Solved - MJW #725 - CSC 650 Sports 1952

[woodinsight]

Identify the make, manufacturer and year for a point

[roger]

French?

[woodinsight]

French?

Not French I'm afraid

[roger]

Anything to do with Opel.

[woodinsight]

Anything to do with Opel.

Nothing to do with Opel.
More home grown....

[woodinsight]

Experts?

[woodinsight]

An easy point for a professional?

[grobmotorix]

Now, this must be much fun to drive - but I do not have am clue.

I´d say it might be a Ford based british one-off.

[woodinsight]

Now, this must be much fun to drive - but I do not have am clue.

I´d say it might be a Ford based british one-off.

British - yes, but not Ford-based - either chassis or engine.
Not a one-off - it was intended for full production although I believe only two were built.
Believe it or not the manufacturer applied for an entry for the Le Mans 24 Hour race!

[barrett]

This looks really interesting but I have no idea... Seems to be rear-engined, which in itself is unusual in a British car.

Was this from an established manufacturer or an obscure outfit?

[woodinsight]

This looks really interesting but I have no idea... Seems to be rear-engined, which in itself is unusual in a British car.

Was this from an established manufacturer or an obscure outfit?

Rear-engined is correct.
The manufacturer is pretty obscure.
However the car was road tested by a well known magazine of the day.
I mentioned in my previous post that two had been built but I now believe the second car was quite different.
Here's a front view -

[barrett]

Were these the only cars the company built?

[woodinsight]

Were these the only cars the company built?

Yes....

[roger]

Did the company have anything else to do with transport, or were these two cars their only link to transport.

[woodinsight]

I don't know but the companies involved were registered as ------- Motors Ltd. and ------------ Engineering Ltd.
- so it's possible.

[woodinsight]

Time for a couple of clues - the engine was a 647cc motorcycle unit.
The name of the car consists of 3 letters.

[Wendax]

Norton engine?

[woodinsight]

Not Norton but equally as well known

[Carnut]

BSA?

[woodinsight]

BSA?

Yes, the engine is a BSA vertical-twin of 647cc, transmission is by chain and the clutch is also BSA.

[Arunas]

1952 CSC by Wrigley Motors.

[woodinsight]

1952 CSC by Wrigley Motors.

Yes you've got it!
I was beginning to think this was a BH candidate.
Here's an article on the car -

[Arunas]

Superb! Thanks for sharing!

[barrett]

Really interesting stuff, thank you!

I'm very interested to know what the 'other' car that you mentioned earlier looked like

[woodinsight]

I haven't seen a photo of the second car yet but I can tell you that it was based on an Austin A30 and was fitted with a Rochdale body. Probably built c.1954/55.

The other interesting fact about the CSC is that it appears to have been repowered with a DKW 890cc engine and rebuilt c.1958 by Freek Dudok van Heel in Henk van Zalinge's workshop in Naarden.
The car was renamed the AMAL and was the subject of my puzzle MJW #708 - see photo below

There's also a photo of the CSC competing at a Yorkshire Sprint in 1953 with Tony Platt at the wheel.