52-588: The Lanchester Ten and Lanchester Eleven were sold by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited from the Ten's announcement in September 1932 until 1951. Quite different from previous Lanchesters, the Ten was the second (it followed the Lanchester 15/18 ) of Lanchester's new owner's new Daimler -linked Lanchester range. The names Ten and Eleven referred to the engine's rating for the annual tax and did not relate to
104-471: A 2470 cc, four-cylinder, water-cooled, overhead-valve engines featuring pressure lubrication, very unusual at the time, and were now mounted with the epicyclic gearbox between the front seats rather than centrally, resulting in a design with the driver sitting well forwards and without a bonnet. Six-cylinder models joined the line-up in 1906. The specification started to become more conventional with wheel steering as an option from 1908, becoming standard from
156-432: A belt drive common to the combined fan and impeller and the steering box which has worm and double roller gear. On the nearside the vertically driven make-and-break and distributor is placed centrally and has a neat easily detachable cover over the top which also hides the sparking plugs and wiring. Here also are the water tap, the coil, pressure oil filter, dip rod, sump drain plug, starter and mechanical fuel pump" Power
208-409: A body department was set up, until 1914 most cars had Lanchester built bodies. In 1904, despite a full order book, the business ran out of money and The Lanchester Engine Company Limited was put into voluntary liquidation. After a period of management by a receiver the business was re-organised re-capitalized and incorporated as The Lanchester Motor Company Limited later that year. The 1904 models had
260-461: A car, not a horseless carriage , and it ran on the public roads in February or March 1896. It had a single-cylinder 1306 cc engine with the piston having two connecting rods to separate crankshafts and flywheels rotating in opposite directions giving very smooth running. A two-cylinder engine was fitted to the same chassis in 1897 and a second complete car was built alongside it. This led on to
312-572: A four-speed conventional gearbox and four-wheel brakes. It grew to the 3.3-litre Twenty Three in 1926. The Forty was finally replaced by the Thirty with straight-eight 4.4-litre engine in 1928. A further series of armoured cars was made in 1927, using a six-wheeled version of the Forty chassis. For 1928 there was George's last design, a 4446 cc straight-8; only 126 were made before the economic depression effectively killed demand. Twelve months after
364-470: A parking brake, operated on the back wheels using cables. "The lower gears can be used as an emergency brake". Tyres were 4.5 x 19 inches Revisions to the specification before the October 1934 Motor Show : "This body provides full room for four persons with a level floor. There are two cupboards, four pockets, a sliding roof, safety glass and other usual fittings but no ash trays. There are louvres over
416-495: A repeat customer during the 1920s and 1930s, preferred this less showy version of a Daimler car and took delivery of a pair of specially built Daimler straight-eight limousines with the Lanchester grille and badges. Post war, a ten-horsepower car was reintroduced with the 1287 cc LD10 which didn't have a Daimler equivalent and the four-cylinder 1950 Fourteen / Leda . The very last model, of which only prototypes were produced,
468-546: A sale to BSA made sense. Thomas Hamilton Barnsley (1867–1930), the principal shareholder, chairman and managing director negotiated a sale of all share capital to BSA group shortly before his death on Christmas Day 1930. BSA's purchase of all of the shares was completed in January 1931 for £26,000, a fraction of the value of the assets. Car production was transferred to Lanchester's new sister subsidiary, Daimler , at Motor Mills, Sandy Lane, Radford, Coventry . George Lanchester
520-463: A single model policy and the Forty was re-introduced with a 6.2-litre overhead-cam engine in unit with a 3-speed gearbox still using epicyclic gears and a worm drive rear axle. It was very expensive, dearer than a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and to maintain production a smaller car, the Twenty One joined the range in 1924. This had a 3.1-litre, six-cylinder engine, with removable cylinder head, mated to
572-586: A subsidiary holding company for them. In 2013, Jaguar Cars was merged with Land Rover to form Jaguar Land Rover Limited, and the rights to the Lanchester car brand were transferred to the newly formed British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover . This business was begun by the three Lanchester brothers, Frederick , one of the most influential automobile engineers of the 19th and 20th centuries, George and Frank who together incorporated The Lanchester Engine Company Limited in December 1899 retaining
