London Vintage Taxi Association
- 51 Ferndale Crescent, Cowley, Uxbridge, UB8 2AY.
WELCOME
Welcome to the London Vintage Taxi Association.
For more than three decades, the LVTA has brought together people interested in retired London-type purpose built taxicabs and related vehicles built on taxicab chassis.
Where we are
We were founded in the UK, where we are still based, although we have members living all around the world.
We also have a dedicated American section based in the USA, which administers all business on the American continent, including all sales orders and payments for the American continent, and all American & Canadian membership enquiries..
What we do
Individually, most of us own, restore and preserve historic London taxis. The oldest of these date from the Edwardian period, but most come from the 1930s through to the 1980s, and there are also some very modern cabs, like the Metrocab and TX-series of today. Some of us own the rarer limousine, commercial and hearse versions of these vehicles. We exhibit them at various classic vehicle shows throughout the year, and some hire their cabs out for weddings and for film work. Other members do not own historic taxicabs, but belong, simply because they enjoy the vehicles and their history
What the LVTA offers to members
Some of us are actively involved in the London cab trade, although the majority are not. Some are relative newcomers, whilst many have owned and run old taxis for decades. Between us we can offer to our members perhaps the greatest depth of knowledge and experience in owning, restoring and maintaining these vehicles that you will find anywhere.
It isn't always "spit and polish" - many of our members' cars have been rescued in derelict condition, with many years spent on the restoration process.
We publish a high-quality full colour, glossy bi-monthly magazine, ‘Vintage Taxi’ which is, we believe the world’s only magazine dedicated to old London taxis. We have for sale, to members only CD-Roms of workshop manuals for Austin FX3 and FX4 and LTI Fairway, plus our unique Beardmore Guide, the only workshop manual ever produced for the Beardmore Mk7. We are always looking to increase our range of specialist publications
If you are considering buying an old London taxi, we strongly recommend that you join us first. The modest cost of annual membership of the LVTA can be bring advice that could save you making expensive mistakes. We do not, out of fairness to our existing members give advice or support of a technical nature to, or advise on the availability and/or value of older taxis to non-members.
What we can offer to others
Given sufficient notice, (please remember we are mostly amateurs, with homes to run and most with full-time jobs) we may, as an Association or as individuals be able to provide vintage cabs for special events. Through the ‘Links’ page we can also connect you to the websites of members who hire out vintage cabs of all ages for weddings and TV and film work as part of their business.
(Please note: the LVTA acts only as an agent for the people operating these services, and can accept no responsibility for any unfortunate incident resulting from any arrangements made through them)
We can answer quite a wide range of questions about the London taxi and its history, from researchers, family historians and writers (but out of fairness to our members, we cannot give advice on spare parts, matters of a technical nature or advice on locating or valuing old taxicabs to non-members)