Little Midland

Last updated

LM
MHV LM 7 hp 1911.jpg
1911 LM
Overview
ManufacturerLittle Midland Light Car Co Ltd
Production1905–1922
Body and chassis
Class cyclecar
Body style two seat open

The Little Midland or LM was a British 4-wheeled cyclecar made from 1910 to 1922 by the Little Midland Light Car Co Ltd in various places in Lancashire.

The company was founded in Clitheroe by William Cunningham. His first car made in 1905 had a lightweight two-seat open body and was powered by a 7.5 hp single cylinder engine. In 1907 a larger 9 hp four cylinder model appeared with five seat coachwork but possibly only one was made. The 1911 model was powered by a JAP 964cc 7 hp V twin air-cooled engine driving the rear axle via a 2 speed gearbox and chain drive. [1]

A review of the 1913 model, [2] on display at the 1912 Motor Cycle and Cycle Car Show at Olympia, stated that it was one of the first cycle cars made in this country, and that it had benefitted from the production of only one model for the past 2 years. The emphasis was on its ability as a touring car rather than for sporting purposes. The engine was an air-cooled 8 h.p. JAP V-twin with Bosch magneto ignition and B and B carburetor. Transmission was through a metal-to-metal disc clutch, then by Renold chain to the gearbox offering two forward speeds, with the gear always in mesh and selected by substantial dog-clutches. There was then Renold chain back to the back axle, which was remarkably strong with double radius rods, and a massive differential. It was stated that the engine could be started from the driver's seat, though the mechanism was not explained. The weight was 5cwt, and the cost 95 guineas.

After World War I in 1919 the make was revived under new ownership and the company was registered as the Little Midland Light Car Co Ltd and based in Duke Street, Blackburn. The company was re-organised in 1920 and moved to Southgate Works, Preston. The post war car used a 980cc JAP water cooled V-twin engine, cone clutch and three speed gearbox with chain to the rear axle. The suspension used quarter elliptic springs all round. The body had two seats plus a dickey seat and cost £200 in 1920. [3]

Related Research Articles

Ateliers de Construction Mecanique lAster

L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass manufacturer the company also produced chassis for coach-works and a complete range of components.

Tiny (car)

Tiny was a British cyclecar manufactured by Nanson, Barker & Co at Esholt, Yorkshire between 1912 and 1915.

Swift Motor Company

The Swift Motor Company made Swift Cars in Coventry, England from 1900 until 1931. It grew progressively from James Starley's Coventry Sewing Machine Company, via bicycle and motorised cycle manufacture. The cars ranged from a single-cylinder car in 1900 using an MMC engine, through a Swift-engined twin-cylinder 7-horsepower light car in 1904, and a 3-litre model in 1913. After the First World War a successful range was sold during the 1920s, but the Cadet of 1930 was its last vehicle as it could not compete economically with volume manufacturers such as Ford and Morris Motors.

The Calthorpe Motor Company based in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, England made a range of cars, motorcycles and bicycles from 1904 to 1932.

Coventry Premier

Coventry Premier Limited owned a British car and cyclecar manufacturing business based in Coventry from 1912 to 1923. It changed its name from Premier Cycles to Coventry Premier Ltd in November 1914.

New Hudson (company)

The New Hudson Cycle Co. was originally started in 1890 by George Patterson, and manufactured 'safety' bicycles in Birmingham. In 1903 they produced their first motorcycle, but times became tough for Patterson after one of his sons died in WW1 and the other lost a leg. The family sold the factory to HJ Bructon after WW1, and in 1920 the company was reformed as New Hudson Ltd.

Douglas (motorcycles) British motorcycle manufacturer

Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907–1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922.

The Rover 8 was a small single-cylinder 8 hp 1327 cc car made by the British Rover car company. It was Rover's first production car. It was remarkable for being supported by a backbone chassis rather than a conventional ladder frame. The first model was manufactured from 1904 to 1912, A Daimler-Knight sleeve-valve engine option was available in 1911 and 1912.

