Lot Ended
Description
Fully restored about 16 years ago and only 800 miles
since; stunning condition; driven 40 miles to the sale; runs beautifully;
find a better one!
The 1947
Vanguard was Standard’s first post-war model and was completely new from stem to
stern. Named after the famous WW2 battleship HMS Vanguard, it was aimed squarely
at the export market which swallowed virtually all of the production until 1950
when they finally started to filter onto the car-starved home market.
To appeal
to the all-important American buyer, styling was heavily influenced by the
‘beetle back’ Plymouth and it was fitted with the same famously robust 2,088cc
wet-liner engine that powered the Ferguson TE20 tractor, the Triumph TR2 and the
Morgan +4. Transmission was initially by a column-change three-speed gearbox
with synchromesh on all forward ratios.
Front
suspension was independent and anti-roll bars were employed both front and rear.
It had powerful hydraulic brakes all round which were often put to good use, the
car being good for 78mph - impressive performance at the
time.
The Series
II came along in 1953 featuring a more conventional three-box design and Laycock
overdrive that operated on second and third giving, in effect, a five-speed
gearbox. It was replaced by the more conventional and rather less bulbous Series
III in 1955 by which time around 80,000 had been sold.
This
stunning Vanguard Series II has a rather sad story behind it. First registered
in Surrey in July 1953 with the number TPE 54, nothing is known of the car’s
early history but it was subsequently acquired by a married couple who embarked
on a major restoration to bring the car up to showroom condition. We don’t know
exactly when the restoration was completed, but it was probably about 15 years
ago – an online check of the MOT history shows that it flew through an MOT in
March 2008 with no advisories, the mileage at this point being
14,060.
Although
there are no invoices to show exactly what was done, it was clearly a
top-quality job and the car still looks almost showroom fresh today. The wife
then sadly passed away and the car was put into storage for the next dozen
years. Our vendor had fond memories of owning an identical Vanguard in his youth
and could not resist buying this car to add to his collection in 2021. He has
fully recommissioned the car and it has been carefully stored and lightly used
since, the odometer now showing 14,845 miles.
Only
reluctantly for sale due to an impending house move, it was driven some 40 miles
to the sale and has been starting promptly and running like a Swiss watch as we
have moved it around on site, with good 50psi oil pressure. It comes with a V5C,
an owner’s instruction manual and a Pitman’s book on the
Vanguard.
As you can
see in the photos, it looks absolutely stunning, the period sun visor and
spot-lamps adding a nice sporting touch, the only real blemishes we noted being
a slight dent on the rear right door and a couple of paint bubbles on the
front apron. The glovebox lid looks loose in the photos but closes properly when
locked.
Surely the
finest Vanguard you could ever wish to find, this wonderful car will turn heads
wherever it goes and would sit well in any collection.
For
more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email
james.dennison@brightwells.com