Richardson (1919 cyclecar)

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For the pre World war I British Richardson cyclecar made in Lincolnshire see Richardson (1903 cyclecar).

For the later 1920s British Richardson cyclcar made in Sheffield see Richardson.

1920 Richardson MHV Richardson 1920.jpg
1920 Richardson

The Richardson was a British cyclecar manufactured by C. E. Richardson of Finbat Works, Aizlewood Road, Sheffield, between 1919 and 1921. [1]

Cyclecar tiny car designs briefly popular in the 1910s–20s

A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car.

Before World War I Richardsons had made children's toys and scooters and were pioneer makers of model aircraft. During the war they had switched production to munitions. With peace it was decided to branch out into cyclecar manufacture and a car was designed by Albert Clarke, the brother-in-law of Charles Richardson. [2]

The car was powered by a V-twin, air-cooled engine with a choice of 980 cc JAP or 1090 cc Precision types. Both power units drove through a friction drive and belt to the rear axle. Later models used a chain drive.

JA Prestwich Industries, was an English manufacturing company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd.

Friction drive

A friction drive or friction engine is a type of transmission that, instead of a chain and sprockets, uses 2 wheels in the transmission to transfer power to the driving wheels. This kind of transmission is often used on scooters, mainly go-peds, in place of a chain. The problem with this type of drive system is that they are not very efficient. Since the output wheel has width, the area of contact is spread across various radii on the primary disc. Because the tangential velocity varies as radius varies, the system must overcome velocity differentials across the surface. The compromise is slippage of the leather to metal contact area which creates friction, which in turn converts much of the energy transfer of this system into heat. Heat generation also requires a cooling system to keep the transmission working effectively.

Early cars had an acutely sloped dummy radiator, but this changed to a more stylish vertical design in 1921.

It is thought that around 500 cars were made before production stopped in 1921. [2]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Baldwin, N. (1994). A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-53-2.
  2. 1 2 Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.
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