VEHICLES # 4.

 

1920 ALVIS.

 

This car is the oldest surviving Alvis. It is called an Alvis 10/30, the 10 showing it has a 10 horse power engine. The body on this car was made by a coach building company called Morgan and Co of Long Acre, London. When new this car would have cost £685. It was made at the Alvis factory in Holyhead Road, Coventry. Engine - 4 cylinder, side valve. Max speed - 60mph.

 

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1912 SIDDELEY DEASY.

 

The name of this car comes from the two people who owned the company that made it, a captain Henry Deasy and John Davenport Siddeley. The chassis, engine and mechanical parts were made in a factory in Parkside, Coventry and the Althorp special cabriolet body was made by a famous coach building company called Mulliners of London. People said it looked like a coffin on wheels. Engine - 2500cc, sleeve valve. Max speed - 25mph.

 

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1933 SSI.

 

This car has the chassis and mechanical parts of a standard 16hp motor car, made by Standard Motorcar Company in Canley, Coventry. When new this car cost £385. The sleek, sporting fixed head coupe body was designed by the head of the Swallow coach building company, William Lyons, and it was his company that built the body. The Swallow coach building company changed their name to Jaguar in 1945. Engine - 2,000cc, 6 cylinder, side valve. Max speed - 70mph.

 

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1929 SINGER JUNIOR.

 

Made in Coventry/Birmingham. Engine - 858cc, 4 cylinder. Price new £160.

 

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1897 DAIMLER.

 

Model Wagonette. Engine - 4hp ( 400cc ). Price new £335. Top speed - 15 to 20mph. One of the oldest surviving British cars.

 

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VICTORIAN WAGONETTE.

 

The first wagonette was built in England about 1843 and became a popular vehicle.

 

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1907 STANDARD.

 

Model - Roi De Belges. Engine - 30hp ( 3,312cc ). Top speed - 40mph. Price new - £470.

 

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1935 HUMBER.

 

Model - Vogue. Engine - 12hp ( 1,669cc ). Top speed - 70mph. Price new - £350.

 

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1935 HILLMAN AERO MINX.

 

Engine - 1,185cc. Top speed - 75mph. Price new - £265. The main body structure is made of aluminium with the wings and bonnet made from steel. This made the car lighter resulting in greater performance. It boasts having special features like knock - on - wire wheels, remote control gear shift and sprung spoke steering wheel. The cars body work was built by Thrupp and Maberly, which later became part of the Rootes group who made the rest of the car. The Minx was built in variations until 1970.

 

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1974 JAGUAR E TYPE.

 

Engine - 5.3 litre. Top speed - 146mph. Price new - £3,638. This E type was one of the last fifty to be made and has a plaque on the dash board to commemorate this. It was also the last E type to be displayed at the motor show at Earls Court in 1974. This car came more or less straight from the motor show to the Coventry Transport Museum, with only 800 miles on the clock, never being driven since. This vehicle has never had any work done on it and is one of the most original examples.

 

 

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THE HALIFAX GIBBET.

 

 

 

 

 

