"The car of choice in the early 1930s, with money no object, was probably the Bentley built by Rolls-Royce. However, this was, at least, double the price of a Lagonda which had far more attractive open touring coachwork. Especially if it carried the powerful 4½ litre Meadows engine, tried and tested in the Invicta. Even Sir Malcolm Campbell had one, pale blue naturally. Unfortunately, poor sales forced them into receivership in June 1933 although two years later, as luck would have it, a Lagonda won Le Mans securing their reputation within the motorsport arena. As we all know, success on the track usually meant good sales from the high-street showrooms. The reinvigorated Lagonda company was then sold in 1935 to a consortium led by Alan Good with Dick Watney as Managing Director and W.O. Bentley as Technical Director. Refinanced and restructured, the new company wanted to capitalise on the victory at La Sarthe. The straight six, 4½ Litre Meadows unit was re-engineered by Lagonda’s Technical Director (W. O. himself) who had the incentive and finance required to translate that engine into the LG45 model with performance and reliability improvements. Deliveries commenced in the spring of 1936 with the new big Lagonda more refined; gaining synchromesh gears, flexible engine mounts and centralised chassis lubrication among many other improvements. Endowed with such a pedigree, the 4½-litre Lagonda quickly established itself as a favourite among the wealthy sporting motorists of its day. The power was transmitted through a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on second, third and top. By 1936, Harry Westlake had been employed to improve the cylinder head which lead to the ‘Sanction 3’ (simply translated as improvement) engine with twin spark plugs and twin Scintilla Vertex magnetos producing circa 130bhp. FPK 696 is probably one of the best developed LG45s around. A product of the Northern Lagonda Factory ( a phrase coined by Denis Jenkinson to describe Alan Brown and David Hine in Lancashire). David Hine is chairman of the Lagonda Owners Club and is one of the most knowledgeable authorities on Lagondas and a superb engineer to boot. In 1995, he built this LG45 for his son, Nick, essentially to race. Alan Brown designed and made the body along the lines of a Fox & Nicholls team car but with more of a Rapide boot and light-weight construction. David developed the ‘Sanction 3’ engine over a number of years to give 170bhp at the wheels (around 200bhp at the flywheel). Combined with its massive Rapide brakes, this turned out to be a very competitive car, certainly quicker than a 4½ litre Bentley Although designed as a racer, the current owner has primarily used it as fast-road car. With gearing of 3.33:1 providing a cruising speed of 80mph at under 3,000rpm, it made the last European trip of some 2,000 miles faultlessly. The owner has undertaken general oil, greasing and mechanical servicing as well as having had the magnetos rebuilt in 2023. The FIA papers are through to 2027. There is also a there is a VSCC buff logbook giving the any new owner access to events such as the Le Mans Classic, Miglia Mille , Goodwood and the Vernasca Silver Flag. In terms of mechanical specification, there are extensive details to note that can all be viewed in the history folder that accompanies the car. If reading this in the Historic catalogue, you may like to refer to the online version for a more in-depth analysis; ChassisStandard LG45 length 10'9. One more cross-member added to locate the front of the Alvis gearbox.SpringsLowered front & rear springs.Front AxleNew stub axles fitted. Standard Bishop Cam steering, very light and positive.Rear AxleRapide ratio CWP 3.33: 1. Radius arms fitted to avoid axle twist (racing starts) New half-shafts fitted.LG45 axle casing very heavy and caused pendulum effect so lighter three-litre axle casing used with same, full strength, internals.BrakesStandard Girling type with Rapide finned brake drums for extra cooling. Air vents to front backplates.Shock absorbersLever arm to rear. Heavy duty Luvax lever arm to front plus Andre friction type for racing only.WheelsWheels have been re-spoked with thicker shoulder spokes. 