Chrysler

US, 1923 to date

Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, Mich.

Walter P. Chrysler, formerly of Buick and Willys, acquired Maxwell-Chalmers in 1923, and the first car to bear his name, the 6-cylinder ‘Chrysler 70’ of 1924, was something of a sensation with its 4-wheel contracting hydraulic brakes and 70mph performance. At $1645 for a Chrysler sedan, 43.000 were sold in 1925. The 1926 Chrysler range was widened to include a 3-litre 4-cylinder ‘Chrysler 58’ to replace the Maxwell and the expensive 4.7-litre 6-cylinder Chrysler Imperial, selling for $3095. The 6-cylinder roadsters offered an excellent road performance for a modest price, as was shown by their 3rd and 4th places at Le Mans in 1928, behind a Bentley and a Stutz. The 1929 Chrysler models had internal-expanding brakes and their body styling and ribbon-type radiator shells were widely imitated in Europe over the next few years.
Meanwhile Chrysler had laid the foundations for a motor empire to rival General Motors and Ford by taking over Dodge and launchin two new makes, the Plymouth Four in the lowest price sector, and the De Soto Six in a slightly higher bracket – all this in 1928. Chrysler sold 98.000 cars in 1929. The 1931 Chrysler cars featured the long, low look inspired by the Cord of 1929; 4-speed gearboxes were offered for  a short while and for the first time a brace of straight-8s featured in the Chrysler range – the medium-priced Chrysler CD, and the 6.3-litre Chrysler CG-type Imperial for the carriage trade, often with bodies by Le Baron. 1932 saw fully flexible rubber engine mountings (‘Floating Power’), automatic clutches and free wheels. Synchromesh followed a year later. Automatic overdrive was available in 1934 on Chrysler, and regular equipment by 1936. The Chrysler line for 1934 was spearheaded by the revolutionary CD-type 8-cylinder Chrysler Airflow, with welded unitary construction of chassis and body, all seats within the wheelbase, headlamps mounted flush in the wings, a full aerodynamic shape and concealed luggage accommodation. At $1345 it was a commercial failure, though it was continued till 1937. Chrysler hurriedly brought out the more conventionally styled Chrysler Airstream line in 1935, and for the next twenty years the Chrysler company’s styling policy was cautious, though technical progress is represented by the adoption of independent front suspension and hypoid rear axles (for sale in 1937), steering-column gear-change (for sale in 1939) and optional fluid drive from 1939 onward.
The 1942 Chrysler cars for sale, generally competitive with GM’s Buick, embraced two 4.1-litre sixes and three 5.3-litre eights, all side-valve, with prices from $1295 for the Chrysler Windsor to $3965 for the Chrysler Crown Imperial limousine on the 12ft 1½in wheelbase.  

Early post-war design followed the 1942 Chrysler models closely, apart from some interesting ‘Town and Country’ bodies, basically standard sedans and convertibles with wooden exterior trim in station-wagon style. In 1951, however, Chrysler broke new ground with a 5.4-litre overhead valve oversquare V8 with hemispherical heads, a fully automatic transmission and the option of hydraulic power-assisted steering. This was at the time America’s most powerful car and Chrysler engines were fitted and raced by Allard and Cunningham. Caliper disc brakes were optional, but were dropped after a few years, while another individual feature of Chrysler Corporation products was the push-button layout of controls for the automatic transmission, found on Chrysler cars made between 1956 and 1965. Chrysler’s lag in styling was painfully apparent in 1954, when the Chrysler group lay a bad third behind GM and Ford, and 1955 not only saw the retirement of the old side-valve six in favour of a 4.9-litre 188bhp V8, but also new, lower ‘Flight Sweep’ lines which put the Chrysler cars well back in the running. A new range of ‘Chrysler 300’ coupés and convertibles gave Chrysler a ‘personal car’ competitive with Ford’s Thunderbird and the 6¼-litre V8s used in the 1957 Chrysler cars developed more bhp than any of their rivals. Alternator ignition and unitary construction of chassis and body were adopted in 1960, while Chrysler, who had had a gas-turbine car running experimentally in 1954, built a series of fifty vehicles using Plymouth running gear in 1964 which were supplied to selected customers for evaluation.
The 1960s also saw the corporation extend its motor-car interests into Europe by the acquisition of majority interests in Simca of France and the Rootes Group of Great Britain. Another overseas venture was Chrysler Australia Ltd of Adelaide. Chrysler’s V8 engine was also used by Facel Vega in France, and by Bristol and Jensen in Britain. Chyrsler’s 1968 cars were all V8s in the $3300 - $4600 price class, with 6.3-litre or 7.2-litre engines. Automatic transmission was standard on the more expensive Chrysler New Yorkers and the 350bhp Chrysler 300 coupé. There were no major changes in subsequent years, though the general derating of American power units was reflected by the standardization of 5.9-litre, 6.6-litre and 7.2-litre V8 in 1972 and 1973, with outputs ranging from 175bhp to 245bhp. Between 1955 and 1967 a handful of special-bodied Chryslers, Dodges and Plymouths with Ghia coachwork were sold under the Dual-Ghia name.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS 
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Lea-Francis

GB, 1904 – 1906; 1920 – 1935; 1937 – 1953; 1960

(1) Lea & Francis Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1904 – 1935

(2) Lea-Francis Cars Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1937 – 1960

