Tag Archives: Royal

Something Yet Everything – Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé

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The “something” that was “everything” that the Chrysler marketing department believed was never to be sensed or enjoyed in any other car….

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

…. was Chrysler engineering which excelled in 1930 when the 70 and 77 models were introduced.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

The 77 was available with nine body options, including the Royal Coupé seen here, which were described in the companies marketing campaign as being of “dreadnought construction”.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

To put the battleship construction into the guaranteed 77 mph performance arena Chrysler were among the pioneers who used of down draught carburetors ….

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

… and a cam driven fuel pump to replace the gravity flow vacuum fuel tank to improve fuel distribution to the 4.4 litre / 268 cui 93 hp straight six engine.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

A “Multi Range” 4 speed gearbox was used to “out-distance all attempts to equal Chrysler performance.”

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

Further superior engineering was evidenced by the standard “weatherproof hydraulics” for the braking system and a handy brake fluid resevoir mounted conveniently on the engine firewall.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

The other 8 body styles offered for the 77 Series were Business Coupé, Convertible Coupé, Crown Coupé, Crown Sedan, Phaeton, Roadster, Royal Sedan and Town Sedan.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

A new Royal Coupé would cost an owner $1725 excluding all extra’s which included a novel electrical option radio for which the wiring was factory fitted.

Chrysler 77 Royal Coupé, Ken Thompson, 2014 Classic Run, Chipping Sodbury

The example seen in these photo’s owned by Ken Thompson was first registered in the UK on the 3rd of June 1930.

Thanks for joining me on this “Something Yet Everything” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Jumpin’ Motorcycles – Singer 8 Junior Sports

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Today’s featured 1928 Singer 8 Junior Sports is essentially mechanically identical to the 4 seat Coachbuilt saloon I looked at last week. The two cars were first registered a couple of months apart.

Singer 8 Junior Sports, VSCC, Loton Park

The boat tailed wire wheeled sports, originally fitted with cycle wings, running board, lights and a windscreen became known as the Porllock Sports after an unusual reliability record was set in 1930 by a Singer Sports on the famous 1 in 4 Porlock Hill in Devon where officials from Royal Automobile Club observed one being driven up and down the hill one hundred times in the space of 15 hours.

Singer 8 Junior Sports, VSCC, Loton Park

Singer Sports also had a multitude of other uses the Royal Signals Corps used one with a driver crouched in the cockpit as a hurdle for its motorcycle AND horse jumping display team.

The stripped car seen here at Loton Park is being driven by Ed Swain at Loton Park.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Jumpin’ Motorcycles’ edition, of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Hot Rover #3 – MG ZT-T

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Like the MG ZR and MG ZS models the MG ZT was based on a Rover model in this case the Rover 75 and like the smaller ZR and ZS it was launched in 2001 and face lifted in 2004.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The ZT-T is the estate / station wagon version of the ZT and today’s face lifted car is said to have been completed on the 20th of January at 13:19 making it the 11th ZT to be built in 2004.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The cars chassis plate shows this car to have been intended to be biomorphic green however it was finished in shot silk chromescent, like only two other ZT-T models, one of which also has a chassis plate showing the intended colour was biomorphic green.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

On 5th April 2004 the car was registered to MG Rovers Press Fleet and was subsequently used by MG Director Dr Chris Millard who had many updates and extras retro fitted to keep the car up to date with all the latest developments barring an electric sunroof.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Shot Silk Chromescent paintwork was part of MG Rovers Monogram Personalisation Programme which offered customers an exclusive opportunity for MG and Rover customers to realise their personality through automotive style.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Power for this car comes from a 129hp Turbo Diesel motor which is connected to a 5 speed automatic transmission which gives a rest to 60 mph time of 11.4 seconds and a maximum speed of 117 mph.

MG ZT-T, The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Just over a month after MG Rover called in the receivers in April 2005 ownership of this ZT-T transferred to the Royal Bank of Scotland before being sold on to a salesman.

My thanks to The Rover 75 and MG ZT Owners Club for the details about today’s car which is seen at the The Classic Motor Show held at the NEC, Birmingham a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for joining me on this Hot Rover #3 edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Going it alone – Bristol 407

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Just 88 Bristol 407’s were built between 1961 and 1963.

The 407 was the first Bristol model launched after ownership of the Bristol Car Company had been taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company founders grandson Sir George White 3rd Bt in partnership with Bristol’s preeminent retailer Tony Crook in September 1960.

The exterior of the Bristol 407 is distinguished from its predecessor the 406, which I have yet to write a blog about, by a horizontal bar across the radiator grill at the front and twin exhaust pipes at the rear.

Underneath the car could not be more different, the 407 is powered by a Canadian built 5130 cc / 313 cui Chrysler V8 connected to a push button operated Torqueflight transmission, a combination which first came to the attention of of Sir Reginald Verdon Smith the Bristol Aeroplane Company director in the 1950’s on a private visit to Canada.

Bristol attempted to develop it’s own aluminium block V8 in the 1950’s but, insufficient experience casting aluminium and lack of capital thanks to the spiralling cost of aircraft development elsewhere in the Bristol group of companies meant that the V8 never got beyond an underdeveloped prototype stage at which crankshaft main bearing housing distortion presented an obstacle to production.

Changing to the Canadian V8 from the hitherto BMW inspired straight 6 necessitated replacing the former transverse leaf front suspension with a pair of coil springs and replacing the highly praised rack and pinion steering with Marles worm driven steering.

The chassis was fitted with Dunlop disc brakes all round and the aluminium body production was moved from Jones Brothers to Park Royal Vehicles in London.

The 407 chassis set out the basic architectural features for all Bristol’s with many incremental modifications right through to the introduction of the Bristol Fighter in 2004.

This particular model photographed at a Loton Park VSCC meeting is registered in Sweden, notice that it is a Right Hand Drive model, Sweden switched to Left Hand Drive in September 1967 to bring it into line with it’s Scandinavian neighbours.

My thanks to Christopher Balfour who’s book ‘Bristol Cars a very British story‘ provided many of the insights in today’s blog.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Marles worm driven steering edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at the even rarer Bristol 410. Don’t forget to come back now !

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