600-19 Dunlop Racing tyres and tubes.Petrol tank and pumpsTwin SU pumps with reserve supply valve. Change over valves for reserve supply are under the chassis.Cooling systemM45-style radiator with modern core. Electric cooling fan for traffic activated by dashboard switch.Oil cooler fitted for distance racing.EngineOriginal LG45 ‘Sanction 3’ engine with original cylinder head, block and crankcase but replacement sump casting. Cylinder head valve seats and guides unleaded conversion. Crankshaft is a modern ‘one-piece’ designed with new steel conrods and pistons.Camshaft is high-lift type from Derek Green at Cedar Classics.New HV8, 2” carburettors, original 1930s specification.High output oil pump with modern filter to protect bearings.Peak torque 322 lb/ft at 1,800rpmPeak power (rear wheels) 171bhp @ 3,700rpm.Gear boxSpeed 25 Alvis type, synchromesh on all gears.ClutchBorg & Beck type with special racing friction lining.CoachworkLightweight tubular steel, aluminium covered design by Alan Brown built 1995-1997Full length tonneau plus easily erected hood for wet weather protection.Two front fully adjustable seats.Fold flat windscreen plus aero screen.Spare wheel and tools under detachable rear compartment.Lighting Headlights fitted with halogen bulbs. (frame fully detachable for racing) There are also two files that come with the car; The Green File This catalogues the applications for the FIA Historical Technical Passports in 2002, 2012 and in 2017. The new HTP is valid for 20 years and there is a form included so that title can be transferred to a new owner. The Blue File This includes all the invoices from 1995 when the project was started.There is also all the correspondence with various suppliers and test results from dynamometers.There is an additional folder with the application to register the number FPK 696, using the buff log book and a letter from the Lagonda Club dated 1997. (With a current eligibility number of 13776, the VSCC may require the new owner to re-register for a new eligibility form)
In addition to the technical description of the car, there is also included a document describing the routine/Competition checks. These include a half turn of the water pump greaser every 500 miles (ordinary grease not water pump type)Lubricate pushrods every 1,000 miles, stronger valve springs require this.
When racingTighten front shock absorbers.Remove screen before fitting aero screen.Inflate tyres to 35psi all round.Slacken, check, and re-tighten wheel hub nuts (tend to tighten up when racing).Check brake adjustment (can be done one wheel off the ground at a time).Check rain light switch under dash, right-side. (Requires ignition on)Check water and oil levels (Silkolene 20/50).Check fuel level with dipstick.Tape up headlights.Earth battery isolation switch also kills magneto 2 but normally disconnected from magneto 1. It may be necessary to attach to both magnetos if scrutineer requires it.VSCC events supply transponders and appropriate bracket is on the car. Brackets have to be changed each time.
Engine upgrade 2003Following 2002 Le Mans event, it was decided to upgrade the engine for 2004 Le Mans race.Prior to this work, the engine was a standard LG45 specification plus 0.010 planed off the cylinder head, a reground camshaft with a little more lift and two Jaguar 2” carburettors.A new one was fitted (one piece), crankshaft and modern conrods with shell bearings (B4 247LC/std together with flat-top Volvo.The other big change was the Cedar Classics camshaft from the late Derek Green.This had a much higher lift and longer duration. Every lobe of the camshaft has a tiny hole for extra lubrication of the cam-followers. The bronze bearings are a larger diameter. (1.925)The big cam-lobes required larger/stronger cam followers.For normal fast-road use, the standard valve springs work as crankshaft revs never go much over 3,000rpm. However, for racing, the gear change is often nearer 4,500rpm and valve bounce would be experienced. All these problems were solved and stronger valve springs were used to cope with this problem. Valve springs were single instead of the standard double type and were 200lb instead of the standard 100lb. (150lb springs were made as spares for long distance rally work but these were not strong enough for racing).The timing chains and sprockets were changed from inverted tooth-type to duplex chains.Standard pushrods were not satisfactory and tended to bend at very high revs so special aircraft-steel pushrods were supplied.Once all these changes were completed, the engine performed reliably and indeed every year since then. It also raced again at Le Mans in 2012 with no remedial work required. Two long distance races were competed in the Algarve in 2014 and 2015 plus all the local races at Silverstone and Donnington Park. (Legends meetings and VSCC)
Consigned by Edward Bridger-Stille
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