1929' Talbot 14/45 Weymann

In the mid-1920s Talbot sales were flagging and chief engineer George Roesch was charged with designing a new model that would restore the company’s fortunes. The result was the 14/ 45. It took less than a year from drawing board to production and was the sensation of the 1926 Motor Show. Its 1666cc engine mated to a 4-speed gearbox featured lightweight valve-gear using “knitting needle” pushrods, knife-edge rockers and also new piston technology. This gave it the ability to rev freely whilst maintaining flexibility. This engine design was subsequently developed for the Talbots that were so successful at Le Mans, Brooklands and in the Alpine Rallies in the 1930s.
This car is fitted with a lightweight Weymann Sunshine Coupe body and was delivered by Warwick Wright to a Dr Helen Faraday-Gray in July 1929. She owned the car until 1967 and used it on her rounds throughout WW2. The car comes with a logbook showing the extra petrol coupons she was given for this purpose. In all, she drove it for 45000 miles.
The car passed into Michael Marshall’s hands in 1999. He set about the most meticulous end-to-end restoration lasting more than a decade.
This process was recorded over the years in a large number of articles he wrote for the Talbot Owners Club magazine. More recently, the car featured in a 7-page spread in the May 2020 issue of The Automobile.
The car is a delight to drive being free-revving but flexible and will pull strongly from 10 mph in top gear. It cruises comfortably in the high 50s. The massive sunshine roof allows open-top motoring but can be instantly converted to a closed coupe.
In our 6 years of ownership the car has proved totally reliable and trouble-free. However old age (the owner not the car) and the need to reclaim some garage space have prompted its sale.
The car comes with lots of documentation recording its history and restoration together with many spares including a cylinder head and crankshaft.