Bean

GB, 1919 – 1929

(1) A. Harper, Sons & Bean Ltd, Tipton, Dudley, Worcs., 1919 – 1926

(2) Bean Cars Ltd, Tipton, Dudley, Staffs., 1926 – 1929

The Bean was a remodeling of the Perry light car, whose manufacturers were taken over by Harper Sons & Bean, motor components makers, after World War 1. The Bean was to be mass-produced, in one 11.9hp model only. Its makers were members of a consortium of firms, including the famous, old-established names of Swift and Vulcan, Hadfields, the engineers of Sheffield, Gallay Radiators and Marles Steering, that was intended to achieve efficient quantity production by rationalization of parts. In fact, Bean carried cost cutting too far with this car. Its 4-cylinder, side-valve 1794cc engine was rough, the gear change difficult and the suspension harsh. The Bean four-seater open body cost only £80. However, 1922 customers were car-starved and undiscriminating, and 80 Bean cars a week were made that year, even if the first target of 50.000 Beam cars per annum remained a dream. The bigger, 2.3-litre Bean Fourteen introduced for 1924 was more modern machine, with its unit construction of engine and gearbox.

Hadfields took over Bean early in 1926. For 1927, the Bean company followed fashion by introducing a six, the ‘Bean 18/50’. Its 2.7-litre, overhead-valve engine was made by Meadows, and a rather square radiator replaced the well-known rounded Bean shape. Also new in 1927 was the Bean Imperial Six, the first Bean designed specifically for export. Unlike the Bean 18/50 for sale this had a Bean-built engine of 3.8-litres with a Ricardo cylinder head. The Australian explorer Francis Birtles drove a disintegrating Bean prototype from England to India, and in fact the Bean Imperial Six was never put into production. From 1927 all cars were called Hadfield-Beans. The 2.3-litre 14/40 Hadfield-Bean, which joined the range in 1928, was no better, with its unreliable engine and overhead-worm drive rear axle, bad brakes and difficult clutch- and gear-change. It was also old-fashioned in that it used a fairly large, long-stroke, side-valve 4-cylinder engine. The latter was economical, and the 14/40 Hadfield-Bean for sale was cheap, but cost cutting presumably dictated the fitting of quarter-elliptic rear springs, which cannot have improved comfort. There was a Bean 14/70hp sports version, which had better brakes, with Dewandre vacuum servo assistance, but the only good car in the range, the old Hadfield-Bean Fourteen for sale, was desperately out-dated and no Hadfield-Beans at all were made after 1929.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Léon Bollee

France, 1895 – 1933

(1) Automobiles Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1895 – 1924

(2) Morris Motors Ltd, Usines Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1925 – 1931

(3) Sté Nouvelle Léon Bollée, Le Mans, 1931 – 1933

Leon Bollee was a son of Amédée Bolllée père, the most important pioneer of steam road vehicles in France. Leon Bollee, however, turned to really small petrol Leon Bollee cars. He was the first to do so, and therefore had to invent a new name for his Leon Bollee car of 1895 – he called it a Leon Bollee voiturette. This Leon Bollee car was a tandem two-seater 3-wheeler that was faster than any other petrol-engined vehicle on the road when the Leon Bollee car was working, thanks to a powerful 3hp engine and light weight, but the power unit was unreliable on the Leon Bollee car. The Leon Bollee car had a single air-cooled cylinder of 650cc and used hot-tube ignition. There were 3 forward speeds on the Leon Bollee car, with belt final drive. The frame was tubular. Four years after the Leon Bollee voiturette appeared, Leon Bollee superseded it with a 4-wheeler with independent front suspension by double transverse leaf springs. This Leon Bollee car had a single-cylinder, water-cooled engine. Unlike the Leon Bollee voiturette, this Leon Bollee car made no mark. The design rights were sold to Darracq, and around 1901 the name of Leon Bollee cars vanished. Meanwhile, the term voiturette had been taken up by the trade and public in general as the name for a small light car.

The Leon Bollee car reappeared in 1903 as an entirely normal, full-sized car in the more expensive class, backed by Vanderbilt money and designed for the American market. This Leon Bollee car was made in 28hp (4.6-litres) and 45hp (8-litres) versions, with four cylinders and chain drive, and led on to a 11.9-litre six Leon Bollee car in 1907, in which year the first shaft driven Leon Bollee car appeared. From 1909 there was also a small modern four, the Leon Bollee 10/14hp. The 1910 range embraced 9 Leon Bollee cars, including 2 of over 10-litres capacity. Electric lighting became available on Leon Bollee cars in 1913, but the Leon Bollee grew increasingly old-fashioned after World War 1 despite the introduction of ohv in 1922 on Leon Bollee cars and front wheel brakes in 1923. Late in 1924 Sir William Morris bought the Le Mans Leon Bollee car factory. From making a wide range of conservative French Leon Bollee fours, it turned to thinly-disguised products of Cowley, Oxford, the idea being to breach the French tariff walls from the inside. The first Morris- Leon Bollee had a 12CV 2½-litre 4-cylinder unit-construction engine made by Hotchkiss, the engine manufacturers controlled by Morris, but it had push-rod overhead valves and bore little evidence of its parentage. Not so the 18CV Morris- Leon Bollee car of 1928. This was a 3-litre straight-8 with single overhead camshaft that reflected Morris’ takeover of Wolseley two years earlier. Morris’ own new six of 1928 was mirrored in the 15CV 2.6-litre Le Mans product of 1929. The bodies for the Morris- Leon Bollee car were all made in France and were usually considerably more dashing and attractive than their British counterparts. Chassis of this Morris- Leon Bollee car were made in France, and all cars had a 4-speed gearbox. At one time, 50 12CV Morris- Leon Bollee cars were being turned out each week. However, Morris’ enterprise was not a success, and he discontinued it in the hard times of the Depression. A new syndicate was formed in September 1931 to sell the same range of cars under the name of Leon Bollee cars. This lasted for less than two years and few Leon Bollee cars were made.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com