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#1732793576975624-429: A sunshine roof, double screen wipers, sun visors, and a new pistol-grip handbrake lever on the dash. Lanchester estimated the fuel consumption to be 22 mpg. Maximum speed 70 mph. either car might be had with four-speed synchromesh gearbox and friction clutch for £350 The new Lanchester Fourteen was displayed to the press on 9 October 1950, the day before the public announcement. The only familiar feature
676-448: A torsion bar stabilizer and hydraulic shock absorbers. They were rubber-mounted to minimise vibration. The exhaust system was also insulated. Wheelbase and track had been extended by 7.5 in (191 mm) and 4 in (102 mm) respectively, providing more body space and inter-axle seating. Steering was now by worm and double roller. Tyres 5.75 x 16 inches. Bendix mechanical brakes were on all four wheels. The radiator case
728-680: Is marked as "non-trading". The Lanchester company was located until early 1931 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook , Birmingham , and afterwards at Sandy Lane, Coventry England. It was purchased by the BSA Group at the end of 1930, after which its cars were made by Daimler on Daimler's Coventry sites. So, with Daimler, Lanchester became part of Jaguar Cars in 1960. In 1990 Ford Motor Company bought Jaguar Cars and it remained in their ownership, and from 2000 accompanied by Land Rover , until they sold both Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors in 2008, who created Jaguar Land Rover as
780-436: Is now provided with needle-roller bearings. There is a stabilising front bumper. Four-wheel brakes are now mechanical by Girling. Maximum speed was reported as having moved up to 65 mph. The Times reported the larger engine did not run as sweetly as its predecessor but that it had appreciably more liveliness and speed. There was still a slight hum with the engine running and the transmission in neutral but if anyone minded that
832-401: The 1805 cc Daimler Fifteen announced with this Ten. The smallest Lanchester ever produced it was also the one produced in the greatest numbers, with approximately 12,250 sold. Additional details to those in the tables The new engine's four-cylinder design was on the same general lines as the six-cylinder Lanchester 15/18 (not Eighteen) though with a much reduced bore and stroke taking down
884-526: The LA10 shown in the photo accompanying this article is fitted with the 11hp engine. The overhead valves had single springs but there were return springs to keep the rockers to the pushrods.The valve springs can be replaced without removing the head because circlips on the valve stem prevent them falling.Engine accessories were mounted: distributor on a level with the cylinder head, the coil just in front. The petrol pump, oil filter and oil diprod were mounted aft of
936-579: The LD10, produced after the Second World War was presented as a compact companion model to the Daimler range, being "craftsman built" and among the smallest ever volume-produced cars from the firm. It was initially produced with a steel six-light body by Briggs Motor Bodies of Dagenham though this body suffered from erratic deliveries by Briggs and rust problems due to the grade of steel allocated by
988-558: The Wall Street Crash these were the cars shown by Lanchester on their stand at the Olympia Motor Show in October 1930: The engines were 3,330 and 4,440 cc respectively, with a wheelbase and track of: Within weeks, their bank called in the company's overdraft of £38,000 forcing immediate liquidation of the company's assets. Because their current premises were next door to BSA 's Armourer Mills at Sparkbrook
1040-521: The car can be held stationary with a gear engaged. Petrol capacity has been increased from 8 to 10 gallons and it was noted the weight of the six-light car had increased by 2 long hundredweight (220 lb; 100 kg). New-shaped six-light saloon and four-light sports saloon bodies were quietly announced in the third week of September 1936 and the model was named Eleven instead of Ten. The bodies were larger and heavier than before. The news of their availability seems to have been deliberately swamped by
1092-413: The distributor. Engine timing was by chain. The flywheel and gearbox formed a single unit with the engine which was slightly inclined and held to the chassis at four points on rubber for the 1932/33 models thereafter with a fifth rubber support under the gearbox on all subsequent models. This was the first small car to have the Daimler fluid flywheel transmission. The preselection finger and thumb lever
