Leyland Eight

Last updated

Leyland Eight
MHV Leyland Eight 1921.jpg
1921 Leyland Eight four-seater tourer
Overview
Manufacturer Leyland Motors
Production1920–1923
18 made [1]
Designer J.G. Parry-Thomas
Body and chassis
Class Grand tourer
Powertrain
Engine 6.9–litre OHC Straight-8
7.3–litre OHC Straight-8
Transmission 4–speed
Dimensions
Wheelbase 141 in (3,600 mm)
150 in (3,800 mm)
126 in (3,200 mm) (speed model) [2]
A 1927 Leyland Eight, with sports bodywork 1927 Leyland Straight Eight Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon (1).jpg
A 1927 Leyland Eight, with sports bodywork

The Leyland Eight or Straight Eight was a luxury car produced by Leyland Motors from 1920 to 1923. [3]

Contents

The car was designed by the chief engineer of Leyland Motors, J.G. Parry-Thomas and his assistant Reid Railton, and was intended to be the finest car available. [4] It was the first British car with a straight-eight engine and Leyland managing director Henry Spurrier II (d.1942) told the company's board that it was better than a Rolls-Royce in every respect. [5] [3] The Eight was introduced to the public at the 1920 International Motor Exhibition at Olympia, London, where it was referred to as the "Lion of Olympia". [5] [6]

Engine and transmission

The engine, with cylinder block and upper crankcase cast in one piece, had a single centrally mounted overhead camshaft, [5] [7] hemispherical combustion chambers, [2] and an 89 mm (3.5 in) bore. [5] [7] The engine was offered in one of two capacities: 6,920 cc (422 cu in) [7] with a 140 mm (5.5 in) stroke, producing 115 bhp (86 kW) [5] [7] at 2,500 rpm or 7,266 cc (443.4 cu in) with a 146 mm (5.7 in) stroke and twin carburettors, producing 146 bhp (109 kW) at 3,500 rpm. [7] The crankshaft ran in five bearings. Ignition was by coil and distributor rather than magneto which was the more usual British practice at the time.

Transmission was through a single plate clutch to a separately mounted four speed gearbox. The rear axle was unconventional with the differential mounted ahead of the axle. The spiral bevel crown wheel and pinion arrangement had two crown wheels each attached to a half shaft allowing them to be arranged at an angle to each other to give the rear wheels a positive camber.

Chassis and suspension

The channel section chassis had suspension by leaf springs at the front and a mix of leaf springs and torsion bars at the rear. [5] At the front semi-elliptical springs were used with radius arms controlling fore and aft movement of the axle. The radius arms were joined by a torsion bar across the front of the chassis to act as an anti-roll bar. At the rear the quarter-elliptical springs had their front ends mounted in a boss that was attached to a short transverse torsion bar which controlled the rotation of the boss making the suspension a hybrid arrangement. As at the front linked radius rods provided axle location and anti-roll properties. [2]

The brakes, with vacuum servo assistance, were on the rear wheels only. [5]

Coachwork

Factory-made bodies were available in open tourer style with either two or five seats and chassis were also supplied to customers for their choice of coachbuilders which included Vanden Plas and Windovers. [2]

Production and sales

The car was very expensive; the chassis for delivery to a coachbuilder costing £2,500 in 1920 reducing to £1,875 in 1922. [1] Since Leyland was severely short of cash due to other problems, Spurrier reduced the launch production target to one hundred; by 1923, the car was produced only for firm orders, which were discouraged. In the end, only about 18 were made. [1] [3] [5] It was the most expensive British car of its day. [1]

Today, the only example known to exist, a Leyland-Thomas, is one assembled from spares in 1929 [2] and in the collection of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust (BMIHT) and displayed in the British Motor Museum (formerly the Heritage Motor Centre). [8]

Leyland-Thomas

The 1924 Leyland-Thomas No. 1 Leyland-thomas-8-cylinder.jpg
The 1924 Leyland-Thomas No. 1

After amicably leaving Leyland in 1922 J. G. Parry-Thomas moved to premises at Brooklands race track taking with him at least three chassis and a large quantity of spares. [2] There he built the Leyland-Thomas, a racing special based on the Leyland Eight. [6] After the death of Parry Thomas his premises were taken over by Thomson & Taylor who built the car now owned by the BMIHT.

Owners

Michael Collins, the Irish politician and revolutionary leader, was travelling in a Leyland Eight when he was fatally shot in 1922.

Two cars were ordered by the Maharaja of Patiala but are not thought to survive. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MacPherson strut</span> Type of automotive suspension design

The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer Earle S. MacPherson, who invented and developed the design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torsion bar suspension</span> Vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar

A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion key, mounted perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the axle. Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bar's torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, and manufacturing process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car suspension</span> Suspension system for a vehicle

Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/handling and ride quality, which are at odds with each other. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. It is important for the suspension to keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible, because all the road or ground forces acting on the vehicle do so through the contact patches of the tires. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent suspension</span> Vehicle suspension in which each wheel is suspended independently

Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked. "Independent" refers to the motion or path of movement of the wheels or suspension. It is common for the left and right sides of the suspension to be connected with anti-roll bars or other such mechanisms. The anti-roll bar ties the left and right suspension spring rates together but does not tie their motion together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab (automobile)</span> Motor vehicle

The Arab was a high-performance English automobile designed by Reid Railton and manufactured in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, between 1926 and 1928. The factory had previously been used by the Phoenix car company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapman strut</span> Type of automotive suspension design

The Chapman strut is a design of independent rear suspension used for light cars, particularly sports and racing cars. It takes its name from, and is best known for its use by, Colin Chapman of Lotus.

