Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

mikeC · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:22 am Post subject:

It was happiest at about 38mph (on the speedo, probably a true 35); when I bought the car it would just about do this with my foot flat to the floor, but after considerable fiddling it would then run with an almost closed throttle at this speed... but anything more and it really wasn't happy, and I wasn't happy holding up the traffic either!
Long-term side-valve Minor owners talk of cruising at 50mph, which is what I would expect from an Austin Seven, too, so struggling to reach and maintain 40 was just unacceptable!

goneps · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 12:03 am Post subject:

Surely the problem with these large saloons is just the combination of considerable weight and a relatively small engine that's fairly lethargic. I recall passing one such during an international rally back in 2000. The Morris Eight is not exactly a tyre-shredder, but considering the way it shot past the big Cowley saloon struggling on a modest incline its driver must have felt as though he was going backwards.

Among the group I regularly drive with is a 1927 Austin 16 Tourer, and this is much the same as described—happiest cruising at only 35mph and sluggish on the hills. Even the 1924 Chandler that joined us yesterday was much the same despite a 4.7 litre engine—an impressive piece of kit, but massively built and must weigh more than two tons.

And then, of course, there's the matter of heavy steering. There's no doubt the small '30s cars are a good deal nimbler.

Richard

mikeC · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:33 am Post subject:

The problem I had with the Cowley was that it replaced a 1922 Star 11.9hp saloon, a car of similar size and dimensions but a generation older in design. The Star was quite capable of running all day at 50mph if the roads were smooth and quiet, the limiting factors which kept me to a more realistic 40mph was the lack of shock absorbers and front wheel brakes, whilst the steering was finger-light and precise, unlike the Cowley, perhaps because of that lack of front brakes. I have owned Austin Twelves and Sixteens that were the Cowley's contemporaries and have been quite happy to cruise them at 50mph with power to spare (but to be fair to the Cowley, they are rather larger-engined cars).
I just have to accept the Cowley was not my kind of car.