1948 Lea-Francis 14hp Sports

This example is a RHD variant and comes with a manual gearbox and a 1.8 litre four cylinder engine.

Originally the Lea-Francis was finished in Maroon but has been refinished in Green.

Internally, the car is fairly bare with only the addition of the drivers seat, a steering wheel and of course the engine and gearbox.

Mileage cannot be confirmed but the mileage on the odometer reads 30,372.

The car comes with little history and records, but there is a set of invoices dated 2011-2015 detailing almost £56,000 of restoration work undertaken over that period.

We haven’t started the car or driven it, nor did it run at the time of photographing the vehicle so our assessment of the car is based purely from its appearance.

What we can tell you is that the vehicle has been stored in a dry location.

The Lea-Francis does come with a plethora of parts. We cannot confirm whether these are the parts needed to fully complete the vehicle but judging by what we have seen, there appears to be the large majority of what is needed to ensure the vehicle is to a ‘completed’ state.

Whilst the exterior is bare, the condition of the Lea-Francis’s bodywork does appear to be in fine condition and given its state, the body lines look fantastic. We are informed that in 2013 the vehicle was dismantled for the bodywork to be stripped to bare metal and new paintwork to be applied.

Whilst we were photographing the vehicle we saw no signs of rust or corrosion anywhere on the vehicle. The paintwork, as you would expect, looks fantastic, with only a few minor imperfections to note.

The wheels on the Lea-Francis have certainly seen better days but we are certain these can be remedied without any real fuss, although the wheels may want some new rubber.

In the vast collection of parts, there are a handful of pieces that are bubble wrapped. These included items are the rear wings, the covers for the rear wheels as well as a cover for the the spare wheel. Whilst we didn’t open the items to assess the condition of these parts we are informed that these were re-finished in the same colour as the bodywork and are still wrapped as to protect them from damage whilst they await refitting.

The chromework and brightwork for the vehicle would benefit from being refinished. There are some items that look to be in good shape with no major signs of corrosion or pitting but from what we could tell items such as the front grille and centre caps would need doing.

Items such as the doors, windscreen and roof are present. As far as we could tell the condition of these parts appear to be in good shape with no signs of any rips or tears that we saw.

The interior is bare and really there is very little to say. The paint and bodywork within looks to be good, with no significant signs of any defects that we noticed whilst photographing the car. What we can tell you is that the seat is not secured to the chassis of the vehicle and that the steering wheel is certainly showing its age. Fear not as in the substantial collection of parts there is a replacement steering wheel, the passenger seat AND two seat frames/bases. These are purely the frames and do not come with any material on them so they new owner may wish to have these reupholstered in whatever material/colour choice that they chose.

The interior panels of the Lea-Francis appear to be all present but we have no way to confirm this. The items that we did see, looked to be in good condition with only a few minor marks to be aware of.

The dashboard looks as if it has been refinished in the same colour as the exterior of the car. The clocks appear to be original and are showing signs of age, as the dials are starting to yellow slightly.

From looking over the engine bay everything appears to be in good order, with no signs of any leaks that we could see, although we have no way to verify this as the vehicle did not start or run.

It is reported that the engine had undergone some mechanical work and did run before the car was stripped for paint in 2013.

Unfortunately there is very little history that comes with the Lea-Francis. There are some large receipts for work completed by Roses Garage who specialise in these vehicles. Unfortunately the paperwork doesn’t state too much, but it appears that the car underwent some refitting and re-wiring work.

The car has a current V5C.

If you like puzzles then you’re certainly going to love this. From what we can establish the majority of the larger work has been completed meaning that this should be a case of refitting and refinishing a handful of parts. Whilst we cannot confirm the status of the engine and gearbox, nor can we confirm whether all the parts are there to 100% complete the vehicle, we do think this would make a great project and once completed would look absolutely fantastic on the road.

We estimate this car will reach anywhere between £12,000 - £16,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located with the vendor in Saffron Walden, Essex. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.