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To give you some more hints: As well as this special version, this car was also produced as a two door saloon and an estate car. It was very quick for its era. My father had thought of ordering one in 1948 but in the end decided against it, due to the saloon only being two doors and ordered a new AC 2 litre alloy bodied 4 door saloon instead, which proved to be very unreliable and in the cold weather of the north of Scotland, a very poor cold starter. He was obviously a glutton for punishment as the AC saloon was quickly followed by a Slough built Citroen light fifteen with the factory option of a Connaught cylinder head and twin carburettors. The increased power proved too much for the front drive shafts, which regularly had to have their joints replaced. 

Wilson

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Yes this has a coachbuilt body but in reality the regular versions of this quite low volume car had alloy British coachbuilt bodies as well. This one is bodied by a non-British coachbuilder, as a short production run. My father looked at the saloon due to the aluminium/alloy body. Due to British "export or die rules" in the late 1940's, you had to get a special permit to buy a steel bodied car but this was not needed for aluminium bodied cars. Aluminium was in plentiful supply due to scrappage of WW2 aircraft. That is why he ended up with a new alloy bodied AC 2 litre saloon. The issuance of the steel body car purchase permits was a very corrupt process and my father declined to get involved. 

Not a Connaught nor an Italian body. At the time the puzzle car was built, Connaught was only making competition cars, Lea Francis based race engines and supplying tuning equipment. The only semi road cars they were "making" were highly modified Lea Francis 14 and 18 HP sports cars. 

Wilson

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I think by chance this very interesting/rare car might be one that is actually currently for sale - by a vendor whose Astons I was “lockdown-perusing”....

Would the estate versions you mentioned usually be rather “woody” and is there a Swiss connection?

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Everyone and his uncle has had this car for sale for the last few years but at the asking price, it is never going to get any takers. Yes the estate was woody and there is a Swiss connection. It has been on one classic car ralliy I have been on but was giving a fair bit of trouble. I don't know for sure but I suspect its restoration was more cosmetic than mechanical.

It never fails to amaze me how badly some folks prepare their cars, then ship them out to a rally in the far east and are surprised when they break down. When we show folks the extent of the modifications on our rough road rally Pagoda Mercedes 280SL (an ex-works Safari rally car) to make it as near bullet proof reliable as we can get it and the amount of spare parts we carry, they tend to be somewhat taken aback. We carry things like a spare drive shaft, prop shaft universal joints, steering ball joints, wheel bearings, spare cartridge for the huge fuel filter, fuel pump, one spare injector, a couple of tyre inner tubes, gasket set, gearbox oil seals and so on. 

Wilson

Edited by wlaidlaw
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Nigel obviously knows what the car is so I will give it to him. It is a Healey (the same Healey as the Austin-Healey) Elliot Coupé with the body by the Swiss Coachbuilder Beutler. They made a short run of 6 of these special bodied cars. They were very expensive new. The Elliot used a lightly modified version of the 2.4L 4 cylinder Riley engine and even the standard saloon was capable of nearly 110 MPH. Until the advent of the even more expensive R Type Bentley Continental, this was the fastest closed car you could get in the UK. 

Wilson

 

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33 minutes ago, NigelG said:

https://www.classicmobilia.com/showroom/8128218-healey-beutler/

I’d say it’s the same example judging by the Goodwood decal in the rear window and the Eggbergrennan 2008 sticker.

Offered for a mere 500K......

About four to five times what it is worth, even with the Mille Miglia history! The last time I saw it running, it was on the 2009 Coupe des Alpes, I seem to remember it was Swiss registered. I had a look through my photos of that event but I seemed to have missed it. I don't think it was on the 2010 Coupe des Alpes, which I also did. 

Wilson

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On 4/14/2020 at 11:31 AM, stuny said:

Nigel -

Since you get to see interesting cars parked outside, perhaps you can capture one when you run out for groceries?

Hi Stuart - yes that’s the plan. Called into my local garagistas (designated as key workers though seemed to be hard at work on a lightweight(?) E-type) to discuss possible hub bearing issues on the NSF wheel of my Bristol but didn’t have a camera with me. I’ll be heading back early next week so will see what I can find. Not so many interesting things streetparked here in the Cotswolds as there are a lot of people with “Car rooms”.....and we’re only supposed to go out for essential journeys. That said I’m not the only one heading out for groceries in something a little bit different (there’s no guidance on which car to use - yet) 😀

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Let's keep it going.  This might be obscure enough that a non-cropped image (with only the writing on the plate hidden) will be fine.

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2 minutes ago, stuny said:

Wilson.  The year is spot-on, but the marque is incorrect.  1901 was the first year this car was sold.

Stuart I was intimating that with just a single cylinder 4 HP engine in the CDO, we will be overtaking them in our 24 HP Darracq. The CDO's seem quite reliable if with quite modest performance. 

Wilson

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