Wolseley Hornet Specials by Leonard Knight

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Wolseley Hornet Special Car Review

Wolseley 6 110

Wolseley Hornet Specials

1931 - 1936
Country:
Soviet Union
Engine:
Straight 6
Capacity:
1275/1378/1604 cc
Power:
47 bhp at 5000 rpm
Transmission:
4 spd. man
Top Speed:
n/a
Number Built:
31,686
Collectability:
5 star
Wolseley Hornet Specials
Reviewed by Leonard Knight
Our Rating: 5

Some cars deserve to be under-rated and some do not. The Wolseley Hornet Special was one of those which never received quite the respect it deserved.

Most people have a particular affection for their first car, even though it may have no other merit than the fact that it is one’s first bite from the motoring bug. My first car was a 1935 Wolseley “Wasp” saloon and this small though roomy vehicle, with a 4-cylinder 1069cc ohc engine, was the only one with which I have really regretted parting so far.

From its ownership stemmed an affection for and an interest in all Wolseleys, but especially those pre-War models with ohc engines. Of these my particular favourites are the Wolseley “Hornet Specials”.

Wolseley Motors Ltd. were partly engaged during the 1914-1918 War, in manufacturing aero engines, of which the most famous was the Hispano-designed hoc V8 Wolseley “Viper”, fitted to the SE5, the fast fighter of that time.

The experience gained on this engine undoubtedly influenced the company in their decision to bring out an ohc 10 hp soon after the War. This was the fore-runner of the Wolseley “Hornets” of the early 1930s. The first Hornet, produced in 1930, was a saloon with 6-cylinder engine which was virtually a 6-cylinder version of the contemporary Morris “Minor” power unit.

Though the performance of the Hornet saloon was in no way spectacular, the light chassis and relatively lively engine had distinct possibilities, and the specialist bodybuilders of the day seized the opportunity to display their art on chassis which had responded well to tuning by both owners and specialists.


The Special



All of this approbation led Wolseleys to the decision that a tuned version of the Hornet chassis would fill a demand, and thus began production on what was designated the Wolseley “Hornet Special”.

Wolseley Hornet Special Headlamp Stoneguards
Headlamp stoneguards were fitted to the later cars.

The early examples were tuned versions of the standard chassis and first appeared in 1931. Twin SU carburettors were fitted, and were mounted on the nearside of the cylinder head, feeding the cylinders via twin-branch cast alloy inlet manifolds. These latter were connected by a narrow-gauge copper balance pipe (usually chromium-plated). The six square exhaust ports were also on the nearside of the cylinder head, and exhaled into three separate two-branch cast iron manifolds from which three take-off pipes led the exhaust gases into a 2 inch pipe and them the silencer. Even some tail popes were of 2 inch diameter tubing!

Engine



The 6-cylinder engine was an iron casting with the block cast in one with the crankcase. A pressed steel sump was fitted. Of 1271 ccs (57 x 83 mm) capacity, the engine was rated at 12.08 hp and was one of the smallest "sixes" ever produced. An overhead camshaft was driven off the nose of the crankshaft by bevel gears through a flexible coupling, and a vertically-mounted dynamo set in front of the engine block. The camshaft itself ran in four plain bearings of white metal and was situated above the level of the two rocker shafts which flanked it-on either side. Adjustment of the valve clearances was by means of the eccentric bronze bushes on which the rockers pivoted. After slackening a steel lock-nut these bushes could be turned so as to raise or lower the rocker arm.

Pistons



Vertically-mounted valves were returned by duplex springs and the aluminium alloy pistons were domed to give a compression ratio of 6:1. Connecting rods were of duralumin, and H cross-section, with bearings of white metal on bronze shells. Four white metal bearings in split alloy housings carried the counterbalanced crankshaft which at its forward end drove not only the dynamo but also (by spiral gears) the distributor, which was mounted at 45 degrees on the offside and the oil pump and water pump on the nearside. No fan was fitted, the water pump and oil cooler fulfilling its task. The water pump was of the impeller type, having a hard steel shaft running in white metal bearings and bronze blades. Ignition was by I2-V coil with manual advance and retard operated by a lever mounted on the steering column and automatic advance by means of bob-weights.

Lubrication



Moving on to the oil system, oil was sucked by the gear-type pump from the sump through a wire gauze strainer mounted on the nearside of the crank-case, and then forced at about 60 psi through a finned aluminium oil cooler transversely mounted beneath the front chassis cross-member. Thence the oil passed through flexible tubing to a "Tecalemit" felt-type filter (mounted on the offside engine bearer from which it was distributed through various chromium-plated pipes to the cylinder head and crankshaft.

