From a deceased estate; tens of thousands spent on build; Meadows 4ED engine fully rebuilt by Edwards Motorsport with Phoenix crank and con rods; Australian race history; VSCC papers; exceedingly rare model, one of only 236 made and six survivingFounded in Coventry in 1895 as a high-quality bicycle manufacturer, Lea-Francis made their first car in 1903 and went on to produce a string of exquisitely engineered light cars, often fitted with four-cylinder OHV engines made by Henry Meadows of Wolverhampton.

Renowned for their distinctive, aggressive exhaust note, these high-revving Meadows engines were highly tuneable, also finding favour with Frazer Nash and HRG for their racing models.

LeaF’s first serious sports car was the 1926 L-Type 12/50 Brooklands which had a tuned twin-carb version of the Meadows 4ED engine producing 52hp and guaranteed to give the car a top speed in excess of 70mph.

Aimed at the racing fraternity and described by Georgano as “one of the best-assembled cars in ...