Douglas 10.5 hp

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Douglas
Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger Drop Head Coupe (1920)
Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger Drop Head Coupe (1920)
10.5 hp
Production period: 1920-1921
Class : Small car
Body versions : Cabriolet
Engines: Otto engine :
1.2 liters
Length: 2737 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2223-2438 mm
Empty weight : 508 kg
Previous model Douglas 9 hp
successor without

The Douglas 10.5 hp was a two- to three-seater British passenger car , which was built in the model years 1920 to 1921 by the motorcycle manufacturer Douglas Motors in Bristol .

Cyclecar and Light Car

In the early 1910s, the cycle cars experienced a brief heyday. Before the general application of series production in automobile construction and the resulting falling prices, they were an affordable alternative to the "real" car, which was significantly more expensive to buy and maintain. Even after the First World War , an important market for affordable automobiles emerged again. In Great Britain, the primitive cycle car continued to play a role, often sold and serviced by motorcycle dealerships.

Between this class and full-fledged small cars like the Austin Seven or Ten and their numerous competitors, there was a niche for vehicles that were similarly constructed, but larger and mostly had four-cylinder engines and a full-fledged body. The common name is voiturette ; in Great Britain one speaks of a light car . A rule of thumb is that vehicles with a displacement of over 1.5 liters or with more than 30 bhp are considered "real" cars. The distinction between a cycle car and a light car , however, is not always easy. The light car has two or more seats in the usual arrangement (a cycle car one or two, often one behind the other or offset to the side). The light car requires a more powerful engine (usually a two-cylinder boxer with a displacement of 10 to 1.5 liters). It has a motorcycle or automobile gearbox and mostly a cardan shaft drive, while cyclecars are equipped with motorcycle or friction gears and transmit the power via a chain to a rear wheel or the differential. This is a feature of the light car that is also present in some cycle cars . But the biggest difference is the visual difference.

Douglas Motors Ltd.

Trademark of the Douglas motorcycle works

The Douglas Motors Ltd. was a British manufacturer of motorcycles and, for a short time, small cars . The company was based in Bristol . The company was founded in 1882 by the brothers William Douglas and Edward Douglas as a mechanical workshop with a forge and a small foundry and existed until 1931. The motorcycle production took place in 1907 after the purchase of the engine manufacturer Light Motors Ltd. Douglas motorcycles soon had a good reputation and the company supplied in the First World War, the forces of the Entente . The brand was also successful in sports. The small car described here was produced from 1914 to 1916; the successor 10.5 hp was available from 1919 to 1922. After 1930 there were plans for a new small car, of which only six prototypes were made. After the sale and reorganization as Douglas Motors , William Douglas bought the company back in 1934, but had to close it the following year. The systems were built by the defense and industrial group Aero Engine, Ltd., also founded in 1935 . taken over, initially with no intention of continuing to manufacture motorcycles. However, their production was resumed in 1936 and continued until 1956.

Model history

Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger drop head coupe with closed roof. Illustration dated November 1919.

Douglas had presented its first small car with the 9 hp introduced in 1914 . This vehicle remained in the program until the factory was completely converted to war production. Although the 9 hp, like all cyclecars, was a rather crude construction that offered little comfort, it was one of the better representatives of its kind. This was reflected in the sales price of GB £ 175.00. It was not until 1919 that the production of cycle cars was resumed. In the unchanged chassis there was now a slightly larger motor with water cooling and 10.5 tax horsepower. It was not identical to the 10.5 hp described here and already cost GB £ 184.00. Because of the many technical similarities with the Douglas 9 hp , this intermediate model, which was only built for a short time, although also known as 10.5 hp , is dealt with there.

