Morris
Minor.
Far from Europe, the fledgling Japanese motor industry was beginning to make practical motorcars and one of these was the Datsun Type 10 of 1932. A conventional car with a 747cc, 4-cylinder side valve engine, often mistaken as a copy of the Austin Seven, evolving through successive model and in production until the second world war. Another of the cars introduced in 1932 was the Fiat 508 Balilla, again fitted with a side-valve engine, this time of 995cc, with hydraulic brakes and a cruciform the only distinguishing features, it remained in production until 1937 and was made under licence by Simca in France and NSU in Germany. In Britain, the Singer Nine 9HP replaced the Junior 8HP and the Triumph Super Nine replaced the Super Seven. BSA introduced a four wheeled version of their three wheeled car the FW32, using the Hotchkiss “V2 twin as used in the Ten of 1921. They only sold a hundred, and it was only worth mentioning because it was an early British front wheel drive ultra-light car, with independent front suspension by four transverse !/2 elliptic springs, inboard front brakes, a three gearbox in front of the engine, finally the worm and spur gear final drive at the front and a dead rear axle suspended on four 1/4 elliptic springs. It only lasted a year. The big motoring event of 1932, was the introduction of the Ford Model Y.
Ford’s answer
to the Austin Seven and the Morris Minor, a new direction for the company
that had up until then only sold first American then British built cars
originally designed for the American market. The Model Y design was still
an evolved version of the model T chassis, with the same layout of transverse
1/2 elliptic springs front and rear, but with less than half the engine
capacity of, previous models and the rest of the American designed car
reduced in proportion. Being a simple well developed car, made using all
the latest mass production methods, at a good price it was an immediate
success. With a simple and reliable water-cooled, side-valve 933cc inline
four cylinder engine, cable operated four wheel brakes, a simple channel
steel chassis and a stylish all steel body, it represented current design
philosophy. By the time the ultimate version of the Model Y concept went
out of production, the Popular of 1959, if was an anachronism. Another
car in that mould, was the Standard Little Nine to be followed by the Nine
in 1934.
In 1933 BSA replaced the FW32 with the T9. Another development on the front wheel drive theme, the twin cylinder engine was replaced by a water-cooled, side-valve, inline four mounted in the same place, nearest the cabin. The other change was to fit 1/2 elliptic springs on the rear axle. Three hundred were made in it's year of production. Continuing on the front wheel drive story, In Germany Adler introduced the Trumpf-Junior in 1934, with the same engine, gearbox, final-drive layout as the BSA, in a chassis independently sprung on all wheels, using torsion bars at the rear, with rack and pinion steering. The rest of the specification was normal for the time, a water-cooled inline four, side-valve engine of 995cc and cable operated Bendix drum brakes. Although fairly unconventional for it's time, the car was a success with many almost one Hundred and three thousand made by 1941 when Adler ceased car production not only for the duration of the war but for ever. The Hansa was one of the rang of car produced by the Borgward group, the 1100 was typical of German thinking in 1934, with all round independent suspension, using transverse half elliptic leaf springs at the front and swing axles at the rear with torsion bars. Also a tubular backbone frame and a water-cooled inline four cylinder engine with overhead valve-gear. This advanced specification was completed by hydraulic brakes. It did not have a high performance, but was said to handle well.
Engineers in Czechoslovakia also used advanced chassis designs, this is not surprising since a Czech, Hans Ludwinka developed most of the ideas then in vogue in central Europe. He never worked for Skoda but they incorporated many of those ideas in the 420 of 1934. With a forked backbone chassis and all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the front and swing axles at the rear. It had a 995cc side-valve, water-cooled inline four and a three speed gearbox. Meanwhile advanced chassis design was not considered necessary in Britain. This was the case with the Wolseley Nine, except that it had hydraulic brakes. A single overhead camshaft engine was fitted, similar in design to those fitted in other Wolseley cars of the time, this in conjunction with a four speed syncromesh gearbox, all for the price of £179. The Nine was replaced by the similar Wasp in 1935.
1935 saw only one completely new model, the Morris 8, a totally conventional car that appeared to take it’s inspiration from the Ford 8. It was a hit with the car buying public and over 200,00 were sold before being replaced in 1938. The 918cc engine first used in the 8 was to remain in production until 1953 and used in the post war Morris Minor, long after it should have been retired. The other cars introduced during the year were updated versions of existing model. The DKW F5 was an updated version of the F2 of 1933-34, that had evolved from F1 of 1928. The specification was the same throughout, but the design refined with each new model, this continued
with F7 and F8 until 1939.
The Austin 7 Ruby, an updated version to replace the original, was on sale from 1935 to the end of the Seven in 1939. As the Seven was a major advance when introduced, The Fiat 500, was also a major advance, making the Seven seem obsolete. Designed by Dante Giacosa and Franco Fessia, It was a two-seater and had a 569cc side valve engine, but the chassis with independent front suspension using a transverse leaf spring and wishbones and neat packaging was a big advance, with the engine located over the front wheels and radiator behind it over the four speed syncromesh gearbox, also excellent hydraulic brakes. With fuel consumption around 50mpg and a maximum speed of 55mph, but with handling good enough to allow average speeds of 40mph. Between 1936 when first introduced until the end of production in 1948, 122,000 were made of this original version. Fiat 500.
