The Car Challenge

[Frank Hovis]

No front brakes ... Is it pre-1914 ?

[Big Boy]

image.jpg (79.96 KiB) Viewed 453 times

[Dannie Boy]

No front brakes ... Is it pre-1914 ?

It is just pre 1914 but as far as I am aware it had brakes..........which is just as well?

[Dannie Boy]

I think it is a Vauxhall 14 / 40. But what is special about it I do not know, unless it is the fellow with big snoze standing behind it! And the radiator badge is odd.

Not a 14/40, and whilst not this specific car, the type achieved something of a record!!

[Nereus]

I think it is a Vauxhall 14 / 40. But what is special about it I do not know, unless it is the fellow with big snoze standing behind it! And the radiator badge is odd.

Not a 14/40, and whilst not this specific car, the type achieved something of a record!!

Well then, it is an "A Type". That one being an A 12. 3.5 litre, 1912. The type earned a reputation for speed at Brooklands.

[Dannie Boy]

I think it is a Vauxhall 14 / 40. But what is special about it I do not know, unless it is the fellow with big snoze standing behind it! And the radiator badge is odd.

Not a 14/40, and whilst not this specific car, the type achieved something of a record!!

Well then, it is an "A Type". That one being an A 12. 3.5 litre, 1912. The type earned a reputation for speed at Brooklands.

Well done - the A Type was the first production car recorded at more than 100mph at Brooklands in 1910.

[Frank Hovis]

100mph and definitely NO front brakes !
It would, I suspect, have had a transmission brake and rear drums operated by cable, rather like modern handbrakes, not exactly the pinnacle of retardation.
It probably took longer to stop from 100 than it took to get there.

Below is from a page on the VX 30/98 (a much later model which did get front drums in 1923) the last line is something you wouldn't want to read in the owner's manual.

Brake drums were steel with a riveted cast iron liner. On some cars the drums were finned alloy again with a riveted cast iron liner. The final batch of cars used the 23-60 components and the front drums were very large, again with fins.
The transmission brake—given a slight lead when front brakes were fitted—in a drum behind the gearbox might have been adequate but it was usually full of oil that had leaked from the rear bearing. Then pressure on the pedal just produced a bad smell. A driver with the necessary skills—good hands and an understanding of the effects of the handbrake—could corner fast. Handbrake turns were available in wet weather. "In an emergency, however, braking was a waste of time, the driver must steer, change gear, jump out or pray—perhaps in that order."

[Dannie Boy]

What is this vehicle famous for - the actual car, not the type?

[STEVE G]

"The Saint" used to drive a P1800 but I don't know if it was that one.

[Dannie Boy]

"The Saint" used to drive a P1800 but I don't know if it was that one.

Yes a P1800 but not this one?

[JW]

Its done 3,000,000 miles, they say Volvos are built for life!

[Dannie Boy]

Its done 3,000,000 miles, they say Volvos are built for life!

Correct JW, it doesn't seem possible but that's what the Guiness Records say - maybe it's a bit like Triggers Broom in Only Fools and Horses..............it was the original broom and had only had 7 new handles and 10 new heads!!

[sandemb]

No laughing - I used to own one!! What is it?

[JW]

Triggers broom... classic!

[Dannie Boy]

No laughing - I used to own one!! What is it?

Looks like a Fiat 500 (Cinquentento)?