Carden (cyclecar) Motor vehicle

The Carden was a British 4 wheeled cyclecar made from 1914 by Carden Engineering originally based in Farnham, Surrey but moving in 1914 to Teddington, Middlesex and in 1919 to Ascot, Berkshire.

Austin 10 hp Motor vehicle

The Austin 10 hp is a high-quality small car produced between 1910 and 1915 by the British car manufacturer Austin Motor Company Limited at their Longbridge, Worcestershire plant near Birmingham. 1,336 cars were made, 213 with the 1125 cc engine and 1,123 with the 1615 cc engine. Like the 1087 cc Austin 7 hp produced by both Austin and Du Cros's Swift Motor Company it was not very successful when sold with the small engine.

Blackburne was a trade name of Burney and Blackburne Limited a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1913 to 1922 at Tongham near Farnham, Surrey. They were also a major supplier of engines to other motor cycle and light car makers and continued to make these until 1937. Burney and Blackburne also made small aircraft engines.

Warne (car) Motor vehicle

The Warne was a British 4-wheeled cyclecar made from 1912 to 1915 by Pearsall Warne Ltd at the Icknield Works in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

Humber Motorcycles

Humber Limited was a pioneering British motorcycle manufacturer. Humber produced the first practical motorcycle made in Britain by fitting one of their Humber bicycles with an E. J. Pennington two-horsepower motor in 1896.

Rover 12 Name given to several medium-sized family cars from the British Rover car company

The Rover 12 was a name given to several medium-sized family cars from the British Rover car company between 1905 and 1948.

Austin 40 hp

The Austin 40 hp is a 4-cylinder motor car launched at the Olympia Motor Show in November 1907. Manufactured by Austin at Longbridge, Northfield, Birmingham, it was the first variant from Austin's initial plans for a two model range of a 15 hp —which they had dropped—and a 25 hp car.

Morris Oxford bullnose Motor vehicle

The "bullnose" Morris Oxford is a series of motor car models produced by Morris of the United Kingdom, from 1913 to 1926. It was named by W R Morris after the city in which he grew up and which his cars were to industrialise.

The Day-Leeds was a British automobile manufactured by Job Day & Sons of Leeds, Yorkshire.

Autocrat (car)

The Autocrat was a British car manufacturer operating from 1913 to 1926. The company operated from premises in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham. Unusually for the time the company seems to have been run by two women, Ivy Rogers and Miss Howell.

F. E. Baker Ltd was a British motorcycle engine and cyclecar engine manufacturer based in the Precision Works, Moorsom Street, Birmingham, England. Founded in 1906 by Frank Edward Baker, the company produced motorcycle engines under the Precision trademark until 1919. Precision engines were used by a wide range of motorcycle manufacturers in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the Commonwealth and were also used in cyclecars. Many manufacturers used the 'Precision' trademark as part of their model names, and in 1912 there was a 'Precision' motorcycle sold in Australia, but it is unclear if this was manufactured by F.E. Baker or just permitted use of the trademark by a motorcycle manufacturer.

Arthur William Wall British engineer (1874 - unknown)

Arthur William Horace Wall was an engineer in the field of motorised transport and inventor of the self-powered wheel in England in the early 20th century. He is best known for his creation of the self-powered wheel, the Wall Autowheel, which could be used to power a bicycle, but he was also the man behind Roc motorcycles and a tricar and four-wheel cyclecar. His main company was A.W. Wall Ltd, but he created several other companies to compartmentalise his different activities, such as the Roc Gear Co, who supplied epicyclic gears to a significant number of manufacturers before WW1.

References

  1. Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.
  2. The Motor Cycle and Cycle Car Show at Olympia, The Automotor Journal, 30 November 1912, p1451
  3. Baldwin, N. (1994). A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-53-2.