Lot Ended
Description
1950 Lea-Francis 14hp Special
Unique two-door
coupe made by a Cornish cabinet maker in the late 1960s; veteran of various
European tours; recent new set of tyres; driven over 70 miles to the sale; a
most impressive LeaF all round
Like so many
British car companies, the Coventry firm of Lea-Francis started out in life as a
manufacturer of bicycles, first trying their hand at motorcars in 1904. For most
of the 1920s and ‘30s they concentrated on building small capacity sporting
models. The 12hp and the 14hp were introduced in 1937 and continued until late
1939 when the factory switched to manufacturing for the war
effort.
Post-war car production recommenced in
1946 with updated vehicles based on the pre-war designs. The 14hp Saloon and
Sports were luxurious and sporty for the era and were well-received, if rather
expensive, appealing to those who preferred individuality and craftsmanship over
mass produced conformity.
Power came from
Lea-F's own Riley-style twin-cam overhead-valve 1.8-litre four, designed by
Henry Rose who was also the key engineer behind the wonderful Riley engines.
From 1949 independent front suspension was adopted and demand for these fine
cars rose steadily, 2,133 finding customers before production came to an end in
1954.
This unique Lea-Francis started life in
1950 as a four-door 14hp saloon but was converted to a two-door coupe between
1969 and 1972 by Mr Arnold Weaver, a cabinet maker from Polperro, Cornwall. The
body, which has a whiff of the ‘Blue Train Bentley’ about it, is a Weymann type
with fabric over a wooden frame and is so well constructed that it still feels
rock solid over 50 years later.
Mr Weaver sold
the car in 1978 and it seems to have spent the next dozen years in a
collection in Holland, mainly on display with the occasional show outing, before
returning to the UK around 1991. From 2001 – 2021 it was owned by a Lea-Francis
Club member in Norfolk who took it on several European tours as well as touring
the UK and Ireland.
Correspondence, club magazines and rally plaques on
file document some of these trips during which the car was said to cruise
happily at 65mph with 26mpg economy. Six old MOTs show that the car has covered
around 11,000 miles since 1993.
Our vendor has
recently serviced the car and fitted four new Waymaster tyres. He tells us that
the LeaF performs remarkably well and is surprisingly easy to drive. He drove it
over 70 miles to Brightwells and we have enjoyed tootling it round the yard
ourselves and can confirm that it goes well, feeling like a much younger car.
The vendor advises that the tachometer is not currently working and will need a
new cable.
The build quality is a tribute to
the cabinet-making skills of Mr Weaver and the attention to detail is
marvellous. Nice touches include the milled aluminium dashboard, the vanity
mirror and art deco lights for the rear seat passengers, the LeaF pennant on the
front wing and the Perspex-lidded tool tray under the bonnet. Other
useful features include twin air horns, a thermostatically controlled electric
fan, a red jerry can on the running board and of course the independent
front suspension.
Supplied with a good file of
history, this unique and handsome LeaF is well known to the club and will draw
lots of interest wherever it goes. It feels remarkably robust and no doubt has
many more European tours ahead of it in the hands of a fortunate new owner. Go
on, you only live once…
For more information
contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT