Humber Snipe

Humber Snipe
Production period:	1930-1940 1945-1948
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Touring car , limousine , convertible
Previous model:	Humber 20/55 hp
Successor:	Humber Super Snipe

The Humber Snipe is an upper-mid-range four-door luxury sedan that Humber released in 1930. The name "Snipe" means " Schnepfe " in German .

Snipe 80 (1930-1935)

Snipe 80
Humber Snipe 80 touring car (1931)
Production period:	1930-1935
Body versions :	Touring car , limousine , convertible
Engines:	Petrol engines : 3.5 liters (59-62.5 kW)
Length:	4394 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	3048 mm
Empty weight :

The Snipe 80 has a six-cylinder in-line engine with 3498 cm³ displacement (bore × stroke = 80 mm × 116 mm), which has an output of 80 bhp (60 kW). As has been the case with Humber since the mid-1920s, its valves are counter-controlled (oise): the exhaust valves are positioned next to the cylinders, the intake valves are suspended. The air-gasoline mixture is supplied by a single 'Stromberg' carburetor. The four-speed gearbox (in right-hand drive models) had a shift lever on the right. In 1931 this gear lever was moved to the center of the car, which made it easier to build left-hand drive versions. The blind in the radiator grille is thermostatically controlled and thus regulates the flow of cooling air.

In 1933 the engine was revised and received overhead valves (ohv) throughout. Its output rose to 85 bhp (66 kW). The car was fitted with Bendix mechanical brakes .

The sedan with four rear-hinged doors (see picture) and four or six side windows reached a top speed of 120 km / h. In addition, a limousine with a Weymann body (until 1930), a sports limousine, a touring car and a convertible were offered.

The car with a wheelbase of 3048 mm and a length of up to 4394 mm was considered an upper middle class in the British market, larger than the average family car. With the Snipe, Humber managed, unlike other British manufacturers, to offer a large car at an affordable price.

In 1933 there were several minor changes to the superstructure. The wipers were no longer attached to the top of the windshield, but to the bottom. On the sports sedan, the indicators were integrated into the body and there was a two-tone paint job. Of these 1933 models, 1205 copies were made.

Humber Snipe 80 sedan 6 window (1935)

Snipe 80 (1936-1937)

Snipe 80
Image does not exist
Production period:	1936-1937
Body versions :	Limousine , cabriolet
Engines:	Otto engine : 4.1 liters (74 kW)
Length:	4445 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	3150 mm
Empty weight :

In 1936 the wheelbase of the Snipe 80 was extended to 3150 mm and the external length of the car increased to 4445 mm. The new chassis received independent front suspension with a transverse leaf spring. A vacuum-assisted brake booster was installed. The touring car was omitted from the program.

The new side-controlled six - cylinder engine had a displacement of 4086 cm³ and made 100 bhp (74 kW). The same engine was later used on the post-war Super Snipe . The maximum speed of the car was given as 135 km / h. 2652 copies of this Snipe 80 were built in two years.

The chassis of the Snipe was also to be used in an extended form in the representation sedan Sunbeam Thirty , which the Rootes Group presented as a prototype in October 1936. The Thirty did not go into series production.

Snipe 75 (1938-1940)

Snipe 75
Image does not exist
Production period:	1938-1940
Body versions :	Limousine , cabriolet
Engines:	Otto engine : 3.2 liters (55 kW)
Length:	4445 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	2896 mm
Empty weight :

In 1938, the vehicle received a significantly smaller engine with a displacement of 3180 cm³, the valves of which were also on the side. The output of the Snipe 75 was 75 bhp (55 kW). Nonetheless, the somewhat smaller vehicle now reached 127 km / h. The wheelbase of the car dropped to 2896 mm, the length of the streamlined body remained at 4445 mm.

The 1939 models received a frame with cross members and hydraulically operated brakes. From the Snipe 75, 2706 copies were made until civilian production was discontinued.

The same chassis was used by Rootes for the contemporary Hillman 14 hp ; there it was coupled with a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder. A 10 cm longer version of the chassis finally appeared in 1937 in the Sunbeam Talbot 3-liter , which was equipped with the 3.2 liter engine of the Humber.

Snipe 65 (1945-1948)

Snipe 65
Image does not exist
Production period:	1945-1948
Body versions :	limousine
Engines:	Otto engine : 2.7 liters (48 kW)
Length:	4445 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	2896 mm
Empty weight :

After the Second World War , another Snipe 65 appeared parallel to the successor model Super Snipe . Both models, like the 4-cylinder Hawk , had the same body, which was a bit rounder and more streamlined than the pre-war version. The four doors were now hinged at the front. The engine is an extremely long-stroke 6-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 2731 cm³, which was created from the 4.0-liter engine of the Super Snipe by reducing the bore. The engine only achieved 65 bhp (48 kW) and accelerated the vehicle up to 116 km / h. In 1948 the production of the Snipe was finally stopped after 1240 copies of the Snipe 65.

literature

David Culshaw & Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895–1975 . Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997. ISBN 1874105936

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} M. Sedgwick: A – Z of Cars of the 1930s . Bay View Books, Devon 1989. ISBN 1-870979-38-9
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} David Culshaw & Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars . Macmillan, London 1974. ISBN 0-333-16689-2
3. ↑ AB Demaus & JC Tarring: The Humber Story 1868-1932 . Sutton 1989. ISBN 0-86299-596-5
4. ^ ^{A b c} M. Sedgwick & M. Gillies: A – Z of Cars 1945–1970 . Bay View Books, Devon 1986. ISBN 1-870979-39-7

Web links

Commons : Humber Snipe  - collection of images, videos and audio files