THE FIRST TWO WOLSELEY CARS

When the first Wolseley car ever constructed is examined in detail, it is necessary to bear in mind the conditions which faced the Designer at the time. General development was held in check by certain circumstances which were highly unfavourable to such an enterprise. Those who struggled in 1895 to establish the British motor industry had a task which is far underestimated to-day.

When Austin visited Paris for the purpose of taking stock of what types of motor vehicles were then in use in France, he was not at all impressed by what he saw. Each vehicle he examined was, in his view, too heavy and clumsy to possess future commercial possibilities. There was, however, one exception; the small three-wheeled Bollee made by the famous Bollee Brothers at Le Mans. Austin's engineering training had made him familiar with stationary gas engines with either flame or tube ignition, the power from which was conveyed to the machines they had to drive by means of belts and shafting. In the Bollee, he saw this principle adopted in what seemed to him a simple and efficient manner, but in most other types he was confronted by vertical engines, friction clutches, differential gears and chains. Why, he asked himself, should all this be necessary when the recognized method of operating machinery in any factory was largely on the lines of the Bollee?

There seemed to be but one answer to the question, and he returned home with the fixed idea of designing a motor vehicle on the lines of the Bollee, but shorn of certain of what seemed to him its obvious shortcomings.

The similarity between the first Wolseley car of 1895 and the Bollee three-wheeler of that period is striking. Austin's efforts to overcome some of its weaknesses are also obvious. The Bollee single-cylinder engine was extremely noisy and ill-balanced, in fact, it would hardly be an exaggeration to state that it was not balanced at all. When running, it seemed as though the whole machine were stricken with the palsy, and Austin endeavoured to overcome this by adopting a twin-cylinder engine which will be described in detail later.

There are, in addition, other features of uncommon interest in this first Wolseley production, for more than one principle is adopted which is found on many of the high-grade cars to-day.

The use of overhead valves and a camshaft driven by a vertical shaft and skew gearing, to say nothing of roller cam followers mounted on the ends of valve rockers, sounds far more like a brief description of some modern engine about to emerge from the drawing board stage, than a Pioneer’s efforts of the mid-nineties.

Although the first Wolseley vehicle had such interesting features, and there are still some people who remember it running, it was never developed. In fact, a thorough search has failed to produce any reference to it in any contemporary paper, and, as far as is known, there exists but one photograph of it (produced herewith) which appeared in The Autocar of April 2nd, 1904, some nine years after the car is known to have been built. No attempt was made to introduce improvements or to increase its efficiency; it was abandoned, and a second car of entirely different design was constructed.

The apparent secrecy concerning this first car, and the reason for its complete abandonment in favour of an entirely different design can, however, be readily explained from an examination of what was taking place in the then very young British motor industry.

About the time experimental work was being carried out by Austin on this first Wolseley car, the almost limitless possibilities opened up by the coming of the automobile had made a profound impression on certain Financiers in this country. More than one fortune was being made by promoting companies during the cycle boom, and the pneumatic tyre looked like becoming a gold mine to those who had been bold enough to take it up when it was the subject of ridicule from one end of the land to the other.

The question these Financiers had to solve was the best manner in which they could " corner " the coming British motor industry, for they were as certain of its coming as they were that night follows day. The obvious way, so it seemed to them, was to purchase all the patents connected with motor vehicle design which appeared to have possibilities so that any manufacturer of the future would have to pay to them whatever royalties they might demand.

The British Motor Syndicate Ltd., was formed to exploit this idea, and warnings were broadcast that dire penalties awaited any person who infringed such patents. Writs were issued wholesale against so-called infringers, and in certain instances judgements were obtained; all the patent-rights connected with the Bollee Voiturette were held by the Syndicate. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, that Austin considered it far better to abandon all thought of developing Wolseley No. 1 which so closely resembled the Bollee, and concentrate his whole attention on some other form which would. in no way, bring him into conflict with any patent-holders?

Happily, this first Wolseley car was not destroyed, as so many other early vehicles were, and it is still occupying a place of honour in the private museum of the Wolseley Company.

