Surprisingly, Daimler are the oldest British marque and alone held the Royal Warrant for 60 years from 1900! They began as the Horseless Carriage Co. , then adopted the Daimler name in the 19th century, when briefly using a 'common rail' engine of the time, as did other  companies (Hence Not related to Daimler-Chrysler & Daimler-Benz).

The British Daimler later absorbed the incredible Lanchester marque with then cutting edge engineering so that even such as Bugatti exchanged drawings with them. Daimler / BSA also actually owned top coachbuilders such as Barker and Hooper who ironically built bodies also for rivals Rolls Royce etc.

However by 1960 they had lost some trad crown custom mainly due to management of Sir Bernard Docker and his wife Nora who gave Daimler a jazzy image aimed at society elite.

The Consort pandered to these 'nouveau riche' and was one of the last of the true Daimlers before being absorbed by Jaguar as their luxury marque in 1960. However several Royals & dignitaries had a 'Consort' which they enjoyed driving and left the chauffeur and tradition behind.

This rare example is a long term barn find from a landed estate that subsequently had extensive restoration with the intention latterly of becoming a 'resto-mod' electric powered or custom / 'hot rod' V8.

The last owner had almost £7000 worth of restoration done to the chassis and body shell -and it shows. (The fully assembled photos are up to date, the stripped out photos were during renovation.)

The engine and gearbox unit were removed to facilitate restoration but the plan was changed to fit a later Daimler V8, a Humber hawk engine, OR an electric power plant, for which it is ideal.

However after all the hard work was done, the car was never completed as far as installing a power plant. It rolls easily, stops & steers, but is offered here without motive power, though the owner can put the buyer in contact with original or alternate engine sources. Any restorer will tell you the easiest job by far is the motor, hardest being the body/chassis repairs.

In this case there's little to do apart from simple trimming and carpet in that department, so it's bound to be a joy to complete rather than a protracted struggle. Perfect for an owner of a rusty dilapidated Consort OR Daimler Conquest that may still run, who can assemble a £15k show car in a few weeks rather than years of restoration!

Or fit a modern custom powerplant and have vintage limo looks in a daily driver hot rod or resto-rod! Therefore this is now a blank canvas for the new owner to decide.

Owner also offers to economically transport the car anywhere if required.

The car history file includes current V5C DVLA document and the registration is transferable with a circa £3k value.

There is an old buff log book & other documents included which may relate to a donor consort from 1951 with a 3 letter registration.

A history log file has been kept including work done as well as club information & books. There are 2 good clubs who provide excellent remanufactured spares and old stock.

The outstanding feature is the gorgeous polished wood dashboard restored in the past and the cream gauges etc. The pillars and door top wood finishers were mostly restored, and also compliment the period look.

Incredibly the original leather has survived well, not without typical patina, and is very usable though the front of rear seat base has a repair, the rest of the leather is holding up well with copious amounts of hide food. The entire headliner was professionally renewed some time ago with West of England wool-cloth and still looks fresh.

Door cards found & included, some needing simple fettling, and lower carpet strips. Also spare front seat as found in the image gallery below.

   

This Consort was thoroughly stripped back and restored with new metal panels including Inner and outer sills, both front wings, etc. Door bottoms are new and totally free from corrosion even on the inside.

Professional job throughout. Also new front valance, both rear wings and rear panel were fabricated from scratch! This work was done a few years back, but not a blip of rust can be seen.

It was refinished in a deep gloss, and still presents well, however 3 panels have some surface paint imperfections, the drivers door, bootlid, and bonnet. For show purposes one could refinish these 3 panels easier than most as they’re black and detach easily.

These don’t show well in photos. However make no mistake, this is a thoroughly restored rot free body and chassis. The underbody is equally sound and presentable. New window rubbers and a rust free chrome on brass window frames are a nice feature.

All the wind up windows operate smoothly, and the doors shut with a satisfying click, giving an impression of quality construction. Chrome on grille and bumpers is very presentable as are the lamps.  The headlamps being a rather special feature.

Being a Daimler the chassis is huge and has no sign of deterioration anywhere. Its capable of taking a hefty powerplant, bearing in mind the weight of the original straight six and its colossal pre-select auto box.

Daimlerclub.co.uk President much impressed by this car and insists he has large stock of decent running gear, plus a full recon running engine with a rusted out spares car for less than cost of a recon. These components are plentiful, but a sound, restored car is a rare thing.

However now 1 man can roll it around freely on the level. In fact Daimler built it quite light but strong enough to take that heavy lump - note the bare chassis photos. Photos show the quick detachable floor access panels removed to reveal the incredibly sound chassis and its unique accessibility for conversion.

The fuel tank was restored and the superb condition chassis and underbody corrosion treated and painted. The diff and axle was serviced and is of quite a high gearing for the time, so ideal to take an alternative engine.

New links & other suspension parts are sorted and an anti roll bar is included. There's a radiator frame, fuel filler tube and chrome cap, prop, handles, trim pieces, electrical and dashboard parts plus other useful items tucked in the large boot.

Many parts were sourced from donor cars. Front brakes will need parts sourcing from the club, but the rear are all new and working well on the pedal even capable of stopping a tow car when on tow!

The roadwheel look is from a set of new original stock polished alloy 'Bugatti type' period 'Royale Roadriders', fresh out of the box after 70 years.

     

How often do you find a bodily restored car of this rarity and quality, that needs so little detail work to complete the cosmetics? 

A more ideal candidate to install your choice of power plant, be it modern, electric or traditional, with such ease of access is unlikely to be found. 

A custom or hot rod builders dream indeed, or it could merely sit as a promotional venue display - it has such rare character.