British and European Car Spotters Guide

The September 1931 Census showed that the total number of motor vehicles in use in the United Kingdom was 1,560,349. This included 1,103,715 private cars and 89,182 'hackneys'. In the 1931 model year private car and taxi production totalled 158,997, a drop of over ten thousand compared with the previous year and obviously a result of the world-wide economic depression. Total production of all types motor vehicles was 226,307, just over 10 per cent of which was exported. This also showed a decrease compared with the previous year. Imports amounted to 2,118 cars, valued at £467,785. The total number of new car registrations at home was 139,403 (ex cl. N. Ireland) with the largest number in the 8 HP class (36,354), followed by 12 HP (17,647), 10 HP (14,522),16 HP (13,803), 14 HP (12,406) and 15 HP (12,164), the remaining HP classes all containing well under 10,000. In Northern Ireland 2,712 new cars were registered.

	AC 16/56 Four-Door Saloon
	Also see: AC Car Reviews
	The 1991-cc OHC engine developed 56 bhp and drove the floating rear axle through a single dry-plate clutch, three-speed gearbox with right-hand gate change and 5.5:1 worm type final drive.

The Alvis 16·95 HP Silver Eagle was first introduced in 1929 and continued into the thirties with detail improvements. Its six-cylinder engine had pushrod-operated overhead valves and a cubic capacity of 2148 cc (67·5 x 100 mm). Wheelbase was 10 ft 3 in and the 1931/32 four/five-seater Tourer version illustrated cost £595.

The Alvis 20 HP Silver Eagle was basically similar to the 16·95 HP but had 73-mm bore, resulting in 2511-cc cubic capacity. Two wheellbase lengths were available: 10ft 3 in (Model TB) and 11 ft (Model TC chassis for Li mousi ne body). Like the 16.95 HP it featured a Special Dual Ignition system, consisting of an aircraft type Polar Inductor Magneto, adapted by the use of special switches and high-tension coil to work as coil ignition for starting, or in the unlikely event of magneto failure' The Mayfair Four-light Saloon shown sold at £775.

Armstrong Siddeley offered six chassis. all with six-cylinder engine They ranged from the 1434-cc 12 HP up to the 4960-cc 30 HP. Shown is a Six Light Coach Saloon on the 8 ft 9 in wheelbase 12 HP chassis which was available with either disc (shown) or wire spoke wheels.

Aston Martin 1 ½ Litre Sports was powered by a 1496-cc (69·3 x 99 mm) twin-carburettor OHC engine and had 8 ft 6 in wheelbase. Pictured left is one of the team cars of the 1931 racing season. Its sister cars finished first and second in the 1931 Double-Twelve Race at the famous Brooklands track and won the Rudge Cup at Le Mans in 1932.

Austin Seven 'Chummy' Tourer of 1930/31. These models had a shorter scuttle than before and a revised bonnet with two sets of louvres. In August 1931 the wheelbase was extended from 6 ft 3 in to 6 ft 9 in.

The Austin Sixteen chassis had a 2249-cc (65·6 x 111 mm) six-cylinder engine and 9 ft 4 in wheelbase. It cost £235. Complete cars. with factory-built bodywork. were in the £310 to £345 price range. Pictured left is a Burnham four-door Saloon.

The Bentley 8-Litre had 7983-cc (110 x 140 mm) six-cylinder engine, rated at 44·9 HP. Pictured left is Forrest Lycett's 11-ft wheelbase racer. A 12-ft wheelbase chassis cost £1850. 4½- and 6½-Litre models, costing from £1050 to £1800 in chassis form, were available also. Model shown weighed 4725 Ib, incl. driver, and maximum speeds at 4000 rpm in the indirect gears were 51,72 and 96 mph respectively. Maximum speed in top gear was quoted as 'Autobahn': 122 mph, and still accelerating.

Bentley 8- Litre chassis with Coupe bodywork. This was one of the last 'real Bentleys'. The Company was taken over by Rolls-Royce and re-organized as Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd., headquartered at Derby. New RR/Bentley models first made their appearance at the Olympia Motor Show in 1933. The May 1932 registration of the car shown gives some indication of the time it took for special coachwork to be hand-built.

