- Very solid chassis

- Lots of spare parts

- Easily attainable parts for these models

- Previously museum owned

- Dry stored for the last 18 years

Based on the post-war DB18 chassis, the Barker Special Sports had quite a few notable modifications. The Barker Special was fitted with an overdrive gearbox and a high ratio rear differential, as well as hydro/mechanical brakes and an alloy cylinder head with twin carburettors. It’s also fitted with a heater system which was carried over from the standard DB18 Daimler.

The current owner of the vehicle tells us that the car was actually kept by the Myreton Motor Museum for a large majority of its days, which was then sold on to a gentleman who stripped it down, we assume for spare parts or maybe for a restoration project that he never quite got around to. The current owner purchased the vehicle to use it as a parts car for his ongoing project, however upon purchasing the vehicle he realised that it was actually in much nicer overall condition than originally expected.

The car and all the parts along with it has stayed in the current owners storage unit since the day it was purchased, the unit is dry and very well insulated, so none of the parts have degraded over time like you’d expect them to, the only notable thing would be the thick layer of dust which has enveloped the car from all the years of laying dormant.

The owner tells us that the car carries an old style log book for the vehicle as well as quite an extensive history file, too! There is also still the Myreton Motor Museum sticker on the original windshield, a nice little piece of history to be kept along with the vehicle and a great conversational piece.

Open. Spacious. Breezy. I jest - but really the interior, or what remains of it, is rather reasonable. The floor is in fantastic shape with no apparent damage to any of the rails and seemingly no corrosion either, so a very solid base for the new owner to start placing in the interior parts when the time comes. The steering column is present with an original steering wheel, however the wire spokes on the wheel have come detached from the central hub, but the leather wrap which encompasses the rim is actually in pretty good shape, and would definitely be usable! Also present is the original heating mechanism under the dashboard.

To the rear of the interior there are some pieces of woodworking for the frame, which is in surprisingly good condition with no apparent signs of rot, which is thanks to the extended period of time in dry storage and hidden away from the elements. Although there isn’t much on the inside of the vehicle, it more than makes up for this with the amount of parts the car comes with. As shown in the photos the seats themselves are included, which do show signs of wear and patina with some damage to the leather, however they’re still very usable, as is the rear seat. The rear seat is actually pretty interesting, in these Daimlers they’re mounted sideways in the rear of the cab to give the passenger as much legroom as possible - something you don’t see very often!

The car comes with most of the pieces you need to build this car back up to what it once was, the owner tells us there is probably a good 90-95% of the parts required as well as some duplicates, and states that parts are actually very easy to source so there should be no troubles finding any for the new owner who wishes to take this project on!

The exterior of this Daimler is actually very sound for its age and being completely original, we could only find small areas of corrosion that are in need of attention such as the passenger side sill and some of the wooden trim pieces that have signs of degradation. Aside from that, the body of this vehicle is in very solid shape. The rear end of the vehicle which includes the rear arches and the panels surrounding the bootlid are in good condition, it appears to be rubbed back to metal showcasing any weak areas which only seem apparent on the seam closest to where the drophead would sit around the top of the shell. All other seams and areas seem very free of damage. 

The doors, the rear wheel covers, bootlid, soft top, front grill, windshield, almost everything required to build this car up to its former glory is present with the vehicle with only a few exceptions. The owner tells us he does not have a bonnet for the car and doesn’t have a set of rear lights either, however states that they can be quite easy to source as is anything else that may be required or need replacing. Four wheels are present with the car, however no spare wheel. 

The car was originally a two tone paint job, dark green over light green, which can be seen on the door panels and on the rear wheel covers. All of the Barker Special Sports were painted in two-tone to accentuate the bodacious curves and lines of the vehicle and add that luxurious touch which only seemed present in the upper echelon of vehicles - even to the present day two-tone paint only really remains on extremely luxurious cars.

Having never seen the car run or drive, the current owner can’t speak on the mechanical side of things, however thanks to the vast majority of spare parts available alongside the car, such as 3 spare cylinder heads, an entire spare engine which the owner has at his home (and states it can be included in the sale if the new owner can move it), we believe that there seems to be enough to get a fully functional car here!

There is a spare rear axle, a spare rear differential, spare brake drums, springs, spare carburetters, inlet and exhaust manifolds, entire spare propshafts and an incredible amount more. It’s certainly a goldmine of old parts!

Barker Special Sports are and always have been extremely exclusive cars, made in very low numbers. Believed to have only been around 600 produced. This would be an incredibly rewarding project for anyone who is willing to put in the hours to get this Daimler back to where it deserves to be!

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