Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc

Hornet Special Newsletter

Issue 45June 2011

WHS Club ContactsSecretary

Bill Russell, ph (03) 9349 2262

PresidentPositionVacantEditor

Henry Hancock, ph (07) 3878 2850

3 Gilia Court Indooroopilly Qld 4068hlaevt@aanet.com.au

Wings & Wheels Trophy Winners

2003 – Wings and Wheels trophy presented to WHSC of Australia by the Sporting Car Club of Australia, the successor to the NSW Light Car Club.

2004 – John Clucas

2005 – Not presented

2006 – Monty Schofield

2007 – Ron Prentice and John Prentice

2008 - Norman, Alan and Peter Jones

2009 – John Ireland

2010 – Howard Kenward

The Sydney Telegraph’s Wings and Wheels Trophy was originally awarded to Mr S W Higginson for winning the handicap race at Maroubra Speedway on 24th November 1934.

FOR SALE1934 Wolseley Hornet CoupeComplete but needs total restoration.Car No: 154 055Chassis No: 55 124Engine No: 57A 124For details and photos see Newsletter issue 44John Summerfield horneteertoo@hotmail.com 02 46 819 751 PO Box 17 Tahmoor 2573

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Two Hours at 5000 RPM Hornets at Brooklands. What a delightful little book Dick Serjeantson has produced, but whilst we all know a good deal about Hornets I doubt that many today know much about Brooklands.

The track was built in the early days of the twentieth century after serious fatalities among spectators in the early city to city races in France. The designers of the cars of the time were developing bigger and more powerful engines but ignoring the chassis so that the monsters were becoming almost uncontrollable. What was needed was somewhere that they could race, away from the spectators, with few curves and corners.

As Brooklands was the first car racing track in the world the designers had to start from scratch. Being wealthy men, the backers obviously followed the ‘sport of kings’ and thought that motor racing would be the same as horse racing, with the cars running round in a pack and one darting out at the end to win. So, the track had to be wide enough to allow the cars to race side by side and the curves had to be gentle so that little slowing down was needed. From the pictures in the book you will see how wide the track was – the Hornets looking like ants on a tea plate and from the picture of the track you will see how gentle the curves were. But to make it even safer for the drivers the curves were heavily banked ( I guess they picked this up from cycle racing where, even today, cycle velodromes are banked). Not understanding about cornering forces, understeer, etc they put in the banking to allow the cars to travel in two directions at once, as it were. The car will follow the arc of the front wheels and the inertia of the heavy engine will drag it off that line and up the banking. Gravity would help overcome centrifugal force and by leaning the car over it helped prevent roll overs with those very top heavy cars. The track was 4.36km in length with a start and finish straight being that diagonal towards the top of the picture.

To complete the horse racing ambience they had bookmakers at the course and handicapping to even things out. Trying to outwit Ebblewhite (Ebbie), the handicapper, was quite an art between the wars, as he could only judge performance on the last outing, so secretly developing your car between races coupled with not driving to the limit in practice was the way to go. The slower cars were started first, on pole, and the others released at intervals after that. The scratch cars, the supercharged Alfas and Six and a Half litre Bentleys would have five or six laps to make up on the smaller cars, and if Ebbie had got it right they should all reach the finish line together. That did not happen of course but it did mean that Austin Seven racers could win races against much more powerful opponents. Of course, it was only the sheer size of Brooklands that allowed cars of such varying performance to race in safety.

However, by the 1920’s road racing, with its emphasis on braking, handling, and driver skill, had taken over and Brooklands was a bit of an anachronism. It continued to flourish in the thirties but mainly as a home for amateurs and the “in” crowd – “the right crowd and no crowding” was coined at Brooklands. The days of roaring round with foot on the boards were gone and if you read the memoirs of serious drivers of the time, they groaned at having go to Brooklands where little skill was required and the surface was very rough – reinforced concrete had not been invented at that time , I believe. The track closed in 1939 and has never been used for racing since. The all time track record is held by a Railton Special powered by a Napier Lion Aero engine.

Issue 45 Page 3

From this we can see what an achievement our Hornets made in 1932. After they were flagged off on the starting straight they would have reached the outer circuit, probably in third in the Specials, round the corner, up to peak revs and into top. From then on for two hours it would have been foot to the boards, 5,200 odd RPM, with no slowing down or stopping. Was this a highly developed racing engine, balanced and assembled in a cleanroom with minute tolerances? Well no, it was an example of what has been described as “the cheapest six cylinder car ever offered to the public”! It demonstrated that Wolseley’s engineering was spot on and Morris’ insistence on using the finest materials (picked up from Henry Ford, no doubt) paid off. I wonder how many modern cars could be driven flat-out for two hours without something falling off. I guess they would have used Castrol R – the vegetable based oil that was so superior to the mineral oils of the day, but remember that the third car was a Vintage, vertical generator car, with no oil cooler or water pump – two hours at 5,000 RPM – almost unbelievable! John Ireland.

