1974 Vanden Plas Princess 1300

Sold

This is a beautiful 1300 Vanden Plas in Teal Blue. It is in very excellent condition with a fully working Webasco sliding sunroof the length of the roof. No expense has been spared to keep this wonderful classic in top condition. With only 46,000 miles on the clock which I am assured is correct, she has been taken very good care of all her life. The 4 door 1300 VDP remains a very attractive design, very economical, basic Austin engine, and is quickly becoming a classic car of an excellent pedigree. She is not very expensive for the quality of the interior, the engine and the exterior. And, she gets over 35+ miles per gallon and since she is an "antique" car, she has a very low registration cost in any U.S. state. In New Hampshire, it costs $25/year to register the car and insurance is less than $150 per year! You could drive it every day and have very little cost.

She comes with a full set of brand new carpets and a full service. The only slight, and it is only slight, blemish is the slight tear in the driver's seat seen in the photo. From the British point of view, it has an MOT through June 2009. This is important only to know that it has been regularly checked for any problems and has passed without any.

Vanden Plas originated in Belgium, although the name derives from the Dutch, and to be grammatically correct should be expressed Van Der Plas. Today most people will connect Vanden Plas with the more up market Austin Rover Products, but in the past they were coach-builders for Rolls Royce, Bentley, Alvis, Daimler and Lagonda and many more. An interesting historical point: on 17 September 1974 the largest Press gathering ever at Kingsbury, was held to launch the Vanden Plas 1500 Saloon/Sedan based upon the Austin Allegro. By that time the name "Princess" had been removed from the Vanden Plas by British Leyland to be used on their new 18/22 series of wedge shaped cars. With the nationalization of the British Leyland empire, the Vanden Plas Factory at Kingsbury was closed in 1979.

What a wonderful history! What a wonderful inexpensive classic car of excellent pedigree to only gain in value in the coming years — she is a much better investment than the stock market, heaven preserve us, and she is a lot of fun to drive anywhere. Come and look at her or look carefully at the pictures. Any questions, don't hesitate to call or write.

• 46,000 Miles
• Manual transmission
• 4-cylinder 1300cc engine

Exterior
• Beautiful Teal blue paint.
• Two driving lights.
• Rust free straight body.

Interior
• All leather seats.
• Brand new carpets.
• Seat belts.

Suspension
• Hydrolastic suspension.
• Excellent tires.

Engine
• 1300cc carbureted Austin.
• Recently fully serviced.