Morris

GB, 1913 to date

(1) W.R.M. Motors Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1913 – 1919

(2) Morris Motors Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1919 – 1970

(3) Austin-Morris Division, British Leyland Motor Corp Ltd, Cowley, Oxford, 1970 to date

W.R. Morris (later Lord Nuffield), an Oxford cycle and motor agent, launched his Morris-Oxford light car in 1913. This Morris car was made from proprietary parts, the engine being a 1-litre T-head four by White and Poppe. At £175 the Morris car was one of the best of the true light cars (as opposed to cyclecars) and over 1.000 Morris cars had been sold by the end of 1914. A larger model, the famous Morris Cowley, arrived on the scene in 1915; this Morris car was assembled from American components, the engine being by Continental. After World War 1 Morris cars marketed two 1½-litre L-head sv fours, with power units by Hotchkiss of Coventry; the Morris Cowley differed from the Morris Oxford mainly in its more austere equipment and the absence of a starter. In an inflationary climate, Morris cars was brave enough to reduce the prices of its Morris cars(a Morris Cowley two-seater cost £465 in October 1920, £299.10s a year later, and £225 in October 1922) and ensured a steady flow of Morris carproduction by acquiring his suppliers, such as Hotchkiss, Wrigley (transmissions) and Hollick and Pratt (bodies).

The Morris ‘bullnoses’ were soon best-sellers backed by a nation-wide service organization of Morris cars, and in 1925 Morris outsold all his competitors with 54.000 Morris cars. From 1924 to 1926 the staple Morris cars were the 1½-litre Morris Cowley and the 1.8-litre Morris Oxford, both with 3-speed gearboxes and the wet-plate clutches which persisted on some Morris carmodels right up to 1939. The Morris Oxford acquired front wheel brakes in 1925, and they were available as an option on Morris Cowleys a year later. 1927 Morris cars produced the flat radiator and also a venture into the export market with the unsuccessful Empire Oxford Morris car of 2½-litres, which had a 4-speed box and worm drive. Equally unsuccessful was a plan to market Gallicized Morris cars built in the Léon Bollée plant at Le Mans.

Meanwhile Cecil Kimber had produced the first of the Morris-Oxford-based MG sports cars, and a new name had been born. Morris had made a few six-cylinder Morris cars in the early 1920s, but his first serious attempt in this direction with Morris cars was a 2½-litre ohc model for 1928, the engine of this Morris car inspired by the Wolseley 16/45, a make which had come under Morris control the previous year. 1929 saw another ohc Morris car, the 847cc Morris Minor at £125. Never a best-seller, the Morris car none the less served as the basis for MG’s Midget. The 1930 6-cylinder Morris cars had hydraulic brakes, extended down the range until they were universal by 1934 on all Morris cars, and in 1931 Morris managed to offer a simplified sv two-seater version of the Morris Minor for £100. The early 1930s proved very difficult for the Morris car company, which had no obvious best-seller and too many different models of Morris cars. Sliding roofs and electric fuel pumps by the Morris-owned S.U. concern were innovations for 1932 and 1933 Morris cars pioneered the semaphore-type traffic indicator in Britain. That year Morris cars sv 1.3-litre Morris Ten-Four came out as an answer to Austin’s Ten and Hillman’s Minx. All 1934 Morris cars had synchromesh and the bigger sixes the added refinement of a free wheel.

The best-seller Morris car came at last in 1935 with the 918cc sv Series I Morris Eight, which retailed at £132.10s for a fully-equipped Morris car saloon and helped reach their first million Morris cars by the summer of 1939. In a bigger category were the Series II Morris carmodels with modern styling, 3-speed gearboxes, and built-in jacking systems, ranging from a revised Morris Ten-Four up to a 3½-litre 6-cylinder Morris Twenty-Five at £280. These Morris cars were contemporary with the Series I, though introduced some months after that Morris car. All 1938 Morris cars except for the Morris Eight had push-rod ohv engines (already applied to Wolseley and MG). Later that year Riley was absorbed into the Nuffield Morris car empire. Two 1939 winners were a revised Series E 8hp with a 4-speed gearbox and headlamps faired into the wings of the Morris car, and the 1.140cc ohv Series M Ten, which introduced integral construction to Cowley and this Morris car was made after World War 2 by Hindusthan in India.

