Built Like a Cannon - Goes Like a Bullet

That would be the motto of the Royal Enfield motorcycle concern that, sadly, went defunct in the 1970s. Starting out as Enfield Manufacturing Company in 1893 as a manufacturer of bicycles, the firm licensed the "Royal" portion of its name from the crown in 1911. The firm built several models for the both the British and Imperial Russian armies during World War I and even sold models with machine guns mounted.

After the second World War, Royal Enfield motorcycles were imported tot he US badged as Indians from 1955 thorough 1959. Riders at the time thought them to be a pale imitation of the classic American bike. 

Royal Enfield found a large market in India in 1949 and by 1955, "Enfields" were being built in India to meet the demand. Originally sold to the police and military markets in India, the cheap-to-run motorcycles became an aspiration of many Indian workers. 

The British Royal Enfield concern was wound up in 1971 and the only place on earth that Enfield motorcycles were produced was India. They continued production under the Enfield name until 1995 when the rights to the Royal Enfield name were acquired by the Indian Firm.

Today, Royal Enfield motorcycles are available nearly world wide and all of them come the factory in Chennai, India. 

Check this video of a craftsman hand painting the gold pinstriping on a fuel tank at the Royal Enfield factory:



I have a strong desire to own one these 500CC single cylinder "thumpers". Wish me luck.

Classic British... Tools?

An ABINGDON girder wrench

The annual trek to Magnolia Springs to attend the St. John's Catholic Church lawn party is one that I've come to enjoy. In addition to the fine food, music and antique agricultural equipment on display, there is a fascinating display of antique tools brought by one of the parishioners. While it is only a small part of his collection, the variety of tools on display is truly astounding.

I noticed that he had a number of intriguing wrenches on display bearing names such as "ABINGDON" and "Joseph Lucas". Yep, it turns out that it is the same Abingdon and Joseph Lucas that you've heard of before.

The Abingdon on the wrench is the name of a handtool manufacturer located in Abingdon - the same Abingdon famous for building MGs for 50 years. Abingdon Engineering made a wide range of equipment including motorcycles, chains and gearboxes. At the turn of the twentieth century, the firm concentrated on hand tools exclusively. 

A Joseph Lucas girder wrench

Most British car enthusiasts know the products of Abingdon Engineering by their trade name, King Dick, from the screw jacks and other hand tools found in the tool kits of classic British cars.   

The Lucas hand tool line on the other hand, is not that well known outside the UK. The firm known to us for their automotive electrical equipment and instruments (through the Smiths brand) was a maker of small metal goods in the nineteenth century. One of their main lines was small handtools such as the Joseph Lucas girder wrench in the photo I shot at Magnolia Springs.

If you haven't been to the St. John's lawn party with the club, I suggest that you add it to your calendar next year. The tools on display make it worth the trip alone.

Sheared Sheep, A Classic British Marque and Bathroom Faucets

Are you aware of a connection between a classic (and, sadly, defunct) British marque and a US purveyor of kitchen and bath plumbing supplies?  Yeah, I didn't think so.

An Australian concern that manufactured sheep shearing equipment employed a young British engineer named Herbert Austin who caught the bug that many other young, enterprising men did at the turn of the twentieth century - the desire to build his own car. While he was employed in Australia, young Herbert met, wooed and married his wife and when the firm decided to uproot from Melbourne and move the works to the industrial heartland of England, he followed.

Wolseley Tri-Car

Setting up the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Company factory in Birmingham allowed the business to be closer to to their suppliers, but the 'off season' meant that other work had to be performed to prevent losing skilled workers to layoffs (or redundancy, as it is termed in the UK). Herbert saw that bicycle manufacturing would fill the niche nicely and the Wolseley bicycle was born.When motorized bicycles came on the scene, Herbert saw a good fit for his factory, as he was now works manager.

The first Wolseley car of 1895 was more of a powered cart, as many others were at the time, with the driver and passenger sitting back to back on the three-wheeled, tiller-steered contraption. In 1901, the automobile division was spun off as an independent business. From this humble beginning, Wolseley would become the leading producer of automobiles in the pre- WW I period.

In 1905, Herbert Austin left the Wolseley automobile firm and raised enough capital to put an all-new design in production and the Austin automobile marque was born.  The sheep shearing equipment stayed with the original Wosleley firm and and Austin was lured back as chairman of that division - post he held from 1911 until 1933.

1909 Austin

By 1927, things weren't looking so good for the Wolseley automobile group and it was purchased by William Morris (of the Morris Automobile concern) as his personal property. 

The original Wolsleley group continued to produce its' sheep sharing equipment and worked actively to diversify itself into other fields and it successfully entered the electric fencing, industrial wheels and building supply businesses in the UK. In the US, the modern Woslsley firm purchased a plumbing and industrial supply firm in 1982 called Ferguson Enterprises.

Today, Ferguson is known for its high end kitchen and bath showrooms in North America. But they don't sell sheep shears.

The Shape of Things to Come

TR7 Roadster

Quick - What was the best selling of the Triumph TR series cars?  Give up? It's the TR7 coupe and convertible. BL's last major effort at designing and building sports cars was such a sales success in the US that the launch in the UK was delayed while Triumph ramped up production to meet the American demand, and then had to move production from factory to factory while militant labor unions did their part to cripple the British auto industry.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

It's a shame that we don't see more of the wedge at SABCC events and at British car shows in the region. Perhaps it's due to the low values the cars reached as they were worn out. Sports cars - in the US, anyway -  were considered to be "disposable" and as such were passed down the food chain of drivers until they were picked up off the streets where they were abandoned and sold on for scrap.

BMW Z4

The TR7 enjoys a fair parts supply so keeping one on the road should be no more of a challenge than any other contemporary British sports car. Drivers find them roomy, comfortable and not unable to keep up with modern traffic.

Hyundai Sonata

One of the most controversial aspects of the TR7 design was the crease or character line that ran from above the rear wheel to a point just behind the front wheel arch. This served to emphasize the "wedginess" of the car, making look like it was moving at 60 MPH while standing still. Many sports car Luddites saw the TR7 as anything but a traditional sports car; the first ones were coupes rolled out in fear that the US would outlaw open topped cars.

But back to that crease; the Triumph tag line "The Shape of Things to Come" was not far off the mark. Take a look at these modern cars that I've illustrated here and what seems to be the theme? Yep, creases. Harris Mann, the TR7 designer could be considered a visionary - a man ahead of his time. 

MG Reaches into the Past to Introduce the New MG6

I've written about the new MG6 that is currently in production in China and is now being built int he UK. This saloon (that's a sedan, cowboy) is the first new design to carry the MG badge since the implosion of MG-Rover several years ago. The video that I've posted here is an introduction of the new car and MG has reached way back to try to add some sporting character to the MG6. I have to give them full marks for the classics they chose to include in the film.

The only gaffe I spotted was in the film of the running start at LeMans - the car in the center of the frame is actually a Triumph TR3.

No, we still can't buy new MGs in the US of A.

Yet Another Jubliee Year

In addition to the E Type and Midget anniversaries being celebrated this year the folks at Rolls Royce would like you to know that they also have a reason to party. The world renowned Rolls Royce radiator mascot 'Spirit of Ecstasy' is 100 years old this year. 

Radiator mascots were all the rage in the early days of motoring with special designs being commissioned with an eye to out-do other posh automobile owners. Mascots could be anything that the car's owner could dream up and that was what lead Rolls Royce to search for one that captured the essence of driving ( or rather, being driven in ) a Rolls Royce automobile. It just wouldn't do to have something vulgar on a Rolls.