A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension, almost always for the rear axles, designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) wheels to follow uneven road surfaces independently, thus enabling the vehicle's wheels to maintain better road contact and holding; plus each wheel's reduced unsprung weight means their movements have less impact on the vehicle as a whole. The first automotive application was the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, later followed by the Mercedes 130H/150H/170H, the Standard Superior, the Volkswagen Beetle and its derivatives, the Chevrolet Corvair, and the roll-over prone M151 jeep amongst others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Dion suspension</span>

A de Dion axle is a form of non-independent automobile suspension. It is a considerable improvement over the swing axle, Hotchkiss drive, or live axle. Because it plays no part in transmitting power to the drive wheels, it is sometimes called a "dead axle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-roll bar</span> Device that reduces the body roll of a vehicle

An anti-roll bar is an automobile suspension part that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It links opposite front or rear wheels to a torsion spring using short lever arms for anchors. This increases the suspension's roll stiffness—its resistance to roll in turns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reid Railton</span>

Reid A. Railton (1895–1977) was a British automotive engineer, and designer of land and water speed record vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radius rod</span> Suspension link

A radius rod is a suspension link intended to control wheel motion in the longitudinal (fore-aft) direction. The link is connected on one end to the wheel carrier or axle, on the other to the chassis or unibody of the vehicle. Radius rods are typically mounted ahead of the wheel. In that position they resist dive under braking forces and wheel hop under acceleration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom II</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its second generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the third and last of Rolls-Royce's 40/50 hp models, replacing the New Phantom in 1929. It used an improved version of the New Phantom engine in an all-new chassis. A "Continental" version, with a short wheelbase and stiffer springs, was offered.

Sir Henry Spurrier, also known as Henry Spurrier III, was a British engineer and industrialist, and the third generation of the Spurrier family to head Leyland Motors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twist-beam rear suspension</span> Type of automobile suspension

The twist-beam rear suspension is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H- or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the rear of the H carries each stub-axle assembly, on each side of the car. The cross beam of the H holds the two trailing arms together, and provides the roll stiffness of the suspension, by twisting as the two trailing arms move vertically, relative to each other.

The Albion Aberdonian was an underfloor-engined bus designed and manufactured by Albion Motors between 1957 and 1960, it was introduced as a longer derivative of the Albion Nimbus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanchester Fourteen</span> Motor vehicle

The Lanchester Fourteen Roadrider is a six-cylinder automobile introduced by the Lanchester Motor Company in the beginning of September 1936. It was named "Roadrider" for its special suspension features, and billed as the lowest-priced six-cylinder Lanchester ever offered. This car replaced the previous 12 hp Light Six model with a larger six-cylinder engine again in the Lanchester Eleven chassis and body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Model A</span> Motor vehicle

The Duesenberg Model A was the first automobile in series production to have hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine. Officially known as the Duesenberg Straight Eight, the Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Production was delayed by substantial changes to the design of the car, including a change in the engine valvetrain from horizontal overhead valves to an overhead camshaft; also during this time, the company had moved its headquarters and factory from New Jersey to Indiana. The Model A was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 to 1925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. The successors to the company began referring to the car as the Model A when the Model J was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H-drive</span> Drivetrain for off-road vehicles

An H-drive drivetrain is a system used for heavy off-road vehicles with 6×6 or 8×8 drive to supply power to each wheel station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagonda 16/65</span> Motor vehicle

The Lagonda 16/65 was a car introduced by Lagonda in 1926. Production continued until 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platform chassis</span>

A platform chassis is a form of vehicle frame / automobile chassis, constructed as a flat plate or platform, sometimes integrating a backbone or frame-structure with a vehicle's floor-pan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Baldwin, N. (1994). A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-53-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wood, Jonathon (May 2007). "The Parry Thomas Leyland". The Automobile. 25 (3): 26–30.
  3. 1 2 3 Turner, Graham (1971). The Leyland Papers. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. pp. 16, 18, 30. ISBN   0413280209.
  4. Georgano, G. N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Posthumus, Cyril (1977) [1977]. The story of Veteran & Vintage Cars . John Wood, illustrator (Phoebus 1977 ed.). London: Hamlyn / Phoebus. pp.  76–77. ISBN   0-600-39155-8. Other bold features were leaf-type valve returns springs, vacuum servo-assisted rear wheel brakes, leaf spring suspension embodying torsion bars for roll resistance, and a final drive with twin bevels permitting angled half-shafts and hence slight camber of the wheels for extra stability.
  6. 1 2 "Welsh Motor Sport – Cars". Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Culshaw, David; Horrobin, Peter (1974). Complete Catalogue of British Cars. London: Macmillan. ISBN   0-333-16689-2.
  8. Llewellin, Phil (1 May 1993). "Motoring: All our yesterdays on wheels: Phil Llewellin visits a museum offering motoring magic to the fans and fun to the uninitiated". Independent . Archived from the original on 5 January 2014.