The Museum tells us…
(All words and photographs from the Lakeland Motor Museum).
Lakeland Motor Museum has welcomed a new pre-War vehicle to its collection in the shape of a 1939 Vauxhall Ten-Four H type saloon. This was a vehicle that in its time was considered to be a major milestone in British car design due to it being the first car to feature an integral, or monocoque, chassis, otherwise known as unitary construction.
Donated by the family of Mr David Brunton of Bonnyrigg near Edinburgh, the Motor Museum becomes the car’s third owner. The car was originally enjoyed by another owner in Edinburgh before being purchased by Mr Brunton in the 1970s.
Over the decades, the car has undergone extensive restoration work, including in the 1990s when during a terrible storm, the garage roof of the building where the car was being restored, collapsed.
Mr Brunton, who passed away, had left in his wishes that the vehicle was to be placed into a museum for others to continue to enjoy in the future. Having been donated to the Lakeland Motor Museum and following three years of renovation work it’s finally ready for visitors and on-show as part of the Museum’s vast collection of motor vehicles and memorabilia.
Since arriving at Lakeland Motor Museum, the car has seen extensive repairs to its wings, running boards and paintwork, all carried out locally in Cumbria.
Commenting on the donation to the Motor Museum, Mr Brunton’s daughter Ann said: “I visited Lakeland Motor Museum some years back and was very impressed by the venue, its collection and the dedication of the team who look after the cars. We knew my dad wanted his beloved classic motor to go on show, so we approached the museum and were delighted when they welcomed it into their collection. We very much hope that it will be enjoyed by all visitors and look forward to bringing our own families along, in the coming years, to see it in its new home”.
Chris Lowe, curator of Lakeland Motor Museum said: “We were so excited to be gifted this beautiful and much-loved vehicle. Mr Brunton had enjoyed taking this car to shows and events right across the Scottish lowlands, so to have it come south of the border is a real honour. We have carefully restored the car to ensure it’s in pristine condition so that visitors today can see how it would have looked in its heyday.”
The 1939 Vauxhall Ten-Four H type saloon, registration CSF930, is an 1141cc 4 cylinder, small family car registered in March 1939 (in the mid-range 10 ‘RAC Horsepower’ class). This British built vehicle hails from Vauxhall’s Luton plant, which has just closed after 120 years of vehicle production. The model was launched in 1937 at the London Motor Show and was the first British car to have a unitary construction body.
The Lakeland Motor Museum:
The Vauxhall, along with all of Lakeland Motor Museum’s other 140+ vehicles (cars and motorbikes, plus thousands of items of associated automobilia), is available for visitors to enjoy daily. Entry to the museum is free for under 5s, £7.50 for children from 5-15 and £12.50 for adults. Dogs are welcome free of charge and there is free on-site parking, plus an on-site café and gift shop.
The Museum also has special displays honouring the historic speed record exploits of Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell. Highlights include full sized replicas of the 1935 Blue Bird car and the 1967 jet hydroplane Bluebird K7.
Entry is £12.50 (adults) and £7.50 (children).