This 1951 Daimler DB18 convertible sat for decades in a garage before the owner decided to part with it. The right-hand drive car is rare, with cool features like suicide doors, a majestic grille, and a sleek but stately profile. Recently, the owner decided to donate the pre-war car to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, and the WD Detailing crew stepped in to help.
Sitting on four flat white wall tires, the first challenge was getting the Daimler convertible out of the garage. Fortunately, the tires held air once inflated, and the DB18 willingly rolled onto the trailer. Back at the shop, the first step was to clean up those tires and get the white walls to shine.
Gallery: 1961 Daimler Dart SP250
The two-tone silver and blue paint is covered in dust, dirt, and grime. The trunk lid looks particularly bad, almost like the silver paint has worn away, leaving a patina similar to the 1933 Dodge DP barn find in northwest Iowa. Pressure washing confirms the state of the trunk, but the rest of the car shines up nicely.
WD Detailing took special care with cleaning the interior. They gently cleaned the wood trim and blue-dyed leather upholstery. Surprisingly, they were able to get most of the stains out of the carpet after an untold number of years of sitting with dirt, mildew, and rodent droppings.
Halfway through the video, we learn that there was a mix-up on the year and rarity of the vehicle. Originally reported as one of 25 cars made in 1939, it is actually a 1951 model. Assuming it's a Special Sports drophead coupe, it is still rare, but Daimler produced more like 600 to 1,000 of these cars from 1948 to 1953.
With the Daimler DB18 cleaned up and cosmetically reconditioned, the WD Detailing crew delivers it to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. There they get a special museum tour, which includes many rare and beautiful cars, motorcycles, and airplanes, including a 1932 Cadillac Sport Phaeton and an original, unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing.
In 1896 the Daimler Company Limited was founded in Coventry, England. Known for its stately cars, the coachbuilder once held a Royal Warrant from the British Monarchy until Rolls-Royce supplanted it in the 1950s. Jaguar later purchased the marque, using the name for its top-level sedans.