Only the 8 and 10 Morris cars were made in the first post-war years, the first really new Morris car for ten years being the 1949 Morris cars designed by Alex Issigonis. Of these the MM series Morris Minor used the old 8hp sv engine, but boasted integral construction, rack-and-pinion steering and torsion-bar independent front suspension and set a new standard in popular car handling. A million of the basic design Morris cars had been sold by January 1961. Its companion Morris carmodels, also chassisless, and with independent front suspension were a new sv 1½-litre Morris Oxford and the 2.2-litre ohc Morris MS Type Six.

The amalgamation of Nuffield and Austin to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952 resulted in a gradual process of rationalization. First the Morris Minor went over to Austin’s 803cc ohv A30 engine in 1953. The Series II Oxford Morris car and its less powerful companion, the Morris Cowley, of 1954 had Morris hulls, but their engines were also ohv Austins. In 1955 the Morris carrange was completed by a new Isis using the 2.6-litre BMC 6-cylinder unit – this Morris car was discontinued in 1958. In the late 1950s some Morris cars were made and sold in Australia under the Morris car name which were in fact more closely akin to other makes in the BMC group. The 6-cylinder Morris Marshall was really an Austin A105, while both the Major and its Austin counterpart, the Lancer, were based on the Wolseley 1500.

With the arrival of the Farina-styled 1½-litre Morris car saloons in 1959, differences between Austin and Morris cars had been reduced to house colours and radiator emblems. The front-wheel-drive Mini (1960) was shared between the two makes and though its bigger stablemate, the 1100 of 1963 with Hydrolastic suspension, was initially a Nuffield monopoly Morris car, the inevitable Austin variant followed a year later. In the case of the third front-wheel-drive model, the 1800, Austin were ahead of Morris cars in introducing it by nearly eighteen months. The 1968 Morris car range comprised the fwd Mini, 1100/1300, and 1800 as well as the conventional 1.600cc Oxford and the indestructible Morris Minor 1000, now with 1.098cc engine and still selling close on 60.000 Morris cars a year. This sole survivor of independent Morris car design did not disappear until the end of 1970. Minis became a separate make that year. From 1971 Morris car versions of the 1100 and 1300 disappeared; the name was reserved for the Marina, an orthodox rear-wheel-driven family saloon with Minor 1000 front suspension, semi-elliptics at the rear, and drum brakes on the simpler variant Morris cars. Push-rod 1.300cc and 1.800cc B.L.M.C. 4-cylinder engines were used, and the original 2-door coupé and 4-door saloon were joined by a station wagon Morris car in 1973. The largest fwd cars were still available with Morris car badges – there was a version of the 6-cylinder 2200 in 1972.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

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

Singer

GB, 1905 – 1970

(1) Singer & Co Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1905 – 1936; Birmingham, 1927 – 1936

(2) Singer Motors Ltd, Coventry, Warwickshire, 1936 – 1956; Birmingham, 1936 – 1956

(3) Singer Motors Ltd, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, 1956 – 1970

The Singer cycle firm acquired the manufacturing rights of the Perks and Birch motor wheel in 1901, and made front-wheel drive Singer tricycles as well as motor bicycles. These gave way to a line of conventional Singer tricars, which were still available as late as 1907 with water-cooling, wheel-steering and 6hp and 9hp engines. Car production started in 1905 with a 15hp 3-cylinder Singer car designed by Alex Craig, and made under licence from Lea-Francis. This Singer car had horizontal cylinders with overhead camshafts and 30in connecting-rods, and final drive was by chain. 2-cylinder versions Singer cars were also made, but the beginning of a new line Singer cars came with a conventional 2.4-litre 4-cylinder in 1906: an experimental 6-cylinder engine was exhibited in a Singer car, but not offered for sale. Only orthodox Singer cars with front vertical engines were listed in 1907, the smaller ones (a short-stroke 900cc twin Singer car, a 1.4-litre 3-cylinder, and a 1.8-litre 4-cylinder) having T-head White and Poppe power units, the larger fours Singer cars of 2.4-litres and 3.7-litres using Aster engines. Thereafter White and Poppe engines were standardized in Singer cars, and in 1909, when the Singer car company was reorganized, there was a 2.5-litre Singer sixteen with 3-speed gearbox and all brakes on the rear wheels, this Singer car selling for £380. L-head fours of 2.6-litres and 3.3-litres were introduced on Singer cars for 1911, in which year the biggest Singer car had worm drive, Sankey steel detachable wheels were featured, and the circular motif in the radiator core was discarded. The White and Poppe-powered Singer cars had quite a brisk performance, G.O. Herbert’s ‘Bunny Junior’ being capable of 3.000rpm, and wresting the Brooklands 16hp class records from Coatalen’s Sunbeam, while a modified 15hp Singer car with lengthened stroke and overhead inlet valves ran in the 1912 Coupe de l’Auto. This year saw the introduction of Singer cars first best-seller, the 1.100cc L-head Singer Ten with pair-cast cylinders and 3-speed gearbox in unit with the back axle. Though qualifying as a cyclecar in terms of weight, the Singer car was in fact one of the first modern baby cars, and sold for £185: Haywood’s tuned Singer car put 72 miles into the hour at Brooklands, and the fortunes of the Rootes brothers’ motor business were founded on the sale of this Singer car. The following year Singer cars own engines spread up the range with a new monobloc 2.4-litre fourteen, this Singer car was available with electric lighting, and fitted with Singer-made shock absorbers. By the outbreak of World War 1 only the big 20hp Singer cars retained the White and Poppe unit, and very few of these Singer cars were made. Singer motorcycle manufacture ceased in 1915, and the few Singer Tens being made to civilian account had a new rounded radiator and electric lighting. Singer Tens were also supplied to the Armed Forces during the war.

