Description
Fabulous. The sole surviving example with original coachwork; only 59k miles from new She has been in the prior ownership for 50 years, and only 5, 200 miles since having a full engine rebuild , one of only 26 made; 70bhp two-litre straight-six OHC engine new tyres original number plate wonderfully original with a large history file wonderful patinated interior absolutely stunning a , unique opportunity not to be missed The memorably named Ace of Spades is something of a mythical beast in pre-war car circles everyone has heard of it , but it seems that very few have actually ever seen one. Ace of Spades. , had an advanced 70bhp 2-litre six-cylinder overhead cam engine largely designed by Charles van Eugen who had previously worked for Daimler and Clyno and went on to design the V8 Autovia for the Riley Motor Company in 1938. Legend has it that the car gained its name from the shape of the timing gear cover which, when viewed from the front, looked like an inverted ace , an engineering masterpiece with needle roller bearings and constant mesh on 3rd and 4th which made it much smoother and quieter than most cars of the era. With a top speed of 75mph despite the relatively heavy bodywork, the Ace of Spades gained a reputation as an excellent fast touring car, being capable of 80mph+ with revised axle ratios. Georgano was a fan, his definitive encyclopedia stating: "The Lea-Francis 12/ 40 was one of the best assembled cars in Britain... but Lea-Francis also made some more ponderous cars, without the same degree of success. However, an excellent Lea-Francis six was at last introduced for 1931 the Ace of Spades, with their own 2-litre single ohc engine Unfortunately, at £495 the Ace of Spades was far too expensive for most people to put it in context, the similarly powerful Riley 12/ 6 Mentone cost £348, the Rover Speed 20 cost £438 and the Alvis Speed 20 cost £695. As a result, only 76 Ace of Spades models were made in total, in four body styles (saloon, coupe, open tourer and shooting brake), of which only 26 had the short-wheelbase chassis. Today only four are known to survive with the long chassis and just three with the short chassis. Factory records held by the LeaF Club confirm that the short-wheelbase chassis for this Ace of Spades (number 18511) was erected in December 1931 and was fitted with six-light saloon coachwork by Carbodies of Coventry, undergoing final testing in February 1932. At this point Lea-Francis were effectively insolvent with their assets in the hands of the receiver, so AWA 710 was not actually sold and registered until June 1934. The LeaF Club have confirmed that the first owner was a Mr R Wass of Sheffield, a document on file stating that it was put into storage in 1940 with around 16, 000 miles on the clock where it remained for the next 30 years. A green logbook shows that in 1970 it was acquired by a Mr R Elliot-Pyle of Sussex (who presumably recommissioned the car), then by a Pamela Glover of Elstree, our vendor acquiring AWA 710 at a WS Johnson & Co auction in Bletchley in May 1976, the auctioneers stating that the Ace of Spades had covered some 35, 000 miles since being taken out of storage and was in "exceptional condition" with 51, 000 miles on the speedo and a current MOT. The invoice shows that it cost him £1, 350 -- a fair chunk of money at a time when Britain's best-selling car, the Ford Escort Mk2, cost £1, 450 and a brand-new Mini cost £1, 200. A LeaF Club member, our vendor has looked after the car meticulously ever since, old MOTs showing the mileage gradually creeping up to now .
