Road Test of a 1924 Wolseley 15 by Len Knight

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Wolseley Fifteen Road Test

Wolseley 6 110

Wolseley 15 h.p.

1924 Wolseley Road Test
Country:
Soviet Union
Engine:
Inline 4
Capacity:
2614 cc
Power:
15.6 hp
Transmission:
4 spd. man
Top Speed:
n/a
Number Built:
n/a
Collectability:
5 star
Wolseley 15 hp
Wolseley Fifteen Road Test
Reviewed by Len Knight
Our Rating: 5

Road Test of a 1924 Wolseley 15 (From an Original Article by Len Knight First Published by Old Motor in Dec 1966)



The Wolseley 15 was introduced for the 1921 season. It had a 2.8 litre ohc engine which owed much to Wolseley’s experience in building aero engines during the 1914-18 War. The makers claimed that it gave “a sense of unlimited power either on hills or on the level, yet is only rated at 15.6 hp and has a correspondingly low fuel consumption”. These were telling points, for both road tax and the cost of petrol had increased greatly since the Armistice.

When introduced, the Wolseley 15 had a worm drive rear axle; this was later changed to a spiral bevel unit and the gearbox given four forward speeds instead of the original three. The car under test belongs to John Welch of Old Bank House, Dunmow, Essex, a local estate agent who also owns a 1901 Decauville. When the car was new, the makers claimed that it would “hold its own with the fastest touring cars made no matter what their power may be, and its hill-climbing capacity is really amazing”.

The Wolseley, a four-seater three door tourer with a 9ft 10in wheelbase, seems vast but surprisingly weighs only 29cwt (dry) although perhaps this is heavy enough in relation to its power/weight ratio. The car was purchased in 1962 and is believed to have had only one previous owner who had kept it laid up since 1936.

Wolseley House, York Street, London



Much time, care and money have been spent on it since 1962 and it is now resplendent in green and black coach paint carefully matched to the original by ICI, and Serck-applied nickel plating. Indeed the condition is such that at a recent concours at Beaulieu, only three points were lost from a possible 100 and the car beat its nearest rival by six points! Remarks appearing on the original delivery note to the effect that special attention should be paid to the finish for exhibition at Wolseley House, York Street, London, suggest that this car had perhaps an unusually good finish.

This is substantiated by the appearance of nickel plating in such unlikely spots as king-pin caps and rocker cover nuts, and re-plating was faithfully restricted to such parts as had this finish when the car was purchased. The Wolseley has an electric starter to turn over the big four cylinder 2.8 litre ohc engine, operated by a foot switch to the left of the clutch pedal. I was interested, however, to learn how the engine would respond to the handle, so the nickel-plated throttle control and ignition advance/retard levers which operate through an arc of almost 180 degrees and are mounted within the steering wheel on the end of the column, were set to the correct positions – throttle just open and ignition retarded. The permanently mounted starting handle was then engaged and half a turn sufficed to set the engine throbbing.

Behind The Wheel



The driving seat is gained through the nearside door as the side-mounted spare wheel precludes the fitting of a front door on the offside. The seats are still upholstered in the original buttoned leather which, though faded and holed slightly here and there, is still quite serviceable. The bench type driving seat was not uncomfortable , though, since it was non-adjustable I could have used a cushion to some advantage as I found myself either driving bolt upright with neck craning to see over the steering wheel or sitting more relaxed and peering through it. The dashboard carries an ammeter, oil pressure gauge (which usually reads 15-20 psi) a speedometer, a Smiths clock and a cluster of three BLIC switches that control headlamps, side lamps and ignition and which can together or separately, be locked on or off with a cylinder lock.

Having started the engine, first gear was engaged. The pedals are placed as in a modern car and not with a central throttle pedal common to most British cars of the early 1920’s, but the gear  lever is on the right with the hand brake on its right. At this time only the cheapest British vehicles had central levers. The process of engaging first is not an easy one on this car and is facilitated if the tick-over is reduced to a minimum. Even so a ‘clunk’ is the very least one may expect from the reluctant gears. This may be due to the fact that the clutch-stop friction pads are mounted on too-springy arms which are not quite equal to stopping the ponderous motion of the weighty clutch assembly. Having got first gear in I tried a few practice runs on a disused aerodrome before venturing on to the public highway.