Crossley offered this six-wheeled saloon for 'colonial' use. It was powered by a six-cylinder 3·5-Litre engine, which drove both rear axles ('tandem drive'). Note the wire-spoke wheels and the fabric body. A similar model was offered by Morris-Commercial Cars Ltd.

The Daimler Double Six 50 was a huge car with either 12ft 11 ½ in or 13 ft 7 in wheelbase. The 7136-cc (81·5 x 114 mm) V-12-cylinder engine was arranged in four blocks of three cylinders and had two carburettors. All Daimlers were supplied in chassis form only, no standard bodies were listed. The Double Six 50 chassis cost £1950. Shown is a 1930/31 Sports model Corsica Drophead Coupe, one of only a few built. The Double Six name was revived in 1972 for the Daimler edition of the V12 Jaguar Saloon.

Page under construction.

Ford Model A Fordor. During the production span of the Model A (and Model AF and commercial vehicle derivatives; see also 1930) Ford built their new Dagenham plant. Production was transferred there in 1931, the last vehicle coming off the Trafford Park, Manchester, assembly line in October 1931. Just under 15,000 Model A and AF cars were built in the UK, following some 275,000 Model Ts (1911-28).

Hillman range of 4-cyl. Fourteen and 8-cyl. Straight 8 and Vortic 8 models was supplemented in April, 1931, with a new 6-cyl. range named Wizard. It was available with 65-mm bore (15·7 HP) or 75-mm bore (20·9 HP) with no price difference, the latter intended especially for overseas markets.

Hillman Wizard 75 with Coupe Cabriolet bodywork at the introduction of the new range in the Royal Albert Hall in London on 27 April. 1931.

The Hillman Wizard was available with wire spoke or artillery wheels, the latter being fitted to this prototype car, shown during tests prior to its introduction. Artillery wheels had wooden spokes. secured between two metal plates at the centre. This construction method had long been used for gun carriages and limbers - hence the name.

Hillman Vortic was produced during 1931-32 and had a 2618-cc (63 x 105 mm) eight-cylinder in-line OHV engine, developing 58 bhp at 3300 rpm and rated at 19·7 HP. The chassis cost £325 (£285 in 1932) and is shown with Special Sunshine Saloon bodywork by Charlesworth Bodies Ltd. of Coventry.

When the first Minx was completed at Coventry William Rootes (the late Lord Rootes) himself took it abroad and tested it on the continent of Europe and in North Africa. He made it a practice to personally test each new model and is shown here at right, with the Minx on the Swiss-Italian border in May. 1931. The car made its public debut at the Olympia Motor Show in the following October and deliveries commenced after a few modifications, in the Spring of 1932.

Humber Snipe Tourers and Pullman Limousine photographed in Jamaica. Engine was 23·8 HP 3498·5-cc (80 x 116 mm) Six. wheelbase 10ft and 11 ft respectively.

Humber Pullman Limousine. In addition to the Snipe and Pullman models Humber offered the 16/50 which was similar to the Snipe but had a 15·7 HP 211 O-cc (65 x 106 mm) engine like the Hillman Wizard. Tyre size was 6.00-20 for the Pullman, 5.50-19 for the 16/50 and Snipe.

Humber Snipe Saloon demonstrating its off-road capabilities on Army grounds near Aldershot.

Humber 16/50 Saloon, after not uncommon conversion, spending its old age as a breakdown tender. Note blackout masks on headlamps, a feature of World War 2 days.

Page under construction.

Morris Minor had 847-cc (57 x 83 mm) four-cylinder engine, rated at 8·05 HP. The chassis was available for £100, complete cars costing from £125 to £140. Wheelbase was 6 ft 6 in.

Morris Oxford Six Tourer, still going strong after almost forty years and three owners. This model had a 30·5-bhp 1938-cc (63·5 x 102 mm) side-valve Six engine, rated at 14·9 HP. The chassis cost £185, complete cars from £250 to £285.

The Morris Commercial Model 60 Saloon was built in limited numbers for 'colonial' and military use. The engine was a 26·8 HP six-cylinder with 85 x 125 mm bore and stroke, developing 74 bhp at 2800 rpm. Power was transmitted through a four-speed gearbox to the worm-drive tandem rear axles. There was also the Model TO which had a 17·9 HP fourrcylinder engine with the same bore and stroke as the 60. Basically a 6 x 4 truck chassis it was available with Tourer bodywork.

