As usual I have ottally lost track of my last puzzles. It's been such a long time I'm going to start 'from scratch' again with 1001.
Who can name this car, its designer and the year for a point?
Up
Lawrie Bond connection?
British?
It is British, and there is a VERY tenuous Bond connection...
Fairthorpe
Any Jowett connection?
*** Bump ***
Microplas Toledo, 1954?
Microbond, Microplas Ltd.
Microplas Stiletto 1954
based on Austin 7
Mike Eyre, Bill Ashton, Wemyss brothers were involved.
It is a Microplas Toledo as Front Man says: the Stiletto came later.
It was a design of Bill Ashton, Mike Eyres and Sandy and Tony Wemyss, yes, and was based on an Austin 7 chassis, although it could be mounted on other chassis too.
Since barrett seems to have abondoned his puzzles I'll leave it a bit longer and if he doesn't reply I'll award points and move this to solved.
I've given both FrontMan and hermanoto a point since one got the car right and the other got its builders.
Moved to solved.
Just a bump for this on my return. Although the body is probably a Microplas, that is not the answer to the puzzle!
I've moved this over to the 'Master' section to see if anyone can figure it out.
Is it anything to do with Elva?
Not Elva
It's wearing a Hampshire trade plate.
Is that a clue?!
Yes indeed!
I can't find much abouit car makers in Hampshire.
The only one I can find is Gordon-Keeble, and I douibt it's anything to do with them...
Anything to do with Berkeley?
It wasn't built by a car maker as such
Anything to do with Derek Bennett?
No
Was this mysterious person a boatbuilder?
Was it a Downton Engineering project?
Twice no
Something to do with an engine manufacturer?
It was the product of an engine designer...
Butterworth?
Not him
Chris Lawrence?
Not him either
Designer of engines for racing cars?
No
For road cars?
Yes, he designed all sorts of engines including those used in road cars
Tony Rudd?
Not him
Harry Weslake?
No. A clue - this was one of the designer's last projects (not one of his first!)
Harry Ricardo?
Raymond Mays?
Neither
Aubrey Woods?
(unlikely, but..) John Cooper?
Still no. He's much more obscure than most of the names mentioned so far
Stewart Tresilion?
Not him
Bernard Hooper?
No
Last one: Peter Berthon?
No! Time to try a different tack I think...
Yes it is..
Did he design an engine which was used in a production car made in reasonable numbers?
Yes
Keith Duckworth?
Quote from: Carnut on April 03, 2020, 02:59:08 PM
Did he design an engine which was used in a production car made in reasonable numbers?
Quote from: barrett on April 03, 2020, 02:59:47 PM
Yes
A steel-bodied car made by a major British manufacturer?
Not Keith Duckworth. Yes, he designed at least one metal-bodied car which was produced in good numbers. I wouldn't say the manufacturer was 'major' but certainly everyone on this website will be aware of them. At least one other of his automotive designs has appeared on this website before
Thanks.
Was it built post-war (1940s/50s) - I'm thinking perhaps Gerald Palmer?
No, his most popular products were pre-ww2
In the 1930s?
earlier
Aha, so 1920s I guess.
Could the car be an Armstrong-Siddeley?
1920s yes, Armstrong Siddeley no!
Alvis?
No
Was it perhaps C.M. van Eugen(1890-1980)?
Designer at Lea-Francis in 1920s/30s including "Ace of Spades" engine and Autovia in 1930s
Not him
Well I might as well try Hugh Rose (1886-1965) then
Designed at several companies in 1920s, Sunbeam and Riley in 1930s and Lea-Francis in 1930s and 40s
Granville Bradshaw ?
Alan (A.H.) Wilde of the Standard Motor Company?
Some of the manufacturers mentioned were on my list too but since you said you wouldn't call them 'major' manufacturers I had discounted most of them.
So would the car designed by him that was produced in some numbers in the 1920s have been made by a bigger company than those I have tried (Armstrong-Siddeley and Alvis)?
Quote from: nicanary on April 07, 2020, 11:32:42 AM
Granville Bradshaw ?
Well, there you have it!
Locked for you to tell me exactly what this car is
In 1955 (the same year the Toledo bodyshell was introduced) Bradshaw announcd his new i.c.e. motor which worked on the toroidal (I've seen it spelt Torodial) basis. I'm guessing he purchased this shell to clothe the mechanicals of his new invention.
No, this doesn't use the toroidal engine and it is older than 1955... It has a name, and was built by a proper manufacturer
He designed something called The Bug for Sharp's Commercials, but that was a single seat device, Is this car connected ?
I can'r believe I just posted this drivel. Panic Post.
Please ignore the previous suggestion. All I can think is - is it some sort of proposal for a Panther car?
Not Sharps or Panther
Please unlock.
okay, open to all
Quote from: barrett on April 08, 2020, 09:34:02 AM
It has a name, and was built by a proper manufacturer
Was it the prototype for the 1955 Lansing Bagnall car?
They were a maker of forklift trucks and similar commerical vehicles but it seems they fancied having a go at car-making in 1955!
Their car, pictured below, was designed by Granville Bradshaw, they were based in Basingstoke, Hampshire and the wheels look similar...
It might even be him sitting in it! It looks rather like him.
The car pictured below is the Lansing Bagnall Utility (of 1948) which seems to conflict with it being a 1955 car as described on the All-Car Index website.
But there was also another Lansing Bagnall car designed by Bagshaw called the "Shay Sports", so maybe your puzzle car is the prototype of that? That could be the cause of the confusion with the dates; the Utility dates from 1948 and the one dating from 1955 is probably the Shay Sports:
https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/2013-42/solved-wendax-932-bradshaw-utility/msg280845/#msg280845
That's right! It's the Shay Sports, which was essentially a sports car built around the Bradshaw Utility platform by Lansing Bagnall.
There is some confusion over the dates these cars were built. The Utility was registered for the road in 1955 by a private owner, but this was way after development had stopped. As far as we know, it was built in the late 1940s but not registered for some time after that. We used to own this car and it does seem to pre-date the 1955 registration by some time. Certainly it was several years before the other famous fwd, transverse, gearbox-in-sump British family car...
The Shay Sports was a development of the Utility, but as somebody pointed out the body is a Microplas Toledo so this can only have been finished as a complete car in 1954/55. I'm not sure if it was ever registered, and it almost certainly no longer survives.
Well done!