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Model : Armstrong-Siddeley 12 hp “Coachbuilt Saloon”.
Year : 1934
Engine No. : 19920
Chassis No. : 90505
Body No. : 5604
Batch No. : 45694
Colour : Body - Royal blue bonnet & doors up to window level, black from
window level up. Black mudguards/fenders. Soft (vinyl) roof insert.
Mileage : 28,360 miles (genuine)
Engine : 6 cylinder straight, side valve. 1237cc.
Wilson pre-select 3 speed gearbox.
HISTORY
This vehicle was owned by the wife of a Pietermaritzburg business man –
Mr. H. V. Marsh, the owner of a hardware business. Mr. Marsh owned a 20
h.p. Armstrong Siddeley and bought this 12 h.p. for his wife as a town
runabout. It was imported to South Africa from England in 1935 and sold
to Mrs. Marsh on the 15th August 1935 with the registration NP 1401. (NP
stood for Natal, Pietermaritzburg).
It is not known when Mrs. Marsh parted with the vehicle, but assumed in
the 1950’s, when she either gave or sold it to a friend, Mr. Barclay
Gordon, a dairy farmer from an area called “Fox Hill” outside
Pietermaritzburg.
Mr. Gordon used the vehicle for some years and when it was pensioned
off, it was used to deliver milk to the neighbouring farms in the
1960’s. The car developed engine overheating problems and it was finally
laid to rest in the farm barn.
It was in 1970 that I heard about the vehicle and bought it. I started a
long, slow and meticulous process of restoration, which unfortunately
due to many circumstances I have not been able to complete.
This vehicle is highly original, except for the perishable parts. These
include the electrical wiring; tyres; rubber trim; exterior soft roofing
and interior roof lining; the roller blind drawn down over the rear
window; carpeting. Replaced trim has been installed as close to original
spec. as possible.
Missing original parts are : Carburettor air filter top; one headlight
chrome trim securing screw; one door handle.
ORIGINAL TOOLS
A number of original tools are still with the vehicle, such as :
• Crank handle
• Telescoping handle for raising or lowering the built-in scissor jacks
• Feeler gauge
• Oil lubricating can
• Various spanners – both set and tube
• Wheel spanner
ORIGINAL BOOKLETS & CHARTS
The vehicle comes with original booklets and charts as follows :
• Original booklet entitled “LUCAS Running Instructions for the ELECTRIC
LIGHTING and STARTING EQUIPMENT”.
• Original booklet entitled “LUCAS COMPENSATED VOLTAGE CONTROLLED
DYNAMOS”.
• Original booklet entitled “Running Instructions for the LUCAS COIL
IGNITION EQUIPMENT”.
• Original wiring diagram, plus original wiring diagrams for 15 hp and
20 hp models.
• Original wall chart “CHASSIS LUBRICATION CHART for the 12 h.p.
ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY 1934 model”.
• Original booklet entitled “LUCAS Guarantee Service Card”.
• Original owner’s notebook on services and repairs done on the vehicle
in the 1930’s.
In addition, the following booklets are available :
• a copied booklet of the original Armstrong-Siddeley owner’s manual for
this 12 horsepower vehicle.
• A copied manual of the “Wilson” pre-selector gearbox fitted to the
car.
• Valve timing chart
RESTORATION
Despite the fact that the metal structure of the vehicle in general was
in very good condition, I decided to strip it down completely and start
from scratch.
In restoration, the vehicle was completely stripped down; literally to
the last nut and bolt.
• The motor was removed from the chassis
• The doors and mudguards were removed from the body
• All interior fittings were removed from the body
• The body was separated from the chassis
This left the chassis fully exposed for checking and restoration. Any
sign of rust (of which there was little on the chassis and
sub-assembly), was removed and the area treated before painting the
entire chassis and sub-assembly with “chassis black” by hand brush.
MOTOR
The motor was separated from the gearbox and removed from the chassis
where it could be worked on with greater ease.
The cylinder head was removed and de-carbonised, together with the
piston upper surfaces. In removing the cylinder head it was found that a
number of the cylinder head studs were fairly corroded by rust and
needed replacing. A sample of one of the good studs was given to an
engineering works to supply the correct diameter and thread. All of the
cylinder head studs were replaced with the newly supplied studs.
As the car has only done 28,360 miles and it had been serviced
regularly, it was assumed that the crankshaft and bearings were all
still in good condition and these were not tampered with. The crankshaft
was checked for any excessive play within the bearings.
When the car was acquired by me; supplied with the vehicle was a package
which contained two new cylinder head gaskets which had been imported
shortly after the vehicle was originally purchased; so when
re-assembling the cleaned cylinder head, a new factory made gasket was
fitted.
I got the motor running in 1985. This was the last time it was run.
