Description

1934 BSA 10hp Mulliner Saloon

No Reserve

Mulliner body; Daimler fluid flywheel transmission; good mechanically; needs minor tidying to finish

Better known as a manufacturer of motorcycles, the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) also made a small but interesting range of cars – no real surprise as they bought Daimler in 1910 which gave them a ready supply of engineering expertise and equipment.

The BSA 10hp Saloon came out in 1933 and was based on the Lanchester Ten chassis with four-speed Daimler fluid flywheel transmission and a water-cooled 1,185cc four-cylinder side-valve engine. Fitted with a four-door four-seater body by Pressed Steel, it cost £230 at launch and had a top speed of 53mph with 33mpg economy. For an extra £20 or so, it could also be ordered with a coachbuilt body by the likes of Mulliner or Peerless.

First registered in Exeter in January 1934, this BSA 10hp has six-light coachwork by Mulliner of Birmingham – similar to the Pressed Steel version but slightly longer and roomier with more luxurious interior trim and a distinctive peak over the opening front windscreen. An old buff logbook shows that the car was still in Devon until 1969, later moving to Bucks from where our vendor bought it in 2007 from the Hutt family who had owned it since 1970.

There are a few invoices on file for upkeep over the years, including one for an engine rebuild in April 1995 since when the car has been very little used. In fact when our vendor acquired the car, although it was in running order it had been partially dismantled with all the interior trim and all the windows removed.   

During his 15-year ownership the vendor has been slowly restoring the car to bring it up to the condition you see here. An engineer by trade, he has renewed the wiring, fitted a new battery and got the electrical items working correctly – even the Jaeger clock works. The roof has been recovered in leathercloth and a plywood interior roof lining has been made which still needs to be finished off in cloth. Both front seats have been professionally restored and retrimmed in leather at a cost of £600. A new windscreen rubber has also been fitted, all the fluids have been replaced plus various other jobs, all detailed in work sheets on file.

We are told that the front windscreen opens easily and the sliding roof operates as it should. We are also told that a compression test showed 100psi on all cylinders. The car is currently riding on Morris pattern rear wheels for transportation purposes but a pair of correct BSA wire wheels are included. Copies of an original owner's handbook and parts catalogue are also included, along with a period road test and various other useful bits of technical literature relating to the model.  

Said to be in good mechanical order with the pre-selector gearbox working as it should, the car has certainly been starting easily and running nicely as we have moved it around on site although the exhaust is somewhat smoky when started from cold. A rare and interesting light car in need of some finishing touches to bring it up to scratch, it is on offer here at no reserve so the best bid takes it home.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com