The privilege of a gibbet is believed to have been vested in Halifax around the time of the Norman conquest in 1066, although the earliest reference to it dates from 1280. At that time, there were said to be one hundred other places in Yorkshire that similarly enjoyed this distinctive honour. In the case of Halifax however its notoriety stemmed from the fact that the custom of the gibbot law continued long after it had been abandoned elsewhere. The laws of Halifax were administered from the Moot Hall ( demolished in 1957 ) which stood on a site near the parish church in Nelson Street. It was from here that the lords of the manor held court and imposed fines and punishment for a wide variety of offences. Early records show that John De Warren, Earl of Surry, held court here in 1286. In the same year, the earls of Warren were granted by the crown the Royalty to execute thieves and other criminals, from which the Halifax Gibbet Law developed. It was in that first year that John of Dalton was decapitated, the first known victim of the Halifax Gibbet, although formal records of victims did not begin until 1541. By todays standard, the use of the gibbet was harsh, often being deployed for the punishment of both minor and major offences. Local gibbet law dictated that if a felon be taken within the liberty of Halifax, either hand - habend ( caught with the stolen goods in his hand or in the act of stealing ), back - berand ( caught carrying stolen goods on his back ) or confessand ( having confessed to the crime ), to the value of thirteen pence half-penny, he shall after three markets, be taken to the gibbet and there have his head cut off from his body. While the sum may sound paltry by todays standards, English common law at that time permitted the death penalty for thefts to the value of twelve pence and above. Markets occurred on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the main market was held on Saturdays. These were busy affairs and the spectacle of a decapitation, all beheadings took place at the Saturday market, added to the numbers attending. A curious note on the act of beheading is recorded by the Halifax historian Wright, in which he tells of a country woman on horseback who passed the gibbet while an execution was taking place. At her sides were large wicker baskets, and when the head of the victim was dispatched, the force of the descending axe caused it to bounce a considerable distance into one of the hampers, or, as others say, seized her apron with its teeth, and there stuck for some time. The axe which decapitated the victims head weighed seven pounds twelve ounces. The axe was drawn up to the top of the gibbet by a cord and pulley. At the end of the cord was a pin, which being fixed to the block, kept it suspended till the moment of execution, when the culprit, having placed his head on the block, the pin was withdrawn, the axe fell suddenly and violently on the criminals neck and his head was instantly severed from his body. Between 1541 and 1650, the official records show that some 53 recorded persons ( men and women ) were executed by the Halifax Gibbet. John Taylor wrote a poem in 1622.

 

`At Halifax, the law so sharpe doth deale,

that who so more than thirteen pence doth steale,

they have a Jyn ( engine ) that wondrous quicke and well

send thieves all headless unto heav`n or hell.

 

 

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MOTORCYCLES # 2.

 

1932 FRANCIS - BARNETT KESTREL 24.

 

From 1923, Francis - Barnett made a bridge frame, which was cheap to produce and easy to assemble.

 

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1921 KENILWORTH MOTOR SCOOTER.

 

This scooter was made by Kenilworth Utility Motors Ltd, in their factory in Much Park Street, Coventry, where they were in business between 1919 and 1924.

 

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1913 PREMIER MOTORCYCLE.

 

This motorcycle would have cost £54 in 1913. Top speed - 40mph. Three speed gearbox, 499 cc engine.

 

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1977 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T140 MOTORCYCLE.

 

This Triumph Bonneville is one of a special limited edition built to celebrate the Queens silver jubilee in 1977.

 

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1939 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN MOTORCYCLE.

 

Triumph unveiled their revolutionary speed twin at the 1937 Olympia show in London. It became an instant hit, changing the course of motorcycle design for the next 30 years. Top speed - 85mph. 498cc overhead valve vertical twin four stroke engine. £74 new.

 

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MODEL H TRIUMPH.

 

This is the type of motorcycle used during the first world war, because they did not breakdown very often, soldiers called them trusty triumphs. Over 30,000 was made during the war. 550cc engine, three speed Sturmy Archer gearbox.

 

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1924 McKENZIE MOTORCYCLE.

 

George McKenzie was a business man who bought in motorcycles made by Hobart of Coventry and then sold them under his name.

 

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1929 TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLE and SIDECAR.

 

This motorcycle was made at the Triumph factory in Priory Street, Coventry, UK. The sidecar is a Gloria number 9 model, also made by the Triumph company.

 

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1944 TRIUMPH 3HW MOTORCYCLE.

 

This motorcycle left Triumphs Meriden factory on 17th February 1944. One of 50,000 motorcycles built by Triumph during world war two.

 

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1940 NORTON 16H MOTORCYCLE.

 

Military orders were placed for the 16H from 1936 and continued throughout the course of the second world war until 1946. This ten year period was the longest the military used any motorcycle. Single cylinder 500cc engine.

 

 

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AIRCRAFT ENGINES # 1.

 

ROLLS - ROYCE RB 108 VERTICAL LIFT ENGINE.

 

 

This engine was designed for vertical take off and landing, with a thrust of 2,300lbs @ 17,500 rpm. In conjunction with the flying bedstead trials it was fitted in a Meteor in a vertical mounting just behind the pilots cockpit. It was tested during taxying and low altitude flights. This engine was also fitted to the short SC.1 along with three others and made its first flight in April 1957, later in October 1958 the SC.1 made its first hovering flight.

