Douglas 9 hp

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Douglas

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9 hp
Production period: 1914-1916/1919
Class : Small car
Body versions : Roadster
Engines:
Gasoline engines : 1.1–1.2 liters
Length: 3048 mm
Width: 1219 mm
Height:
Wheelbase : 2223 mm
Empty weight : 432-508 kg
Previous model without
successor Douglas 10.5 hp

The Douglas 9 hp was a two- to three-seater British small car that was built by the motorcycle manufacturer Douglas Motors in Bristol in the model years 1914 to 1916 .

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 Light Car emblem.

Cyclecars

The vehicle was called a cycle car, but it was too heavy for this classification. 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. Typical features of the cycle cars are the consistent use of lightweight construction methods - often with a chassis welded from tubes, simple technology and the use of components and parts from motorcycle production, which also became more readily available with its growing popularity. In particular, wheels and the usually one- and two-cylinder engines came from this source. Cycle cars were generally much narrower than normal cars and designed for one or two people. Often the passenger sat behind the driver (and occasionally in front of him) or the seats were arranged side by side to save space. The solutions were varied and the results very different. Some crude designs gave the entire segment a bad name, although many of these vehicles were carefully designed and manufactured.

After the First World War , the cycle cars were quickly replaced by a second generation of Voiturettes . They also cost less than the established, full-fledged small cars such as the Austin Seven or Ten and its numerous competitors, but offered more comfort and reliability than a cycle car .

Douglas 9 hp

Douglas Motors was just one of several motorcycle manufacturers who also entered the automotive market. The most successful was BSA , where small and medium-sized cars were manufactured from 1907 to 1915 and from 1921 to 1939.

The 9 hp was solidly designed and, in terms of its construction, with its pressed steel chassis and the drive train with the correct gearbox and cardan drive instead of the standard friction gear with drive chain to a rear wheel, was closer to a "real" car than many of the competitors. In 1914 a Douglas 9 hp from GB cost $ 175.00; the following year the price rose to GB $ 184.00.

Production was interrupted in 1916 due to the war. In 1919 the vehicle was offered with a more powerful engine for a few months. Although it was referred to as 10.5 hp , it doesn't match the Douglas 10.5 hp that was introduced shortly afterwards

Douglas 10.5 hp (1919)

The chassis of the 10.5 hp from 1919 was, as a transitional model, identical to that of the 9 hp except for the slightly more powerful engine and larger wheels.On the other hand, the weight increased by almost 80 kg, which was only partially due to this change and the associated switch to water cooling can be explained. Douglas may have used heavier bodies with better weather protection, as demonstrated for the new generation of models from 1920 onwards.

technology

The Douglas 9 hp was a solid, lightweight construction with a narrow track and the class-typical air - cooled two-cylinder engine . The slightly higher price was justified by attributes that are more likely to be assigned to a light car . This includes the power transmission, the pressed steel chassis instead of the usual frame made of round tubing or angle steel, the full suspension and a comparatively spacious body with doors and weather protection.

Engines

The engine of hp 9 was an air-cooled two-cylinder - Boxer with flathead engine and probably came from our own production (for the successor Douglas hp 10.5 this is detectable). It has a square ratio of cylinder bore and piston stroke of 88 mm each, resulting in a displacement of 1070 cm³. The carburetor was purchased from Solex . The RAC rating was 9.6 HP.

A side-controlled two-cylinder boxer engine was also provided for the 10.5 hp from 1919. It has a bore of 92.5 mm and a stroke of 88 mm. This results in a displacement of 1182 cm³. This engine is water-cooled and has a Zenith carburetor. The RAC rating is based on the size of the cylinder bore. Because this Douglas small car was almost the same as the second generation (92 mm from 1920), this led to the model designation 10.5 hp for both

Power transmission

Instead of the friction gear and belt or chain drive common in this class , the 9 hp offered a real gear and cardan drive .

Chassis and suspension

The vehicle received a ladder frame made of pressed steel. The wheelbase of all vehicles up to 1919 is the usual 7 feet and 3½ inches (2223 mm) in this class, the track 3 feet and 11 inches (1194 mm). The usual rigid axles were used at the front and rear . The suspension consists of semi-elliptical leaf springs at the front and - atypical of a cycle car - coil springs at the rear. Some of the competition's cycle cars even had to do without rear suspension at all. There is no information about the brakes of the 9 hp . Rear drum brakes in combination with a drum brake on a gear or cardan shaft are possible; drum brakes are used on the rear axle for the successor.

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

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
9 hp 1914-1916 2 boxers
1070 cm³
air-cooled 		2223 mm 3048 mm 1219 mm 1194 mm 432 kg
10.5 hp 1919 2 boxers
1182 cm³
water-cooled 		2223 mm 3048 mm 1219 mm 1194 mm 508 kg
Successor:
10.5 hp 		1919-1922 2 boxers
1224 cm³
water-cooled		 2223 mm
2438 mm		 1194 mm
1219 mm		 508 kg

Swell; British units of measure have been converted.

Douglas cycle cars and light cars today

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

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 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grace's Guide: Douglas.
  2. ↑ Grace's Guide: Douglas Motors.
  3. ↑ a b Grace's Guide: 1908-1914 Red Book; automobiles. P. 41 (Douglas).
  4. ↑ a b c Grace's Guide: 1913-1917 Red Book; automobiles. P. 52 (Douglas).
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Culshaw, Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. 1997, p. 388.
  6. ↑ a b c Georgano: Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 1973, p. 258.
  7. ↑ a b 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.