You certainly wouldn't expect to find a beautiful old classic car like this on Bodmin Moor, but that's exactly where I came across it. It must be over 60 years old.
The Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane was a two door, four seat drophead coupé made from 1946 to 1953 and based on the 1945 Armstrong Siddeley Lancaster.
The chassis featured independent front suspension using torsion bars and a live rear axle with leaf springs. A Girling hydro-mechanical braking system was fitted, with the front drums hydraulically operated while those at the rear used rod and cable.
Early models of the Hurricane were fitted with a 70 bhp 1991 cc six cylinder, overhead valve engine, carried over from the pre-war 16 hp model but from 1949 this was enlarged to a 75 bhp 2309 cc by increasing the cylinder bore from 65 to 70 mm. There was a choice of four speed synchromesh or pre-selector gearbox.
The four seat, two door body was made of steel and aluminium panel fitted over a wood and aluminium frame. The doors were rear hinged, an arrangement that got the name of suicide doors. Changes during the model life were minimal: however, the bonnet line was slightly lowered for 1948 when the car also acquired stoneguards on the leading edges of its rear wings.
At launch, the car cost £1151 on the UK market. This particular car appears to date from around 1950, but if anyone can provide any further information I should be grateful.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Tags: Armstrong Siddeley cars Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane motor cars automobiles classic cars Bodmin Moor Cornwall British cars
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This beautiful Jaguar XK120 left-hand drive drophead coupe, which was probably built for the American market, was spotted recently in Charlestown, Cornwall. The roadster version was introduced in 1948 and this particular model was introduced in 1953. With its 3442cc engine developing around 160bhp it had a top speed of 125mph. 0-60mph was achieved in 10 seconds, and it did around 20mpg.
Tags: cars motor cars sports cars Jaguar cars Jaguar XK120
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This immaculate 1956 two-door Chevrolet Bel Air sedan was spotted in Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. When new, the car would have cost just over 2,000 dollars. It was the second generation Bel Air, which received completely new styling in 1955. There was a range of engines available, including a straight six and several 4.3 litre V8s.
Tags: Motor cars Chevrolet Bel Air 1956 model Chevrolet cars 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Gloucestershire Chipping Camden cars 1950s cars American cars American classic cars 1950s American cars
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I simply couldn't resist this delightful and immaculate old Daimler, spotted waiting for a wedding to be completed in the village of Dent in the Yorkshire Dales. The car was first registered on 17 February 1937 and is a Daimler Straight-Eight (4.624 litres), as then used by royalty. I am grateful to Dai777 for the information about the car.
Tags: Daimler cars 1930s cars Dent Dent Dale wedding cars North Yorkshire Daimler Straight-Eight Daimler cars motor cars
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I came across this group of old car enthusiasts with their Austin Sevens as they were parked at the end of the Buttertubs Pass, where it meets Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales. I thought I'd seen them a few days previously parked just off the road that runs alongside Coniston Water in the Lake District. And sure enough, it was the same people. We were following in each other's tyre treads.
The Austin 7 was produced from 1922 to 1939 and was the first truly affordable mass-produced vehicle of British design and manufacture. The importance of the heritage of the Austin 7 cannot be overstated as without it the Austin company would have financially failed, the pre-war population would have been deprived of the chance of owning their first motor car and the 750 Motor Club would probably not have come into existence. In fact several well-known companies might not have succeeded if they had not been able to become licenced manufacturers of the design. The first BMW was a 7, known as a Dixi in Germany, and in Japan, Nissan based their first cars on it. The Swallow version of the Austin 7 laid the foundations of the Jaguar Car Company.
Some 290,000 Austin 7 cars were produced by Sir Herbert Austin’s company and about 8,000 are thought to still exist worldwide. They came in a variety of models that included saloons, tourers, sports cars and vans. When launched the Austin 7 cost just £165. Its original 696cc engine of 7.2 horsepower was quickly enlarged to 747cc. The revised four cylinder side-valve engine gave a very modest 10.5 brake horse power but it was enough to propel the little car to a top speed of 50 miles per hour. Many a 1930s family packed children, luggage, mum and dad into the tiny cabin and set off on holiday to far flung parts of the country – and abroad.
(Courtesy of www.750mc.co.uk/austin7.htm)
Tags: Swaledale North Yorkshire Yorkshire Dales Austin Seven vintage cars Buttertubs Pass
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