1923 Talbot 10-23 Tourer

‘XO 3815’ is a Talbot L10/23 four-seater, all-weather, open tourer built by Clement-Talbot (London) Ltd. at the Barlby Road Works in mid-1923.

In the seller’s care since 2016, the odometer still reads just 58,500 miles, a figure that may well be genuine. The history file also includes a plethora of receipts plus the coveted ‘buff’ logbook along with notes on its maintenance and repair that go all the way back to 1955.

Clearly well maintained over the years but probably never fully restored, it presents well and drives every bit as well as you’d hope.

While the seller doesn’t think it has ever been fully restored, it has clearly had various running-repairs made to it throughout its lifetime including new paint here and there. The hood and running boards also look fairly recent.

This approach, to conserve rather than restore, is one we endorse; a car is only original once and we think it’s important to preserve its history for as long as possible.

As you may have spotted, there’s no driver’s door but then the dashing young officer who bought it new would have thought nothing of leaping in with nothing to steady him but a light hand on the spare wheel.

(You may prefer to use the nearside front door, which provides more stately access for those of us who no longer feel the need to impress potential paramours by unnecessarily leaping over obstacles.)

The driver also has access to a loud horn with which to startle the horses, plus a StadioScope rearview mirror. (The latter would have been pretty much redundant given how slim the chance of anyone having the horsepower to overtake a new Talbot 10/23 Tourer.)

However, the BP petrol can, which is held securely in place with a Maymore bracket, would have been an essential part of the driver’s arsenal at a time when it would have been easier to find a nosebag of oats than a gallon of petrol.

The nearside running board offers a location for a sturdy wooden box, which in turn contains tools and a modest selection of spare parts. The latter also provides a handy location for a tax disc holder.

The windscreen pivots open in case the somewhat rudimentary roof doesn’t offer sufficient fresh air. The windscreen also boasts a wiper, and the headlamps are a matching pair of fabulously patinated Rotax K562s.

The radiator and its surround are every bit as imposing as those from the better-known premium car manufacturers but then Talbot was more than capable of slugging it out with the very best of ‘em.

The painted Sankey spoked wheels are fitted with matching 710x90 4ply tyres, all of which have decent tread left on them.

As for flaws and blemishes, while many cars might struggle to carry a patina like this, in the case of a top-flight vintage car like the Talbot we’d be tempted to continue the process of preservation, restricting restoration to individual components and areas as and when it becomes unavoidable.

We know new upholstery and carpets were fitted in 1972, along with a new roof and tonneau, but apart from that it is anyone’s guess as to what has been done and when.

Not that it matters because the cabin simply drips with style and elegance.

For instance, the four-spoke steering wheel has beautifully labelled controls to alter both the throttle position and the ignition advance and retard, items you’ll need to adjust in order to start it.

The Jaeger of Paris speedometer shows your passenger how fast you are going in the most stylish way possible, while the similarly-styled Smiths clock tells them how early they’re going to be for lunch at Simpson’s in the Strand.

The driver gets their information from Rotax, who supplied the ammeter and its backing plate, and Eureka, who provide the Talbot-branded oil pressure gauge.

As for its condition, if no further work has been carried out since the early seventies, then the front and rear bench seats, which are firm, plump and virtually unmarked, have held up remarkably well; we suspect a combination of dedicated curation and high-quality craftsmanship is almost certainly involved.

Part of the many reasons we love vintage cars is that they’re so easy to work on.

Witness the differential, where the method of filling it to the correct level couldn’t be more obvious. There’s no mistaking where you need to put engine oil either, and the distributor couldn’t be more accessible.

The HT leads have a simplicity to their engineering that enables even the greenest of DIYers to fit and refit them: Remember, this was a car designed to be maintained by a novice, someone more used to shoeing a horse than getting grease under their fingernails so, armed with the requisite tools and access to YouTube, you shouldn’t have any difficulty.

Take note too of the brass Zenith carburettor, whose beautiful design and attention to detail puts more modern carbs to shame – and wouldn’t it be a positive pleasure to maintain it and keep it nice and shiny?

Speaking of which, if you were to douse the engine in degreaser and then gently sponge it clean few would accuse you of being overly fastidious.

But that’s pretty much all you will need to do because it starts well, idles solidly, revs very smoothly, and drives even better than you’d hope.

Moving underneath, there is plenty of evidence of recent greasing plus the odd drop of oil from the differential. Everything else looks strong and well-ordered too, leaving almost nothing for the new owner to do.

Its first registered keeper was a Captain T.L. Keen, who drove it until 1941, at which time ongoing unpleasantries meant no petrol was available. He therefore put it into storage, and ill-health prevented him from ever driving it again.

After he passed away the Talbot was bequeathed to his niece, a Miss Oppitz. She apparently believed that her recently inherited car was an early prototype. It is also thought that Captain Keen had changed the front axle, stub axles, steering column, and steering box for later components and is also said to have removed the self-starter and waterpump, claiming the former overloaded the battery and the latter leaked.

Miss Oppitz sold it to The Earl of Cardigan in 1954, who is said to have refitted the latter two items in around 1955, taking the opportunity to spruce up the bodywork at the same time, retrim the interior, re-bush the steering, set up the front suspension, and fit new tyres. The spare wheel was also moved to the rear, a Klaxon horn and Bowden-cable-operated wiper installed, and the line of the body slightly altered, with the rear being dropped by two inches.

The engine was overhauled in 1956 with a new rocker shaft and valves from a Rover 12 being installed to replace the worn originals, and a damaged piston led to the bottom half of the engine being repaired a year later. The timing gears were dismantled in 1958 and while they were found to be a little worn, no further action was needed.

It was taken to Jersey in 1959 where it was issued with the registration number ‘J22478’. It returned to England in 1961, was sold to a Mr. R.D. Jones in 1964. It seems it was then sold to a Mr. Rodger Lear in 1966 and sold again in 1968.

We are told it then took part in the 1969 comedy Monte Carlo or Bust alongside film legends including Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Tony Curtis, Eric Sykes, and Terry Thomas, being driven down to Monte Carlo to film on location.

A Mr. F.A. Harvey bought it in 1969, and he wasted no time in overhauling the engine, clutch and gearbox. A new hood and tonneau and interior trim were installed in 1970, and handwritten notes state that “[I] have never had a breakdown”.

It then moved into the care of a Mr. K Stewart and then K.C. Garfield in April 1976.

The Talbot does not have an MoT certificate, although the history file includes many expired certificates plus tax discs going back as far as 1970.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the history file also includes the buff logbook, service manuals, including one for the Zenith carburettor, plus an instruction book and handwritten notes on how to start it.

It also contains some charming period photographs plus extensive notes detailing its maintenance and repair in the years between 1955 and 1976. There are invoices on file dating back to 1966 too, making this an unusually well-documented example.

With only around 50 thought to have survived, this 103-year-old example is something of a rarity – but its appeal is far wider than exclusivity; eligible for the VSCC, there are few better ways of having motoring fun than in the company of like-minded folk who take neither themselves nor their vintage machinery too seriously.

And please don’t underestimate the effect a vintage car can have on your sporting and social life. A friend of the business competes in one and says it’s wormed its way into his affections in a way he couldn’t have predicted: “My Austin Seven has changed my life in a way that owning Caterhams, TVRs, and Porsches didn't.”

And the cost of all this jollity and exquisite engineering?

Our guide price is between £15,000 and £18,000, making it a very affordable way to live out all your 1920’s fantasies.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.