This old girl has an amazing history, having been with the same family since 1960. She is a survivor and has quite naturally been a family pet after seven decades! She boasts a tank-like chassis and, having managed the best part 0f 118,000 documented miles after almost 72 years, she was taken off the road and given a complete engine rebuild. A treat she thoroughly deserved for being so loyal a vehicle all the way back to 1952. She is about 100 miles off being fully run-in!
Modelled largely on the American Plymouth, the Vanguard was an instant success although the bulk of the early models went all around the world as part of Britain's export drive. This made it extremely difficult to own a Phase 1 Vanguard in the UK as the bulk of them were exported. To give you just one example, in 1950 Germany imported cars from Britain, France and Italy (hard to believe after losing the war, but then they were not making any of their own!!). Anyway, in that year alone, the Vanguard represented a huge 70 per cent of all cars they imported.
Hence their rarity then - let alone now - in the UK. This is the Phase 1A which came with an improved front grille and larger rear window. It was at this point that Brits started to buy them at new. Standard were still major players in the British car market back then and, in fact, the company had originally chosen the Standard name several decades beforehand in an attempt to show that they were "flying the Standard" for the industry. Indeed the model name Vanguard was also carefully chosen. The HMS Vanguard was the UK's last battleship to be built during the Second World War and this, remember, was in an era when people paid great attention to names, titles and stature. Mmm, all the stranger then that the Germans were so keen on our Standard Vanguard!
This proud old girl is a 1952 model which has been in the same family for the past 60 years. It comes with a massive history - indeed social history. For example the chap I bought it from was driven home from hospital in the Vanguard just after he was born. Then, more than a couple of decades later, the same car was used on his wedding day!
A lovely driver with that Standard-Triumph 2088cc engine used in early TR sports cars. Some minor imperfection areas to the paintwork but nothing that detracts from the overall stunning appearance! A lovely car and what a huge head-turner!
Brakes could do with a strip and clean as rear right is sticking a little through lack of use.
Interior-wise, she is a delight. How on earth leather seats can smell like this after 72 years is utterly beyond me. Perfect amount of patina is the key here. Remember, the leather is original. The headlining which is light grey cloth is so good that it must have been replaced in recent years!
This description is based on my opinion of the vehicle, the paperwork that comes with the car and anything I have been told about it. The vehicle is 72-years-old and this cannot be taken as a definitive statement for obvious reasons. As with most classic cars, there may be faults and quirks whilst, almost inevitably, some degree of tinkering and care will always be called for. Such are the joys of owning an antique vehicle and they must be taken within their own context and not compared to modern day cars. They are sold as old, mainly out-dated machines and come without any comeback whatsoever. They are my terms and conditions.
My classic cars are motoring antiques. This car, for example, is 72-years-old. It's not two, five or even ten-years-old as your own everyday car may be. It has been in service for more than half a century and so will have quirks and faults in there somewhere. However, faults on these old girls are not always apparent when buying and selling classics which is what I do. I do not restore them, nor do I pretend that they are concours cars. The majority of them go out as they came in, and I continue to enjoy finding more - a skill which is becoming increasingly difficult as many of you will be aware. They deserve to be taken on as "family pets" and cared for through thick and then. They don't make them any more and demand now out-strips supply. Please bear all this in mind, and enjoy your classic car. I can also assist with delivery and so please ask for a quote.
I have now been established as a one-man band classic car dealer for 25 years and pride myself on my buying prowess and - due to small margins - my prices which I firmly believe are up there among the very best in the UK classic car marketplace.
MY PHOTOS SHOW THIS PROUD OLD GIRL WITH REAR SPATS FITTED AS WELL AS REMOVED.
Thanks, Martin. 07595 020282.