zenith carburettor company ( british )
here is a link for marvel and zenith service manuals. marvel and zenith service manual
parts for mgb • zenith stromberg 175 cd5t internal carburettor - limora oldtimer gmbh & co. kg
that doesn' t have anything to do with a british - zenith carb. it' s a totally different company and design then american zenith carbs .
was a british company making carburettors. in 1955 they joined with their major pre - war rival solex carburettors and over time the zenith brand name fell into disuse. ferguson tea 20 tractors sold in south africa were fitted with the zenith 24t2 carburettor .
in 2003 the business was sold to burlen fuel systems, a company which also produces su, solex and zenith, three other
classic
carburettor ranges .
zenith carburetter company was a british company making carburettors. in 1955 they joined with their major pre - war rival solex carburettors and over time the zenith brand name fell into disuse. the rights to the zenith designs were owned by solex uk (a daughter company of solex in france). while better known for their much later products, zeniths ...
is it actually made by british - zenith or is it a american zenith used on a british tractor? jsut curious since the 24t doesn' t show in my british - zenith production and appication book. only carb the chart shows with any # 20 in it is the 20vig and the 26vme. i' ve got the up - to - 1972 british - zenith carburetters book, but maybe it' s not complete? my only hands - on experience with british - zeniths are on several of my international gas tractors and a few small british cars. that carb company got taken over by solex, as far as i know .
the zenith 24t - 2 was an updraft carbie, no accelerator pump, fitted to most british made ferguson tea20 tractors .
restoration of most types of carburettor. amal, amac, brown & barlow, dellorto etc .
n january 1968 leyland motors, the company that had been the owner of standard - triumph since 1961, took over british motor holdings, which included jaguar, daimler and the whole of the bmc company, including austin, morris and mg. the merged company was rechristened british leyland .
1880s in 1883 an ambitious swiss national called richard cadisch arrived in england to set up his own business, cadisch & co. in the early 1900s the british motor trade began to grow and richard started importing and selling the zenith carburettor along with other motor accessories .
we are the worlds sole manufacturer of genuine zenith, stromberg and solex carburettors and spares .
the carburettor fitted to the
65
, nippy and speedy models was the downdraught zenith 30 vei (pictured here). on my
65
, the vei had to be replaced as the original was missing. the downdraught zenith 30 vm - 5, which was designed for 8 h. p. austins manufactured 1939 - 46, is a good alternative. however, if anyone out there has a spare zenith 30 vei, please
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uk built ferguson tea / ted20 tractors had updraft zenith 24t - 2 carbies at least from 1949 to 1957, maybe longer. i' ve also seen zenith 24s on agricultural and industrial engines. there must have been up to a million zenith 24 updraft carbies built, with various minor changes to suit various applications. new zenith 24t - 2 carbies recently became available, i suspect made by solex - stromberg - or in asia under license .
1912 all - british engine co. advert showing brooklands as the main address - courtesy of roger bird
spares for some lightweight british motorcycles (inc. greeves, & amc engined f / barnett & james )
we are a family based business established in 1910 which gives us many years of experience of carburettors and their problems. all british and european carburettor work under taken with a large stock of spares available through our mail order service. this includes s. u, weber, dellorto, stromberg, pierburg, zenith and solex carburettors and spares for your vintage, classic or modern car .
during the early months of ww2, the company was geared towards war production for the british government. but in november 1940, the coventry production facilities were almost completely destroyed by german bombing .
one of the biggest challenges restoring or repairing a ferguson tractor is a missing or unrepairable carburettor. whilst these are freely available as an import from the uk or usa the price is prohibitive .
we have been reliable stockists and distributors for over 130 years. the origins of the company date back to as early as 1883 when our founding member, richard cadisch first established the company .
wo years before the end of mkiv production, triumph had already introduced the 1, 493cc engine in mkiv' s for the us market, albeit with a single zenith stromberg carburettor. changing the design to conform with us emission regulations had robbed so much of the old engine' s power that an increase in swept volume was badly needed .
unit 2, the io centre, hearle way, hatfield, hertfordshire, al10 9ew. company reg 02531531 .
with the decline of the british motorcycle industry amal carburettors declined as well but are still produced by their current owner burlen fuel systems as spares for the classic market .
1900s after the first world war, richard cadisch’s three sons joined the business and the company’s name was changed to r. cadisch & sons. the company expanded rapidly in the motor trade and moved to larger premises in holborn, london .
on 31 december 1945, sir john black of the standard car company acquired the triumph name and the remaining assets of the company. sir john planned to use triumph as an upmarket' badge' for his mass - produced standard models .
an alphabetical series of short driving impressions of some of the museum’s car collection. this month we pilot an early example of one of the pioneering british makes, wolseley .
what specific carb? if it' s a downdraft vn or vnn, i' ve fixed many. no big deal. british - zeniths were used on many small cars in europe, besides tractors. most only need a needle and seat - unsticking the accel. pump if it has one. british - zenith was taken over by solex, and later dropped. i' ve had no trouble getting parts for the 30mm downdraft vn and vnn carbs, but don' t know exactly what you have. i have spec sheets and manuals here .
1960s in the late 60s the motor industry had become increasingly competitive in the uk. the cadisch management decided to make the bold move to sell the motor side of the company and focus on developing the wire mesh, filtration and allied products division of the company .
it so happened that the leyland motors company, manufacturer of trucks and buses, was looking for expansion into the car market. leyland made a successful take - over bid on standard - triumph in december 1960 and took full control of the company in april 1961 .
the s. u. company ltd was founded in 1910, and it’s been a carburetor superpower ever since. over the generations, the keys to the skinner’s union castle were passed from skinner to skinner until burlen acquired the name and rights of the company in 1996 .
this marks a new beginning for the su brand and could well be a historic moment for the company that adds to its already rich heritage .
riden, p. , 1998. how to trace the history of your car: a guide to motor vehicle registration records in the british isles. 2nd ed. whitchurch: merton priory press ltd .
banker lionel nathan de rothschild joined the company bringing his money, but the board was unhappy because people were calling the cars simply siddeleys and profits were marginal. in 1909 the dissatisfaction led to both siddeley and de rothschild leaving the company, opening the door for ernest hopwood to move from the british electric traction co to become managing director. he was joined by a j mccormack in 1911 as a period of stability began, instigated by board member walter chetwynd. the company regrouped into fewer premises, and the siddeley name was dropped. wolseley began making a profit and by 1913 it was britain’s largest car manufacturer, selling 3 000 cars .
williams, l. m. , 1994. austin seven specials: building, maintenance and tuning. sparkford: g. t. foulis & company
burlen ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine su (skinner’s union), amal and zenith carburetors, is gearing up for an exciting 2017, with an innovative and truly ground - breaking product set to roll out of the workshop .
jd - my ih3444 gas has a british zenith downdraft but, not like the vn / vnn that i see in various pictures. my problem is the float leaks and fills up with fuel at the seam. do you know of a source for new floats and / or a good fuel resistant glue that would fix this? it is made of soft black plastic similar to vinyl. i can post pics, if that would help. tia! mike in mn .
by the latter part of 1912 the all british engine company was generally being referred to as abc (the engine part of the title was subsequently printed in brackets) and by this time w l adams had left as he must have found working with bradshaw something of a prickly experience, taking with him the v - 8 aero engine design subsequently developed by w h dorman & co ltd of stafford. redbridge was closed during 1911 and reverted to the name w. l. adams - engineer whilst the abc company was moved to brooklands .
being a reservist, ronald charteris was called up into the royal flying corps with the rank of lieutenant and was absent from much of the company business for several months. by the time he was able to return in 1915 to a company making auxiliary engines for war office contracts, he had the title of captain .
and their new direction for the company is epitomized by the upcoming product it will take to market, the first of several new developments to come in 2017 .
burlen ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine su (skinner’s union), amal and zenith carburetors, is celebrating a hugely successful promotion of the flagship race of the 2017 brands hatch mini festival. earlier in july, the salisbury - based company promoted the historic mini races – named ‘the su carburetters cup for pre - 66 minis’ – and pulled out all the stops to create an event that will live long in the memory. staff
agriline diesel cc is a registered company in south africa: reg no ck 2010 / 044705 / 23 | registered office: shop 4 kenmare mall, kenmare krugersdorp 1739 .
the amal company was formed just after the first world war from a number of other companies to manufacture carburettors and associated products .
amal
and
mak
.
unfortunately, by the spring of 1960, car sales on the home market had started to fall dramatically and in november 1960, the company books were showing red figures .
the last spitfire 1500, an inca yellow specimen with hardtop and overdrive, rolled off the assembly line at canley in august 1980, bearing commission number tfadw5at009898. it was never sold and is still in the british motor heritage museum at gaydon today .
the company proposed a pay decrease in 1922 which the unions rejected, after which many workers were laid off. in 1923 short time came into being with two weeks on and one week off, leading to one week on and two weeks off. few could survive on such a precarious living and the company was wound up in july of that year .
austin agreed to build the vertically - engined siddeley, named after its originator john davenport siddeley. the car outsold the wolseley and so austin bought out the company and j d became sales manager. but in 1905 a frustrated austin resigned, leaving j d as general manager. at the olympia motor show, newly - badged wolseley - siddeley cars with both vertical and horizontal engines were displayed. wolseley’s fate was seen to be turning, as was austin’s – once his contractual obligations to the wolseley tool and motor car company ended, he established the austin motor company limited .
one of the results of this merger was that competing sports cars (triumph spitfire and the midget / sprite range from mg and austin - healey) were now built by the same company .
after the end of hostilities late in november 1918, there was a sudden influx of activity for non - aviation products, and the company minutes refer to the 1100cc engine being completed, but the chassis was barely at the experimental stage. it was suggested that the hersham works could produce around thirty cars per week once it was on a production basis. with this in mind the company was in negotiations for 400 1100cc cyclecar engines with gillet stephens & company, who had been involved with the auxiliary engines during the war, whilst a diagrammatic chassis layout was produced in motor cycle for 5th december 1918 showing a transverse flat twin engine, friction drive transmission and chain final drive to each rear wheel. the engine in some reports was now suggested to be 1200cc and by mid - january 1919 the company had received orders for 277 light cars with deposits totalling £1385 (£5 per car) .
nineteen twenty two was a comparatively good year for sales with some 750 - 800 being sold, but since the anticipated output was 5000 cars per year, the company was getting deeper and deeper in debt. this was reflected by the fact that j h bean and h j whitcombe resigned from the board in april 1921, ernest noel in december 1921, maurice yorke in april 1922, and in july 1922 capt. charteris, founder of the company in 1910. there had been two entries by the company in the royal scottish automobile club’s light car trial from 5th - 10th june 1922, but these were scratched before the event. a receiver was appointed in november .
1970s after the sale of the motor side of the company in 1969, the mesh and filtration business took off! the company moved to new premises in finchley and added screen printing fabrics and perforated metals to its range. in 1970 r. cadisch & sons was awarded with a contract to supply filters for the aeronautical engines division of rolls royce. then in 1975 a new screen printing division was set up to supply the rapidly expanding circuit board industry .
the history of wolseley goes back to 1887, when dublin - born frederick york wolseley established the wolseley sheep - shearing machine company to make the most of the many patents he had devised for sheep - shearing equipment while working in australia. herbert austin was working down under at the time and took an interest in the company, pointing out to wolseley where his design and construction methods were going wrong. wolseley was impressed and austin was appointed manager in 1893. wolseley later resigned, then passed away in 1899 .
by may 1901 the company issued its first catalogue of wolseley cars. at this time there was a diversion of opinion over engine layouts, a minority advocating a horizontal layout while a vertical design was the more popular approach. austin was a ‘horizontal man’, which put wolseley at odds with its rivals and the company made a loss in its first 10 months. profits were made in 1902 and 1903 and prizes were won in sporting events and at motor shows, but these were followed by five years of losses, brought about mainly by component supply issues .
towards the end of may 1919 the company was in negotiations with a mr metts of gillet stephens, which resulted in a proposal from sir samuel waring (of waring & gillows and a major shareholder in walton motors) to take over the manufacture and sales of the abc light car through gillet stephens. a further meeting in mid - june with metts and gillet resulted in an agreement for gillet stephens & co to proceed with the manufacture of 400 light cars to drawings and specifications provided. however by late september the formalities had not been concluded, so captain charteris then tried to interest the aircraft manufacturing company (makers of airco and dehaviland aircraft) who suggested that they might be interested subject to an order for a minimum of 4, 000 cars. a further consideration was to extend the abc factory by going to the public for funding, whilst the md was also going to france to pursue any possibility of the cars being made by the french gnome et rhone company, who by this time were setting up production of the post - war abc 398cc motorcycle in parallel with production in the uk by the sopwith aviation company ltd .
this motorcycle engine had a bore and stroke of 68 mm. x 68 mm. and employed a three - throw crank, with one large con - rod centrally, and a lighter section con - rod either side to the second cylinder, thus obtaining very good balance. the cylinder barrels were machined from a solid bar and together with the con - rods, pistons and overhead valve gear were all based on aero - engine practice, the fin arrangement on the cylinders was described as
pear shaped
, which were finished in nickel plate left dull. a certain amount of adjustment was required to the majority of frames, so zenith motors and h. collier & sons were asked to design a suitable frame around the engine. the second prototype engine incorporated pressure - feed lubrication instead of splash, normal working pressure being about 50 lb. / sq. in. at a speed of 4, 200 r. p. m. in april, the a. b. c. - zenith appeared at the track, in the hands of f. w. barnes, although after this date little is heard of either the zenith or matchless - framed machines. the first production engines, which were available in june, in some cases found their way into douglas frames, as these obviously lent themselves to the design of the a. b. c. unit .
then machine gun inventor hiram maxim joined in. maxim was a member of the vickers, sons & maxim company and had consulted austin a number of times regarding the design of flying machines that he was developing and constructing. wary of becoming too involved in the motor car business, this friendship led to the sheep - shearing side pulling away to allow the wolseley tool and motor car company to be incorporated in march 1901 with a capital of £40 000 by vickers, sons & maxim to manufacture motor cars and machine tools, with 33 - years - old austin as managing director .
the company was renamed wolseley motors limited in 1914 and set up operations in canada and later began a joint venture in japan with ishikawajima ship building and engineering, a coalition that was the foundation of isuzu motors in 1949. the company grew and prospered and in 1921 manufactured 12 000 cars, continuing to be britain’s biggest motor manufacturer. however, over - expansion led to receivership in 1927 when it was purchased from vickers by william morris (later lord nuffield), who pre - war had bought a wolseley taxi. up to this point, at various times wolseley had built motor cars, aircraft, aero - engines, gliders, railcars, a gyro car, boats, armoured cars, buses and ambulances, not to mention mines and depth - charges. wolseley was incorporated into the morris motors empire where it became a badge - engineered product under bmc, bmh and british leyland ownership before the name was dropped altogether in 1975, an unflattering finale to what was once an eminent force. mm
abingdon spares will be hosting british carburetor expert joe curto on saturday, march 31, 2018. joe is known nationally as well as internationally as an authority on su carburetors. joe will be at the abingdon spares shop in deep river, connecticut, for an informal presentation on su carbs of all types. there will be a particular emphasis on the su carburetors used on post - war mgs. joe will explain the how’s and why’s of british carburetion. he will also provide tips on carburetor maintenance and tuning, as well as information on the do’s and don’ts of modifying your current setup. there will, of course, be lots of time for questions and answers from the audience. joe is well known for his guidance and advice to both the expert and the bewildered mg owner on the subject of sus. mark your calendars now for [ … ]
brothers mark, andy and jamie burnett are the masterminds and have worked at the company for over 15 years at all levels and now form the board of directors running the business. their passion and excitement for the brand along with modern thinking and technical vision marks the start of a new era for burlen .
the 12 - 16 is powered by a 2 226 cm 3 four - cylinder side - valve engine with a single zenith carburettor. the 12 refers to the rac horsepower rating: the engine produced 15 hp (11 kw) at 1 800 r / min. once the priming cocks have been utilised, the motor swings into life at the first turn of the crankhandle and pulls away with enthusiasm thanks to a low first gear. top – third – gear is high, leaving flexible second to bear the brunt of the drive to the back axle. as regular readers will know, my long - legged frame is not commensurate with veteran and vintage ergonomics – the pedals are mounted very close together forcing me to drive shoe - less in order to operate the central accelerator, while the top of the gear lever sits in the crook of my right knee. ah, the joys of pioneering motoring… the 12 - 16 was certainly no slouch. a speeding fine was issued on the car for travelling at 143 km / h in a 120 km / h zone in alberton, only for it to be found that someone was illegally using the wolseley’s number plates…
most of our stocked parts ship within 24 hours (m - th). expedited shipping available, just call! most prices for parts and manuals are below our competitors. compare our super low shipping rates! we have the parts you need to repair your tractor. we are a company you can trust and have generous return policies .
a note about the company’s address in hersham. when referring to the post - brooklands site, the company minutes refer only to the ‘hersham works’ with no reference to the road, whereas those that worked there referred to it as the ‘old esher road’ factory. it is likely that a number of plot or property purchases after 1914 gave the old hersham works access to molesey road which certainly in later years was the main entrance, whereas at the back of the property access led on to mole road, itself running into the old esher road. the latter was often flooded and was by - passed in the 1960s by the new esher road. in march 1919 the minute books refer to £9000 for factory extensions which were presumably behind hersham lodge. these were no doubt enlarged when the harper bean deal went through. it would appear therefore that there was never any direct access from the abc works to old esher road. the ‘new’ factory was acquired by the hackbridge company, producers of electrical transformers and cables, who in 1923 became the hackbridge electric construction company. the hewittic electric co. ltd made rectifiers, and from 1924 shared the site with hackbridge, who in 1947 became the hackbridge & hewittic electric co. ltd. hersham lodge and its adjacent factories were demolished in 1978 and the site is now the offices and research facilities for air products .
probably the first aircraft to be fitted with an a. b. c. engine was t. o. m. sopwith' s (now sir thomas sopwith) burgess - wright biplane which he bought whilst in america. with this and two other aircraft he started a flying school at brooklands in 1911. during 1912 harry hawker joined him, having just arrived from australia, and later that year he succeeded in gaining the british duration record, flying for 8 hours 23 minutes .
the
65
is a very rare breed of austin seven. easily confused with its successor, the nippy, it is a low - slung two seater sports tourer which was made from june 1933 for about a year, during which time about 275 rolled off the production line. the austin
65
was not intended for racing but for those who just wanted the sports two seater look. costing a mere £148 in 1933, these examples from the heyday of british motoring can now fetch considerably more !
in the latter part of january and into february 1920 sir samuel waring put forward a proposal to amalgamate abc with various other of his companies, whilst sir davison dalziel proposed an amalgamation with gilbert campling. tom dennis, the company secretary, was left to negotiate terms of various proposals and to obtain from an approved agency a prospectus for an increase in capital of up to £300, 000 .
he history of triumph cars dates back to 1923, although before that time, the company already made bicycles and motorcycles. during the 1930' s, triumph produced a number of sporting and fairly expensive cars, which were not marketed very successfully. high costs, too many models and comparatively slow sales led to bankruptcy and a takeover by a steel making group in the late 1930' s .
apart from minor changes, british leyland did not invest in the spitfire. bl originally planned to keep the spitfire in production until 1982, but in 1980 it was quickly discovered that the old triumph 1, 500cc engine could not possibly meet new californian emissions regulations. since around half of spitfire sales at that time took place in california, this meant that production halved and became uneconomical. besides, the car was an old design after 18 years in production and could no longer compete with more modern offerings like fiat' s x - 1 / 9 and bl' s own tr7 .
in the preparation of this article, i would like to thank the following for their assistance: mr. r. m. dennis, formerly managing director of a. b. c. motors, sir thomas sopwith, c. b. e. , the royal aeronautical society, flight international, m. gustave courau, m. andre jacquemin, and the many people who worked at the various company' s factories .
by this time the company had been set - up in birmingham, england and was operating successfully, even to branching out to make bicycles. then austin’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to travel to paris to look at the pioneering horseless carriages that were all the rage. inspired by what he saw, he returned home and produced his own three - wheeler that was a modified copy of a léon bollée. however, due to patent rights, the car was never produced .
early in february both country life and light car & cyclecar reported that the car would have a four speed gearbox with bevel final drive and that the cars would likely make an appearance by the end of may 1919. 1000 light car chassis were ordered through selsdon engineering company ltd early in april (another outlet for gilbert campling), but by the middle of that month selsdon were saying they could not entertain the manufacture of complete chassis but would entertain making the gearboxes .
by december 1923, consent had been given to the registration of a new company, abc motors ltd. , with t a dennis as managing director, who from 1915 had been the secretary of the company. any stocks remaining were taken over, the new factory sold and all work reverted to the old esher road factory across the way from which several more cars were assembled and sold at £160 for the sports, £175 for the standard, and £185 for the four - seater. the term ‘standard’ also appears to have been dropped shortly afterwards in favour of a reversion to the ‘regent’ name, which poses the question as to where these bodies were made. it is likely that a new batch of cast iron cylinders were made from about 1924 instead of the machined steel ones and these were also made in larger format for the new supersports model introduced late in that year (91. 5 x 96. 1mm giving a capacity of 1326cc) .
he end of the triumph story is not a happy one. in the eighties, british leyland was troubled by bad products, bad management and a less than motivated workforce. new products like the triumph tr7 suffered from underdevelopment and mediocre quality. production of the tr7 / 8, the last true triumph sports car, ended in 1981. the triumph name appeared for the last time on a saloon car named acclaim. this was little more than a rebadged honda ballade, which was in itself based on the honda civic platform of the second generation. the triumph brand name is today owned by bmw, along with other famous names like riley, wolseley, morris and austin .
meanwhile, it seems that an abc subsidiary company, walton motors ltd, formed in 1917 to concentrate on government contracts for aero engines, was instrumental in obtaining various parcels of land and premises close to their hersham works, not least in august 1918 acquiring hersham lodge on molesey road, a mid - 19th century mansion with seven acres of grounds and parkland suitable for converting to quite opulent offices with the possibility of building a large factory opposite the existing works off the old esher road, hersham .
the company supported numerous trials of the period often with a team of five drivers comprising vaughan knight (sales director), capt charteris (director), a h jones (chief tester), and one or two invited drivers such as s c h davis or jack falahee. in time, many other private owners also competed with considerable success up to about 1927 gathering cups, and gold, silver and bronze medals. gordon england was one of the company’s early customers, his father george running the local agency. he modified his car for racing at brooklands over the period 1921 - 1923. suffice it to say that the car competed in the up to 1500cc class, but was hampered by being only 1223cc, in the same way that the 398cc motorcycle gave away 100cc in its 500cc class. in its final year the car was fitted with a bristol cherub aero engine in order to compete within the 1100cc class in the 200 - mile race, and came fourth driven by stephen bassett .
aero engines was not the only aspect occupying bradshaw' s mind during the war. as far back as 1913, when the 500c. c. motor cycle engine was introduced, it was stated that a similar but larger version would be made for cycle car work. that year a capacity 900 c. c. was envisaged, and a combined fan - cum - flywheel would be used so that the complete power unit could be enclosed. in 1917 the engine grew to 1, 094 c. c. , a suitable gearbox had been designed, and so had an a. b. c. carburettor as described in april 1917 in an article on motor cycling and light car in june of the same year. by 1918 the transmission was said to be by friction discs, with final drive by chains (supposedly based on an american system) and quarter elliptic springs all round. a price of 100 guineas was mentioned. in 1919 the whole thing grew up to become the light car, of which more anon .
n 1964, standard - triumph' s competitor bmc (british motor corporation) came up with an improved austin healey sprite and mg midget. in an answer to the marketing success of the spitfire, it now had a proper bootlid and wind - up windows. standard - triumph responded with the spitfire mk2 in march 1965. this had a slightly more powerful engine (67 bhp instead of 63), thanks to revised manifolds and valve gear. inside there were proper carpets instead of rubber covering on the cabin floor and the previously exposed metal on the inner door tops was now covered with trim. hardtop, wire wheels, overdrive and even the heater were still optional. more than 37, 000 mk2' s were built .
by the end of february 1920 another proposal was being considered in which harper bean ltd. , itself inaugurated in november 1919 with a £6million capital, would supply sufficient materials to produce 5, 000 cars per year and that they would guarantee the sales and marketing of the car through the british motor trading corporation assuring a profit on each car of £20. the idea of harper bean was to emulate general motors in america, which grouped several suppliers of component parts and manufacturing companies under one umbrella organisation in order to benefit from cheaper supplies by ordering in volume. apart from bean this also embraced swift and vulcan as well as the regent carriage co. , gallay radiators, and shares in hadfields the sheffield steel suppliers. h j whitcomb (who formed harper bean limited with jack bean and charles wardman of vulcan in 1919) was to become chairman .
for a light car, the a. b. c. offered a surprising number of special coachwork styles. gordon watney did an improved standard model with twin spare wheels and extra weather equipment; george england offered a four - seater, access to the rear being through a hinged front seat; and morgan & co. ltd. , of leighton buzzard, made a clover - leaf three - seater for the british motor trading corporation, finished in black and cream. george england later introduced an improved two - seater model incorporating special valve springs, push - rod return springs, and lubricated valve rockers, all learnt from brooklands racing, and a two - bladed timber fan, later added to normal a. b. c. specification. a very pleasant sports body was fitted with vee screen and outside exhaust pipes, but it is doubtful if many were sold at £450 a time .
in 1956, standard - triumph, as the company was now called, started development on a completely new saloon model. due to difficulties in finding enough production capacity for a full monocoque, the engineers decided on a simple separate chassis - and - body construction. this also enabled the factory to produce the car very cheaply and at the same time it made the production process very flexible. different body styles could be produced, without a complete retooling. other advantages were that the chassis could be used as a jig for building the body and that overseas production from parts kits was greatly simplified. the car was marketed from 1959 as the triumph herald .
on january 13, 1914, jack emerson, the company' s chief tester, broke the class c and d flying kilometre and mile records, previously held by stanley on a singer at 78. 22 m. p. h. and 76. 69 m. p. h. , the new speeds being 80. 47 m. p. h. and 78. 26 m. p. h. respectively. for this attempt the bore was increased by less than half a millimetre, the rocker gear lightened, and a streamlined tail was added, consisting of aeroplane canvas stretched over a timber frame and attached to the rear of the saddle .
in the middle of december 1919 in relation to the proposed new enlarged company, granville bradshaw stipulated that he should receive 1 / 3rd of the purchase price payable to the vendors from the sale, a proposal the md considered unreasonable, and thus bradshaw resigned. it was suggested that perhaps he could be persuaded to continue as consulting engineer and designer at a fee of £1, 000 per year for two years, but whilst he continued to see through the finalisation of drawings and specifications bradshaw’s mind was already made up, regarding the situation as likely to introduce too many new people telling him what to do, when they had little real design experience themselves, although he seems to have stayed on until about march 1920 .
good publicity was gained late in april and early may with both light car and cyclecar and autocar carrying articles on the new abc light car with an artist’s impression of the car and line drawings and photos of the engine, which was great for potential customers, but as we are seeing nothing yet had been finalised regarding its production by the company which would require some form of restructuring. due to these optimistic reports some 3, 000 orders had already been received for the light car, and the 1919 production target was 4, 000 cars. they were to be sold by the new service organisation for motorists, which was connected with the motor union insurance co. ltd. , for about £195 per vehicle, deliveries starting in june .
the new supersports was fitted with a two - seater polished aluminium body with pointed tail, staggered seating and v - screen made by compton & hermon, the local coachbuilders. the engine had a larger crankshaft with double roller big - ends and the valve rocker mechanism was redesigned with larger bearing surfaces for the pushrods, both pushrods and rockers being enclosed to aid lubrication, somewhat on the lines of the taylor young valve conversion set on the abc motorcycle. an oil tank mounted below the subframe supplied lubrication to twin adjustable sight feed indicators on the dashboard, with a recommendation to deliver 60 drops per minute to each cylinder. helically cut timing wheels replaced straight cut type and twin zenith triple diffuser carburettors were fitted. each cylinder had its own silencer and exhaust pipe, finished off with about one foot of copper pipe, which gave a certain resounding ring when in use and not especially favoured by horses. fifty of these larger engines were made. some could have gone into standard cars and eight went for scrap after ww2, leaving a maximum of 42 built. five of them appeared on the 1927 london – lands end trial organised by the motor cycling club, perhaps the largest number ever seen together .
congratulations to mike harvey who has been awarded the pre - war car michael sedgwick award 2016 for his publication ‘skinners union – a history of the skinner family and s. u company‘. the award, that takes the form of a plaque and £250 given by the michael sedgwick memorial trust, hopes to ‘encourage new research into motoring history and to make the finding available to the public’. the winner has to demonstrate excellence in research, presentation, readability and novelty, that will materially further our understanding of the subject. a short list of nominated books were assessed by a panel of judges, who are themselves respected authors and highly knowledgeable enthusiasts. the panel was headed by chairman guy loveridge, motoring author and broadcaster and deputy chairman of the guild of motoring writers. ‘skinner’s union – a history of the skinner family and the [ … ]
from about the turn of the century, a small workshop (redbridge motor works) in redbridge, near southampton, under the name of walter. lawson adams - motor engineer, designed and installed engines for small motor boats and hydroplanes. a 10 - 12 h. p. engine installed in a boat named 'bluebottle
in 1904, won its class in some reliability trials in 1905 in the southampton area whilst a 15hp v - twin was fitted to a hydroplane in 1909. by that time he had become more interested in aircraft engines and, to pursue such interests, he first formed w l adams ltd and then joined forces with ronald louis charteris forming the aeroplane engine company in 1909. charteris was the grandson of the 7th earl of wemyss and march and a keen early aviator. together with adams, they commenced work on a 90 - degree v8 engine of 88hp having a bore and stroke of 4 in. x 4 3 / 4 in. there is however no evidence that it was ever completed .
in 1938 the company took on the manufacture of constant - speed units, used in connection with variable - pitch propellers, as subcontract work from de havilland' s, and, during the war, standard motors also produced these units. admiralty contracts were also undertaken for high - pressure air - valve units for torpedoes, including gyroscopic assemblies, and because of all this work the existing factory was extended. during the war about 500 people were employed, with both day and night shifts in operation. since the war, only one engine has been produced, this being an air - cooled v - 4 airborne auxiliary unit, known as the
bee
, several of which exist. apart from this the tendency was to concentrate on precision engineering, such as toolmaking, gear cutting, and centreless grinding, although about 1952 a small department was set up to manufacture experimental and prototype electronic units and to test such gear as customers wished. in 1951 a. b. c. motors became a subsidiary of vickers ltd. , and they remain as such today .
these bikes were sold in some numbers, and soon appeared in sporting events, acquitting themselves quite reasonably, having a respectably high performance and vivid acceleration. in the scottish speed championships, t. c. m. bellairs won his heat and came third in the final on his machine nicknamed the
pirate
, and at the oxford v. cambridge brooklands meeting in september, e. h. lees won the first and third races. with successful competition and the usual and enthusiastic press coverage, a. b. c. had to think of moving to larger premises to fulfil all their orders, and agreed to purchase the old faulkner’s foundry site in hersham near walton - on - thames. however, this site was required sooner than expected since brooklands was taken over as a military flying ground in august, 1914, and a. b. c. s lost all their workshops and equipment into the bargain. once installed in the new and hurriedly constructed factory, the company were asked by the government to concentrate on experimental work in the aero - engine field, and in particular on an electrically - controlled aerial torpedo .
lord ridley joined the company in about 1929, and set about the design of a small auxiliary engine. this was finally produced in 1932, and consisted of a flat - twin engine with 54 mm. x 38 mm. bore and stroke, capable of operating five auxiliary units, these being a 50 amp. 12 - volt dynamo, a petrol pump delivering 2, 250 gallons per hour, an oil pump delivering 300 gallons per hour, a water pump at 2, 500 gallons per hour, and an air compressor which would charge a 400 cu. in. air bottle to a pressure of 200 lb. / sq. in. in 10 minutes. these could be operated separately or together, except the bilge pump which operated alone, and the unit was designed to be cooled by water from the main engine supply, although a small pump of its own could be incorporated. these proved useful little units, and many were installed in seaplanes, including the
sunderland
, and the air ministry were also supplied with over 1, 000 during the last war. lord ridley was, of course, better known for his appearances at brooklands with the ridley special .
in late 1912 s. l. bailey, who rode douglas motor cycles at brooklands, asked bradshaw to design various parts to improve the performance of one of his bikes. these included machined cylinders, new con - rods, and new valves, tappets and rocker gear. in this form it proceeded to take the class b (350 c. c .) kilometre and mile records at 72. 63 m. p. h. and 70. 04 m. p. h. respectively, beating the 68. 28 m. p. h. and 67. 85 m. p. h. previously set up on the martin - j. a. p. the fact that bailey had asked for revised motor cycle parts probably sparked off in bradshaw' s mind the idea of the a. b. c. motor cycle, and by january, 1913, a 500 c. c. opposed - twin engine had been designed and built, which, it was claimed, would fit most frames. in an article in motor cycling for 14th january 1913 describing this engine, it was also mentioned that there could be a 900cc flat twin suitable for a cyclecar, not that the company had any serious intention of making one themselves, rather that it might be an opportunity to supply it as a proprietary unit to others .
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the body is made from aluminium on an ash - wood frame, and the cycle wings are made of steel. in 1933, the
65
could develop 23 bhp at 4800 rpm ~ this is about twice the power of a standard austin seven .
in 1934, austin made a few design modifications and renamed the car, the nippy. there were now separate side lights and the body was manufactured from steel. production of the nippy ceased in 1937 .
many surviving examples of the
65
have been modified to improve reliability and performance. for example, a pressure - fed oil system such as that designed for the later nippy and speedy models or the bowdenex braking system or modifications to carburation. the two - bearing crank of the original design, with it' s splash - fed lubrication system could not withstand the high speed of the engine, and sadly many crankcases met their graves early on .
the phoenix crank is a well known sports replacement. there are many other modifications that can improve performance of the
65
( eg 17
wheels, side lights, 12 volt ignition etc .) but these take the car away from it' s original character.
the zenith carburetter company limited was a british company making carburettors in stanmore middlesex founded in 1910 . in 1965 they joined with their major pre-war rival solex carburettors and over time the zenith brand name fell into disuse . the rights to the zenith designs were owned by solex uk ( a daughter company of solex in france ) . while better known for their much later products , zeniths were standard equipment on some very early , brass era automobiles , including the scripps-booth . 
the zenith carburetter company limited was a british company making carburettors in stanmore middlesex founded in 1910. in 1965 they joined with their major pre-war rival solex carburettors and over time the zenith brand name fell into disuse. the rights to the zenith designs were owned by solex uk (a daughter company of solex in france). while better known for their much later products, zeniths were standard equipment on some very early, brass era automobiles, including the scripps-booth.
the zenith carburetter company limited was a british company making carburettors in stanmore middlesex founded in 1910. in 1965 they joined with their major pre-war rival solex carburettors and over time the zenith brand name fell into disuse. the rights to the zenith designs were owned by solex uk (a daughter company of solex in france). while better known for their much later products, zeniths were standard equipment on some very early, brass era automobiles, including the scripps-booth.