This is Jim Pegram’s very attractive, 1934 Le Mans Longtail, seen here at the Blists Hill Museum on our 2012 SNCR Weekend in Ironbridge. Jim tells us:
“My car, chassis no 63217, was delivered to Cook and Palmer, London on 28th Nov 1934 and sold to F Cox of North London on 2nd Dec.1934. It was originally black with red wheels and interior. (Although the interior is now brown, where it has had heavy use the brown has worn off, exposing red underneath.)
I know nothing else about the car until sometime in the 1970s, whenI think by then it was registered LSU 911. In 1998/89 it was stripped of that number and given MSJ 919, which is not transferable – at least it can now retain it’s identity. At this time somebody made a mistake with the paperwork, and the car is lumbered with the Vin No. of a modern car, very possibly the one that took the reg no. I have spoken to a previous owner who tried to put this right, but got so bogged down with the DVLA that he gave up. I regard it as part of a very chequered history, and am happy to let sleeping dogs lie! I gather the number LSU 911 is now on, would you believe, a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera 2S.
I acquired the car in 2007, and tried very hard to live with a plethora of mechanical problems that I hoped to steadily get on top of. After a couple of years throwing money at an engine that was not likely to ever be capable of the distances I had in mind, I began to face up to the idea of converting to a BMC engine and gearbox, and fitted a 1275cc engine and box from a
Morris Marina.
The performance and reliability are now transformed, although I still have a long list of things to improve with regard to my installation. The car is now getting the sort of use I had originally intended.
The car covered 1400 miles from purchase to Marina engine in the winter of 2010. It has covered 2400 since.”