When one comes to examine a motor vehicle of the "nineties", one is usually faced with ideas more in keeping to-day with a schoolboy's conception of engineering than the product of a designer's brain, but it must always be borne in mind that the very few British engineers of that period were working largely in the dark; few, if any, lessons could be learnt from experiments carried out by others, and this applied with particular force to this country, because the use of horseless vehicles on the streets was practically illegal. Road tests could only be effected in defiance of the Law, and so designers were forced to adopt principles which would, probably, have been discarded if only they had been submitted to practical trials which could be undertaken freely by all continental designers. It was a halter round the neck of all in this country who were engaged on the problem.

The frame of this first Wolseley car, which closely follows cycle design, is constructed of weldless steel tubing; it is light in weight, which probably accounts for its adoption, and the triangulated bracing imparts a good measure of rigidity thereto. A glance at the illustrations will show that, contrary to Bollee practice, the driver occupied the front seat, and that the whole of the steering is, consequently, different.

As stated already, the power unit is a twin-cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled engine which is believed to have developed some 2 b.h.p. The annular space in each cylinder head is coupled by means of a tube, ribbed for cooling, to a single combustion chamber. This can be seen very clearly in the illustrations. As the pistons move outward simultaneously, the mixture supplied by a surface carburettor (missing) is compressed in the connecting tubes and combustion chamber where ignition, by means of a hot tube, takes place, the resulting combustion operating on both pistons via the ribbed connecting tubes mentioned above.

The cylinders are offset on the bronze crankcase, on the top of which, and integral with it, is the combustion chamber which serves both cylinders.

The very modern lay-out of the valve gear has been mentioned already. At that period, inlet valves were almost universally of the automatic type, i.e., they were kept on their seat by means of a light spring and were opened by the suction stroke of the piston; but in this engine, the inlet valves were mechanically operated, an improvement which did not come into general use until well past the turn of the century.

The engine is mounted and carried on the near side of the frame and the crankcase is extended and passes through the driving-wheel hub. On the extremity of the crankshaft on the opposite side of the chassis is mounted the flywheel, driving-belt pulley and starting handle. The drive is conveyed to the gearbox by means of a 1½ in. flat belt running on flanged pulleys, the reduction ratio from engine to gearbox being 3 to 1. It is mounted beneath the driver's seat and provides three forward speeds. There is no reverse gear. The need for some kind of friction clutch is obviated by means of slipping the main driving belt. Bollee also followed this design in 1895 in a somewhat different manner, but in the first Wolseley, the effect is achieved by swinging the gearbox instead of moving the rear wheel as on the Bollee. The belt-slipping action takes place automatically when a change of gear is effected. At the moment the gear lever is moved, the entire gearbox swings rearwards thereby slackening the belt, and in effect providing a " neutral." This swinging gearbox will be found again in the first Wolseley four wheeled car.

What is equivalent to a clutch stop is obtained by means of the driving-belt pulley coming in contact with a metal brake-block, thereby reducing its speed and enabling the gears to be engaged without too much delay. It is interesting to note that the " gate system of changing gear is adopted, and that in changing from first to second gear, it is necessary to pass through top gear; the final drive is by roller chain to the rear wheel. The workmanship throughout is of a high order. The overall gear-ratios are: top gear 4 to 1, second gear 8 to 1, first gear 17 ¼ to 1.

The braking system is simple and was probably efficient taking into consideration the speed at which the car had to travel. It is effected by means of a rocking bar that extends the full width of the driver's footboard, and the pressure applied is transmitted to an external contracting brake attached to the rear wheel; the brake drum is 9in. diameter.

The steering is based on the Ackermann principle and is operated by a tiller which has a travel of some 13-in. each side.

Another interesting feature of this vehicle is that the two silencers are packed with pebbles and coke, thus forming an elementary type of baffle. A torque reaction lug is provided on the chassis frame at the apex of the triangle formed by the diagonal bracing tubes, but there is evidence that this system was not satisfactory as metal stays were subsequently bolted from the chassis frame to each cylinder head. It is interesting that identical lugs with the holes for the torque reaction are also used in the tubular frame of the second Wolseley car, and were presumably made from castings left over from the first car.

The fuel tank is located beneath the driver's seat, which can be seen quite plainly in the cut-away illustration.

So much for the first Wolseley car of 1895, and the unfavourable conditions in which it was designed and tested.

Let us now consider the second Wolseley car which is different, in nearly every major component, from the one just described.

In considering this second car, we are fortunate in having much more published information available, but this in itself introduces complications.

