Nick Larkin discovers that a rare Cambridgeshire coach has been saved from a garden by a new owner looking to fully restore it
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A rare coach that starred at the 1954 Commercial Motor Show has been saved after lying in a Cambridgeshire garden for 40 years.
Now the owner of a former Burwell & District (B&D) Daimler Freeline, originally registered NVE1, is appealing for help from across the industry to bring the Willowbrook-bodied coach back to life.
“I really liked this coach and it really deserves to be restored,” said new owner and expert metal fabricator Owen Edge who runs Ely-based Cambridgeshire Classic Cars. “It’s a piece of local history. It is a long shot, but just maybe someone in the coach and bus industry might have some spares that have been lying around for many years, or may have further information on these vehicles.”
Most importantly, Owen is seeking a Daimler CD650 10.6-litre engine as originally fitted to the coach along with the manufacturer’s own gearbox, but the model was also available with a Gardner engine and Self Changing Gears ‘box. Roof vents, some interior items and body parts are also needed.
“Considering it’s been standing for 40 years the chassis is surprisingly sound, as is some of the wood,” Owen added.
Having been used as a store shed the Daimler’s interior is not great, but the seats are present. A tree fell on to the roof of the coach during its prolonged storage.
The Freeline was new to B&D, set up in the village of Burwell, near Newmarket after the First World War and being taken over by Eastern Counties in 1979. It had been owned by a former B&D driver, Brian Camps, for many years.
Introduced in 1951, the underfloor-engined Freeline was a slow seller in Britain, but fared better abroad, all but 92 of the 650 built being sold overseas.
Owen can be contacted on 07803 357952 or by email at [email protected]
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