“Hornets At Brooklands” Apologies for the extended delivery time to those members who ordered the booklet. Your orders were placed when received, but the UK end did not get them as thieves had cut down and stolen the cable connecting WHSC (UK) Treasurer’s village to the internet! Seems this is a bit of a problem due to the very high price of copper. He was offline for about three weeks all told, but posted them as soon as he was reconnected. John Ireland.

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Lot No: 2071932 Wolseley Hornet Special Sports Coachwork by Whittingham & Mitchell Registration no. MG 7690 Chassis no. 217/78 Engine no. 257A/78 Sold for £12,305 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

In the early 1930s Wolseley occupied the front rank of British sports cars alongside MG, Riley and Frazer Nash. The single model responsible was the Wolseley Hornet. Introduced in 1930, the Hornet saloon deployed Wolseley’s overhead-camshaft, six-cylinder engine in a lengthened Morris Minor chassis equipped with hydraulic brakes. Its power-to-weight ratio was exemplary among contemporary 1.3-litre cars, the smooth and flexible six pulling from walking pace to more than 60mph. The model was revised for 1932 with a shortened, chain-driven overhead-cam engine (repositioned further forward to improve cabin space) and a four-speed ‘silent third’ gearbox. Increased performance was offered by the Hornet Special chassis, which came with 12” brakes and remote-control gearshift. The Special used the shortened engine equipped with twin-carburettors and an oil cooler, in which form it produced 45bhp, good enough for a top speed, depending on coachwork, of around 75mph. The Special chassis rapidly became that of choice for the multitude of independent coachbuilders already using the Hornet as the basis for a sporting two-seater. This Hornet Special was first registered in 1933 and is a good example of the improved model, introduced at the October 1932 Motor Show, which incorporated cast-iron cylinder liners, a stronger rear axle, larger kingpins and Magna wheels. Car number ‘120741’, it carries a Eustace Watkins Daytona body by Whittingham & Mitchell and was in daily use until laid up for refurbishment in 1961 by the current owner. Regrettably, the task was never undertaken and the years have taken their toll, despite the fact that the car has been kept inside. Described by a Wolseley Hornet Special Club official as being ‘remarkably original in most respects’, ‘MG 7690’ is complete and retains its original radiator mascot and badge. There are no documents with this Lot, which is offered for restoration and sold strictly as viewed. A potentially most rewarding project.

Bonham’s AuctionUK 5 March 2011

Oh oh, subs are overdueSubscriptions to both the Australian and UK clubs were due on April 1. Your options once again are to:1. Pay $25, which helps to cover the costs of this Australian newsletter;2. Pay $70, which gets you this newsletter, Membership of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club (UK), copies of their excellent magazine and access to their parts service;3. Pay nothing. We’ll still send you this newsletter, but please let us know if you no longer wish to receive it.Cheques should be made payable to WHSC, not to any individual person, and should be sent to the club trea-surer, John Ireland, 83 Riverside Resort, Riverbrooke Drive, Coomera, Qld 4209.

Thanks to Paul Kenny for finding this Auction

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NSW NewsJohn Summerfield reports that he paid a visit to Roy West to view progeess on his Nine saloon.Its coming along well with 3 doors hung, so its looking like a car now, with body on chassis. Adjustment to get things right is the bug-bear !! Lots packing and shimming, etc. “He showed me the window trim, which I hadn’t seen before. The originals had a lovely brass strip inlay, with contrasting darker timber let into the Maple.He is thinking of replacing them with Aussie Cedar, but if the originals can be resurrected, they will really look the part.

In response to John’s enquiry, Bill Trollope says“I am sorry to say that there has not been too much progress since we last met in Canberra, I have had a few setbacks with some items requiring re-work due to rough workmanship on behalf of others.( I would not produce this type of result, just joking) Both my starter and genera-tor have had to go back, seems small but is a nuissance to me. Apart from that my engine is finished and will soon be back in the chassis. Work as I had planned it has fallen down a hole due to work commitments and my daughter purchasing a unit which Dad seems to be spending his spare time helping do up, which has kept me away from my shed. I don’t mind really as it is nice to be able to help your children while one still can. However my diff is now completely dismantled with all parts assessed and ready for re painting and the slow re-build, I have all the parts now to allow me to forge ahead with this part of the project. It’s amazing how much time it takes to get all the bits organised and the amount of shoe leather you wear out running around getting them. Brake shoes ,wheel cylinders, bearings, new crown wheel & pinion etc. to name just a few. I knew this resto was going to take longer than I first thought, however still look forward to working on the car. I am hoping to retire towards the end of the year I look forward to being able to spend more time on this labour of love then. All the best Bill

Fuel for HornetsI am interested in which fuel people are using in their Hornets (or any cars of that age). There are 91, 95 and 97 Grades available – 91 has Ethanol in it , so I expect not suitable. Also there are lead additives available. Does anyone use these to advantage? Lyle Cooper

Bill Russell writes: The Bonham’s catalogue is nearly correct. It should say ‘Daytona body by Whittingham and Mitchel” with a single “l”.W & M built most bodies for Eustace Watkins, who were the London distributors for Wolseley at the time, and who also ran the service facility for Wolseley. But W & M also built bodies for other makers, eg Vaux-hall etc. Where Hornets usually have a spinner on the spare wheel that says EW, the Vauxhall counterpart sometimes had WM. Hornets built by W & M sometimes had a door threshold plate with the coachbuilder’s name and address on it. The bodies were also numbered with digits stamped in the centre of the waist rail on the tub. I think mine is 809.Regards,Bill

“Eustace Watkins” and “Wittingham & Mitchel”Your editor was confused by the reference to both com-panies in the Bonhams auction flyer but Bill Russell and John Ireland came to the rescue

John Ireland writes:Very interesting and not too far out, though what “cast iron cylinder liners” are, I have no idea. However I will quote you a passage on W & M Coachbuilders from “The A to Z of British Coachbuilders”: “ W & M progressed quickly, and took a stand at Olympia in 1931. At that show it was described as specialising in sports coachwork for the Wolseley Hornet, and four examples were on display; all bore the ‘E W’ designation, with the ‘Daytona’ brand-name, indicating that they were made for the London dealer Eustace Watkins. By this time the affairs of the two companies had become so closely bound togeth-er that Eustace Watkins decided to buy W & M outright.” They went on to produce bodies for Rover, Vauxhall, Singer, British Salmson, MG N type Magnette, Lancia, Talbot, Ford!, Frazer Nash-BMW, Railton, & Allard. They even made a Rolls Royce tourer. So EW were never a coachbuilder under that name but became one with the W & M subsidiary, and the catalogue description is correct.Hope this clarifies matters, John

In WHSC (UK) Magazine No 3 April1952 (for those who have “The First 60 Years of Magazines” CD), A H Davies-Holmes describes the rebuild of MG 7690.

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Continuing with “2.2 The Second Phase: 1918-1944” L V Smyrk (2000), The Political Economy of and Demand for Australian Passenger Motor Vehicles, Ph D Thesis, School of Applied Economics, Victoria University of Technology, p. 27

The protective structure then in place had the desired effect and led to a rapid increase in the number of local body producers. It may have also influenced the North American producers Ford and General Motors (hereafter GM), to assemble their chassis in Australia. However, this claim was refuted by a GM executive of the time who argued that GM had made the decision to manufacture in Australia before such tariff decisions were taken (Stobbs 1972:9). Other factors beyond the level of tariff protection available to local producers may have also influenced the decision of foreign producers to set up operations in Australia. An assembled chassis required much more open shipping space to transport and thus was much more expensive to ship than its component assemblies. In addition, the 1921 Australian government promised Ford and GM tariff assistance of their own if they established operations in Australia (Forster 1964:38). Whatever their actual motivation, Ford set up a plant in Geelong, Victoria to build bodies and assemble vehicles using imported chassis in 1925. By mid-1926 it was employing about 1000 people. GM set up an assembly operation in Melbourne in 1926 but purchased their bodies from a local producer, Holden Motor Body Builders, which produced a not insignificant 36,000 bodies in that year. With the establishment of a local chassis assembly capacity, the value of imports of unassembled chassis as a percentage of total imported chassis increased from 25 percent in 1923-24 to 68.7 percent in 1926-7 (Tariff Board Report 1938:16).

Tariff protection was also vital to the growth of the component industry. Over the 1920s, Australian component producers, unsatisfied with their market share, sought and gained further protection from external competition. Initially these producers had limited their attention to the replacement component parts market. However, with the increase in local assembly over the period, domestic component producers increasingly began to bid for original equipment contracts even though they faced a strong impediment in their efforts to compete for such a market. The problem was that an imported vehicle chassis was subject to lower duties than was an imported vehicle body. Therefore the parts incorporated into the chassis entered Australia quite cheaply and were difficult for local manufacturers to compete against. The government was successfully lobbied over the 1920s to exclude several parts such as tyres, batteries, bumper bars, shockabsorbers, spark plugs and springs from the definition of a chassis. These items were given much higher effective rates of protection and helped secure the market for the local producer. In addition, the advent of the Great Depression saw a serious deterioration in Australia’s foreign exchange position particularly in 1929 and 1930. In order to slow the speed of depletion of foreign reserves, the government imposed substantial increases in import duties on a variety of commodities including components for PMVs. These combined actions, together with the prohibition of certain imports, greatly stimulated the use of locally manufactured parts in the assembly of PMV chassis and bodies. The success of the measures, even in the face of a severe and prolonged depression, is illustrated by Table 2.7 which shows the growth of the local component sector over the 1930s.Despite the relative success of the component sector, the Australian PMVs suffered a severe downturn during the Great Depression. For example, between 1928-29 and 1934-35 (the years of the greatest severity of the depression), there was an absolute fall in the total number of passenger cars registered in Australia.Registrations of PMVs did not surpass the level for 1928-29 until 1935-36 and from that year the industry made a strong recovery and registered an annual 16 percent growth rate until the advent of WW II.By 1936 general economic recovery was clearly apparent. Further, the PMVI had developed to a point where the majority of vehicles on the market were assembled locally from imported chassis. The Tariff Board Report (1938: 11) estimated the local content of complete cars manufactured in Australia to be between 43 percent and 50 percent. Despite such success, the then Lyons (Conservative) federal government saw the need to generate more value-added production within the industry and, in particular, to encourage the establishment of motor engine and chassis manufacture in Australia. Subsequently, the government produced a wide range of measures to attain this end. These included increased duties on imported engines and chassis and quotas on the importation of chassis from North America.However, more importantly, the government pressed ahead with a much more radical strategy that involved plans to develop an Australian produced motor vehicle. This was despite Tariff Board reservations as to the economic viability of the policy. In 1938 the Board concluded, “…it would be unwise at present to encourage or enforce the manufacture of the complete motor vehicle in Australia”. (Parliamentary Papers, Vol 11 (1937-40): 1818). The first decision taken was that there shouldbe only one company involved in the manufacture of such a vehicle and, further, that the company should be Australian owned.

Coupé differences to SaloonsContinued from Issue 44 ..................... morphing into a disscusion on CKD

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Subsequently, in 1940, a deal was negotiated with Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI). This gave ACI the sole right to build, with government assistance, an Australian PMV. The plan was quite ambitious in scope envisaging the manufacture of 20,000 motor vehicle engines and chassis annually. However, due to the impact of WW II the plan did not proceed. At the same time the existing, predominantly foreign owned companies, expanded in response to war munitions demand. In 1943, the 1940 proposals for the motor vehicle industry were reviewed. As the war neared its end, the then Curtin (Labour) federal government were as committed as had been the pre-war Conservative government to the expanded development of an Australian motor vehicle industry. Crawford (1979) comments on the extreme disquiet of the Americans who retaliated by revoking Australia’s most favoured nation trading status.

2.2.1 Summary of Policy Developments: 1918-1944.Whilst effective tariff protection was increased for local body-builders over the 1920s, rates of duties were also imposed that differentiated between assembled and unassembled chassis. These factors led to an increase in the number of local body producers and may have influenced Ford and GM to begin Australian operations. The 1920s and 1930s also saw the expansion of the local component industry. The industry was adversely affected by the Great Depression. However, by 1936 economic recovery was assured and, despite Tariff Board reservations, the government began to initiate moves to establish motor vehicle and chassis manufacture in Australia. The onset of WW II effectively put such plans on hold.

John Ireland:- Hi Bill, The thesis is most interesting. I believe that CKD was introduced initially to save shipping space in the immediate WW2 era after the great loss of ships in the war. As a complete car is mostly air in volume it saved a huge amount of space to ship all the parts unassembled.The Americans don’t seem to change much given their concern with the Australian government decision to encourage local manufacture. Of course, in the ‘30’s the $US was grossly undervalued (as they have concern about the Chinese currency today) which made their cars so cheap on export markets. They insisted on a rate of four dollars to the pound sterling which made British cars so dear they were unsalable on export markets and made the manufacturers produce solely for the home market. This made them rather unsuitable for most markets when they were the only cars available after WW2 and led to the eventual decline.The bumpers on my car are certainly factory fitted and given the possibility of damage to the under-bonnet fuel gauge, carbie, and so on, I would think that the bonnet was rather necessary for shipping.Also, Morris took the Aussie market very seriously and would have been on good terms with the government I would imagine - who would see him as a likely big investor - and may have been a bit lenient with him.

