Owning a Daimler 2½-litre V8

‘I bought this one at the Beaulieu Spring Autojumble five or six years ago,’ says Peter Swinyard. ‘I didn’t go there intending to buy a car. I walked past it, thought it was beautiful, so I bought it. I sent it up to Robert Grinter

(robertgrinter.co.uk) in Essex who only does V8 Daimlers, and he completed a full engine rebuild.

‘He weighs the conrods to make sure they all match. It runs so much more smoothly now. I had the gearbox rebuilt too – it’s a Borg-warner DG and it had sludged up – and I’ve had a higher rear axle ratio put in so it’s decent on motorways. The engine, gearbox, final drive and other fettling was about £16,500. I’ve had a couple of electrical failures. I had an auto electrician add relays for the headlights and replace some of the wiring that had just about had it.

‘It’s not a performance car – if you want that you get a 3.8 Jaguar, but this is better balanced.’