Charles R. Sykes was given the task of designing the mascot that would become forever associated with the luxury marque. Sykes chose as his model one Eleanor Velasco Thornton, secretary and life long mistress of Edward Douglas-Scott Montagu. This was not the first time that Sykes sculpted a mascot using Thornton for his inspiration; he created a similar mascot for Lord Montagu earlier for his personal Rolls.

This year, Rolls Royce has created a special edition (aren't all Rollers special?) called the Centenary Collection. Along with special paint colors and a unique dashboard clock, the proud owner will have a replica statuette for the mantel or bookcase. In case the occasion is lost on your front seat passenger, the glovebox lid is inscribed with this quote from Charles Sykes:

"A graceful little goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies." - Charles Sykes, 1911

It almost sounds like Eleanor has a bit of indigestion...

Another Golden Jubilee

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the MG Midget MkI and the Austin Healey Sprite MkII. While overshadowed a bit by the celebrations planned for the iconic Jaguar E-Type, these great little cars deserve their spot in the limelight as well.

MG had been without a sports car carrying the Midget name since 1955 when the MG TF went out of production. With the success of the Austin Healey Sprite, the BMC overlords decided that there should be an MG version, too. Since the development engineering (and eventual manufacture) of the original MkI Frogeye Sprite was done by MG at Abingdon, it was a fairly simple matter to badge engineer an MG edition of the new MkII Sprite. Sporting a modern update of the classic MG grille and a chrome bonnet trim, the new MG Midget was launched in June of 1961. 

Like its Sprite brother, the new Midget was powered by a 948cc A-Series engine cranking out 46BHP and was stopped by drum brakes on all four wheels. Sports cars were still considered a bit of primitive motoring so it retained the MkI Sprite's side curtain setup. 

For me the earliest cars are the purest ones. My dream garage would include a '61 Midget on disc wheels in Clipper Blue.

Happy birthday, little friend!

Jowett and Rootes Products Videos

Start your week off with these three YouTube clips of videos about two car families that we don't hear much about in the States: Jowett and the Rootes family. These three clips are quite entertaining and I hope you can spend some time with them.

The Tail Light You've Seen Everywhere

Frogeye Sprite

MGA

As British car enthusiasts, we know that a lot of the parts that went into our cars came from a few specialized suppliers on the isle. Nearly all classic British cars sported SU carburetors and fuel pumps, Triplex  glass and Smiths instruments. Of course, they nearly all had electrical equipment supplied by Lucas. If you've ever changed a tail or parking light bulb, you probably noticed that the lens itself was also a Lucas product.

Most car makers in the post war era really did not have the budget to create specialized lighting equipment for their autos. With the notable exception of Ford, the British auto industry chose "off-the-rack" for things like tail light lenses, parking lights and so forth for their lower-priced offerings. Lucas could provide a standard design for these lights at a low cost since they were used on so many cars.

TR3

Morgan 4-4

Case in point: the Lucas part number L549 tail light. You've seen them on many British cars, but did you know how widely used they were? I've posted a few snaps of the cars that utilized this light at least during part of their production lifetime. This small tail light is designed to be mounted on either a plinth to make the top of the lamp horizontal or directly on the rear sheetmetal of the car in question, provided it was designed with the correct angle.

 

Can you name any others that used this lamp assembly? Let me know in the comments section.   

The "Most Beautiful Car Ever Made" Turns 50

In 1961 it looked like it came from another planet. Today it still stops people in their tracks. Happy 50th birthday, Jaguar E-Type!

Ford of Britain Turns 100

We don't see many of them on the roads these days, but at one time the best selling imported car brand in the USA was Ford. That's right, the quintessential "English Ford" was the nation's leading automotive import in 1950. This week the maker of those cars turns 100.

A bug's rear - geddit?

Ford of Britain traces their roots back to the first batch of American built Model A vehicles imported in 1903. In 1911, Ford opened an assembly plant in Manchester in a former trolley car factory. Employing 60 people, the factory assembled cars from imported American mechanical components with the bodies supplied by UK manufacturers. The enterprise was so successful that a new plant was built in 1914 utilizing the moving assembly line perfected by Ford in the US. The British driver regarded Ford products so highly that, just 5 years later, 41% of all cars registered in the UK were Fords.

By the time the second World War ended, the UK was in dire financial straits and an "export or die" decree went out from the government. The need for foreign currency to pay off war debts was urgent and Ford of Britain realized that their very survival depended on exporting cars. A ready market was found in North America.

Although not the first time British Fords were shipped to Canada, they especially embraced these post-war small cars built by a familiar name. In 1950, Canadians bought almost 15,000 UK Fords. America took in just over 1,800 but our interest in smaller cars was a bit behind that of our neighbors to the north. 

Worldwide, by 1955, Ford of Britain exported over one million vehicles, almost one quarter of all British vehicle exports. By 1970, over 250,000 British built Ford cars and trucks had been sold in the US and Canada.

Probably all of us interested in British cars had some experience with an "English Ford" at one time or another. I hope you would share your experiences with me in the comments sections.

Happy Birthday, Ford of Britain.       

Says it All, Doesn't it?

A sad commentary on the demise of the firm that built so many of the cars we enjoy today. 

An MG with Room for the Family

Only 116 in existence says the seller

Back in the prewar days, MG had designs on competing head to head with the likes of Bentley and SS-Jaguar in the high performance saloon car market. Large MGs such as the SA, VA and WA models were creditable offerings from the company known more for smaller sports models.

During one of my recent trolls of the Hemmings Motor News site, I ran across this lovely 1937 MG VA for sale by the owner. This car checks all the correct boxes for me with its' suicide front doors, tall wire wheels and two tone paint scheme. Powered by a 1-1/2 liter pushrod four cylinder engine, the pace would be considered leisurely today since the output was only around 54 BHP.

Production ended at the outbreak of World War II with a total of just over 2400 built.

It could be mine for only $39,000.00. One more reason for me to hate my poverty. 

A Rear-Engine Brit

Hillman Imp

Quick - name a small car with its' engine in the back that sold hundreds of thousands. Oh, and its British. Give up? It would be the Hillman Imp and its badge engineered cousins.

Here in the US of A we got very few of  the rear engine family of cars built by the Rootes group, even though for a time they were part of the Chrysler empire. Chrysler chose to import French-built SIMCAs as their primary Beetle fighter. Later, Chrysler would raid the Rootes cupboard for another small car to sell in the US in the form of the Plymouth Cricket.

But back to the Imp.The product planers at Rootes knew the same things that the gentlemen did who were designing the Mini at BMC: That there was a big opportunity to sell a small family car that delivered good fuel economy, could seat four and be inexpensive to produce. Thus was born Project Apex.

Commer Imp

Rootes chose a rear engine layout after extensively testing a Chevrolet Corvair. However, they saw early on that the swing axle setup on the Chevy was not the way to go so they adopted a more complex (and expensive) semi trailing arm design which would eliminate a number of weaknesses of swing axle rear suspension.

The 875cc four cylinder engine was a derivative of a Coventry Climax unit - the FWMA fire pump engine. The all aluminum, overhead cam unit was lighter than anything made from cast iron and it was canted over at a 45 degree angle for better space utilization as well as lowering the center of gravity. 

The Imp was built starting in 1963 in a new assembly plant near Glasgow and like most newly-designed cars, they had their share of teething pains. Both the automatic choke and pneumatic throttle proved troublesome and were dropped in later models. 

Sunbeam Stiletto

The Imp gave buyers a lot of versatility with its large front boot (that's a trunk, cowboy) and the opening rear glass. Other body styles followed that included a delivery van and estate car (and that's a station wagon). The Commer Imp delivery van and Hillman Husky wagon were dropped on 1970.

A coupe version of the Imp was brought to market in 1965 and it was a rather attractive car. Badged as a Hillman Californian, Sunbeam Stiletto and Singer Chamois they brought a bit of dash to an otherwise staid design.  

In all, the Imp and all its' variants sold less than 450,000 units over a 13 year run.  

I'd sure like to see one.

Jaguar Factory Fire Video

Readers of these humble scribblings know by now that I can't stay away from the fabulous British Pathé web site. All manner of historic British newsreel footage is cataloged there and it is an easy search to find what you're looking for. This time I wanted to share the news item about the aftermath of the Jaguar factory fire of February 1957.

Jaguar enthusiasts will remember that this event put an end to the production of Jaguar's racer tamed for the road - the XK-SS. Just 16 of the 100 planned cars were completed before the the fire destroyed the tooling, assembly fixtures and partially completed cars. 

Try not to cut yourself on the narrator's diction. 

JAGUARS COME BACK FIGHTING

MG's New Look

You don't have to look far to find a version of The MG Car Company's history. First owned as personal property of William Morris (later Sir William; later Lord Nuffield), MG was controlled by Morris Motors, then by British Motor Corporation, then by British Motor Holdings, then by British Leyland, Rover Group, British Aerospace, BMW, MG-Rover and now by Shanghai Auto Industry Corporation.

Throughout the years since Cecil Kimber first developed his Morris-with-a-difference, the MG flame has been kept alive by a secession of both passionate managers and eager enthusiasts. It is no different today. Even though the head office is now half a world away, MGs are going to be built in England once more after a hiatus a few years. 

MG is introducing the new-to-Europe MG6 saloon car (that's a sedan, cowboy) in the UK at the historic Longbridge assembly plant. Along with the new MG6, MG is unveiling a new badge. Gone is the traditional brown and cream "sculpted" badge and in its place a silver "three dimensional" look logo over field of red. 

I'm an old guy that likes old cars, but I think I'm going to need a little time to let this new look grow on me. 

No, you can't buy an MG6 in the US of A.

A Milestone - Maybe

One of the automotive news web sites I visit regularly noted that Mazda's Miata or MX5 hit the 900,000 mark in units built. "The best selling sports car of all time," the article (likely a press release written by a corporate wonk) trumpeted. 

Photo courtesy of Rusty Heaps

The first generation Miata was a shameless crib of the original Lotus Elan. They got the look spot on and for the driver, they also gave the little car a big dose of driving fun. Add bulletproof Japanese build quality and you've got a car that can't help but be successful.

The Miata MX5 has gone through three generations with each successive design becoming more elaborate and perhaps finding its own unique style. The current MX5 is even available with a folding metal roof. While Mazda can rightly claim that the Miata (North America), MX5 (Europe, and now North America), Eunos, Roadster (Japan) is the best selling sports car, it is more accurate to say that they have the best selling model.

You see, the trusty old MGB sold over 500,000 cars and it was pretty much the same basic car from beginning to end. I know that there were several major changes to the car, the biggest being the switch to rubber bumpers, but deep down it was the same basic body, engine and drive train built on the same production line all its life.

Interestingly, about the same number of Miata MX5s and MGBs have been sold in North America.

What British Marque is Named After a River in Ohio?

Yeah, that's a tough one but if you hate a mystery, I'll spell it out for you: Lagonda. Most British car enthusiasts know of the Lagonda marque as part of the Aston Martin concern. Lagonda, however predates Aston Martin by a few years. 

Founded in 1906 by an Ohio-born son of a preacher named Wilbur Gunn as a motorcycle builder in Staines, Middlesex, UK, Lagonda was successful almost right out of the starting gate. Gunn's Lagonda motorcycle won the 1905 London-Edinburgh trial. By 1907, Gunn took the path that many other motorcycle builders were following and launched an automobile in an effort to capitalize on the public's demand. As with his motorcycle, his Lagonda automobile was a racing success, winning the 1910 Moscow-St Petersburg trial. 

At Gunn's death in 1920, the firm was taken over by its senior management team and the offerings were taken upmarket. Technical advances such as twin overhead cams, hemispherical combustion chambers and superchargers were part and parcel to the Lagonda name. Other models utilized bought-in engines (a common practice at the time) from Crossley and Meadows along with license-built pre-selector gearboxes from Maybach.

1938 Lagonda Rapide

Upmarket was not where the company needed to be when the Great Depression hit the world. By 1935, the firm was in the hands of a receiver and bids were solicited for its assets. Competing bids from Rolls-Royce and an investor named Alan Good were considered with Good becoming the owner of Lagonda. 

Once Good took over the firm, he persuaded none other than W O Bentley to leave Rolls-Royce and join the company as a designer and competitions manager. Bentley worked his magic by adding higher-power engine options, torsion bar suspension and hydraulic brakes. The lower slung cars looked the part of high performance motoring. Bentley's crowning achievement was the 4.5 liter, 180 bhp, V12 engine in the 1937 Rapide model.

Once again, financial clouds gathered after World War Two and the firm became the property of David Brown - owner of Aston Martin and the two companies were merged under single management. Lagonda produced gentlemen's sporting transportation after the David Brown acquisition, but the marque later became known as a builder of sporting saloon cars (that's a sedan, cowboy) not unlike the offerings of Jaguar. 

Eventually, Lagonda became a model name for Aston Martin saloon cars with the last one being a very wedge-shaped design from the pen of William Towns. Now, a rather hideous SUV-crossover-station wagon thingy is planned to wear the Lagonda badge in the near future. I've ranted about that in earlier posts here.

By the way, don't look for Lagonda Creek in Ohio - it has been renamed Buck Creek and it runs through Springfield. There are a number of areas there named Lagonda after the original name of the creek which was a native word meaning buck horn or crooked horn.     

Modernized Jensen Interceptors

The Jensen Interceptor was always an object of lust for me. The brute Chrysler V8 heart in the Savile Row suit was the best of America and Great Britain together in one beautiful package. 

A UK based firm, Jensen International Automotive, is producing a thoroughly updated Interceptor using your donor car as a starting point. Called the Jensen Interceptor S, the car is given a complete restoration with some updates to the styling, body shell strengthening, new interior with significant material upgrades and modernization of the suspension system. The Chrysler V8 and automatic gearbox are replaced with a new GM-sourced 6.2 liter LS3 V8 engine with your choice of automatic or 6 speed manual gearbox. The 429 bhp lump will propel the modernized Jensen to claimed top speed of 160 mph. 

All of this gratification doesn't come cheaply: you'll need to place a suitcase containing £105,000 in the glasshouse boot of your donor Interceptor when you ship it to the folks at JIA..

   

Pininfarina the Latest to Come Under Chinese Ownership?

As more of Europe's once-great marques find themselves under Asian ownership, it should come as no great shock that the storied Italian design house of Pininfarina may be the next to join the club. British car enthusiasts have much to thank Pininfarina for; the MGB GT, the "Farina" series of saloon cars for BMC, various Rolls Royces and the 1978 refresh of the Jaguar XJ6 to name a few.

The MGB GT proved to be quite troublesome for the designers at Abingdon. They always knew that they wanted a coupe version of the roadster but were never able get the look they wanted. In 1964 MG shipped a 'B roadster to Pininfarina to see what they could do to bring a coupe to fruition. The first step taken was to raise the windshield height which kept the finished car from looking as "squashed" as some of the earlier MG efforts appeared. They then added the kickup above the rear window, not unlike the crease on the optional factory hardtop for the roadster, which gave it a more sculpted look.

Pininfarina painted the car a light metallic green and returned it to Abingdon where it was received to near-unanimous praise. With a few very minor tweaks, the car was placed in production for the 1965 model year. As of 1998, the prototype existed in private hands, repainted silver metallic.

A news article about the possible sale to China's BAIC can be found here.