Clement-Talbot

1903 – 1938

Clement-Talbot Ltd, North Kensington, London W.10

From 1903, Clement-Talbot Ltd, a company backed by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, began importing the French Clément car into Britain; in spite of its name and an interest held by Adolphe Clément, the concern was British, and by the end of the year its cars were called Talbots. The 1904 Clement-Talbot models were a 6hp single, and 11hp twin, and two big fours. All of them had shaft drive and side valves in T-heads, except for the biggest, the Clement-Talbot 27hp voiture de luxe, which used overhead inlet valves and a single camshaft. Trucks, buses and boats were also advertised. Promotion, which was at first in the hands of the managing director, D.M. Weigel, was energetic and successful.
By the end of 1904, an impressive Clement-Talbot factory had been built, complete with test track, and in the following year British-assembled, and partly British-made Clement-Talbots emerged from it. A wide variety of tupes was listed, from an 11hp twin to a great 50hp 4-cylinder model. One model that was to be famous, the Clement-Talbot 12/16hp, had already been designed. French cars were still being imported by the company. However, the 20hp of 1906 was the first British-made Talbot. It was designed by C.R. Garrard, and while still conventional, had an unusually efficient engine of 3.8 litres’ capacity. Both this and the 2.7-litre ‘12/16’ were fast cars that quickly made a name for themselves in competitions; their slogan became ‘The Invincible Talbot’. For 1907 a 3-litre 15hp, a car in the same mould, superseded the ‘12/16’. By 1908 it was the only British chassis offered, into which could be installed 15hp, 25hp or 35hp engines. Their popularity was due to a combination of smoothness, reliability, speed and reasonable price. The French range was still listed. A six was introduced for 1910, and the 4½-litre 25hp was revised by G.W.A. Brown with an L-head valve arrangement. This Clement-Talbot model, highly tuned and lightened, and fitted with a racing body, became the first car to cover 100 miles in an hour, at Brooklands in 1913 in the hands of Percy Lambert. In the same year a new model, the 2.6-litre 15/20hp, was introduced. This and the 25hp, now called the ‘Clement-Talbot 25/50’, were the famous cars that kept the name before the public eye in competitions. A sports model of the latter was also listed. By this time, the French range had been dropped.
In 1919 Clement-Talbot was taken over by another French-sounding, but in fact British-owned firm, the Société Alexandre Darracq of Paris. 

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

Morgan

GB, 1905 – 1906

Morgan and Co Ltd, Leighton Buzzard, Beds.

Made by a well-known firm of coachbuilders, the Morgan car was a conventional shaft-driven car with 5.8-litre T-head 4-cylinder Mutel engine, distinguished only by the Sparks-Boothby hydraulic clutch on the Morgan car, soon abandoned in favour of an ordinary leather cone. Only about five Morgan cars were made and their lack of success resulted in Morgan cars becoming Adler concessionaires in 1907, and abandoning motor manufacture.

GB, 1910 to date

Morgan Motor Co Ltd, Malvern Link, Worcs.

This Morgan car was the best-known, and best, of the British 3-wheelers that were popular while the horsepower tax gave the Morgan cars an advantage. H.F.S. Morgan’s tricycle was also the first of its type, this Morgan car going into production in 1910. At the front of a tubular chassis frame was an sv, air-cooled V-twin motor-cycle engine of 1.100cc by JAP, transversely mounted. Transmission of the Morgan car was by dog clutches and chains, providing two forward speeds. The steering was direct. The front wheels of the Morgan car, had independent front suspension, by sliding pillars and coil springs. There were two seats. A reasonable amount of power plus light weight meant an excellent performance of the Morgan cars. The Morgan car was safer than most 3-wheelers because its road-holding was above average. This recipe made the Morgan car popular with sportsmen, for whom the Morgan Grand Prix model was produced in 1914: the first catalogued competition Morgan car. Soon afterwards, an exiguous four-seater Morgan car, the forerunner of the Morgan Family model of the 1920s, was listed.

After World War 1, Morgan carscontinued to cater for all markets. Names changed, but the Morgan Sports or Morgan Standard model was the normal two-seater, also available in De Luxe form; the Morgan Family model was the more capacious type Morgan car, and the long-tailed Morgan Aero, later the Morgan Super Sports, was the Morgan car intended for serious speed work. Engines of Morgan cars were water- or air-cooled to choice, most being supplied by JAP, or by Blackburne in the case of the competition Morgan cars. From 1925 all the latter’s power units had overhead valves. By 1927 the Super Sports Morgan car could attain 80mph in standard trim, while the less sporting Morgan cars now had internal expanding front wheel brakes and electric starting. Geared-down steering and (if required) three forward speeds followed on Morgan cars in 1929. Even so, Morgan cars were losing customers to new, cheap sports cars such as the M-type MG. Three speeds and reverse in a normal gearbox (though still with chain final drive) were available from 1931 and standard on the Morgan car after 1932, and a modified 8hp Ford 4-cylinder engine could later be had in the Morgan car instead of the twin. Four years later the first 4-wheeled Morgan car was introduced, the excellent little Morgan 4/4. This Morgan car used an 1.122cc 4-cylinder Coventry-Climax engine with overhead inlet valves, developing 34bhp. The Morgan car was still light in weight, and retained the Morgan independent front suspension, so the performance and handling qualities of Morgan cars were well up to form. The Morgan car could attain 75mph. The twins were last catalogued in 1939.

Just before World War 2, a 1.267cc Standard 10hp engine with ohv head was substituted in the Morgan 4/4. When this was no longer available, from 1950, Morgan fitted a tuned Standard Vanguard unit in the Morgan car giving 70bhp. In this Morgan Plus Four, as the Morgan car was renamed, performance became still more lively, and when the 90bhp Triumph TR2 engine became available in 1954, maximum speed of the Morgan car rose to 100mph for the first time. With the advent of the Morgan Plus Four, there was no longer a small Morgan car, but this gap was made good in 1955, when the Morgan Series 2 4/4 arrived. This Morgan car used the very hard-wearing 1.172cc sv Ford Ten engine which had powered F4 Morgan. (The latter was the last 3-wheeler Morgan car, which had been made until 1950.) The result was a cheap, pleasant and reliable sports Morgan car of the old school. Later, the ohv Ford 105E engine was substituted. The latest version Morgan car had a 1.599cc 98bhp engine, a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, front disc brakes, and the traditional Morgan suspension. The Morgan Plus Four kept pace with Triumph’s TR engine development, also acquiring disc brakes and, eventually, the 2.138cc 105bhp TR4 unit. A streamlined coupé, the Morgan Plus Four Plus of 1964, was a brief deviation from the classical Morgan car line which met with little approval and was discontinued after only 50 of these Morgan cars had been sold. When Triumph changed to a six during 1968, Morgan cars adopted a new engine for their bigger Morgan cars, and the Morgan Plus Four became the Morgan Plus Eight, powered by Rover’s 3 ½-litre 160bhp V8 and capable of 125mph. The 1973 versions of the Morgan car use the 4-speed all-synchromesh Rover gearbox in place of the Moss box previously fitted.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, TRN

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