Transmission



The engine delivered its 40 or so bhp through a Borg & Beck single drv plate clutch. This was usually of the modern pattern, but sometimes the friction material was carried on the flywheel face and pressure plate, when the clutch plate was a segmented steel disc. A cast iron clutch housing was bolted directly to the engine, and an aluminium gearbox mounted directly on the housing. The gearbox had four fairly close ratio' gears and reverse. "Cog-swapping" was made pleasant by the short gear lever remotely mounted on a polished aluminium extension. Drive from the gearbox passed through conventional Hardy-Spicer universal joints and the open propeller shaft to a spiral bevel final drive located in a three-quarter floating type rear axle. Bolt-on wire wheels were fitted to early models, but centre-lock Dunlop wire wheels on splined hubs soon became standard. Tyres were initially 4.75 x 19 but these were soon superseded by 5.00 x 18. Lockheed hydraulic brakes were standard and operated on all four wheels through drums which soon grew to 12 in in diameter. The system employed one leading and one trailing shoe on each wheel with the handbrake operating via cables on the rear shoes only.

Suspension



Suspension was by 1 1/4 -in half-elliptical springs all round, and these were generally damped by Luvax hydraulic shock-absorbers, although some cars were fitted with the Andre-Hartford friction type. The ladder-type chassis was of light and simple construction; it consisted of pressed steel channel section side-members riveted to four channel section cross-members and one tubular member at the rear with the side-members upswept over the rear axle. On the front cross-member was mounted the honeycomb radiator and its chromium-plated shell, which in early models . carried vertical shutters which could be opened or closed to regulate the water temperature.

Steering



A cast bracket, riveted to the rear offside of the front cross-member, carried the alloy or cast iron steering box which had a mechanism of the worm-and-wheel type. This was quite high-geared and light to operate. The rest of the steering linkage consisted of a short drop-arm operating a long transverse drag-link wfiich was connected to the steering arm on the nearside road wheel. A steel beam front axle of I-section between the springs was used, and the wheels were secured to this with f in diameter kingpins. The chassis also incorporated such niceties as a chromium-plated steering column; rear axle dipstick; and a comprehensive range of instruments, including tachometer; water temperature gauge; and petrol gauge. This, then, was the Hornet Special chassis in its first year. One of its great attractions was (and still is) the great variety of bodywork with which it was endowed during its production run of five years. Eustace Watkins (who still sells Hornets!) is perhaps the most-often-encountered name in this connection, but Abbey, Swallow, Jensen, Maltby, Holbrook. Whittingham and Mitchell, Trinity and Hardy are just some of the others who practised their art on the Special chassis.

Styles



Body styles ranged from the open two-seater through the open foursome to the closed occasional four-seater. Wings were cycle type or swept; tails were pointed, rounded or fitted with slab tanks; bonnets were plain or louvred on top; scuttles were straight or cowled; and bodies of steel or aluminium: the variety was almost endless. In 1932 the dynamo was moved to a more conventional position on the offside of the cylinder block (where it remained for the rest of the production run); it was now driven by pulley and belt from the crankshaft and a coupling from its rear drove the tachometer via a cable (after 1934 the tachometer drive was from the end of the camshaft). As a result of this repositioning of the dynamo it became necessary to employ mother means to operate the valve gear (or more probably vice-versa). In any event, a two-stage roller chain was used for this purpose.

Drive



A single roller chain ran from a sprocket on the end of the crankshaft to an intermediate sprocket of double the circumference, on to the front of which was directly mounted a smaller double sprocket. This latter drove a similar sprocket mounted on the end of the camshaft via a duplex roller chain. Adjustment of the duplex chain was by means of moving the mounting of the intermediate sprocket, any slack thus created in the first stage chain being taken up by a patent spring-loaded sprocket. 1933 saw such modifications as heavier 3/4 in - kingpins, broader road springs (now in), the fitting of stone guards to the headlamps and an illuminated Wolseley badge for the radiator. (Hitherto the badge had been of chromium with an enamel ground).Most of these modifications came towards the end of 1933 for the 1934 model.

Other modifications for 1934 were of some importance. The chassis was stiffened up with cruciform bracing, the rear end now being underslung and the front end curving down to the spring shackles. The wheelbase was increased from 7 ft 6J in to 7 ft 11 in, and the radiator shell deepened (i.e., from front to rear) to improve its appearance. The radiator filler cap was now outside instead of beneath the bonnet. To replace the old worm-and-wheel steering box there was now a worm-and-sector type which was mounted on the inside of the offside frame member. Thisi mprovement resulted in a somewhat longer drop-arm and considerably shortened drag-link that now operated on the offside-mounted steering arm. The steering still remained light and high-geared, although the increased overall weight of the chassis made it perhaps a little heavier than hitherto.

A further improvement for 1934 was the addition of a freewheel device which helped to keep petrol consumption at a reasonable level (This was normally about 26 mpg depending, of course, to a large degree on how much use one made of the 5000 rpm which was available.) Perhaps, though, the most significant changes were under the bonnet, where the valve gear was again altered. This time a single roller chain tensioned by a simple blade spring was used to drive the camshaft, whilst the latter had moved to below the line of the now single rocker shaft.

Head



A crossflow head was fitted, and a one-piece aluminium inlet manifold mounted on the offside was fed by dual SUs and provided with a hotspot by exhaust gases led over the head by a pipe from the exhaust manifold - which was also now a one-piece casting. Twin take-off pipes replaced the triple pipes of former years, and the Tecalemit oil filter and the cooler were combined in one aluminium casting. The oil pump moved to the offside of the timing case. where it displaced the distributor, which was now set at the top and rear of the cylinder head. A Lucas "Startix" was a feature of the starting system, and is worth mentioning even if only because it is no longer in favour. This device enabled the engine to be started in the conventional way when the ignition key was turned anticlockwise, but when turned in the other direction the Startix automatically operated the starter without the need to press the starter button. When in operation this device would automatically start the engine if it were stalled, after waiting one second to ensure that the flywheel had ceased turning.

Larger Engine



For 1935, the last year of production, a larger 14-hp engine was introduced. This had a cubic capacity of 1604 ccs (61.6 mm x 90 mm) and produced 50 bhp at 4500 rpm compared with 47 bhp for the previous year's engine. With a chassis weight of 12J cwt (or 17 cwt complete with body), this gave a very lively performance and, of course, easier cruising at 60 mph or so with a top speed of around 75 mph. The earlier cars would do about 70 mph in top and 58 mph in third, whilst in this latter ratio the 14-hp would manage 62 mph.

Tuning



Nor was this all: the engines were capable of considerable further development as Colonel McEvoy, among others, showed with his highly-tuned and supercharged 12-hp model. This car lapped Brooklands for 470 miles at an average of 96.4 mph in the 1933 500-mile race, before a broken camshaft forced it to retire. A 14-hp model did well in the 1936 LCC relay race, and a similar car won its class in the sports car race at Donington in 1937. Not, though, are these Wolseley Hornet Specials best remembered as successful racers, but as well-made and pleasant to drive sports cars at very competitive prices. And herein lies paradoxically one of their "faults"! People so often overlooked the cost of the Hornet when any failure developed after being raced for hours against cars costing several times as much. Within their price range it is difficult indeed to think of a sports car which had more or even as much to offer.

Demise



This, however, did not prolong their manufacture beyond 1935. Their demise in this year was coincident with the finances of the Wolseley Motor Co. passing from the personal control of Lord Nuffield to Morris Motors Ltd., and ended a sporting era for Wolseleys which has so far not been revived. The author wishes to record his thanks to S. H. Scott, Esq., of Luton, and the Wolseley Hornet Special Club for their assistance in preparing this article.
1934 Eustace Watkins Silex Coupe
1934 Eustace Watkins Silex Coupe
Chassis of 1935 Hornet Special
Chassis of 1935 Hornet Special
The Prettiest Small Two Seater Yet
The Prettiest Small Two Seater Yet
Variation On The Swallow Theme
Variation On The Swallow Theme
A Stoneguard covered the Swallow radiator
A Stoneguard covered the Swallow radiator
Louvered Valances Hid The Hornet Swallow Chassis
Louvered Valances Hid The Hornet Swallow Chassis
Inlet and Exhaust sides 1935 14hp engine
Inlet and Exhaust sides 1935 14hp engine
Eustace Watkins Sports Four Seater 1935
Eustace Watkins Sports Four Seater 1935
Eustace Watkins Daytona Sports 1935
Eustace Watkins Daytona Sports 1935
Eustace Watkins Drop-Head Coupe on 1935 Chassis
Eustace Watkins Drop-Head Coupe on 1935 Chassis

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Also see:


The Wolseley Hornet Special
Fredrick Wolseley
Wolseley Car Brochures
The History of Wolseley
Wolseleys And Other Cars In My Life by Len Knight
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