The descriptions in the various contemporary publications, and the car as it now exists in the museum of Wolseley Motors Ltd., are often at complete variance. This is not so surprising as it may at first seem if one appreciates that one would find an exact parallel in any motor-car manufacturer's experimental shop to-day.

If an article were to appear in the motoring Press describing an experimental car as it was in, say, January, and the same car were again described a few months later, it might be difficult indeed to recognize the two as applying to the same car.

So with the second Wolseley. It was continually changing as its designer carried out his experiments on engines, transmissions and other components; testing, rejecting, redesigning until finally the whole car was abandoned in favour of a still more advanced model.

Although the first Wolseley car was built more or less in secret, for the reason explained, it would seem that Austin was able to bring about a change in the attitude of his Directors when it came to the building of the second car! The fact, as already mentioned, that the Company was at that time forced to seek additional work to the production of sheep-shearing machines, undoubtedly influenced their decision.

This second car was built during 1896, and it made its first public appearance at the National Cycle Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in December of that year, and was sufficiently well received to warrant a description in The Autocar of December 12th, 1896, with a second article in the same paper on January 9th, 1891. The Engineer of December 25th, 1896 (a curious date on which to publish a paper) and the Automotor Journal of February. 1897, also described this car in identical wording.

The Engineer description is quoted below: -

This car, which was exhibited at the National Show, is in the form of a dogcart, the seats being arranged for two people back to back. It has three wheels, the one steering wheel in front being similar to that of a bath chair. The framework throughout consists of tubes, rendering it very light and yet strong. The engine is arranged in the body of the car under the seats, and is entirely hidden from view by light wooden panels, which are lined with thin sheet iron to prevent the oil soaking into the wood.

The engine works on the well-known Otto cycle, and has two cylinders, which are water-jacketed, the water being carried in a tank under the front seat. The crankpins are fixed directly into the two flywheels, and are case hardened and ground up to fit the hardened steel bushes in the ends of the connecting rods.

The differential speed gear is of a new and special design, particulars of which we may be able to describe in a future issue, together with a section of the car. The forward and backward motions, and the application of the brake are all worked with one lever, which can be fixed either side of the car.

The firing is effected by an electric spark from a small accumulator, which is carried in a box in the front footboard. The engine is made in a very substantial manner, and, being designed for hard use, has good long bearings, cast-steel frame, etc., and an aluminium bed-plate. All the bearings are fitted with grease lubricators, which will last for a considerable time without replenishing. The exhaust discharges on to the ground, after assisting to cool the water in the tank. One good feature about the car is the handy way in which the seats, etc., are arranged to allow of ready examination of the motor and gearing.

No trace remains of the two-cylinder water-cooled engine or of the unusual cooling system, but one can obtain a good idea of the epicyclic gear from an examination of Patent No. 20401, dated 29 / 10 / 95, entitled " Improvements in Driving Gear for Mechanical Carriages," and which covers the use of two epicyclic trains coupled by bevels with band brakes arranged to give neutral-reverse or variable gear by slip.

This epicycle gear does not seem to have been satisfactory and a further Patent No. 104 dated 2/1/1897 for a belt-driven transmission was taken out. As experiments continued, still further Patents were registered.

In spite of these attempts to solve the problem of transmitting the power from the engine to the road wheels, the final solution, as used on the car as it now exists, is of a much more simple design.

One does not have to give much rein to one's imagination to visualize Austin experiencing considerable trouble in his early experiments with the transmission, and it is long odds that his twin-cylinder engine was anything but perfect. In desperation he appears to have re-approached the problem strictly in the light of his early engineering training, and refused to let his judgment be influenced by the fact that he was dealing with a motor-car.

How, he asked himself, would one drive a small machine in a factory? By means of a single-cylinder horizontal gas or paraffin engine. How would one provide for the necessary alternative speeds at which the machine tool had to be driven? By belts and fixed and loose pulleys of different sizes.

If now these basic principles could be incorporated within the small space available in his car, surely there was the answer! That this line of reason proved successful will be seen in due course from the description of the car in its present form.

During the two years occupied with these various experiments, the car must have impressed the, Directors of the Company with its possibilities, so much so that they issued a catalogue, which is one of the earliest of an English car. It must also claim the record ,of containing the minimum of information about any mechanical details! Fortunately, a copy exists and is reproduced herewith.

In June, 1898, Austin successfully completed a journey of 250 miles from Birmingham to Rhyl and back on this car-a remarkable performance.

