Founded in the year nineteen twenty-four February 1980

layer of leather. The lid was then put on the box and
sealed with fine clay. The carburising temperature was
between 900°C and 1,000’C.
As engines left the engine-building shop they
passed to the engine-testing shop. There were six heavy
cast-iron frames in this shop, attached to the floor, on
to which the engines were bolted. They would be run,
without the dynamometer attachment, on town gas for
about half-a-day or more, to get everything properly
eased up and to this end Acheson’s colloidal graphite
was mixed with the engine oil. This gave a mirror-like
finish to the cylinder walls.
For the final adjustments of magneto and
carburetter, and for the final power test, petrol was used.
At one shilling to one-and-a-penny per gallon, petrol
was considered to be very expensive. . . .
The system whereby a complete unit such as an
engine or gearbox was entirely built by a Chargehand
and his small gang, and upon which he stamped his
initial, made for pride in workmanship. Quite apart from
any consequences, they literally would not turn out a
shoddy piece of work. If gearboxes or rear axles were
a little stiff or noisy they were given a day’s run-in on
a belt-driven contrivance. Completed units eventually
found their way into general stores, from where they
were issued to the chassis-erection shop, as required.
The Foreman here would receive an Order Form card
from the Works Office, upon which was typed the
name and address of the customer and full details of
his requirements. This card also bore the car number
and the Foreman would go to the chassis-frame store
and, choosing the appropriate frame, would paint this
number on one of the side members. The frame and the
card would then be delivered to whichever Chargehand
was going to build the car. The chassis shop also boasted
a couple of carpenters for fitting dashboards, footboards,
etc. and an electrician for doing all necessary wiring. As
far as I can recollect, the chassis frames were supplied
by Thompson’s, the boiler makers All wooden wheels
were supplied by Goodyear of Dudley, whilst some cars
were fitted with the relatively new Rudge-Whitworth
detachable wire wheels. The chassis-erecting shop was
far from being a mere assembly shop. There was a great
deal of hand work to be done. In fact, so much that each
erection gang included a filer with his wide assortment
of files. As an example, the circular hole for the starting
handle boss had to be cut in the front of the cross member
with hand electric drill, hammer and chisel and file.
On completion, the car would be fitted with a set of
test wheels and pushed into the road-test department.
Bert Wickens was Foreman and chief-tester here. There
were about six road-testers. The lubrication of the
chassis seems rather laughable now. A labourer came
round with a large bucket containing a 50/50 mixture
of grease and thick black oil. He would remove the
inspection covers on rear axles and gearboxes and
proceed to stuff them full by hand with this revolting
mixture. The lost power which this entailed was not
appreciated then. . . .
If all went well, a car might past the road-test in
a single day, or less. The odd rogue might take a week.
When I was on the road-test the route varied but,
more often than not, it was in the general direction of
Bridgnorth. That very steep climb in Bridgnorth from
the river bridge up to the town square on the top was
frequently used. A simple incline these days but not then.
They were a good lot of chaps on the road-test,
every one of them a first-class driver/mechanic. I well
remember Perkins’ cheerful, beery face. He actually
taught me the drill for the road-test. There was lanky
Rawlinson and curly haired Tommy Whitlock who was
selected as riding mechanic to “Tiny” Crossman in the
1914 TT. The cars for this race were designed by Tom
Mathie, who was previously with Sunbeam, a clever
designer with many original ideas. He was killed in the
1914-18 War. The engine was a monoblock four-cylinder
side-valve type, with a bore and stroke of 90 mm. x 130
mm., with water-cooled valve caps, necessitated by the
very large diameter valves.
The pistons were of built-up steel construction, of
the Zypher type, the head carrying two piston rings and
being riveted to the skin which carried the gudgeon-pin
bosses. The connecting-rods were circular in section and
tapered from big-end to small, and were made of a special
steel-alloy. They were also hollow, with the hole itself
being tapered but at a slightly different angle, leaving a
wall thickness which varied from about 4 mm. to 2 mm.
Quite a number broke under test and the trouble was
eventually traced to the presence of minute tool-marks
on the inside wall. The rods were machined all over
from solid forgings and were then given a high polish
both inside and outside. With the elimination of the tool
marks by polishing no further trouble was experienced.
The engine developed around 90 b.h.p. at 3,000
r.p.m. These engines were tested in a separate shop and
were run in under light load on petrol, being lubricated
with a mixture of pure castor oil and colloidal graphite.
The setting of the carburetter was done initially with the
exhaust manifold removed. This enabled the colour of
the flame in the exhaust gases to be seen as they issued
from the ports. This was also a check on the distribution
of the fuel mixture between cylinders. If just a small trace
of constant blue flame in the exhaust could be seen, this
was taken as being approximately the chemically correct
petrol/air mixture. The mixture was then enriched so
that the consumption was 15 to 20 per cent more and
this, with minor adjustment, gave the optimum power
setting. The engines were dismantled several times for
check and the mirror-like finish on the cylinder walls
was most noticeable.
Dick Lisle and Crossman were the two drivers for
the race, with Cecil Cathie, a Star Company Director,
in reserve. (To his intense disappointment, I know.)
Cecil was a great character and as tough as old boots.
At that time he was Joint Master of the West Kent Hunt,
married, with a daughter and one son Give. He rarely
wore a hat even when racing and his permanently
immaculate hair was always a source of amazement to
those not in the know. The secret lay in his hair dressing
which was a mixture of starch and water, a spoonful of
salt and a drop or two of perfume, homemade. His hair
felt just like hard plaster.
Our car, No. 5, narrowly missed being a total writeoff
on two occasions before the trip to I.o.M. Once on our
way down to Brooklands for speed tests, coming around
a bend at high speed, we found the road completely
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