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 Four years after the Leon Bollee voiturette appeared, Leon Bollee superseded it with a 4-wheeler with independent front suspension by double transverse leaf springs.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

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Overland

US, 1903 – 1963

(1) Standard Wheel Co, Terre Haute, Indiana, 1903 – 1905

(2) Overland Co, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1905 – 1907

(3) Willys-Overland Co, Toledo, Ohio, 1908 – 1963

The makes Willys, Overland and Willys-Knight are inseparable, if only ecause of their confusing nomenclature. The original product of the Standard Wheel Co, as Overland cars were originally called,  was a tiller-steered single-cylinder runabout with solid tyres which differed from most of its contemporaries in having its engine mounted in front under a real bonnet. This Overland car sold for $595. This Overland car had grown up by 1905 into a wheel-steered 1.3-litre twin, still with planetary transmission, and the company changed its style and moved to Indianapolis. Financial difficulties In 1907 brought John North Willys, and Elmira, N.Y. automobile dealer into the picture, and under his ownership a $1.250 4-cylinder Overland cars was produced, this having a pedal-controlled planetary transmission in the Ford manner, separately-cast cylinders, and a transaxle. There were two sixe-cylinder Overland cars in 1909, an Overland car at $2.000, and the 45hp Willys costing $250 more. Both the Willys name and multi-cylinder engines disappeared in 1910, and production of 4-cylinder Overland cars was concentrated in the old Pope factory at Toledo. During these years Willys continued to distribute the Marion, for which he had held an agency in the Elmira days. High-tension magneto ignition was used on the 1912 Overland cars, which included a 3.2-litre 2-speed Overland Model 58 at $850, a 3-speed version (Model 59 Overland car) with conventional gearbox at $900, and two bigger 4 Overland cars at $1.200 and $1.500 respectively. By 1914 Overland cars had moved into the ranks of the best-sellers with the 79 series Overland car at $950, a 4-litre car which helped to sell 80.000 Overland cars that year. 1915 saw a sv Overland 6 at $1.145, with the group moving up into second place behind Ford in the sales race. Willys-Knight, still a young make, was placed eighteenth: and in 1916 a second Willys 6, with 5-litre engine, joined the range, to remain there for three seasons. Willys-Knight had a V8 on a 10ft 5in wheelbase for $1.950 in 1917, but in 1919 4s Overland cars only were being made, the chassis L-head Overland car having made its appearance at the low price of $495. The 4-cylinder Willys-Knight had 3.3-litre engines and sold around the $1.400 mark.

In 1920 Willys Overland Crossley Ltd was formed in England with works at Stockport: this was a subsidiary of Crossley Motors Ltd, and assembled Overland cars for the British market. It originated nothing save in 1924 version of the Overland car powered by a 1.802cc Morris-Oxford engine. Overland cars continued to sell well in America, the Overland Model-92 ‘Redbird’ appearing in 1923 and helping to push the year’s sales up to 196.000 Overland cars. Sixes were back in the Overland carprogramme for 1925, the Overland car being a straightforward 3.3-litre sv machine selling for $895, while Willys-Knight’s Model-66 had a 60bhp 3.9-litre unit and front wheel brakes, and cost $1.845. It supplanted the sleeve-valve 4s the following year, and 1926 also saw the first of Overland cars 2.2-litre 4-cylinder ‘Whippet’ series, priced at $625: these Overland cars repeated the success of the 1919 type. ‘Whippets’ had front wheel brakes in 1927, in which year a companion 2.4-litre 6 Overland car was listed, as well as a smaller and cheaper Model-70 Willys-Knight. This could be bought for only $1.145 in 1928 – a record year both for the group and for the Knight-engined machines, which found 55.000 customers. Other Willys-Overland car products during this period were the Stearns-Knight and Falcon-Knight. The Whippet Overland car was restyled for 1929. The Whippet was now a Willys rather than an Overland car, and in 1931 the 4-cylinder cars were dropped. Sales also slumped, and the sleeve-valve Willys-Knights were allowed to die out with the 87bhp Model-66E of 1932. From 1933 to 1936 the Overland car company struggled through a receivership, making only a 2.2-litre sv 4, the Overland Model 77, with some pretensions to aerodynamic shape and a low price of $445, but this Overland car was brought up to date in 1937 with new styling and synchromesh. The Overland car acquired hydraulic brakes in 1939, reverting briefly to the name of Overland cars: both name and styling of the Overland car were different again by 1941, when the Overland car went under the designation ‘Willys-Americar’, with roomier bodywork, hypoid final drive, and a list price of $705.

During World War 2, Willys-Overland cars, along with Ford, were responsible for series production of the famous 4x4 Bantam inspired ‘Jeep’, and Willy-Overland cars continued its manufacture to civilian account after the War, licences being sold to Hotchkiss in France and Mitsubishi in Japan among others. 

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