It
was also made in France by Simca and in Germany by NSU. Other cars that
made an appearance in 1936, were The Opel P4, the Singer Bantam, and the
American Bantam, the last two were not related. The Opel P4 was the product
of the German branch of General Motors, and as such reflected American
body styling. The mechanics of the car were conventional, unlike the German
cars mentioned previously with a water-cooled, inline four, side-valve
engine in a cart sprung chassis, ( beam axles and half elliptic springs)
driving the rear wheels. The Singer Bantam was an update of the earlier
Nine, first with the 972cc Nine engine, then with a 1074cc version, still
with a single overhead camshaft. The small Singers were a bit of mixture,
with the Junior Special and the 9HP IFS with independent suspension with
coil springs, but by 1936 only beam axles and cart springs were on offer
and by 1939, hydraulic brakes had given way to mechanical operation. It
was price before refinement. The American Bantam was the reborn American
Austin after that company had failed in 1935, it was again a re-bodied
Austin Seven with minor engineering modifications, but it only lasted until
1941. The companies great claim to fame was that designed and produced
the first Jeep, before production was taken over by others.
By 1937 the small Jowett was the 8HP, still with the flat twin side-valve engine, but chassis and body had kept up with it’s British contemporaries with hydraulic dampers and in the last year of production, 1940 syncromesh. It was with the three wheeled Morgan, the last remaining British link with the cyclecar era. The Fiat 508C was not an update of the Balilla but with a overhead valve engine, independent front suspension, a X braced chassis, a four speed gearbox and a flowing body capable of 70 mph plus, a modern car that remained in production after the second world war. Also introduced in 1937 was the Opel Kadett, basically a P4 with a new body and detail improvements.
In Austria the Steyr concern was not averse to technical innovation and their offering in the one litre class the 50 was no exception, with independent suspension all round and a sleek but not pretty all steel unitary body-chassis unit. With a 978cc, side-valve flat-four engine, despite the low drag body , it was only capable of 60 mph. By contrast, in Britain Austin offered the Big 7, an updated Seven Ruby, with a 900cc version of the Seven engine. This was in production in 1938 and 1939, when it was replaced by the Austin 8, this also had a 900cc side-valve engine but it was completely new design as was the rest of the car. The chassis was conventional 1930’s British, with beam axles, 1/2 elliptic springs, a ladder frame and mechanical brakes. The tourer version of this car has a place in my motoring memory, although I cannot remember seeing one on the road. Between 1939 and 1944, the tourer was produced for the British army, and was I suppose Britain's “Jeep”, until the real thing came along. I saw the tourer on munitions trains, mixed in with tanks and guns, steaming past the park I used to play in. Although in drab khaki, with its low form, cut-out doors and modern styling, being one of the last cars introduced before the war stopped most car production, it was a revelation compared with almost all black saloons to be seen on the roads then. The four door saloon model only was again was produced after the war, with a total of over fifty six thousand being made by time it was replaced in 1947. All the following new models reviewed here were to re-emerge after the war and remain in production until 1948 and in the case of the Skoda Popular 1100, to soldier on until 1964, in form of the 440, and Octavia. The Popular 1100 was an up-dated 420 with a 1089cc engine.
The
Morris Eight series E was as the name indicates the latest version
on the Eight. The major change was the new body with flowing lines and
the introduction of a four speed gearbox. Renault’s entry into the small
car class the Juvaquatre, was a mixture of ancient and modern, with a side-valve
engine, mechanical brakes, a three speed gearbox and a cart sprung rear
axle, the modern part was the unitary body-chassis and independent front
suspension. The Ford Anglia, was an evolved Model Y with a new body.
In contrast to the Ford, the Standard Flying Eight, was completely new,
but the transverse leaf independent suspension and a syncromesh gearbox
were the only concessions to modernity. With a long stroke side-valve,
water-cooled inline four cylinder engine, only three speed in that gearbox
and bendix brakes.
The idea of creating a small car of advanced design for the people of Germany resulted from Professor Porsche submitting a proposal concerning the development of such a car to the Transport department of the German government. This was in January 1934. He managed to get Chancellor a certain Herr Hitler interested in the idea. He added the proviso that it be produced for one thousand Marks (£45). This led to a lot of hard work by the Porsche bureau, before the car then named the "KdF Wagen", and known to us as the Volkswagen was a reality. First produced with a 985cc air cooled flat four engine, the car was developed and ready for production by 1938. Production started at the purpose built factory at Wolfsburg in 1939. But only two hundred and ten examples were made before the factory went over to war production. Over twenty one million Volkswagen Beetles have been since 1945.
Volkswagen
Chassis
At the beginning of the war in 1939, the production of cars in Europe for the general public was suspended, and only those that could obtain a petrol ration could run their cars for the duration of the war and for some time afterwards. Many cars were destroyed in the war, others were worn out and others were laid up until private motoring was again possible. During the war many engineers used what spare time they had to devise new concepts and designs, Post war all that pent up creative energy would be let loose.