The Riley Nine had four-cylinder 1089-cc (60·3 x 95·2 mm) engine of 9·02 HP rating. The British Army used some which were slightly modified to meet their requirements for (limited) cross-country work. Tyre size, for example, was 5.25-21 instead of the standard 4.40-27. Most of the Army cars had four-door soft-top bodywork. A military saloon is shown.

The Riley Brooklands was a two-seater produced during 1930-31 either in racing trim or road trim. It had basically the same 1089-cc engine as the Riley Nine but with pump cooling instead of thermo-syphon, electric fuel pump instead of gravity feed and other modifications. Wheelbase was 8 ft (10 inches shorter than the Nine).

Rolls-Royce Phantom II Sedan de Ville with coachwork by Park Ward. The six-cylinder engine was of 7695-cc cubic capacity and rated at 43·3 HP. The chassis cost £1850 (short) or £1900 (long).

The Rover 2-Litre Coachbuilt Saloon was available in standard (shown) and more luxurious Regal trim. Both had 9 ft 3 in wheelbase and a 2023-cc six-cylinder power unit with four-speed gearbox.

The Singer Junior Saloon was much the same as in 1930 but the three-speed gearbox was replaced by a four-speed unit. Wheelbase was 7 ft 6 in. The Saloon sold at £150, the Touring version at £135.

SS stood for Swallow Sports, the name of the first motorcycle sidecars produced by the predecessors of Jaguar Cars Ltd. In 1931 SS became a marque in its own right when the company introduced the SS I. It was based on a Standard chassis, the engine of which was specially produced for Swallow.

The Standard Big Nine Special Tourer was priced at £195, had 1287-cc four-cylinder engine with four-speed gearbox and detachable wire wheels (basic Big Nine had three speeds and steel artillery wheels). Fabric Saloon variant cost £245.

The Standard Envoy Six had 2552-cc 20 HP engine with four-speed gearbox. Chassis cost £255, Weymann Saloon £385. Wheelbase was 9 ft 10 in.

The Talbot Ninety De Luxe Sports Tourer had a 17·9 HP 2276-cc (69·5 x 100 mm) OHV six-cylinder engine. Car was offered at £675, finished in black exterior material with red antique leather and red wire wheels.

Trojan Purley Fabric Saloon was one of the models which superseded the famous box-shaped Trojan cars of the 1920s The four-cylinder engine was still of the two-stroke type with the cylinders arranged in pairs and each pair of pistons moving in unison, but it was now mounted at the rear. The earlier configuration with the engine mounted under the front seat was retained for the vans.

The Vauxhall Cadet Coupe was based on Model VY 16·9 HP chassis. For export a 26·3 HP variant was introduced, designated model VX. For the VX the bore of the 6-cylinder engine was increased from 67·5 to 84·1 mm. With the stroke remaining at 95 mm this gave a piston displacement of 3177 cc. Brake horsepower was up from 42 to 47.

The Vauxhall Eighty 24 HP six-cylinder saloon. also known as Silent 80, was in production during 1931-32. It had a 3317-cc (80 x 110 mm) OHV engine with four-speed gearbox and 5.50-20 tyres.

Whitlock cars were extremely rare and even in their hey-day. During 1930-31 the 20/70 was supplied with a six-cylinder 3301-cc (76·2 x 120·7 mm) 72-bhp Meadows OHV engine, rated at 21·5 HP. Two chassis were available, the Model A with 10ft 4 in wheelbase at £650, and Model B with 11 ft wheelbase at £700. 1932-34 production had the former wheelbase length and a 2972-cc engine.

The Wolseley 21/60 cars were available with six-cylinder 2677 -cc (75 x 101 mm) or eight-cylinder 2700-cc (65 x 101 mm) engine, both with overhead camshaft and rated at 20·93 and 21·01 HP respectively. Shown is a Model E7D 21/60 County Saloon which had 9 ft 6 in wheelbase and 5.50-18 tyres. The price was £445 (Chassis £295).

The Wolseley Hornet six-cylinder 7 ft 6½ in wheelbase chassis with Swallow two-seater coachwork.