Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 3 ½ Litre saloon, 1954 Restoration

This 1954 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 3 ½ Litre "346" saloon was sold new in the Netherlands to the baroness van Heeckeren van Wassenaar who lived at Twickel Castle in Delden. The automobile with chassis number 340.519 and engine number 340.447 was supplied by N.V. Minerva Automobielen in Amsterdam on 3 July 1954. The car was finished in Elephant Grey with Light Grey combined with a dark blue leather interior and white wall tyres. The car was in service at the castle for many years, and old photos of the car and the original invoice are still in file with the family. A few years back the then owner returned the car in a very sorry state to the descendants of the family at Twickel Castle. The Armstrong Siddeley must have lived outside in the elements for many decades. The family is determined to have the automobile restored to its former glory, and to add it to the castle coach house and garages again being part of the Twickel Castle history and heritage. S2 Classic Cars has accepted the challenge of restoring and overhauling the automobile to factory original specifications. Currently we are making the road map for the restoration which will be very expensive and time consuming considering the enormous amount of sheet metal work and woodwork. The original interior leather can be saved and will be refurbished. The start date of the works is not yet determined.

The restoration of this Armstrong Siddeley can be followed on this page.
To be continued.

The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 3 ½ Litre “346” saloon was produced from 1952 until 1958. The cars were described as ‘splendid carriages’ but always too expensive compared to the competition (Jaguar/ Daimler). The Sapphire was a comfortable car and thanks to the 120 bhp straight six engine the saloon was able to reach a top speed of over 90 miles per hour. Only 7697 examples were built.

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