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Jul 24, 2016 10:51 pm
Jul 24, 2016 10:51 pm
Subject: Re: 16/80 Tourer sold at Auction today
Hi Guys
I have been away and here are some more thoughts. I especially enjoyed Mark's analysis that the car was quite down at heel and that the auctioneers majored the Ivan Forshaw correspondence as part of the car’s history.
This caused me to reflect a little on Ivan. He was a pompous man. He joined the Army as a dispatch rider and styled himself as “Captain Forshaw,” where he ended up - a relatively junior army officer rank not to be confused with a Captain RN or RAF Group Captain. After the war there was a huge amount of snobbery regarding the kind of Lagonda you drove - 2 Litre vs 4.5 litre models and junior rather than senior ranks in the services. 16/80’s were regarded along with Rapiers as not proper Lagondas and beyond the pale by both camps. I had a 12/24 at the time and Ivan did not acknowledge these as worth consideration.
In the 1980’s I went up the stairs to Ivan’s office for an interview, to be quizzed about my job and my connections. However I was ultimately informed that I would be allowed to buy spares from him – at a price of course. Ivan’s letters were beautifully written and make interesting reading and as in this case they certainly add to the specific history of a particular car.
I agree with Mark that this is an interesting and good looking car. I feel the other learning point is that the £55k hammer price is spot on and the £7600 is just a premium to be paid for the convenience of buying at auction. Hopefully, the car now has a loving owner who will enjoy and improve it. The first job is to put in new steel con rods. Ivan never sold these. Other than this, there seems to be few missing parts and is a jolly nice project.
I look forward to seeing the car out and about.
Colin
Hi Guys
I have been away and here are some more thoughts. I especially enjoyed Mark's analysis that the car was quite down at heel and that the auctioneers majored the Ivan Forshaw correspondence as part of the car’s history.
This caused me to reflect a little on Ivan. He was a pompous man. He joined the Army as a dispatch rider and styled himself as “Captain Forshaw,” where he ended up - a relatively junior army officer rank not to be confused with a Captain RN or RAF Group Captain. After the war there was a huge amount of snobbery regarding the kind of Lagonda you drove - 2 Litre vs 4.5 litre models and junior rather than senior ranks in the services. 16/80’s were regarded along with Rapiers as not proper Lagondas and beyond the pale by both camps. I had a 12/24 at the time and Ivan did not acknowledge these as worth consideration.
In the 1980’s I went up the stairs to Ivan’s office for an interview, to be quizzed about my job and my connections. However I was ultimately informed that I would be allowed to buy spares from him – at a price of course. Ivan’s letters were beautifully written and make interesting reading and as in this case they certainly add to the specific history of a particular car.
I agree with Mark that this is an interesting and good looking car. I feel the other learning point is that the £55k hammer price is spot on and the £7600 is just a premium to be paid for the convenience of buying at auction. Hopefully, the car now has a loving owner who will enjoy and improve it. The first job is to put in new steel con rods. Ivan never sold these. Other than this, there seems to be few missing parts and is a jolly nice project.
I look forward to seeing the car out and about.
Colin