When reversing the car I found it very difficult to judge whether or not the way was clear due to the high rear end. This trouble existed even with the hood down, though any irritation it may have caused was quite mitigated by the splendid polished nickel Auster screen, complete with apron which the lowering of the hood revealed. On the road the car behaved very well; gear changing presenting no difficulty once first was engaged and the 1½ ton Wolseley was under way. The changes up were made at approximately 5, 15, and 25mph respectively to second third and top. I found it unnecessary to double-declutch when changing up, the heavy gear lever moving smoothly across the gate to engage the next gear. Nor was the clutch in any way temperamental; one had merely to take care not to let it in too sharply to obviate any tendency of the RedEx-lubricated multiple steel discs to screech. RedEx is now used as a clutch lubricant as no one seems quite sure today, what is the correct substitute for the original Wolseley Disc Clutch Oil.

Worm and Wheel Steering



The worm and wheel steering was very high geared (½ turn lock to lock) with negligible free play. The steering was one of the most pleasant features of the car and a feeling of confidence and complete control quickly developed. The high gearing made it quite easy to steer with one hand while applying the hand brake with the other on hills or approaching sharp corners and junctions. The footbrake was not as efficient as the handbrake though both systems operated on the rear wheels only. Once in top gear it was hardly necessary to change down; hills were devoured by pressing the accelerator, the car declining to slacken speed and only the deeper roar from the Wolseley ‘patent equalising’ carburettor betraying that the car had noticed the presence of an incline at all. The brass Wolseley carburettor is incidentally of the vacuum operated taper-needle type and appears to work on the same lines as the SU.

The only changes-down which I made were approaching road junctions and the like and on these few occasions one had to employ double-declutching to obtain a silent change, though I must admit that I ‘snicked’ the gears more than once. I never exceeded 40 mph nor does Mr Welch ever drive above this speed although one feels that at this rate the old bevel-gear-driven ohc engine of aero engine ancestry still has a lot in hand and the car feels quite safe in spite of the lack of shock absorbers on its four quarter-elliptic springs. It has to be admitted however, that it is kinder to a quadragenarian of this calibre to keep the speed down.

After the test was completed and the car had been standing for a while, I checked and found that not a trace of oil had dripped from the engine or gearbox and not a drip of water had seeped from the water pump. These facts alone bear witness to the remarkable state of preservation of this Wolseley, which in its day was, if a little Edwardian bodily, quite up with the times mechanically.

1924 Wolseley 15 Auster Windscreen
1924 Wolseley 15 Auster Windscreen
Rear seat passengers were protected by a brass-framed Auster windscreen.
Contemporary catalogue illustration of a Wolseley 15
1924 Wolseley 15
Contemporary catalogue illustration of a Wolseley 15..
1924 Wolseley 15 Rear Brakes
1924 Wolseley 15
Like most contemporary British cars of the era, the Wolseley 15 only had rear-wheel braking.
1924 Wolseley 15 Sales Catalogue
1924 Wolseley 15
Sales Catalogue Image for the Wolseley 15.
1924 Wolseley 15 Interior
1924 Wolseley 15 Interior
The controls of the Wolseley were simple and functional.
1924 Wolseley 15 With Major Forbes-Leith At The Wheel
1924 Wolseley 15
This 15 hp Wolseley, a slightly later model than XU710, was driven overland from England to India in late 1924 by Major Forbes-Leith. Here it is seen in Baghdad on August 20 of that year.
1924 Wolseley 15 Spare Wheel
1924 Wolseley 15 Spare Wheel
The side mounted spare wheel meant that the driver had no door.
1924 Wolseley 15 Engine
1924 Wolseley 15 Engine
Clean design of the Wolseley's ohc engine reveals its aero-engine ancestry.
1924 Wolseley 15 Weather Protection
1924 Wolseley 15
The Wolseley had full weather protection

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Also see:


Wolseley 15 Review
Fredrick Wolseley
The History of Wolseley
Wolseley Car Brochures
Wolseleys And Other Cars In My Life by Len Knight
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1953-56
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