1931 Lea-Francis 12/40 HP P-Type Open Tourer

Originally best-known for their high-quality bicycles, the Coventry firm of Lea-Francis went on to produce a bewildering variety of cars during the 1920s. They eventually settled on using overhead-valve Meadows engines, which proved a shrewd move as these were extremely well-engineered units with great tuning potential, leading to race-winning models such as the Hyper and the Ace of Spades. Keen to capitalise on this success, various other models were produced for the wider market including the 1927 P-Type 12/40 which was powered by the renowned Meadows 1,496cc 4ED engine. More powerful than its predecessors, the 38hp 4ED necessitated the introduction of a redesigned chassis, which was longer, wider and equipped with semi-elliptic springing all round, a spiral bevel rear axle and four-wheel brakes. The result was one of the most spirited touring cars of the late-Vintage period.

The P-Type offered here dates from 1931 and is clothed in well-made open four-seater bodywork by Coventry-based Cross & Ellis, who also produced similar coachwork for Alvis. It was purchased as a restoration project by our vendor in November 1985 from Barrie Price. The restoration was a full 'chassis-up' with an engine rebuild which included new steel connecting rods and a change to coil ignition. The whole process was recorded and photographed and all the information and invoices are in the car's history file. The end result was very impressive, with some concours success leading to features in magazines and periodicals and VC 6810 naturally has a spot in 'The Lea Francis Story' by Barrie Price. It's only covered around 7,500 miles since the restoration and remains in very good condition today.

Much paperwork accompanies the car including the restoration photos and invoices, V5C Registration document together with an older log book and a copy of Barrie Price's book.

This is an excellent value family touring car that's been conscientiously restored and is ideal for VSCC events.