John Clucas:-

Gentlemen, For what it is worth, in June 1932 the SS factory dispatched two SS1 cars to Melbourne in what could be said was CKD form.I believe the order from Australia to the UK was structured to minimize import duty. The order read as follows: “Chassis only, supplied with bonnet and clips, running boards, unplated radiator, headlamp cross bar, spark plugs and road springs. Without shock absorbers, bumper bars, mudguards, tyres or battery.”

Note:1. We know that “chassis” included the running gear because the factory documented the engine number in its records. My assumption is that it was a rolling chassis, with running gear, springs and wheels.2. My own research into import duties of the time showed that the only items of the order that attracted duty were the springs and spark plugs (taxed at 40% of their value or four pence per pound – whichever was greater). Pressed metal panels would have been taxed at 9d per lb, and 40% more would have been payable on shock absorbers, bumper bars and mudguards. A complete body shell would also have attracted 40% duty.3. According to The Coach & Motor Body Builder magazine of September 1932, the bodywork of both cars was “completed” by Martin & King in Melbourne.4. I believe the two chassis were ordered to be driveable upon their arrival – after tyres and battery were fitted at the docks.5. I remember reading also that tax was payable on a plated radiator, but not on an unplated radiator. If anyone out there has a painted radiator, it could well be one imported to avoid the tax.

End of discussion

The Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc. (Victoria, No. A0035489S) exists to encourage the preservation and use of Wolseley Hornets, Sports and Specials. The Club and its Committee take no responsibility for the accuracy of this newsletter’s content or for the consequences of acting upon any information published in this newsletter.

Vale Howard Arthur Kenward14 November 1940 - 1 May 2011

Howard and I were at primary and high school together.I bought my ‘33 Wolseley Hornet Special in 1958 and while driving along Sandgate Road Virginia (a suburb of Brisbane) was passed by a black sports car which waved me over. How-ard leapt from his car, a ‘34 Special, to greet me with “I’ve heard this car was around”.Over the years we were able to acquire a lot of parts and even a spare car; as Howard always had his ear to the ground and knew when and where parts were available.On one occasion, a gentleman was trying to sell his engine and other parts for what we considered to be a ridiculous price. We were both newlyweds in the mid ‘60s, with little ones and spare money was hard to come by.Sometime later Howard received a phone call to say that the engine had been thrown down the well, and if we wanted it we had better come pull it out.We drove over in my Austin A40; attached some fencing wire to the front and with me driving, lowered Howard down the well. Thankfully the engine was above water and we were able to pull it out with a few other parts – loaded it into my trailer and drove off – the gentleman in question never showing his face!We were so thrilled to have a spare ‘33 motor - we set it up on some timber, filled it with oil and water and with a bit of a fiddle – the engine started.One day Howard said he wanted me to meet someone, and we drove to the Banyo shops. He took me into an office, and introduced me to Alison. I knew then that that was the woman he would marry.Howard had only three loves – his wife Alison; his boys and their families; and his cars.Only a few weeks ago when I was over at his place, he told me of the previous weekend’s work on the Vauxhall - the boys were all working on the car and to hear them ribbing each other and sky larking as brothers – did his heart good.Howard always said that when he got behind the wheel of the Hornet he felt at home.For many years we had theorised about how many Hornets were in Australia – we thought about 6 or 7. It wasn’t until Bill Russell got around everybody in all the States, that we realised just how many there were.Howard was the founding President of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia and dedicated more than 17 years to encouraging and helping other Hornet owners all over the country with their wonderful hobby.The Club members publicly acknowledge their enormous appreciation of Howard’s contribution over so many years.

We are very privileged to have been his friends.

Past president and a life member of the Veteran Car Club of Australia, Qld and of the Vintge Car Club of Queensland.President of the Wolsely Hornet Special Club of Australia

Howard and Alison in their 1912 15hp Crossley, found by Alison’s brother and restored by Howard. They are the second owners - the first were the Powne family.

Lyle Cooper remembers:

1925 Austin 7

“The Black Car” we know so well, with grandchildren Reece and Rachael.

Howard’s last trip in his 1919 D Type Vauxhall with Geoff, Michael and Chris. He found it at Hodgson’s Siding, near Muckadilla when surveying the area in 1973 and he collected the missing parts over many years.