Coastal Classics
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CHAIRMAN’S CHAT. Coastal 39s 5d As I sit here writing this, I reflect on this current year of isolation for many and restrictions for others. Its been a year of being able to get those necessary jobs done on the classics for Classics many with the lack of shows. Let’s hope we can see an end to this and hopefully next year be able to get out and about again. Somehow, we will soon have a committee meeting, social distanced of course, to decide on events for next year and to whether the AGM, scheduled for February can go ahead or do we postpone it for a few months. The later looks likely but we shall try to keep you informed of any necessary developments. The same will Covid Car Show apply to our Annual Dinner which was due to take place in January. Should you be wondering why you have not received a reminder about your Membership well its been decided that this will be suspended for this year and hopefully will start again in 2021. For those that have paid this year a free year next year will be given too you. As you can imagine the lack of our two shows has hit us fairly hard so we shall have to postpone our usual donations to charities this year with reluctance I must admit. What more can I say other than keep safe and let’s hope this dreadful virus comes to an end soon so we can get out and about again and back to normality? Your Chairman. Clacton Classic Car Club Newsletter Member 1 Autumn 2020 2 Welcome to the autumn edition of the clubs newsletter. With most classic car shows and auto jumbles cancelled along with steam rallies and country shows leaves us with very little input to report on. A club member has supplied a very interesting history of the tax disc. A good write up from John Bailey on recollections of past events and Ford cars covering the best classic models and a nice piece on the Jowett a favourite of mine. We look back on the Humber, Riley and Triumph cars along with part one of the history of the S U carburettor. I always considered the S U to be the most adaptable and useable carburettor made, easily set up with just using a colour tune. In my younger days my friend and I had an Autocross car with four S U carburettors on 16 inch long ram pipes between the carburettor and the cylinder head and all four exhaust pipes were 16 inches long. Easily set up using a colour tune and vacuum meter and was a smooth running engine with an increase of usable torque. We were well chuffed in what we had. When running the knocking effect in the ram pipes causes a little bit of back pressure and a drift of petrol vapour comes out of the carburettor and gives the impression of the engine running backwards. At one meeting it was deemed to be putting petrol vapour into the airstream and failed scrutineering and that was the end of it being used. We do not hear much about driverless cars lately and the feasibility of them becoming a 100% safe is in doubt and I would think insurance cover could be an issue. There must be a million variations of what could happen on the roads ask any policeman. Years ago when I was a part time pig farmer the manager of a company I was doing some work for asked if he could have a pig. He came over and with a bit of a struggle we loaded a fattened pig 180- 190 lbs into the back of his small Ford van, a piece of hardboard tied behind the front seats kept the pig in the back as an extra precaution we tied up the back doors. He lived the other side of Colchester as he drove into town the pig got past the hardboard division and clambered into the passenger seat being there was nothing he could do and carried on driving but a half a mile further along he was stopped by the police. (I do not know why seat belts were not compulsory in those days). The police helped him get the pig in the back and retied the hardboard, he was told to get off home, we are not doing any paper work we have had enough of pigs it is only two months ago a Landrover towing a livestock trailer on the way to North hill livestock market, stopped at the traffic lights as they changed to green and jerked off forward. The tailgate of the trailer dropped down not only did the pigs clamber out they clambered out and disappeared in every direction you could think of. I think the programmers for the software of driverless cars have a lot more work to do. Anyway until the next time stay safe. 3 4 The History of Humber Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which can date its beginnings to Thomas Humbert bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part of their Rootes Group. The range focused on luxury models, such as the Humber Super Snipe. At Humber & Co’s third general meeting in 1897 the managing director said they had received many letters asking if they would produce a motorised vehicle, and they had in fact been working on this project for 2 years, but had delayed production until they found a suitably reliable engine. Having now found an engine they were gearing up for production. The first Humber car was produced in 1898 under the guidance of Thomas Humber and was a three-wheeled tricar with the first conventional four-wheeled car appearing in 1901. See book Humber history to 1930] The company had factories in Beeston near Nottingham and Coventry. The Beeston factory produced a more expensive range known as Beeston-Humbers but the factory closed in 1908 after financial problems. Before the First World War a wide range of models were produced from the 600 cc Humberette to several six-cylinder 6-litre models. In 1913 Humber was the second largest manufacturer of cars in the United Kingdom. The Humber Motor Works in Coventry still survives—a rare thing as the majority of the city was destroyed in the November 1940 air raid. In 1925 Humber moved into the production of commercial vehicles with the purchase of Commer. In 1928 Hillman was added but independence ended in 1931 when the Rootes Brothers bought a majority shareholding. Prior to WWII and after, many large long wheel based Humber Limousines were built with English, Australian, American and even a few European coachbuilders’ special bodies. Thrupp and Maberly of London,later acquired by Rootes, built many of the coachbuilt bodies for the Pullman and Imperial limousines. Most of these surviving cars in Australia are fitted with Thrupp and Maberlyaluminium bodies, the series V Imperial is bodied by Thrupp and Maberly and somewhat rare today. Thrupp and Maberly built a special body for an eight cylinder Sunbeam in 1936 which was given to King Edward VIII. After his abdication the car was returned to the factory and 5 6 significantly altered and then eventually sold as a Humber with a new six cylinder engine Several V8 models had been in pre-production at this time, but were never publicly and altered grille and body. sold. Several of these test examples survive today. During World War II, military ordered cars were produced for the armed services, several Rootes’ last car was the second generation of Humber Sceptre, a badge-engineered armoured cars were produced under the Humber name, along with heavy-duty “staff’ Rootes Arrow model. [ Audax range ] The marque was shelved in 1976 when all cars. The standard Humber cars, limousines, specially prepared war models and military Hillmans became badged as Chryslers. The Hillman Hunter (another Arrow model) 4x4 vehicles [ which were fitted with Rolls Royce engines], were almost literally bullet was subsequently badged proof running gear and heavy duty suspension, gave excellent reliability and performance as a Chrysler until production ceased in 1979 when Chrysler’s European division in was sold to Peugeot and the marque renamed Talbot. The Talbot marque was difficult terrain in both Northern Africa and Europe. abandoned at the end of 1986 on passenger cars, although it was continued on vans for six years afterwards. General Montgomery, Commander of the British and Allied forces in Northern Africa during the Desert war of WWII, had two specially built Humber Super Snipe four door Aviation Humber produced a number of aircraft and aero-engines in the years convertibles made with larger front wings or guards, mine proof floors, special before the First World War. In 1909 the company signed a contract to build 40 appointments and long copies of the Bleriot XI monoplane, powered by their own three-cylinder engine, range fuel tanks. Two cars were built for him and used in the Africa campaign against and four aircraft were exhibited at the Aero Show at Olympia in 1910. General Rommel [ who used open tourer large, long range convertible Mercedes Benz’s.] Montgomery’s Humbers are known as ‘Old Faithful’ and the ‘Victory Car’. Both cars still exist in full military regalia in museums in England and are a testament to the high engineering and manufacturing standards of Humber and Rootes Ltd.