A few years before his death, Lord Austin was questioned whether this journey was accomplished on this car whilst it had the original epicyclic gear or after it had been converted to belt drive. Although, he was not sure on the point, he said that, so far as he could remember, it had belt transmission. This would seem to be confirmed by the fact that shortly after the date of this historic journey, the car was abandoned in favour of a four-wheeled model. There are a number of features of this second Wolseley car as it exists to-day, which are of striking interest, and the generally out of the chassis is a testimony to the advanced ideas of its designer. Independent rear-wheel suspension still remains largely an unsolved problem, but it is incorporated in this Wolseley car of 1896-97.

The frame is constructed of steel tubing throughout, and its side members are triangulated and braced in precisely the same manner as in the first car. Austin was so impressed with this design that he protected it by a Patent No. 12394, dated June 6th, 1896, which is described in detail in the Automotor Journal of December, 1897.At the front the side members contract and link together into a tube, forming the steering head, exactly as in a bicycle. There are also patents in connection with this, entitled " Improved means for the use of clamping the ball head of a cycle or other vehicles and the adaptation of a part thereof for other uses." The number of this is 4840, dated February 28th, 1898. The front wheel, by which the car is steered, is carried in bicycle-type forks, at the top of which is a tiller. The construction of the main frame provides a considerable degree of " springiness " to the front wheel, which is otherwise unsprung.

Bronze is used very extensively in the construction of this vehicle. Presumably, this was due to the case with which this metal could be cast and worked, and, in spite of its age, no deterioration of any of these parts has taken place. The following major parts are constructed of this material: Cylinder block and crankcase (the whole is machined in one casting), driving pulleys, the massive casting which carries the countershaft and houses the differential gear, the large diameter brake rims and the water pump. In addition, there are a host of smaller bronze castings, in fact, this metal is used almost exclusively except for the moving parts of the engine and the steel tubing in the chassis construction.

The engine, which has a bore of 4-in. and a stroke of 4-15/16-in. is mounted horizontally with the cylinder to the rear. The square casting which constitutes the combined crankcase and cylinder block is fitted with a wet liner, held in position by four studs. The cylinder head, which is air cooled by porcupine spikes, houses the sparking plug axially and the valves vertically; the lower being the mechanically operated exhaust and the upper the automatic inlet. A governor driven frictionally by one of the two flywheels, operates by holding open the exhaust valve. The radiator is unusual and consists of eight tubes, carried longitudinally below the chassis. Within the tubes are smaller tubes, providing an annular space for the water. Cool air passing through the smaller diameter tubes reduced the temperature of the water as, in an opposite manner, hot gases are used to heat the water in a steam boiler. A small eccentrically operated pump returns the water to a header tank under the passenger's seat.

Two speeds are provided, giving an overall ratio of 9.6 and 7.2 to 1, and the primary drive is by flat belts. Fixed and loose pulleys are carried on the countershaft, and the gears are changed by means of a hand lever on the right of the driver which shifts the belts from fixed to loose pulleys, through spring-loaded striking forks. The intermediate drive is by a roller chain to an axle easing which is bolted rigidly to the chassis. This casing contains both a reduction gear and a differential, and at the outside extremities of the half shafts are spur gears which transmit the drive to the 30-in. diameter rear wheels.

The final drive is perhaps the most interesting feature of the car, seeing that it incorporates independent springing. The drawing of this mechanism makes the principle clear, and it will be seen that the rear wheels are carried on swinging. brackets which have, as their fulcrum, the end of the axle casing. Lugs are provided on these brackets and attached to them are rods which are free to move within a cylinder, the opposite end of which is anchored to the chassis frame. A spring is enclosed between the ends of the rod and the free end of the cylinder, and consequently a considerable amount of movement of the rear wheel, in a general vertical direction, may take place; this is resisted by the spring being compressed within the cylinder. The movement of the rear wheel is actually in an are struck from the centre of the axle housing so that the spur gear on the end of the half shaft and the gear wheel attached to the road wheel which it drives, are in constant mesh.

Two brakes are provided, both operating on rims bolted to the rear wheels. The footbrake is actuated by a rocking lever extending the full width of the driver's footboard as in car No. 1, coupled to a brake shoe acting on the rim of each rear wheel. The handbrake is actuated by a lever on the right-hand side of the vehicle and coupled to another pair of brake shoes.