Lot Ended
Description
1928
KD7361 LEA-FRANCIS S-Type Hyper
Well-known
genuine Hyper; recent blower rebuild; good history; extremely competitive car in
fine order
Richard Lea and Graham Francis set up in a small workshop
in Coventry in 1895 to produce high quality bicycles. These were in great demand
and the little firm soon moved to larger premises and made the obvious move into
motorcycles.
By 1919 they had introduced a car of their own design,
although they had an agreement with Southport-based Vulcan to share many
components in order to keep costs to a minimum.
Lea-Francis also chose
Meadows engines to power their cars, which proved a shrewd move as they were
extremely well-engineered – the later 4ED having enormous tuning
potential.
A sporting image began to appear from around 1925, leading to
the introduction of the Cozette-blown S-Type Hyper. Britain’s first supercharged
production car, a Hyper won the 1928 Ulster TT, a 30-lap race over 13.5 miles on
the roads of Northern Ireland, in the hands of the legendary racing driver, Kaye
Don. The race was watched by a record 250,000 spectators and the victory placed
Lea-Francis firmly on the map.
Hyper chassis 14062 was erected in June
1928 and fitted with a Cross and Ellis two-seater body. The Lea-Francis owners
club confirm that this body was removed in August 1928 and sold on, the rolling
chassis being exported to a wealthy meat exporter and grazier in Sydney by the
name of Mr T Field. He had a ‘rather attractive’ four seat tourer body built
locally, which was to remain on the car until the early 1970s by which time it
had passed through the hands of at least one further owner, a Mrs Jones,
possibly of Perth, who still had the car in 1972.
By 1975 it had been
repatriated and was in the hands of well-known racer Roddy McPherson. He
commissioned Barrie Price to rebuild it for racing and rebody it with replica
1929 TT coachwork.
They managed to get the car UK registered KD 7361,
which was a number originally on Hyper chassis 14139 – one of the 1929 Team cars
which was subsequently scrapped.
Peter Harper took over the car in 1976,
then Len Potter, before acquisition by one-time Lea-Francis apprentice Roy
Beebee.
He rebuilt the engine, first with the original roller-bearing crank –
later with a solid crank and plain bearings. It is believed that at around this
time, the original crankcase 9050 was swapped with 8912 which came from a P-Type
which is still fitted today. Beebee developed the car extensively, making it the
quickest S-Type for a period, complete with No.8 Cozette and twin-port
head.
After his death in 1996, the car fell into disuse until it was sold
to, and enthusiastically campaigned by Andrew Dixey. Maintained to exacting
standards by Brewster Mudie and a regular sight in all forms of VSCC
competition, it spent a year with another active VSCC competitor before coming
into the vendor’s hands in 2013.
Since then, he has continued to maintain
it on a no-expense-spared basis and used it, predominantly for hill-climbs at
which these nimble and powerful cars excel.
Other than regular servicing,
he has rebuilt the shock absorbers, had the car completely rewired by
specialists Vehicle Wiring Services a couple of years ago and treated the
Cozette to a full rebuild in 2016 since when it has had very little use. The
cooling system is charged with Fernox Alfa II antifreeze at 33% mix which has
excellent anti-corrosive properties.
It had a new set of Blockley tyres
in 2018 and a rebuild of the Dewandre brake servo last year.
Included in the
thick file of paperwork is a current (non-transferable) VSCC Buff Form and it
will have a fresh MOT by the time of the sale. The car comes with a full
windscreen (not fitted), spare propshaft, two halfshafts, a silencer and an
extra wheel, there is even the original roller-bearing crankshaft, although the
vendor suggests that this is more suitable for decoration than motive
power.
Running like the proverbial Swiss watch when we visited to take
the photos, this correct and competitive car is ready to enter the fray at the
highest level.
* All charges are subject to VAT