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Jun 27, 2011 9:26 am
Jun 27, 2011 9:26 am
Subject: Re: Are my M45 backing plates designed for cycle mudguards?
Here are Dave’s photos. Very interesting! We have to remember several rules with Lagondas – firstly, a customer could have anything they wanted. and secondly, no two Lagondas are alike so you will always find an exception to prove the rule.
To my eyes, the cycle wings and ski running boards on Dave’s car look pretty original. This is supported by the fact that the headlamp bracket assembly is braced as per cycle winged cars. Also note that these wings turn with the wheels compared with helmet wings often fitted to ST24 cars. Now it gets confusing. The ski running boards were normally supplied to cars with fixed helmet wings. These do not move with steering whereas the cycle wings do and cars with these wings cars normally had short running boards.
So here are my thoughts. Perhaps a customer was upgrading from an earlier car and liked cycle wings. I’m sure the sales man would be very happy to agree to an unusual specification, or being 6 months from bankruptcy in 1935, perhaps the factory had some cycle wing kits left over and made this as a special edition to clear the stock. Or maybe the car might have had a crash early in its life and was repaired locally or went back to the factory to be fitted with a new or second hand cycle wing kit.
Whatever the reality is, these are clearly original Lagonda made wings which have been on the car for a long time.
Dave’s chassis number is Z11143 which is one car later than my M45 saloon number Z11142. Both of our cars were ST34 bodies and I have posted a picture of my car taken around 1937 which has the normal long wings. Curiously, Dave’s car was registered in mid November 1934 whereas mine was not registered till mid April 1935, four months later. Perhaps mine was a demonstrator on trade plates or maybe simply hung around unsold in a dealer’s showroom.
Dave, thanks for the photos. I look forward to seeing your M45 in its new cycle-winged tourer guise. For me, part of the fun with Lagondas is tracking down quirks such as these.
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Here are Dave’s photos. Very interesting! We have to remember several rules with Lagondas – firstly, a customer could have anything they wanted. and secondly, no two Lagondas are alike so you will always find an exception to prove the rule.
To my eyes, the cycle wings and ski running boards on Dave’s car look pretty original. This is supported by the fact that the headlamp bracket assembly is braced as per cycle winged cars. Also note that these wings turn with the wheels compared with helmet wings often fitted to ST24 cars. Now it gets confusing. The ski running boards were normally supplied to cars with fixed helmet wings. These do not move with steering whereas the cycle wings do and cars with these wings cars normally had short running boards.
So here are my thoughts. Perhaps a customer was upgrading from an earlier car and liked cycle wings. I’m sure the sales man would be very happy to agree to an unusual specification, or being 6 months from bankruptcy in 1935, perhaps the factory had some cycle wing kits left over and made this as a special edition to clear the stock. Or maybe the car might have had a crash early in its life and was repaired locally or went back to the factory to be fitted with a new or second hand cycle wing kit.
Whatever the reality is, these are clearly original Lagonda made wings which have been on the car for a long time.
Dave’s chassis number is Z11143 which is one car later than my M45 saloon number Z11142. Both of our cars were ST34 bodies and I have posted a picture of my car taken around 1937 which has the normal long wings. Curiously, Dave’s car was registered in mid November 1934 whereas mine was not registered till mid April 1935, four months later. Perhaps mine was a demonstrator on trade plates or maybe simply hung around unsold in a dealer’s showroom.
Dave, thanks for the photos. I look forward to seeing your M45 in its new cycle-winged tourer guise. For me, part of the fun with Lagondas is tracking down quirks such as these.
Attachments: