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Niall McGrath Van had a recent outing to Cashel & Clonmel for a Film shoot for a pilot for a new programme for the telly
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If I hadn’t seen these pictures,
I would not have believed it!
Ted Lay
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SS Car’s
It was the intention to do a write up of Singer cars next, but have put it on hold until I can get some better information. You cannot believe that books on Classic Car’s make no mention of Singer, thank goodness for the internet.
So it is SS cars, very interesting story with a reasonably happy ending, though there is still some mileage left in the marque
It all started in Blackpool, William Lyon’s met Bill Walmsley, the later being a sidecar builder, between them they formed a company to build sidecar’s, it was named Swallow, made out of aluminium, the notes say they were very stylish.
Well ,yours truly had one attached to my 650cc Triumph Thunderbird, there was good reason, the insurance was 50% cheaper with a sidecar, it was reckoned that sidecar owner’s were more sedate and less likely to have any claims.
I guess it was an opinion, in those day’s London buses had an open rear platform for getting on and off, it could be dangerous, especially when one ran to jump on as the bus was pulling away, it didn’t happen too often but people could get dragged along the road.
One of my friend’s took up an offer to come for a spin on the said outfit, when we eventually got to the destination, he declared he would never ever ride in another sidecar; especially if I was driving, and if he had wanted to go on the bus he would have got on in the normal way, I often wonder what become of him.
However in six year’s Wm Lyon’s was making bodies for Austin Seven’s, business was brisk, so brisk in fact they needed larger premises, so they moved, Coventry of all places, however it was a shrewd move as most of the British Car industry was in Coventry.
The Swallow sidecar, and now Coach building firm, was in business, they were making one off bodies for various marques, apart from Austin they had Morris, Fiat, Swift and Wolseley and Standard.
The two of them decided to build their own car, a name, well the supposion is that they took the S from Swallow and S from sidecar, making SS the company name, one that came to be regretted very soon afterwards.
They actually exhibited at the 1931 Olympia show, as there was a lack of capital, as one would expect with a fledgling company, they obtained engines and chassis from Standard. Again a lucky friendship with a certain Mr Black.
The press raved about these new car’s and Wm Lyon’s was thrown into the deep end of car manufacturing. There appeared to be no turning back.
In 1936 the partnership was dissolved when Wm bought out his friend Bill Walmsley who had decided that he really did not want to get into this kind of manufacture.
Before the split the company needed more expertise, they had in 1934 obtained the services of a top engine expert, one Harry Weslake, he designed a new cylinder head and an overhead valve set up which proved to be very reliable, another expert Wm Heynes came in as Chief engineer, and he set about improving the chassis.
There are a few dubious details about when things happened, depending where the source of information comes from. Whilst I have tried to validate most of it, I would not put money on the accuracy of some of the dates etc.
The split was perhaps 1935 because the new company was floated on the London Stock Exchange, and in that year a total of 1,720 cars rolled out of the factory, by 1939 a total of 5378 SS cars came through the door.
The model line up was 1.5 litre, 2.5 and the fastest of them all the 3.5litre, saloons, convertibles and sports cars, though the cars were brilliant and had made great inroads into other manufacturers sales, they were not particularly technically advanced, still having rod operated brakes, the gearbox was not syncro on the first gear.
In the hurdy gurdy world of sports cars and saloon’s, especially ones marketed by Wm Lyons at a considerably cheaper price than some of the other manufacturer’s.
For the first SS, uniquely called the SS1 had a 6 cylinder side valve motor of either 2054cc or 2552cc, these engines were fitted with 7 main bearings, and suspension was semi elliptics front and rear, unfortunately it wasnb’t the success it should have been due to some bad, well poor quality engineering.
Within a year a new version was unveiled, the body lines were changed to make it look sleeker, running boards added, and improved manifold breathing, apparently needed as the original car could only mnake 70mph.
They did not make the same mistake twice, the new model was a delight and 1249 models were made in the first year. In 1934 the last development of the SS1, a new chassis but holding on to the same wheelbase which for the record was 119inches.
The body was somewhat controversial with streamlined styling, but there was still a conventional saloon or a drop head coupe.
The gearbox was now fully synchromesh, and even larger engines 2143cc or 2663cc but still side valve, to improve performance the camshafts were reprofiled and compression ratios raised.
So the SS1 bowed out, and two much sought after cars were made, in fact the first the SS90 only 23 were made, there was nothing wrong it was a two seater, with a shortened wheelbase, still using a beam axle on semi elliptic springs, and a slightly tuned engine giving it as top speed of 90 mph, thart must have been some stomach churning speed in those day’s.
What happened was the engine became an overhead valve cylinder head and it became an almighty 3.5 litres, it had to be renamed to the SS100, if you find one tucked away in a barn somewhere don’t tell a soul, it would be worth a small fortune, your secret would be safe with me.
Actually it was rated at the magic ton, which was rare in those days, unfortunately two things happened, firstly there was not much in creature comforts, not that anyone cared and secondly the war put paid to any further production so a total of 118 cars existed, for your records it could do 0 to 60 in 10.4 seconds.
Now there is a model which is not referred to in general terms ,a saloon the Mark iv, it apparently is not a company designation, however it was made just before the outbreak of world war II and was made as a stop gap after the war for a couple of years.
It was the war that made the company change its name to Jaguar, so all the original Mk iv’s were rebadged Jaguar, the SS name quickly forgotten.
The Mkiv came in three engine sizes 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5, they were overhead valved, but still using out moded rod operated drum brakes and a fixed front axle, but once again it was the body, described as devastatingly beautiful, most examples were saloons but there was drop head coupes.
Speed for the 1.5 was grim not much over 70mph, the car Was targeted towards the American market, though some 13000 were produced, these beauties are commanding astronomical prices.
So how come you had one Ted, to be honest it is a bit of a mystery, because before the Jag, love the word Jag ,we had a little Standard 10 which cost the princely sum of £195 purchased from a dodgy dealer, now defunct, in Balham.
You would have loved our Jag, KPD 602, 1946, 2.5 litre four door saloon in British Racing Green, I used to spend hours lovingly polishing it, the leather interior, wow, it just oozed power, and though we were not restricted to speed limits as such in those heady day’s, we mostly took it to work in the city, can’t say it was economical either, but to arrive at the office in a Jag, I am not like that really.
As you know , the Jaguar story continued, one of constant success, despite set backs it is still reckoned as a maker of fine cars.
Ted Lay
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May Bank Holiday 2012 Tractor Nuts Line Up:
Saturday the 5th of May:
25 plus FIELD MARSHALLS will take to the road for a short run. The Field Marshalls will remain on display for the entire weekend.
SPEED DATING WALK, calling all single men and women! Enjoy a leisurely walk along the Barrow while also meeting and chatting to other single people. Admission is €10 which includes free entry to the Traffic Light Party later on. To register, please email yvonne@aboutmarketing.ie
This will be followed by a night of entertainment and craic with an “OIL UP”and TRAFFIC LIGHT PARTY in the Green Drake Inn, Borris.
Sunday the 6th May:
The next day, Sunday 6th May sees the Lads and Lassies Tractor Run roll out of Borris around midday for a 26 mile road run. Afterwards from 4.30pm, all with gather in The Step House, Borris for a barbeque, pig roasting, thrashing, music and lots of entertainment. So, mark your diary, get your sponsorship card organised and join all the other Tractor Nuts and Nutettes for what promises to be one of the best years ever.
2012 Tractor Nuts - May Bank Holiday Weekend – You’d be Nuts to Miss It!
Expect a large crowd out for a fun packed weekend with many tractor enthusiasts showcasing variety of pre 1990 tractors of differing ages – Massey’s, Ford’s, Nuffield’s, John Deere’s, many of which are restored back to their original condition and are a credit to their owners.
The tractor run has drawn quite a following over the last 8 years and last year an incredible crowd of over 400 partook and enjoyed the welcome sunshine. This is a great opportunity for visitors and participants alike to enjoy a unique spectacle with two miles of tractors expected.
For further information on the Tractor Run, Maps and Sponsorship Cards contact Brian on (086) 2595281 or Denis on (059) 9773551
To date more than €140,000 has been raised for the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Kidney Association. Let’s aim to collectively increase that figure in 2012 and have a very enjoyable weekend too! All are encouraged to take to the road with their tractors
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Our first Classic car Sale show+Autojumble event of 2012 takes place at our regular venue indoors at The National show centre,Swords on Sunday 1st April(April fools day)
Our April event always has in excess off 200 classic and vintage cars for sale by their owners.
We will also have a busy Autojumble and classic car display area.
All classic cars are admitted free of charge with one passenger to the display area.
We are now taking bookings for the car sales area and also the Autojumble area.
For further details or entry forms please contact Dermot Flynn on 01 6600622 or Mobile 086 2405542
There will be regular updates on www.carshows.ie
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Come Christmas , I hoped someone was going to give me a set of Alloy’s, but no , a gift voucher for a book shop, well better than nothing.
Armed with the said voucher ; I rush into the bookshop and started to look for books on classic cars, I scrabbled around , inspecting this mound of books, then the next, no luck, at this point I would have been glad to see even something on Lewis Hamilton, or even Jeremy, not that I am a fan of either gentleman.
In sheer desperation, I go up to the assistant, ” do you have any books on Classic Car’s”,” oh yes, of course”, thank goodness, she comes over with a book entitled “Dream Car’s”,” no, actually that is not quite what I am looking for”, off she goes again and comes back holding a volume, “Classic Car’s” wow this looks the business.
Either I am getting fussy in my old age, or the interpretation of Classic Car’s has suddenly changed, there were shots of artisticly painted wings, parts of boots in pyschodelic colours, now they may have been old wings and boots, who could tell.
I eventually came out with Classic Car weekly, and spent the rest of the voucher on book’s for our Bobby.
One thing that really gets to me with some of the classic magazines ; is the amount of space given to Roller’s, Porsche and Ferrari and the such like, pages upon pages of advert’s, it would seem the same cars are going round in circles from one dealer to another.
Yes, there is another taxing item, prices, I am bewildered to read that something like 28k; has been recently spent on restoration, and the car is priced at 10 to 15K, it doesn’t seem feasible someone is going to splash out that much dosh.
The most hilarious ad was for an Isetta Bubble Car, yes, they are quite rare these day’s, they were popular back in the late 50’s come 60’s, but this person was asking for 27k, no not 2700, which might have been about right, no, 27K, there were proper car’s selling for less, it wasn’t gold plated either, anyone with that sort of cash need’s looking after.
By the way they have found a PA MG that hasn’t been on the road for 65 year’s apparently in good condition, how about that.
Right down to the real thing, having written about one MG how could we ignore the marque that was really the MG’s Achilles heel, the Riley, at the time one of the most advanced car’s of it’s day.
The Riley story is interesting, although it is tinged with the usual British dogma, it had one factor in it’s favour, family, the Riley family kept faith and worked with one another, had they kept their feet firmly on the ground they may well have still been in existence to day.
It all started on 23 May 1896, Wm Riley Junior, started the Riley Cycle Co Ltd and soon took over the Bonnick Cycle business in King Street, Coventry, nothing seems strange, but Coventry was like a magnet to these small firms, so many started in an identical manner.
The Riley problem was the plethora of model’s in it’s 71 year life, so much so writer’s ask if they have forgotten or missed out a particular model.
The Riley company history is so complex it was almost impossible to extract the “9”, however I think I may have got somewhere near.
Percy appears to be the son with the ability to design forward thinking component’s, his engine design virtually turned the automobile industry upside down. The hemispherical cylinder head and steeply inclined valves, but Percy accepted this was not a new concept as such but he produced a formula for better respiration on an inexpensive family car.
Another item was the changeable wire wheel, at one time a motorist had to attempt to repair a puncture in situ, not an easy task at the best of times, actually impossible I would have thought, then came Riley’s invention, the car world went mad,at one stage 183 manufacturer’s were buying wheels from Riley, so much so father Riley considered abandoning car manufacture and concentrate on wheel’s.
Enough, oh dear no, Percy had looked at servicing and came to the decision that self lubricating bushes would reduce cost’s and make it easier for the owner mechanic, it did not end there, Percy produced a four speed gearbox with helical toothed top and third gears in constant mesh, which made sure noise was kept down.
The Riley “9” was made from 1926 until 1938, some say 1937, engine wise it was 1087cc 4 cylinder, with hemispherical combustion chambers with the valves at 45 degree’s. The overhead camshaft, with valves operated by two cams which were high in the crankcase, and operated by short pushrod rocker’s.
Engine was mounted in the chassis by a rubber bushed bar, that ran through the block, and a further mount behind the gearbox. It was agreed Percy was the first to use this idea.
About 7 years after Percy’s magic rubber bushes first appeared, one of the large American manufacturers declared they had introduced rubber bushes, as if it was something new, perhaps they had never heard of Percy or Riley
The drive was rear wheel through a torque tube, and a spiral bevel live rear axle attached to semi elliptic springs. There was some consternation at this set up as it been dropped a few years earlier
The original car was soon modernised, including new clutch arrangements, the gear lever and handbrake were moved to the centre of the car, Riley’s own steering box was used, and the brakes were upgraded, the report I read said Turbo brakes.
Apart from the Monaco, a new body the Biarritz,was introduced a sort of luxury version of the Monaco, writing this I am thinking of the south of the France, sunny beaches, what a lovely choice of names. Then came the Brooklands model, which was definitely aimed at those looking for speed, just the word Brooklands was enough to stir the desire for speed.
The Brooklands body was designed with the help of Parry Thomas and Reid Railton, and made by Thomson and Taylor, whose factory was inside the Brooklands track. Which is near Chobham in Surrey. I have a feeling that the aircraft company DeHaviland who built the ill fated Comet jet liner used part of it for a runway, the straight bits.
If I am not mistaken Thomson and Taylor still exist. Iif you are not into motor racing, in years gone by, Brooklands was a part banked oval track, some of it still exists, been there, on what is left of the track.
Unfortunately poor old Thomas died trying to break the world speed record, his friend Reid Railton took over from him with the car, apparently it was so low slung one could touch the floor from the driver’s seat, presume these driver’s had long arms.
Now we can feel a certain pride about the Brookland’s Riley, it actually came second in the Irish Grand Prix, also it was third in the Brookland’s double twelve hour race.
A modified Ulster Brookland model with a balanced engine with extra carburettors appeared during 1931 and won the 1932 Tourist Trophy race and a place in the 1935 Le Man’s
From 1928 the “9” had broken many speed records and was also a winner in many other races, especially hill climbs.
It seemed the Riley family could do no wrong, they had factories dotted around Coventry, engine building, body manufacture, final assembly, one gets the impression there were parts of Riley cars flying around the city.
The company had also become so intent on the motor sport aspect; it had not really stopped to ensure the finances were being monitored, when they did there was a last minute attempt to bring them under control, but as we know the receiver’s were called in and that was almost the end.
Enter one Lord Nuffield who purchased the whole lot for around £150,000, it is said his own personal money and then sold Riley to his “Nuffield Organisation” for £1.00, at great personal loss to himself, if you really believe that, well put this way you don’t make a lot of money doing things that way.
An ode to Riley:- As old as the Industry, as modern as the hour, death by diversity.
Yes, the history of a motor car firm called Riley carries on after the second world war and the name remained on models up to 1969.
A fascinating company, its ability to introduce advanced features and its engineering skills are something we should be proud of, as for the financial aspect I think we have emulated that almost to a tee seventy odd years later.
We will sit down and do the complete history during the summer, and include the Autovia, the what, no I had never heard of it, but found a picture the other day, some gem of a car, Victor was going to take on Rolls Royce, enough.
My thanks as always, drive with great care and don’t forget that camera van parked on the bends near Cuffesgrange, Ted
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Greeting from all the Kenna,s down under
Sydney: Around 100,000 people lined the streets of Sydney today for the city’s first St Patrick’s Day parade in two years.
The 2011 parade was cancelled due to a storm, but the autumn sun shone bright on Sydney this year.
The procession, which took an hour to pass the viewing stand at Town Hall in the city centre, featured marchers from GAA clubs, Irish-Australian businesses, Irish dancing schools, several floats with a Book of Kells theme, pipe bands and county associations.
Co Clare woman Catherine Crosse, who is president of the Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade, says the event is a labour of love.
“We’re the custodians of our culture. When we go abroad we’re the ambassadors of Ireland. It’s wonderful, when you are received so well in your adopted world, to be able to do something like that,” she said.
Guest of honour at the parade was Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, who criticised the “cynicism” of those who say Government ministers should not travel for St Patrick’s Day.
“I have no time for that sort of corrosive cynicism. I think we need to get away from that in Ireland,” said Mr Shatter, who has already met Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, New Zealand prime minister John Key, and attended several other functions since Thursday.
“Myself and my colleagues in Government are working extremely hard to promote Ireland, to make contact with Irish people abroad.”
Newly appointed Irish ambassador to Australia, Noel White, and consul general Caitríona Ingoldsby also attended the parade.
After the parade was over, tens of thousands of revellers went to Hyde Park, where there was Irish food, drink and music, and 43 Irish people became Australians in a citizenship ceremony.
On St Patrick’s night, the sails of the Sydney Opera House were lit up in green. Permission had only been granted two days earlier, following an initial refusal, after concerted pressure from MPs on the cross-party Parliamentary Friends of Ireland group.
PÁDRAIG COLLINS www.irishtimes.com
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THIS YEAR WE ARE HEADING FOR TWO PARADES ON THE ONE TRIP, WE WILL MEET AT TUBS & TILES AT 10 .30 am TO LEAVE AT 11 FOR GRAIGUENAMANAGH
AFTER THIS PARADE WE HEAD ONTO GORESBRIDGE TO TAKE PART IN THEIR FIRST EVER PARADE.
COME ON OUT AND GET YOUR CARS GLAMMED UP FOR OUR SPECIAL DAY
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Tipperary Vintage Rally. 2012
Tipperary Racecourse. Easter Sunday. April 8th
Following the tremendous success of the first two Tipperary Vintage Rallies it has been decided to stage the event again in 2012 at the same superb venue whilst once again supporting local charaties for whom over 74,000 euros has been raised so far.
As always it is the intention of the rally organisers to offer a grand day out for the whole family with displays and activities guaranteed to appeal to young and old, ladies and gents alike
| To contact the rally organisers please ring any of the following- |
| Eddie Spencer. 00353 (0)86 8772730 |
| Steve Thornton. 00353 (0)87 7579358 (Please contact Steve if you wish to book a trade stand) |
| Jack Leonard 00353 (0)86 2716931 |
| The Rally organisers wish to thank Jane Davis and the staff of Tipperary Race Course for all their incredible support and once again making the venue available for the event. www.tipperaryraces.ie |
| We would also like express our appreciation and thanks to the Civil Defence for agreeing to provide first aid cover for the Rally.
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