Lloyd 650

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Lloyd 650

1946 - 1950
Country:
United Kingdom
Engine:
Twin-Cylinder
Capacity:
654cc
Power:
25 bhp @ 2450 rpm
Transmission:
3 spd. MT
Top Speed:
55 mph / 85 km/h
Number Built:
600 (approx)
Collectability:
5 star
Lloyd 650
Lloyd 650
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 2

Introduction



Before the 2nd World War the Lloyd 350 was probably the world's lowest priced motor car, however the post-war 650 model was a completely new and more modern project which had a number of interesting features and was capable of providing comfortable yet extremely economical performance together with a high standard of engineering in what actually consisted of a hand-built motor car.

The Lloyd 650 was a very clever design and utilised the Continental system of backbone type chassis. The suspension system made use of box-section wishbones controlled by helical springs enclosed in oil-tight cylinders. It was independent on all four wheels. At the front the spring units were mounted horizontally, and at the rear vertical mounting was used. The steering was by rack and pinion and mechanical-type four-wheel brakes were used.

The Lloyd engine did not make use of crankcase compression. Low pressure forced induction of a novel type was instead adopted. In place of the more familiar vane type centrifugal pattern blower a vertical charging pump was used. Mixture was drawn from a horizontal Solex carburetter bolted to the outside of the sleeve cylinder being compressed slightly before being fed to the cylinder.

The base of the pump was utilised as the engine oil pump, the entire unit being driven by chain from the crankshaft. The engine itself was a two cylinder vertical two-stroke, and had a bore of 70 m.m. and a stroke of 85 m.m. It developed 17.5 b.h.p. at 2,450 r.p.m. at a compression ratio of 6.5:1. It was water-cooled, had a gravity feed fuel system and six volt Lucas electrical equipment.

The transmission was taken by an enclosed primary chain to a multi-disc metal clutch and thence to the front wheels via a three-speed gearbox. Synchromesh was featured on all forward gears. In keeping with post-war practice, the gear lever was mounted on the steering column. The Lloyd 650 was capable of reasonable performance too, the weight for the open model being only about 12 cwt in the old scale. Fuel consumption was likewise very low, and Lloyd themselves claimed it "to be in the vicinity of 60 m.p.g. at normal cruising speeds." With the usual handling characteristics of front-wheel suspension all round, the car was both comfortable and easy to handle.

The Lloyd 650 Engine In Detail



As noted in our introduction, Lloyd started out after World War 2 with a larger two-cylinder 654cc Lloyd-made engine with a bore of 70 mm and stroke of 85 mm producing 25 bhp at 2450 rpm. The twin-cylinder alloy unit was mounted transversely at the front and drove the front wheels through a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on all speeds including reverse. It was still a two-stroke but the bearings were pressure lubricated. A third cylinder and piston which had a reciprocating and slightly rotating motion was connected to the carburettor with ports in the cylinder walls connecting to the engine's two cylinders. This was used to draw the fuel mixture from the carburettor and transfer the mixture to each engine cylinder.

This double-acting fuel charging cylinder piston was hollow with ports located in the piston walls and ports located in the charging cylinder walls connecting to each of the engine's main cylinders. One engine cylinder was charged by the charging cylinder piston's down and slightly rotating stroke which allowed the piston and charging cylinder side wall port to uncover and allow the mixture transfer to the engine cylinder. The other engine cylinder being charged with mixture by the upwards stroke of the charging cylinder piston. The engine cylinders and the fuel charging cylinders were set in a triangular configuration with the fuel charging cylinder being located centrally and receiving gravity fed fuel from the bulkhead mounted fuel tank. This method of mixture input to the engine cylinders allowed for the engine wet oil sump.

The chassis again had all independent suspension but now by coil springs fitted in oil tight cylinders with the oil acting as damper. The springs were horizontal at the front and vertical at the rear. The body was fabricated from aluminium. The braking system used a Bowden type cable operated system. Steering was, as mentioned in the introduction, by rack and pinion. The gear change lever was mounted horizontally just below the steering wheel. The car was much more streamlined than the pre-war body but with an overall length of 12 feet 3 inches and two or four-seater open bodywork the car was really too big for its engine and performance was poor with a top speed of only 55 mph (85 km/h). The car was also very expensive at £480 in 1948 when family sized cars could be bought for £300. Roughly 600 cars were produced and some were exported here to Australia, Belgium, Denmark, India and the United States. The Australian distributors were Bassia Motors Pty. Ltd., William Street, Sydney.

Lloyd 650 Specifications

  • Engine: Two cylinder vertical two stroke, 70 m.m. bore x 85 m.m. stroke, capacity 654 c.c., compression ratio 6.5:1, developing 17.5 b.h.p. at 2,450 r.p.m. Thermo-syphon cooling. Gravity feed fuel system, six volt Lucas ignition.
  • Transmission: Multi-disc oil-immersed clutch, three speed synchromesh gearbox with lever on steering column. Front-wheel drive by open Carden shaft with universal joints.
  • Suspension: Independent suspension on all four wheels with helical spring and wishbones.
  • Brakes: Lloyd mechanical self-energising brakes.
  • Steering: Rack and Pinion type steering.
  • Wheels: 17 in. steel spoked wheels with 5.00 tyres.
  • Dimensions: Wheelbase 7 ft. 9 in., overall length 12 ft. 3 in., height (tourer) 4 ft. 6 in., width 4 ft. 3 in., tracks (front and rear) 3 ft. 10 in., ground clearance 6 in., weight (tourer) approximately 12 cwt.
Lloyd 650 Roadster
Lloyd 650 Roadster

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