 

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ROVER 1S82 GAS TURBINE.    ( cut away view of engine )

 

The Rover 1S60 range of small gas turbine engines were developed in the 1950s for various applications including fire pumps, stationary generators and even a car engine. The 1S82 was developed as an auxiliary power unit for the Avro Vulcan Bomber MK2.

 

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ALVIS LEONIDES 126.

 

( type fitted to the Percival Provost )

 

A 9 - cylinder, single row radial engine, air cooled with a geared drive, supercharged. Specifications:- Bore - 4.8 inches. Stroke - 4.41 inches. Displacement - 719 cubic inches. Compression ratio - 6.8 : 1. Fuel consumption - 58 gallons per hour. Power rating - 550 BHP @ 3,000 RPM.

 

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ROLLS ROYCE AVON 210.

 

( cut away view )

 

A single shaft turbo jet with reheat. It had eight combustion chambers and consumed 1,250 gallons an hour. Its output was rated at 12,500 lbs static thrust. The Avon was a very successful early turbo jet engine. It was used in military and civilian aircraft. This engine was built at east Kilbride in August 1960 for fitting to Lightnings Mk 1,2 or 4. Later Lightnings had the more powerful 300 series. The Avon was also adapted to be one of the first industrial gas turbines.

 

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BRISTOL SIDDELEY / ROLLS ROYCE STENTOR.

 

A dual chamber liquid propellant rocket engine that was produced to power the Hawker Siddeley Blue Steel stand off bomb. The propellant used were HTP and Kerosene. The smaller of the two rockets produced a thrust of 4,000lbs and the larger a thrust  of 16,000lbs. This gave the blue steel a top speed of Mach 2.3 at a height of 70,500 feet.

 











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ROLLS ROYCE DERWENT MK9.

 

Turbojet engine with a single stage centrifugal compressor, nine combustion chambers and a single stage turbine. Power rating - 3,800lbs static thrust. Fuel consumption - 350 gallons per hour. Weight - 1,438lbs. Fitted to the Armstrong Whitworth Meteor MK 12.

 

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WALTER 109 - 509C.

 

Manufacturer - Walterwerke. Type - liquid fuelled rocket. Primary use - Messerschmitt ME 263. Performance - 4,400lbs thrust. Entered service - did not enter service before cancellation in 1945. General information - intended for use in the ME263, a development of the ME 163 which never saw service.

 

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RB 211 22C.

 

Manufacturer - Rolls Royce. Type - three shaft high by - pass ratio turbofan. Primary use - Lockheed Tri-Star Boeing 747, 767 Airbus A310. Performance - 42,000lbs thrust. Entered service- 1972. General information - this is a development version that was run on a test bed.

 

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OLYMPUS 593.

 

Manufacturer - Rolls Royce / SNECMA. Type - axial flow twin spool turbojet. Primary use - British Aerospace / Aerospatiale Concorde. Performance - 40,000lbs thrust with reheat. Entered service - 1969. General information - this engine was developed from the Olympus 22R - 320 with reheat designed for the TSR2. This example flew for 750 hours in prototype Concorde aircraft.

 

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TURBOMECA ASTAZOU XIVG.

 

A single shaft turboprop engine rated at 965 SHP at 43,000rpm. The engine is from a FMA 1 A - 58 Pucara and was recovered from the Falkland Islands. The aircraft had a maximum speed of 310mph and a range of 1,890 miles.

 

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PALOUSTE MK 104.

 

Built by Blackburn under licence from Turbomeca, the Palouste air bleed engine was designed to supply air at low pressure ( 2lb/sec at 38.5lb/sq in ) for aero engine starting. Technical details - air bleed turbo compressor incorporating a single stage, single sided centrifugal compressor, an annular combustion chamber and a two stage flow turbine. Max revolutions - 35,000rpm. Idle speed - 24,000rpm.

 

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OLYMPUS 22R 320.

 

Manufacturer - Rolls Royce. Type - twin spool turbojet. Primary use - BAC TSR 2. Performance - 30,610lbs thrust. Entered service - first flew 1964. General information - the engine development was abandoned when the TSR 2 project was cancelled.

 

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