Albany (automobile)

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The Albany was an English automobile, manufactured by the Albany Motor Carriage Company in Christchurch, Dorset from 1971 - 1997. [1]

Christchurch, Dorset Town in England

Christchurch is a town, civil parish and former borough now in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority, on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in the county of Hampshire, it became part of the administrative county of Dorset in the 1974 reorganisation of local government. Covering an area of 19.5 square miles (51 km2), Christchurch had a 2013 population of 48,368, making it the fourth-most populous town in Dorset, close behind Weymouth which has a population of 54,539.

Contents

History

The company was run by two brothers, Bryan and David Shepherd.

The car was designed as a veteran car, in the Edwardian style, but is not a replica of any particular marque although it bears some resemblance to a 1908 Buick. Early models used the BMC A-series engine and suspension from the Morris Minor in a specially built tubular steel chassis. The engine was governed to allow a maximum speed of 40 mph (64.4 km/h). [1] The car was hand built and quite expensive at £1987 before a long list of extras was added. [2] Purchasers requiring a hood or a screen found themselves invited to pay an extra £70 or £50 for these luxuries. [3]

BMC A-series engine

Austin Motor Company's small straight-4 automobile engine, the A series, is one of the most common in the world. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with 3 main bearings. The camshaft ran in the cylinder block, driven by a single-row chain for most applications, and with tappets sliding in the block, accessible through pressed steel side covers for most applications, and with overhead valves operated through rockers. The cylinder head for the overhead-valve version of the A-series engine was designed by Harry Weslake – a cylinder head specialist famed for his involvement in SS (Jaguar) engines and several F1-title winning engines. Although a 'clean sheet' design the A series owed much to established Austin engine design practise, resembling in general design and overall appearance a scaled-down version of the 1200cc overhead-valve engine first seen in the Austin A40 Devon which would form the basis of the later B-series engine.

Morris Minor car model

The Morris Minor is a British car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in three series: the MM, the Series II, and the 1000 series.

From 1974 a 1300 cc Standard SC engine from the Triumph Spitfire was used and a longer wheelbase five-seat option came in 1976.

Standard SC engine

The Standard SC engine is a cast-iron overhead valve straight-four engine designed and initially produced by Standard Triumph. Over its production life displacement grew from an initial size of just over 800 cc to nearly 1500 cc. Introduced in the Standard Eight in 1953, it would eventually be used in a wide range of vehicles from Standard, Triumph, and MG.

Triumph Spitfire automobile

The Triumph Spitfire is a small British two-seat sports car, introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962. The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. The car was largely based upon the chassis of the Triumph Herald saloon, but shortened and without the Herald's outrigger sections. The Herald's running gear and Standard SC engine were also carried over. The Spitfire was manufactured at the Standard-Triumph works at Canley, in Coventry.

Albany also made a replica 1910 AEC open air bus, based on a Ford D Series lorry chassis, that now provides very brief quasi-vintage bus rides at the Beaulieu motor museum in Hampshire. It appeared in the 1970s remake of the film 'The 39 Steps' starring Robert Powell.

National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Automobile museum in Hampshire, England

The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.

In 1973 about a car every two weeks was being produced [2] and exports to the United States started. However, after about 12 cars were shipped the importing company failed. The price in 1974, now with a 1500cc Triumph engine had risen to £2487. By 1977 110 cars had been built. [2]

As of 1992, the open-top Albany featuring a 1500 cc SC engine was being built for export only.

The company closed in 1997.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Filby, Peter (1977). British Specialist cars vol 2. Cobham, Surrey: Bookstop. ISBN   0-906189-00-4.
  3. "The Albany: A vintage car that isn't". Motor: 32–33. 12 February 1972.