The new 10.5 hp had its price. At £ 400.00 for a complete car, it was more than double that of its predecessor. GB £ 350.00 was charged for the bare Rolling Chassis , which the customer then had the bodybuilder of his choice clad in himself.

technology

The two-cylinder boxer engine of the Douglas 10.5 hp

engine

An in-house two - cylinder boxer engine with a square design of 92 mm cylinder bore and piston stroke was used . This results in the displacement of 1223 cm³. The parked on the bore RAC rating led to the model name 10.5 hp The engine had a water cooling with thermosyphon , a Zenith - carburetors , high voltage magneto ignition and an electric starter of CAV

Power transmission

One of the strengths of the Douglas 10.5 hp was its power transmission. It consisted of a conventional three-speed gearbox with reverse gear, a single-disc cone clutch and a cardan shaft flexibly attached on one side with spiral teeth to the rear axle. Such an elaborate drive could not be taken for granted in this class.

Chassis and suspension

Like its predecessor, the new 10.5 hp also received a ladder frame made of pressed steel. It came in two versions. One corresponded in dimensions to its predecessor with a wheelbase of 7 feet and 3½ inches (2223 mm) and a track width of 3 feet and 11 inches (1194 mm). The other chassis had an 8 foot (2438 mm) wheelbase. The usual rigid axles were used at both front and rear . The suspension consists of semi-elliptical leaf springs at the front and coil springs at the rear. The vehicle has drum brakes on the rear axle.

The spoke wheels of the 10.5 hp were 700 × 80 like the 9 hp , those of the 10.5 hp from 1919 710 × 90.

Bodies

The 10.5 hp was only available ex works as a 2/3 seat convertible ("Drop Head Coupe") at GB $ 400.00. At least GB $ 350.00 was charged by the manufacturer for the bare rolling chassis , which the customer could then have dressed by the body manufacturer of his choice. The London-based brand agency Vivian Hardie & Lane commissioned a small number of special bodies and exclusively sold these attractive roadsters with a fully retractable top. The body is unknown, but it was one of the first vehicles with such a roof mechanism.

Furnishing

The 10.5 hp was delivered as standard with electrical lighting from CAV and a spare wheel and tire.

Model overview

The model name corresponds roughly to the then common British tax formula ( RAC rating ). These calculated, non-measured values ​​cannot be converted into PS or kilowatts.

model construction time engine wheelbase length width track Weight
Predecessor:
9 hp		 1914-1916 2 boxers
1070 cm³
air-cooled 		2223 mm 3048 mm 1219 mm 1194 mm 432 kg
Predecessor:
10.5 hp		 1919 2 boxers
1182 cm³
water-cooled 		2223 mm 3048 mm 1219 mm 1194 mm 508 kg
10.5 hp 1919-1922 2 boxers
1224 cm³
water-cooled		 2223 mm
2438 mm		 2737 mm 1194 mm
1219 mm		 508 kg

Swell; British units of measure have been converted.

Douglas cycle cars and light cars today

It seems that first generation Douglas 9 hp and 10.5 hp no longer exist. The second generation 10.5 hp is also very rare. One specimen belongs to the collection of the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham .

Picture gallery

  • Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger drop head coupe (factory body) with open top. Illustration dated November 1919.

  • Disappearing Top Roadster; a special body for the Douglas 10.5 hp from the dealer Vivian Hardie & Lane (1920). The bodybuilder is unknown; but it is one of the earliest designs with a completely retractable hood.

  • Advertisement of the Douglas dealer Vivian Hardie & Lane from 1919.

  • Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger Drop Head Coupe (1921) in the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

  • Interior and dashboard of the Douglas 10.5 hp 2/3 passenger Drop Head Coupe (1921). Probably the factory body.

  • Data sheet for the Douglas 10.5 hp in Light Car and Cyclecar Vol. XIV, No 383, Nov. 8, 1919; Edition for the London Auto Show at Olympia , November 8, 1919.

literature

Web links

Commons : Douglas 10.5 hp  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grace's Guide: Douglas.
  2. ↑ Grace's Guide: Douglas Motors.
  3. ↑ a b Grace's Guide: 1913-1917 Red Book; automobiles. P. 52 (Douglas).
  4. ^ A b c d e Culshaw, Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. 1997, p. 388.
  5. ↑ a b c d The Light Car and Cyclecar Vol. XIV, No 383, Nov. 8, 1919: Douglas, Stand No. 4. Technical description of the Douglas 10.5 hp light car.
  6. ^ Georgano: Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 1973, p. 258.