Description
• Just 2 previous owners
• Immaculate
• Well and properly maintained
• Virtually rust free
• Tax and MoT free now
THE MILEAGE ON THIS CAR IS APPROX 124, 000 NOT AS SHOWN
Welcome to the Holy Grail.
A Daimler DS420 with no rust! Well read on…
I have owned this car since 1997 and I bought it off a local firm (still in business and friends of mine) who bought it in 1990 from the original owner. Both were funeral directors.
There was plenty of rust in 1997, but with careful research, I located most of the factory panels needed to fully restore this car to as new. Some were sourced from Wilcox Limousines who had by then moved on from the Daimler DS420 to more modern Jaguars and others. With the list including chassis legs, floor sections, inner wings, boot sides and many more we were in a unique position.
I also ran a high-end body shop, with all the facilities to weld, bend, wheel, swage and fabricate just about anything. We made a stout frame to allow the Daimler to be rolled over (a BIG ask, but we did it,) and there are quite a few accompanying photos shown here of this stage taken in 1997/ 98
The car was completely re-painted in Volvo metallic Burgundy over pearl cream, whereupon the original immaculate interior was re-fitted and a new set of burgundy carpets and a new headliner by my in-house trimmer.
Additionally, I have run a wedding hire business since 1990, and it was for this use the Daimler was destined.
An astonishing 27 years has passed by since the car was restored making me the longest custodian by far. Apart from wedding duties this car has been garaged indoors for every day of that time.
Doing the job once and doing it right has paid off, there has been virtually no deterioration of the shell, and only one rear door is showing a little warping along its bottom edge. Trim wise, the interior is very very good still, with a little more wear to the seats and a patch of the nylon headlining which has lost adhesion. Similarly, there is now microblistering appearing in the burgundy paint, all contained within the roof and rear deck area and bootlid, not bad for 27 years. The body is arrow straight and drives the same way.
It wasn’t just the body that got the attention either, a full mechanical overhaul was carried out over the next few years of ownership, including an engine refresh with big valve head, suspension, brakes, shockers and a rebuild of the limited slip rear diff all carried out to the highest standards. The car has a full stainless steel exhaust.
For many years in our ownership it had a private plate fitted PJT26J so in some photos it will have this number, including my (brief) appearance on Coronation Street!
I have now re-fitted the original plate EGE51X
I hope the pictures tell the rest of the story, I’ve hidden nothing so you can see the genuine car.
I need not say that to resurrect a rusty car and without the benefit of the original panels I used, a body restoration alone to this standard could cost £20, 000 or more.
If the colour scheme is not to your liking, or doesn’t suit your fleet, the groundwork is there to re-paint in any colour you wish with little prep work (that’s where the money goes) and for a relatively modest sum.
On the road the car is powerful, steadfast and safe, with no wallowing or odd noises. All electrical items work including the clock!
Slight issues mechanically: there is a PAS fluid leak, and possibly gearbox sump (difficult to tell the source of the leak) (TH400 by the way), but the engine and cooling systems are dry. You might need a couple of dust covers on the suspension, but you’ll see from the photos how fresh the brakes are and they stop mightily.
I have amassed a stock of mainly secondhand parts for these cars, and included in the sale are as many as the new purchaser would like. A few examples would be 2 x NOS petrol flaps, grey trim including seats and occasional seats, chrome, a rear A/ C unit, engine parts and ancilliaries, additional steering box, heaters and parts, instruments and switches, the parts to convert to an electric division, glass and so on.
For overseas buyers, I can assist with shipping anywhere in the world, and am happy to describe and photograph or video any part of the car so you can make an informed decision unseen. I’ll even put a boroscope down the sills if it will help!
I’m downsizing, and may have a couple more cars for sale in the near future, all as genuine and honest as this. The DS420 will always be thought of as the last of the proper formal limousines, favoured by royalty, heads of state, luxury hotels and executive chauffering services since it's first appearance in 1968.
The cars are still an eyeful after all these years, but they are also notorious for rust. There isn't anything that won't crumble away. My car is as near as possible rust free, and so is one of the VERY few cars available today in such condition.
This car was bought new in December 1981 by a Liverpool firm of undertakers, and sold to Christians of Banks in 1990. I acquired it from them in 1997. The Christian family are known to me and I have bought several vehicles off them over the years.
I'm short of paper history for the car, because a lot of my paperwork and business records were lost in a flood at a storage unit 2 years ago (no cars in there mercifully). I do have the original handbook, current and previous V5C, some of the Leyland warranty folder, I also have my handwritten records of the MoT mileages (but no certificates) I looked up the personal plate I had on the car but even then there appear to be no records left to see and it also states the car is 1971, not 1981. I have quite a few printed photos of the restoration which I'll try to scan and add in due course, taken in 1997 and 8