Lea Francis started as bicycle manufacturers, like so many car makers, but unlike most of the rest, never went over permanently and consistently to Lea Francis cars. These Lea Francis cars appeared in fits and starts. The first appeared in 1904, in the shape of a 15hp Lea Francis car with a 3-cylinder horizontal engine, the oddest feature of which was its connecting rods over 3ft long. In the same year, however, Lea Francis stopped making their cars, and Singer the Cycle Company began building Lea Francis cars under licence and under the Singer name. R.H. Lea had in fact worked for Singer before branching out on his own. Thus began another famous car name. Lea Francis made motor cycles from 1911, and they concentrated on these until 1920. In that year two Lea Francis cars reappeared beside the motorcycles; assembled 4-cylinder touring Lea Francis cars of 11.9 and 13.9hp. Few of either were made. Then, late in 1922, the Lea Francis car company found its feet at last, with an equally conventional assembled light Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a 1.074cc 4-cylinder sv engine of 8.9hp by Coventry-Simplex, replaced in the following year by a 10hp Meadows unit of 1¼ litres with overhead valves. A Lea Francis car with 7hp Bradshaw flat-twin engine came to nothing. There were 3 forward speeds and quarter-elliptic springs at both ends. The 10hp Lea Francis car was very popular, and was made until 1928. Like other Lea Francise cars to come, it was well made, dependable, and lively. The great moment came for the Lea Francis cars in the very important RAC Small Car Trials of 1924, in which the Lea Francis car made the best all-round performance. During 1925 a wider family market was sought with the 12/22hp J-type Lea Francis car. This Lea Francis car had a longer wheelbase, allowing more spacious bodies, front-wheel brakes, a 1½-litre 4EC Meadows engine to cope with the weight and a 4-speed gearbox. For the sake of comfort, semi-elliptic springs were substituted at the rear on the P-type Lea Francis car introduced for 1928, which also had a plate clutch and 4ED meadows engine.

The Lea Francis car firm’s first serious sports car was the L-type with 4ED engine, announced for 1925. The Lea Francis 12/40hp was one of the best assembled cars in Britain, and appealed more widely than the light Lea Francis cars. It was, indeed, current until the second cessation of car production in 1935. However, Lea Francis also made some more ponderous, less lively Lea Francis cars, without the same degree of success. From 1925 until 1929, the Lea Francis range duplicated some of the heavy 6-cylinder machines offered by Vulcan of Southport, with whom Lea Francis cars had been associated since 1922. The 18hp Lea Francis car was a 2¼-litre car with cantilever rear springs and overhead worm drive. This Lea Francis car was succeeded by A.O. Lord’s Type T, with its advanced but unreliable Lea Francis LFS-type, double ohc engine of 1.7-litres. There was also, in 1928, a 2-litre six Lea Francis car. These Vulcan/ Lea Francis cars ended with the demise of the Vulcan. However, an excellent Lea Francis car with a six was at last introduced for 1931: the Lea Francis Ace of Spades model, with their own 2-litre, single ohc engine. This Lea Francis car continued alongside the old 12/40hp until 1935, together with a new 18hp Lea Francis car, which was a 2¼-litre enlargement of the Lea Francis Ace of Spades. However, a really powerful Lea Francis car was also listed from 1928. This Lea Francis Hyper Sports was a quite different car, with its heavily-modified, Cozette-supercharged Meadows 1½-litre engine, low build and raked radiator. The sports-racing two-seater Lea Francis car could attain 90mph, though a coupé and a short open tourer could also be had by those who did not intend to enter competitions. The Lea Francis Hyper Sports won the 1928 Ulster Trophy race.

A new company introduced two entirely new Lea Francis cars for 1938. These Lea Francis cars were designed by Hugh Rose, who had been responsible for the Riley Nine engine and, like the Riley, had 4-cylinder power units with push-rod overhead valves operated by two high camshafts. The Lea Francis car had ceased to be an entirely assembled car. A 12hp and a 14hp Lea Francis car were available, with cubic capacities of 1½ and 1.6-litres. Both had a 4-speed synchromesh gearbox. A sports version of the 1½-litre Lea Francis car was also sold, thus maintaining the old tradition. These two ‘Leafs’ were good cars, and as they were new, up-to-date Lea Francis carmodels, they could be continued after World War 2. Most of those built in this period were Lea Francis Fourteens, which were heavier but had a bigger bore and a capacity of 1.8-litres. A tuned sports Lea Francis car of the 14hp arrived for 1948. At the end of that year, an export version of the 14hp Lea Francis car, with torsion-bar independent front suspension, was shown and this suspension was adopted for both the 14hp and for the new 18hp, with a 2½-litre engine, in 1950. The sports model of the 18hp Lea Francis car was a fine car, with 100bhp available. The Lea Francis cars for 1953 had hydraulic brakes, but that was the last year in which the Lea Francis car appeared as a competitive production car. By mid-1952, output had fallen to six Lea Francis cars a week. An expensive car of specialist appeal,  the post-war years were too hard for it. In 1960 a few prototypes of a new sports Lea Francis car, the Leaf-Lynx, were made, but it never reached production. The power unit of this Lea Francis car was a 2½-litre Ford Zephyr, there was independent front suspension and disc brakes were supplied, but the car was ill-favoured and ill received. No better luck attented the Lea Francis carfirm’s attempt to make the Nobel bubble-car.

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