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#17327935769751144-411: The end of 1911, pedals and a gear lever replaced the original two-lever system of gear changing. George Lanchester was now in charge, Frederick having resigned in 1913. The engine was moved further forward to a conventional position in the sporting Forty, with a side-valve, 5.5-litre six-cylinder engine, but very few were made before the outbreak of World War I. A distinctive feature of the engine's valves
1196-449: The engine's power output. Part of the thinking behind BSA 's acquisition of Lanchester was, in consideration of the international economic depression, to extend the BSA group's range of cars into the sectors between those filled by Daimler and the three-wheeled 'cars' of BSA Cars without affecting Daimler's super-luxury image. Ultimately the smallest Lanchester became far too expensive for
1248-459: The financial support they had previously received from the two brothers, Charles Vernon Pugh and John Pugh of Rudge-Whitworth . Others who took directorships included the Whitfield brothers, J. S. Taylor and Hamilton Barnsley – a master builder who sold the business to BSA-Daimler in 1931. Work on the first Lanchester car had been started in 1895, significantly designed from first principles as
1300-429: The first production cars in 1900, when six were made as demonstrators. These had two-cylinder, 4033 cc, horizontal air-cooled engines, retaining the twin crankshaft design. Steering was by side lever (or tiller ) not wheel. The gearbox used epicyclic gearing . The first cars were sold to the public in 1901. In 1902 Lanchester became the first company to market disc brakes to the public. They were mechanical and on
1352-407: The four door glasses. The windscreen opens. The spare wheel is behind the folding luggage grid at the back. The generous wheelbase and the absence of a gearlever in the floor gives excellent entrance and exit through all four doorways." motoring correspondent The Times The motoring correspondent of The Times also reported "the saloon will keep up 50 easily, even under load, and will do about 60 on
1404-406: The front wheels only. The discs were very thin and made of a very soft metal like brass. Although probably leaving much to be desired, they completely fit the definition of a disc brake, and beat all others to market by many years. The Lanchester Motor-Car Company show a number of handsome vehicles. The design here is novel throughout, or, rather, it differs from other designs, as the Lanchester car
1456-491: The government for their manufacture. From September 1949 the same chassis was instead fitted with coachbuilt Barker aluminium alloy sports saloon bodywork. Other body variations included an Abbott -bodied drophead coupe and Hooper -bodied van. The four-cylinder claimed a power output of 40 bhp (29.8 kW) at 4,200 rpm. This was coupled through a fluid flywheel to an epicyclic preselector 4-speed gear box. Stopping power came from Girling mechanical brakes. The car
1508-498: The home market and, under the Lanchester Leda name for the export market, with a lighter all-steel body. These followed the customary Lanchester practice and the transmission included the Daimler fluid flywheel and the self-changing pre-selective four-speed gearbox. Final drive was by underslung worm gear. Magna type wire wheels and fully chromium-plated bumpers were standard. There was a new range of coachwork. Upholstery
1560-408: The laminated leaves (usually bars) of the front suspension's springing and the automatic lubrication every time the car was started and warmed up. Aside from the front suspension, the new chassis differed little from its pre-war version. The engine was new, a 1968 cc four replacing the 1809 cc six . details in addition to tabled data The engine was flexibly mounted to isolate torque reactions. It
1612-403: The level." The Ten h.p. Lanchester 6-light saloon is a car de luxe by its transmission which gives the greatest smoothness and simplicity, rapid acceleration, and additional safety, and also by its design, general finish, and quietness in running. A twenty percent increase of engine capacity from 1203 cc to 1444 cc was announced on 14 August 1935. Although the engine's Tax rating was now 10.8 hp
