Subject: Re: Restoration of a 12/24 Lagonda
Hello every body
I had been following the fortunes of YM221 for many years. I first saw it about 1976, presumably after Graham had passed it on to a nice man called Tim. I seem to recall it had been advertised it in Exchange and Mart. I later saw it about 1988 in North Norfolk - in pretty dreadful state - where it was sold in a country auction to a dealer who was going to restore it.
A few months later the car now looked very smart and was sold at one of these posh London auctions. Someone fell in love with it and paid a huge price for it. Unfortunately it was not drivable and the car then turned up at very competent restorer in the Cotswolds. I spent quite a lot of time advising them on various technical matters, and I also supplied the owner with a complete spare engine and gearbox.
I should explain that in the late 1980's, everybody wanted a vintage Lagonda and prices went mad. Even 12/24s sold for undreamt of riches – they are after all a ‘genuine’ Lagonda. Not only had this couple paid a record price at auction for YM221 but they must have spent a fortune with the restorer as well! When it was finished it drove very well.
The car has subsequently disappeared – or rather hopefully it is now the pride of someone’s private collection. It may resurface in the future. I hope it does.
By the way, Patrick and I can share a secret with you all – 12/24’s are REALLY nice to drive. The handling is precise and the steering light, but oh boy are they slow! There are other Lagonda Club members who also share this view! I once drove mine for 10 hours at a stretch. I also took mine on a Lagonda Club jolly to France in 1988 when it appeared on the front cover of the Club magazine. Another member took his round the Le Mans race track…
I believe there are a LOT of early Lagondas that survive. Although the 2006 Club Members’ List only shows 3, I reckon that if we looked hard we could probably find nearly 20 – particularly if you add the 11.9 and 12/24 numbers together. Bear in mind that the Lagonda company made 4025 11.9s and 2550 12/24s, so the combined volumes account for almost half the total number of Lagondas made up to 1940! The reason so few survive relative to the bigger cars is that the early cars became obsolete very quickly – even in the late 1920’s they were outdated, which is why the Lagonda company had to produce the 2 and 3 litre models.
As a modern day parallel example...would anyone like my 1992 Apple Macintosh PowerBook 170, which boasts a huge 40 Meg (no not 40 Gig) hard drive? In the 1940’s and early 1950’s, early Lagondas were in exactly the same category, so when Hamish Moffat found his one to drive across the Sahara desert, he would not have paid very much for it!
My message to all the readers is that if you have enough space in your garage to have a 12/24 in your collection, you should have one! They are so much fun! I hope the current owner of YM 221 agrees!
Cheers
Colin M34
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