Rear frame no. RC5326
Crankcase mating nos. C79C

'Well into the 1960s and even today, when it is wrapped in a mystique carefully cultivated by thousands of fanatically enthusiastic owners, the big Vincent retained that commanding air about it when you met one on the road, and many a rider of avowedly super-sporting machinery would be humiliated by having some much older Black Shadow come past at the canter...' - L J K Setright.
Setright was writing in the 1970s but what he said about the Vincent v-twin, and the Black Shadow in particular, remains every bit as true today. Ever since the Series A's arrival in 1937, the Vincent v-twin has been synonymous with design innovation, engineering excellence and superlative high performance. The appeal of the Vincent, and the 120mph-plus Black Shadow in particular, lay in its ability to out-perform just about every other vehicle on the road, and in the early post-war years there was nothing to compare with it. This was a time when the average family sedan was barely capable of reaching 70mph, and not until the advent of Jaguar's XK120 was there a production sports car that could live with the thundering v-twins from Stevenage. This Series C twin consists of frame 'RC5326' that originally formed part of a Rapide sent to Conway Motors in February 1950 and engine 'F10AB/1B/8847' from a Black Shadow despatched to Bryant in Biggleswade in June 1952. Offered with a Vincent HRD Owners Club Dating Certificate, the machine is presented in a dismantled state and offered for restoration. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to its completeness or otherwise prior to bidding on this Lot, which is sold strictly as viewed.