The first post-war 1 years saw for Singer cars a concentration on the 10hp model, now with full electrics, but otherwise little changed. A 60mph sports version Singer car cost £500 in 1920, and 33bhp was claimed from a racing Singer car which ran in the 1921 200 Mile Race. In 1922 the gearbox was placed amidships, and by 1923 the Singer car had been completely redesigned with an ohv monobloc engine and unit box. For one reason only (1923) a cheapened Singer car was offered under the Coventry-Premier name, this being a motorcycle and cyclecar concern which the Singer car company had acquired in 1921.

It was in 1921 that a trend towards a complicated Singer car range began which was to bring about the Singer car firm’s subsequent financial difficulties, though in 1928 Singer cars ranked third behind Morris and Austin among all-British private-car manufacturers. Their first production six Singer car was available in 1922, this Singer car being a long-stroke 2-litre with side valves, thermos-syphon cooling, magneto ignition, 3-forward speeds, spiral bevel final drive, and disc wheels, selling for £675. 4-wheel brakes were optional on this Singer car model in 1924, and had spread to the Singer Ten two years later, and a smaller 1.8-litre ohv power unit was introduced in a Singer car in 1927. Also in 1924 fabric bodies were listed for Singer cars, though curiously enough Singer cars avoided these during the late 1920s when fabric was fashionable. By 1927 also the Singer Ten had grown up into a 1.3-litre Subger Senior with plate clutch, and a new and very successful baby Singer car had come on the scene in the shape of the 848cc ohc Singer Junior, initially this Singer car was with 3-speed gearbox and brakes on the rear wheels only. The Singer car was a roomy four-seater with 4 doors, a 7ft 6in wheelbase, and a price of only £418.10s., and this Singer car was made until 1932, as well as being the ancestor of all Singer car models up to the Rootes takeover in 1956. 1928 brought the abandonement of cone clutches in Singer cars, the provision of 4-wheel brakes on the Singer Junior, and the introduction of an improved 42bhp 1.9-litre ohv six with a 7-bearing crankshaft. There was also a short vogue for fully convertible saloon Singer cars with wind-down roofs. 1930 Singer cars had wire wheels and coil ignition, but things became impossibly complicated for Singer cars in the 1931-1933 period, when the Singer car marque went in for ribbon radiator shells, not to mention the ‘Kaye Don’ six with waterfall-style radiator grille and twin carburetors, selling for £480. Eight models Singer cars were listed in 1932: the Singer Junior with 4 speeds and rear tank, a 972cc Singer Junior Special version destined to grow up into the Singer Nine, both Singer cars with overhead camshafts, a sv 1.3-litre 4-cylinder Singer Ten, and four 6-cylinder Singer cars ranging from a short-lived 1½-litre sv 12/6 at £235 up to the big ohv push-rod Singer Kaye Don. Hydraulic brakes were standardized on all Singer cars but the biggest six in 1933, when the first 972cc sports Singer Nine was introduced; these Singer cars challenged MG and did very well in reliability trials, which suited their rather low gearing. In standard form the Singer car offered 70mph and 5.300rpm for £185, though even the 4th place (and best-placed British car) by a Singer car in the 1937 TT failed to make up for the catastrophe of the 1935 race, when the whole Singer car team was eliminated by spectacular steering failures. This unfortunate affair also sounded the death-knell of an excellent 4-bearing 1½-litre sporting six Singer car introduced during 1933.

