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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
• Sale Date:
  19 Jun 2016 ~ 3pm
• Lot #:
  43
• Lot Description:
  1932 VAUXHALL SILENT 80 RICHMOND SALOON
  Chassis No: T2373; Engine No: 356177; This vehicle will be sold unregistered.
• Notes:
  Often the proud centrepiece of the finest vintage sports car collections around the world, the Vauxhall stands proud in British Automotive history. This famous British car maker, like a handful of similar innovators from the turn of the last century that remain today, has a very interesting and industrious sporting history, compared as rivals with Bentleys and Rolls Royce of the day. The first Vauxhall car was built in 1903 and gradually, Vauxhall Motors as it became known in 1907, started producing cars for the sporting driver with the major attribution going to Laurence Pomeroy. Pomeroy's first car, Y-type Y1, reached astonishing speeds at Brooklands of 200 miles (320 km) at an average speed of 46 mph. This hatched the mass production of the Vauxhall A-type capable of 100 mph and one of the most applauded 3-litre cars of its day. Two cars competed in the 1910 Prince Henry Trials, precipitating the production of the C-type, better known as the Prince Henry. After the 1918 armistice, the D-type remained in production, along with the sporting E-type and the OE-type 4 cylinder Vauxhall 30/98 built from 1913 to 1927 - regarded as highly desirable by Royal families in UK and Europe. But, the crux of the matter was these spectacular prestige cars could not sustain Vauxhall and the company needed a strategic partner. After Pomeroy left for the USA and was replaced by C.E King in 1925, Vauxhall was acquired by GM for US$2.5 million. Its target market changed and by 1928 the 20/60 R-type, 6 cylinder, 2.8-litre, 4 speed was introduced. But in 1930, the range of saloons improved to the T80 3-litre, 6 cylinder saloon cars. Then the Silent 80 3.3-litre, released in 1931- 1932, was the last iteration of the 20/60 and so called for its silent third gear. To differentiate between the T80 and the Silent 80, the latter had an all new steel cased gearbox designed to accommodate the axial thrust of the helical gears and no interchangeable parts with the earlier T80 cast aluminium gearbox (originally designed by C.E.King for the 23/60) and can also be easily identified by the radiator which has an integral slanting wire mesh. The chassis is 123 inches long and the entire body is insulated from the chassis by rubber blocks to minimise vibration. And furthermore, the sales brochure of the day define the model's improvements as: the present air cleaner is replaced by a combined air silencer and cleaner, which is specifically designed to diminish carburettor intake noise; the fan has been redesigned to reduce fan noise and engine vibration will ... diminish by the considerable strengthening of the rear engine support...its silent third gear...noise from the lower gears has been ...reduced because of the design of the new gearbox. The rubber insulation between the gear springs and the axle...have been introduced. And...the Luvax-Bijur One-Shot Chassis Lubrication...should not be lost to sight... The catalogue specifically for the year 1932 promoted 6 models including The Richmond Saloon having ample room for 5 people with a central arm rest; a flush-fitting sliding roof; adjustable front seats with pockets in the back; safety glass (Protectoglass) throughout and silk window blinds; interior spring roller sun-visor, weather louvres and four-speed non-synchromesh gear-box. This fine example on offer has a well-documented history being written about in the 1995 edition of the English Vauxhall Club magazine, The Flute News. The car was found dismantled in Florida. The car is believed to have been first owned by an Englishman, who then sold it to an American living in Florida. When this second owner died, his family dismantled the car and crated it up. Some 15 years later a student from Columbia University discovered the car, bought the chassis and crated parts and rebuilt it. According to the current owner, he purchased the car in 2002 after first seeing it in 1992 after its arrival in Fremantle, in 1991. It was imported in to Australia from the New York Automobile Auctions. It is thought to have originally been a British Consular car having remained right hand drive in Phoenix, Arizona. The owner believes this car is the only one of its kind in Australia and following careful research has not identified another Silent 80 Richmond Saloon in the world. According to the Vauxhall's 1932 parts catalogue, Silent 80 Chassis numbers were T2200-T2398 and therefore a mere 198 cars were built but, how many of these were The Richmond model is unknown. And, according to the English register in 1997, there were 3 known Silent 80's including this one. The Vauxhall Register can only provide data stating the known whereabouts of 13 T80s of which 2 are Silent 80s making this car extremely rare. This Silent 80 Richmond Saloon, epitomising an era of luxury and design, is finished in dark blue with black top and blue leather interior being one of the 3 colour options in the sales catalogue of 1932. The wheels and hubs, lights and door jewellery are all original. The saloon is fully lockable including the original style metal luggage truck. Since its acquisition by the vendor in 2004, it has undergone refurbishment to the carpets, headlining and sunroof and window blinds in a silken material by Design Auto Interiors of Bayswater. The car retains the folding armrests and the quick action driver's window release and the standard reverse light. Regular servicing has been attended to and a head gasket changed in 2013. Receipts are available and some paperwork from the previous owner and a photocopy of an original service manual accompany the car. This rare saloon carries the handsome Vauxhall Speedbird mascot: a stylised Art Deco emblem of the Griffin mascot designed in 1927 by body designer, Arthur Bratcher, which was featured on Vauxhalls until 1935. In original and sound running order this Vauxhall provides a unique opportunity to acquire a quality and truly rare and collectable motor car of the 1930s.
• Estimate:
  A$38,000 - 45,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.