Lot Ended
Description
Few owners, the first for 46 years; huge history file;
sympathetically restored and in wonderful condition throughout; driven 40
miles to the sale; find a better one!
Supplied new by Righton &
Bennett Ltd of Gosport in September 1957, this wonderful A35 Two-Door was
originally bought by a Mr AR Kelleway of Portsmouth who was to keep it right up
until 2003 during which time the car was registered as OTP 756.
He looked after the car religiously, the service book showing that it
was serviced 11 times by the supplying dealer up to June 1959 by which time it
had covered 11,163 miles and the book runs out of pages. From then onwards it
was serviced by Southern Garages of Cosham, the second service book containing
another 26 entries up until December 1981 by which time it had covered 76,330
miles. Invoices show that the engine was rebuilt in September 1980 at 72,715
miles with new pistons, bearings etc.
Mr Kelleway also took it to
shows where it won various awards in the 1980s, although it seems that he then
used the car much less frequently, presumably due to his advancing years.
It has had six further owners since, the fourth being a Mr C Barnard
of Surbiton who owned it from 2008 – 2016 and sympathetically restored the car,
as detailed by dozens of invoices on file. This included localised bodywork
repairs and a full repaint in 2011 and fitting a new engine in 2012. All other
mechanical aspects were also attended to as required.
From 2017 – 2024 it was owned by a Mr Hearnden of Carmarthen who
improved the car still further, including retrimming the interior and renewing
most of the suspension, his intention being to take the car to shows and add to
the trophy cabinet started by Mr Kelleway.
In fact there are
so many bills, old MOTs, notes, jottings etc that it would take hours to
read them all so this is only a very brief summary and bidders are encouraged to
come and inspect the file for themselves.
As you can see in the photos,
the car speaks for itself and appears to be in wonderful condition throughout.
Driven some 40 miles to the sale on a sweltering hot day without drama, we are
told that it drives as well as it looks. It has certainly been starting promptly
and running sweetly as we have moved it around on site, with healthy 55psi oil
pressure on the aftermarket gauges.
These A35s are great fun to
drive and are eminently tunable, as anyone who has watched their giant-slaying
antics at Goodwood will testify. This two-door must surely be among the best
ones out there so if you’ve ever fancied one, this is an opportunity not to be
missed!
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 –
james.dennison@brightwells.com