1933 Aston Martin 1½-Litre Long-Chassis Tourer

• Originally built with standard factory bodywork
• Subsequently fitted with a factory-built Le Mans body
• Present ownership since 1967
• An older restoration
• Only circa 250 miles since an engine rebuild by Alan Brooke Engineering

Manufactured by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, the first Aston-Martins (the hyphen is correct for the period) rapidly established a reputation for high performance and sporting prowess in the years immediately following The Great War. Unfortunately, the management's concentration on motor sport, while accruing invaluable publicity, distracted it from the business of manufacturing cars for sale, the result being just 50-or-so sold by 1925 when the company underwent the first of what would be many changes of ownership.

The foundations were laid for the commencement of proper series production with the formation of Aston Martin Motors Ltd in 1926 under the stewardship of Augustus 'Bert' Bertelli and William Renwick. Bertelli was an experienced automobile engineer, having designed cars for Enfield & Allday, and an engine of his design - an overhead-camshaft four-cylinder of 1,492cc - powered the new 11.9hp Aston. Built at the firm's new Feltham works, the first 'new generation' Aston Martins were displayed at the 1927 London Motor Show at Olympia. These new Astons were available on long and short chassis, the former being reserved for saloons and tourers and the latter for the sports models.

Like his predecessors, 'Bert' Bertelli understood the effect of competition success on Aston Martin sales and sanctioned the construction of two works racers for the 1928 season. Based on the 1½-litre, overhead-camshaft road car, the duo featured dry-sump lubrication, and this feature was carried over to the International sports model, introduced in 1929. In the meantime, Aston Martin had displayed three new models on its stand at the 1928 London Motor Show at Olympia: a four-seat open car, a four-door saloon, and an open two-seater on the short (8' 6") chassis, which was described as the 'Standard Sports Model'.

The 'Le Mans' label was first applied to the competition version of the (1st Series) International model following Aston's class win and 5th place overall in the 1931 Le Mans race. This conceit was fully justified when the model placed 5th and 7th in the 1932 race and collected the Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup. It may, in fact, be the first car named after the Le Mans Race, although many others have since followed Aston Martin's example.

The early 1930s was a period of economic recession, and with sales of expensive quality cars falling off, some serious rethinking had to be done at Feltham. The prudent decision was taken to redesign the chassis using proprietary components to reduce cost. A Laycock gearbox was adopted, mounted in unit with the engine, and the worm drive rear axle, which had never been completely satisfactory, was replaced by an ENV spiral bevel. There was a redesigned chassis frame and many other modifications, including a counter-balanced crankshaft, resulting in what was virtually a new car, although it carried the same coachwork. The original line-up of what would become known as the '2nd Series' did not last long, disappearing from the range at the beginning of 1934, by which time the chassis numbers were being suffixed 'S' or 'L' depending on wheelbase length (8' 7" and 10' respectively).

This 2nd Series Aston Martin 1½-Litre 'Le Mans' was built in April 1933 with standard bodywork. When bought by the current owner in 1967, the standard body had been removed and an original factory-built Le Mans body fitted, which had come from chassis number 'L3/310', registration number 'AML 439'. Unusually, although an original factory-built long-chassis body, it is in the style of the more attractive short-chassis slab-tank model.

The car was rebuilt some years ago with the help of specialists, Bill Ewell Smith, Morntane Engineering and Ecurie Bertelli, but has covered only 250 miles since an engine rebuild by Alan Brooke Engineering. Only offered for sale due to lack of use by its custodian, the Aston has recently undergone a thorough recommissioning, and is said to be very reliable and ready to enjoy. The original magneto has been replaced by an Ecurie Bertelli coil ignition conversion, and this and a large quantity of spares goes with the car.