The permutations went on. Singer cars own ‘perm-mesh’ clutchless change came in 1934, in which year there was also a 1½-litre ohc Singer Eleven with independent front suspension and fluiddrive transmission at £245. This Singer car could be bought with a fullwidth aerodynamic saloon body known as the Airstream. All 1935 Singer cars had ohc engines, fluidrive and independent front suspension being applied also to the de luxe 9hp saloon Singer car and the 2-litre 6-cylinder Singer car model  at the top of the range. In 1936 there were six modelsof Singer cars, cheapest of which was the 9hp Bantam Singer car with 3-speed gearbox, electric pump feed and 12-volt electrics, looking very like the Morris 8, and competitively priced at £120 for open models. Enevitably another reorganization of the Singer car company followed, and more models. A 42bhp Singer Twelve with an engine of just over 1½-litres’ capacity sold for £225, this Singer car had an X-frame, and market a reversion to the beam front axle, but a similarly-powered sports model Singer car was almost stillborn, and after 1937 there were no more true sports Singer cars or 6-cylinder models. Instead, a 1.2-litre Singer Ten with the option 3 or 4 forward speeds was listed for 1938 at prices from £168.10s. up, and the Singer car company’s confidence in its ohc power units was reflected in the issue of a bore guarantee with the 1939 Singer cars. The Singer Nine (now of 1.074cc) reverted to mechanical brakes, and a semi-sports roadster style was offered as an alternative to the saloon Singer car on this chassis. 1.100cc and 1½-litre engines were supplied to HRG, who continued to use Singer car power units for the rest of their series-production career.

After World War 2 Singer car production was concentrated at the Birmingham works (opened in 1927), and Singer re-introduced their pre-war types. In 1948, however, the saloon Singer cars were replaced by a full-width, slab-sided 1½-litre model, the Singer SM 1500. This Singer car retained a separate chassis, and featured column change, hypoid final drive, and coil-spring independent front suspension. At £799 the Singer car was more expensive than its rivals, and sales of Singer cars slumped once the era of the seller’s market came to an end. Neither this nor the improved 1951 1½-litre roadster Singer car, also with independent front suspension, could compete against the big manufacturers. None of the Singer car company’s subsequent innovations – the option of twin-carburettor power units in 1953, experiments with a fiberglass-bodied roadster in 1954, or the Singer Hunter saloon of 1955 with conventional radiator grille, fiberglass bonnet to and (on paper, at any rate) a rather expensive twin-ohc engine as an alternative – could save the day for Singer cars. Early in 1956 Rootes Motors purchased Singer car company, and by the end of the year the Hunter had been replaced by a Hillman Minx-based Gazelle retaining Singer’s 52bhp ohc engine. Even this last vestige of the old days had been phased out of production by the end of 1958, and since then the name of Singer cars had been carried by de luxe variants of the basic Hillman types, acquiring such Hillman improvements as optional automatic transmission in 1960 and hypoid final drive in 1961.

At the beginning of 1970 the Singer car range consisted of the rear-engined ohc Chamois (Imp), and the 1.469cc Gazelle and 1.725cc Vogue, both members of the Arrow family corresponding to Hillman’s Minx and Hunter. All these disappeared soon afterwards as part of the rationalization the Chrysler Corporation imposed on the old Rootes Group.

US, 1915 – 1920

Singer Motor Co Inc, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

The Singer car was the successor to the Palmer-Singer car, which had been produced since 1906, and was one of the finest and most expensive luxury cars manufactured in America in its few years of existence. Distinguished by a sharply pointed radiator and a wide choice of custom bodies from leading coachbuilders, the Singer cars produced between 1915 and 1919 were powered by a Herschell-Spillman 6-cylinder engine. In 1920, the series HEH20 line of Singer cars was introduced. This series Singer cars, which proved to be the last, had a 12-cylinder Weidely engine. Prices on the last Singer cars were as high as $9.000. Wire wheel were standard on Singer cars.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, KM

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