1967 Austin Vanden Plas

Princess Limousine

6 - Cyl.

Manual

12345

Gasoline

This 1967 Austin Princess Vanden Plas A135 Limousine would make a great "wedding car". Often used to transport the bride and groom to the airport, church, reception, etc. The car has never been restored, all original. It has been stored inside for the past 20 years. Engine runs great, transmission shifts smoothly, no cooling leaks, hydraulics work good. This car has a very heavy/solid frame with aluminum body. All glass is intact and useable. Windows roll up and down. Sliding glass partition between the driver compartment and passengers. Right Hand Drive. Interior is original leather and velour and will need to be restored. All the wood is good. The drivers side running board is presently removed for repairs. A couple of the doors are somewhat loose on the hinges. Some of the wood in the doorposts will need to be replaced, metal wrap is good. Floorboards are solid. There is a four-wheel jacking system that is operated with a switch in front of the drivers seat. It lifts the entire vehicle off the ground for service/repairs. Wheels/Tires/Hubcaps are good condition. All chrome is in excellent condition. The stainless steel grill is almost perfect...no dents/dings. This is a gun car and turns a lot of heads. A brief history of the A135 is below. The first Austin Princess was launched in 1947 as the most expensive flagship model in the Austin range. Based on the Austin Sheerline, the Princess (model code A135) featured a body by the coachbuilder Vanden Plas and was a fairly large saloon or limousine. Not a popular model with the general public, most Princesses (and Sheerlines, for that matter) were bought for civic ceremonial duties or by hire companies as limousines for hire. The Princess model was updated over the years through Mark I, Mark II and Mark III versions, the variations being fairly minor: the bodywork didn't change much, nor did the 4-litre straight-6 engine. The radiator was fairly upright in old-fashioned style and the car had separate front wings. During the life of this model (in 1952), Austin became part of the British Motor Corporation (BMC). A long wheelbase version tested by The Motor magazine in 1953 had a top speed of 79 mph (127 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 23.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 15.1 miles per imperial gallon (18.7 L/100 km; 12.6 mpg) was recorded. The test car cost £2480 including taxes. Princess IV — no longer badged as an Austin Princess Mark IV Production 1956-1968 200 made Engine(s) 3995 cc 6 cylinder overhead-valve Wheelbase 132 in (3,353 mm)(long wheel base) Length 215 in (5,461 mm)(long wheel base) Width 73 in (1,854 mm) Height 70 in (1,778 mm) 1956 saw a new Princess Mk IV. This more modern styled car had more "integrated" front wings in the modern style, but was little changed under the skin. This model lasted until 1959; though subsequently the large, specialised limousine version continued to be built by hand in limited numbers as the Vanden Plas 4-Litre Princess Limousine, surviving until 1968. After this time, with many British marques by then being part of British Leyland, the Jaguar-based Daimler DS420 was the sole limousine offered as part of the new, slightly rationalised range. This had been foreseen in 1966 when British Motor Holdings (BMH) had brought BMC and Jaguar together, and stopped development at Vanden Plas of the potential successor car. The limousine was luxuriously appointed with lots of polished wood, optional Mohair rugs and radio with controls in the armrest. Among the long list of available extras were monograms and a flagstaff. The driving compartment was separated from the rear of the car by a division with an optional telephone for the passengers to communicate with the driver. The driving seat was finished in leather but the rear seats were trimmed in cloth, the usual arrangement on many luxury cars of the time. To increase seating capacity two occasional seats could be folded out of the floor. The car had independent coil suspension at the front with semi elliptic leaf springs and anti roll bar at the rear. The cam and peg type steering gear had optional power assistance. An automatic Limousine was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1962 and had a top speed of 86.2 mph (138.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 23.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 15.8 miles per imperial gallon (17.9 L/100 km; 13.2 mpg) was recorded. The test car cost £3473 including taxes. On Jan-28-11 at 09:37:16 PST, seller added the following information: Note: The VIN for this car is: DM4/16581 Engine number: 16678 Body number: 11185 Date of Build: Feb. 10, 1967 First Owner: Mr. Steven R. Sedlmayr , Lanarkshire, UK Austin A135 Mark III Princess LimousineOn Jan-30-11 at 07:31:38 PST, seller added the following information: Note: I estimated the mileage when I initially listed this vehicle and thought I could correct it with a revision. The Ebay program will not allow me to update that value. The odometer shows a little less than 72,000 actual miles. I apologize for the error.On Feb-01-11 at 22:42:56 PST, seller added the following information: Note: I stated in the end of the first paragraph that this is a "gun" car. Please excuse my boo-boo, that was supposed to read this is a "fun" car. So much for proof-reading before posting the auction. Again, I apologize for the mistake.