Lanchester Ten - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-410: The new reduction in the rate of tax meant the annual tax charge was less. The engine fluid flywheel and gearbox assembly has a five-point bi-axial rubber mounting. All models were now fitted with new tubular front seats giving back seat passengers extra toe-room. The popularity of the cars enabled appreciable price reductions. Steering which was by cam and lever now by worm and nut. The propeller shaft
1716-476: The previous 12 hp ( tax horsepower ) Light Six model with a larger six-cylinder (14 hp tax horsepower ) engine again in the Lanchester Eleven chassis and body. The four-light four-door sports saloon was given a new "razor edge" body. The entirely new Roadrider shape, introduced within twelve months, was similar in appearance. The Fourteen was continued after World War II, with a coachbuilt body for
1768-525: The prior announcement of the replacement for Lanchester's Twelve-six, the Fourteen saloon and sports saloon, both were variants of the Daimler Fifteen cars. The new Eleven grille is shown in the bottom left corner of the large display advertisement of the new Fourteens and very little of the rest of the car can be seen. The new Lanchester Elevens were smaller but almost identical in appearance to
1820-478: The site where Lanchester built their first four-wheel petrol car in 1895. Lanchester Fourteen The Lanchester Fourteen Roadrider is a six-cylinder automobile introduced by the Lanchester Motor Company in the beginning of September 1936. It was named "Roadrider" for its special suspension features, and billed as the lowest-priced six-cylinder Lanchester ever offered. This car replaced
1872-477: The size of car it was, few were sold and production ended in 1951. The Lanchester Ten announced in September 1932 shared its basic chassis with the BSA Ten which would be announced the following month. The design of its four-cylinder engine it shared with the six-cylinder Lanchester 15/18 ( Daimler Light Twenty 16/20 ), which had been in production for twelve months, and its engine represented just four-sixths of
1924-509: The slightly larger Lanchester and Daimler cars. Small improvements had been made to last year's 11-horsepower (8.2 kW) engine including the replacement of the S.U. carburettor by a Solex instrument which increased the power output to 43 bhp (32 kW) at 4000 rpm and improved the smoothness of running. The engine coolant now had a pump and thermostatically controlled bypass. Motor Show October 1936: Motor Show October 1937: Motor Show October 1938: The Lanchester Ten, also known as
1976-432: The swept volume from 2,504 cubic centimetres (153 cu in) to 1,203 cubic centimetres (73 cu in). Its crankshaft was provided with three main bearings. A 1287 cc, 40 b.h.p. (at 4,000 r.p.m.) engine sharing no components was used in the postwar LD10, with a 7.4:1 compression ratio, and 60 lbs. ft. maximum torque at 2,000 r.p.m. A 1444cc enlarged version of the 1203cc design was used from late 1936 to 1939 and
2028-489: Was also available at reduced price. This car was a simpler, less luxurious version of the Daimler New Fifteen, sharing the two standard bodies but using a smaller engine. details in addition to tabled data The crankshaft ran in four bearings The engine unit had bi-axial four-point rubber mountings. "On the offside are the horizontal carburettor, the manifolds held by brass nuts, the air-cooled dynamo with
2080-686: Was called the Sprite. Daimler was in decline, and in 1960 BSA sold Daimler's premises and business to Jaguar Cars who have since used the Daimler name on their most expensive products. Jaguar has moved into and out of the Ford group and since 2008 Jaguar, Lanchester belongs to Tata Motors . An open-air sculpture, the Lanchester Car Monument , in the Bloomsbury Heartlands area of Birmingham , designed by Tim Tolkien , on
2132-434: Was carried well forward of the front axle which lengthened the bonnet and, with the sweeping lines of the body, gave a big car appearance. "Easy clean" wheels were fitted, the front seats were adjustable, and the steering wheel column was telescopic. A luggage boot was added at the back with a separate lockable compartment for a spare wheel. Other additions were footrests for the back passengers, an electric cigarette lighter,
Lanchester Ten - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-499: Was considered to be exceptionally smooth in operation, with reasonable performance for its time. Lanchester Motor Company The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer in active trade between 1899 and 1955. Though the Lanchester Motor Company Limited is still registered as an active company and accounts are filed each year, the marque has been dormant since. As of 2014 it
