of receiving a bite from the old car bug, I made the decision to pass the car on to my friend Clayton Spear. Clayton has restored many old cars, including several Daimlers.
Once loaded onto the hired trailer I towed the car along the M5 to Weston Super Mare, the journey was uneventful although I have a suspicion that we may have lost some of the hood fabric on the way.
Clayton has a methodical and persistent approach to restoration, this is a huge project and Clayton’s couple of hours a day has resulted in a tremendous amount of progress being made. The chassis and running gear were tackled first, followed by the engine and gearbox.
Once the car was running Clayton was able to easily move the car in and out of the garage to tackle the coachwork. The passenger side central pillar had been the subject of a previous repair, unfortunately the doors would not close properly and the pillar had to come out and be refitted in its correct position, a few words in a line of text, but many hours were sent getting this right.
The front wings were bead blasted, revealing many areas of corrosion, these were cut from the car back to clean steel, then new repair sections were fabricated and welded in place. The entire coachwork then received the attention of a hammer and dolly to dress out dozens of small dents. The long tedious job of filling and flatting, started, followed by even more filling and flatting until eventually, the coachwork was ready for primer.
Clayton has adopted the same method that I have used on several cars, using rollers and brushes, a synthetic coach paint has been applied to the car. The Daimler is now running and looking very presentable. I am hoping that by next summer I shall be enjoying a drive in this rare and handsome DB18 touring car.
An hour or two every day spent restoring the car bring surprising results, the car is seen here with all of the panels repaired and painted in synthetic coach enamel.
The difference a few days can make is remarkable, the car now looks finished with its screen. lamps and bumpers in place.
Calyton invited me out on the Daimler’s maiden voyage around Weston-Super-Mare. We chose one of the hottest days of the year and set off with a very low reading on the fuel gauge, first destination was the nearest petrol station. Once we had fuel on board we continued on our journey keeping a weather eye on the dials and gauges, the car performed faultlessly, ran smoothly and did not overheat, we were both delighted. Clayton let me to have a drive, the engine pulls very well, the gear changes smooth and precise and the steering was very nice, although the brakes require bedding in. Lunch at the local hostelry ended a perfect day!
The Daimler is still receiving attention to the faults that inevitably arise when an old car is returned to the road following an enforced lay up, but anyone reading this can see from the photographs that Clayton has saved a car that could so easily have been lost as a breaker for spares.
During the restoration parts have been repaired rather than replaced, this extended to the interior. The leather and most of the door cards have been glued, stitched and patched in, however the rear drivers side door was missing its inner door card, a new one was made following the original pattern. A hood has yet to be manufactured and fitted, but the car is currently being used on dry days. It has recently had a safety inspection and was given the thumbs up.