Case histories

We test the classics that you can buy

LAGONDA 3 LITRE T2

Year of manufacture 1930 Recorded mileage 6796 Asking price £110,000 Vendor Tom Hardman, near Preston, Lancs; tel: 07803 585628/01756 719056; www.tomhardman.co.uk WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £650 (chassis only) Max power 75bhp Max torque n/a 0-60mph n/a Top speed 83mph Mpg 20

This handsome and tidy-looking 3 Litre was rebuilt from a low-chassis saloon (car Z9007), having been found derelict in a field in 1990. Just 66 3 Litres are believed to remain. The chassis side rails had to be replaced with new replicas during the rebuild, though the crossmembers are original. The replica T2 Touring body is nicely made, dead straight and in very good order, with the only blemish being one tiny bit of wear to the fabric at the edge of the left-hand bonnet leaf. The chrome on the radiator shell and Lucas headlights is all good, and the wheels pass the spoke test; they’re shod with Firestones, two-thirds worn and probably new at restoration, with the same on the spare. It wears a lovely, swoopy pair of aluminium running boards.

The seat leather, beautifully made by the late Anne Taylor, is holding up extremely well, while taking on a lovely patina – likewise the dashboard, stocked with matching Smiths instruments and fronted by a nice Bluemel’s sprung wheel, with a useful spotlight on the right ’screen pillar. The carpets are newish and the hood is serviceable, but there are no sidescreens.

The Lagonda has covered only 17,000 miles in the 18 years since the restoration, and is in basically good mechanical health. The motor is of ‘used’ appearance, filled with waterless coolant, and the oil is brownish but a good level – checked by a dipstick rather than a float on this car.

The 2931cc straight-six starts easily with a lovely timbre and goes very well, though the clutch – to the right of the centre throttle – feels a bit soft. Lagondas of this period have a right-hand gearchange with a back-to-front pattern (first and second in the right-hand plane) and can be awkward, though this is probably the nicest we’ve tried, giving a fast change that’s easy to master. It tracks straight, with no noticeable slop in the steering, the oil pressure is 45psi on the move and it didn’t get hot. A very usable, fast tourer – it will cruise comfortably at 65-70mph, at around 2500rpm – with decent brakes, and still half the price of a Bentley 3 Litre.

SUMMARY

EXTERIOR

Good replica body

INTERIOR

Lovely patina to the leather; nice dashboard

MECHANICALS

Goes well; good gearchange for a Lagonda

VALUE ++++++++,,

For Very usable

Against Rebodied; no sidescreens

SHOULD I BUY IT?

Yes, if you want a car for driving rather than showing. The price reflects the overall condition and slightly non-original status