There was a fuel leak at the fuel pump and before I could sort it out I
relocated from Pietermaritzburg to Johannesburg and never touched it
again.
GEARBOX
The “Wilson” pre-selector type gearbox has not been checked and is
assumed to be in good running order because of the low mileage of the
vehicle. Oil may need replacing.
ELECTRICAL WIRING
As the original cotton braided wiring had become brittle and faded where
exposed, the complete wiring harness was removed intact from the
vehicle. I was fortunate to have a veteran & vintage car collector in
the city where I lived, who had acquired cotton braided wiring from the
U.S.A. for a vehicle he was restoring and he was willing to part with
enough wiring of all different colours to enable me to make up a
complete new wiring harness for the Armstrong-Siddeley – all colour
coded according to the original.
I was also fortunate in that at the time, I worked for a rubber
manufacturing company that – amongst other products - manufactured
hydraulic hose, which had a black, cotton braided cover. This braided
cover matched almost identically, the original loom covering on the
wiring. I arranged for my wiring harness to be passed through the
braider and so ended up with a new wiring harness that matched the
original almost identically. A number of other rubber components were
located by me at the factory, by rummaging through old stock.
BRAKES
The brake shoes were all removed, re-lined and re-fitted. Brakes are
cable operated and so there was no problem with having to recondition a
hydraulic system.
SHOCK ABSORBERS
Shock absorbers are the “elbow” type. These were removed and
reconditioned by a specialist. The shock absorbers still need to be
fitted to the vehicle.
TYRES
Four new Dunlop tyres were imported from England and fitted. Tubes will
need to be checked, but at present retain the air extremely well.
RADIATOR
When I acquired the vehicle, I was told by the previous owner that it
had engine overheating problems - this being the reason for it being
taken off the road.
I removed the radiator, tested it and found that a number of cores were
blocked. The cores are the “zig-zag” pattern and so they can not be
easily cleared. I sent the radiator to a rebuilder in Johannesburg who
is the only rebuilder in the country who has the original machinery to
build a “zig-zag” radiator core as per the original.
The radiator is therefore new and clean.
PAINTWORK
Once the body had been separated from the chassis, all parts were
stripped and removed from the body, including doors and windows. All
paint was stripped off the metalwork and where there was any sign of
rust, this was treated. The metalwork was prepared with meticulous care;
minor body dents were repaired and the re-spraying process began.
Paint was matched to the original colours. Eight coats of primer were
applied with sanding being done after every two coats. This ensured a
smooth and even surface and base for the colour coats. Sixteen coats of
blue lacquer were applied to the blue panels and twelve coats of black
to the black panels. These were also sanded down after every two coats.
The final coat was mixed with a clear lacquer in a 60:40 ratio (colour
to clear).
RUNNING BOARDS
The original timber running boards were in a bad way and were replaced
with hard wood timber. The original pattern on the rubber sheet covering
the running boards was unavailable and so the rubbers were replaced with
an available pattern.
LEATHER UPHOLSTERY
As the original leather upholstery on the seats was still in fairly good
condition, this was retained. A leather die was especially matched to
the original colour (blue) and applied by spray to the leather
upholstery. The leather upholstery was then treated with a leather
“feed” and conditioner.
CARPETING
Carpeting as close to the original in colour was cut to pattern and
edging sewn on. Unfortunately synthetic fibre carpeting was the closest
match colour-wise and so was used.
SPRING GAITERS
The original leather leaf spring gaiters were fairly rotten and so
replacements had to be made. These were matched to the original pattern
and made up by a leather trim craftsman.
INTERIOR ROOF LINING
The original roof lining was in poor condition and had to be replaced.
The original was removed and new fabric cut to size from the original. I
sewed this up myself and fitted it.
INTERIOR WOODEN TRIM
The interior wooden trim – being the dashboard fascia and window
surrounds, was slightly weather damaged on the surface, but sound. This
was removed, sanded down and re-varnished. The wooden dashboard fascia
was damaged from a previous attempt at restoration and so a veneer was
applied professionally
REAR WINDOW BLIND
The original was damaged and brittle. A new blind was made up
professionally on the original roller.
CHROME TRIM
Much of the chrome trim was re-plated as the originals had signs of
corrosion. Unfortunately, some sections such as the radiator grille were
not done very well and will require re-plating.
GENERAL
Most of the major restoration work has been done and the remaining work
– apart from getting the vehicle running - is cosmetic.
Price:
Offers around R75 000.00
Contact:
Roger Johnsen
Tel: +27 (0)47-575-2010
Cell: +27 (0)83-745-7931
E-mail:
Roger Johnsen
Location:
Coffee Bay - Wild Coast, Eastern Cape Click on thumbnail for larger image
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1934 Armstrong Siddeley For Sale