2236-427: Was fitted with a statically and dynamically balanced three bearing crankshaft; big ends fitted with steel-backed white-metal liners; three bearing camshaft with steel-backed white-metal liners; air silencer; and automatic advance and vacuum control of the distributor with over-riding hand adjustment for varying grades of fuel. The usual Daimler transmission with fluid flywheel and pre-selective 4-speed epicyclic gearbox
2288-486: Was held at four points on rubber, the two points in front being close together and on the cross member. Half-elliptical springs wide-set to prevent roll were fitted with hydraulic shock-absorbers. In front they were shackled forwards, flat, sloped, and splayed—there were no dumb irons, while at the back the springs and frame were also under the axle. Steering was by cam and lever. The four-wheel brakes were initially Lockheed hydraulic. The handbrake lever, designed for use as
2340-496: Was just under the steering wheel on the near side and so worked by the left hand. There was a stop for reverse. Power was delivered to the wheels by Daimler fluid flywheel and Wilson four-speed preselective self-changing gearbox through a propeller shaft which was open and had mechanical joints. The back axle had half-floating underslung worm drive. The frame had the popular cruciform or X-channelled sectioned cross-membering. The unit of engine, fluid flywheel and self-changing gearbox
2392-706: Was kept on as a senior designer and Frank became the Lanchester sales director. The first new offering, still designed by George Lanchester, was a version of the Daimler Light Twenty, the Lanchester Eighteen with hydraulic brakes and a Daimler fluid flywheel . The Ten of 1933 was an upmarket version of the BSA Ten. The pre-war Fourteen Roadrider of 1937, was almost identical to the Daimler New Fifteen . The then Duke of York ,
2444-512: Was one of the first English cars to be made. The engine is horizontal and is balanced in a most ingenious manner, the change speed gear is by epicyclic trains controlled by band brakes, the electric sparking is most ingeniously contrived, and the suspension is also of special type. To describe the mechanism of these cars would, however, be impossible without elaborate diagrams. They are notable for their easy running and absence of vibration. All bodies were made by external coachbuilders until 1903 when
2496-448: Was provided in a new style either in all leather or a combination of leather and cloth. The windscreen had remote-motor dual wipers operating from the bottom. A new Lanchester Roadrider "breaking fresh and important ground" was announced at the beginning of October 1937. Engine, chassis, and body were all different, and larger and independent front suspension was now provided. An optional manual synchromesh gearbox with an ordinary clutch
2548-604: Was provided. Hardy Spicer open propeller shaft with needle roller universal joint and hypoid bevel rear axle linked the engine and rear wheels. The frame was of box section and cruciform braced. Suspension was independent in front using laminated torsion bars with a torsional stabilising bar. At the rear there were half-elliptic springs. Girling hydraulic shock absorbers and Girling hydro-mechanical brakes were fitted. Disc type bolt-on wheels were fitted with 6.7" x 15" low pressure cushion tyres. The post-war Fourteen had an entirely new coachbuilt body. When supplied for export with
2600-460: Was the fluid flywheel and pre-selective gearbox. It was planned that, when the factory space destroyed in the Coventry raids was completed, the coachbuilt body would be replaced with an all-steel body which would reduce the car's weight, enable a price reduction, and permit shipment in a form suitable for assembly overseas. The Times regarded the new car's only features of technical interest to be
2652-605: Was their use of leaf springs, rather than coil springs. Frank Lanchester ran the London sales office. During World War I the company made artillery shells and some aircraft engines but some vehicle production continued with the Lanchester armoured cars built on the Lanchester 38 hp chassis for use by the Royal Naval Air Service on the Western Front . After the first World war the company adopted
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#17327935769752704-421: Was transmitted to the rear wheels with the usual Daimler fluid flywheel and self-changing gearbox but the final drive was now by spiral bevel. A pin roller-bearing propeller-shaft led to a half-floating spiral bevel driven back axle. Independent front wheel springing was provided in the form of parallel links with coil springs, radius arms and torsion bar damping. The rear half-elliptical springs also were given
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