Berkeley
Britain’s tiniest true sports car is a microcar bargain if you follow our top buying tips
With decent examples starting at £5000, a Berkeley offers incredible good value, especially for a microcar. Many of its known issues can be ironed out and a Berkeley remains a cute sporting car with decent performance in the 500/700cc versions. Unfortunately many have been massively modified over the years, so care is needed when buying. Luckily, the Berkeley Enthusiasts’ Club can help with advice and source most parts.
The Berkeley was a brilliant concept from prolific designer Lawrie Bond, who convinced pioneering glassfibre caravan maker Charles Panter to put it into production. It would sell worldwide and was launched live on TV in September 1956 with Stirling Moss driving it around Goodwood then being lifted – in the car – by four men at the end of his lap. But it was plagued by the unreliability and high maintenance needs of Fifties British bike engines (and inadequate pre-production testing). Sales were low.
With a composite glassfibre/aluminium monocoque, a transverse engine and front-wheel drive, the Berkeley was hugely innovative. Add to that purpose-made lightweight twin-wishbone independent front suspension, with coil springs and telescopic dampers all round and you had a little car that would out-handle and out-brake almost anything else on the road at the time, even if performance was distinctly tame in original two-cylinder form.
Our experts are Nigel Halliday, who’s run the Berkeley Enthusiasts Club Spares service for over 30 years, Berkeley restoration expert Neil Barber, club chairman Geoff Toyer and club historian Dave Perrin.
Which one to choose?
‘Sports’ Type SA322 (153 built) The rotary-valve 322cc 15bhp Anzani twin powered the first Berkeleys, with chain drive to a three-speed Albion gearbox. ‘Sports’ Type SE328/B65 (1370 built) From 1957 Excelsior’s 328cc 18bhp Talisman Twin was used, initially with the three-speed ’box and column change, later with three-speed then four-speed floor change. ‘Sports’ Type SE492 (665 built) Excelsior developed
the 492cc 30bhp Talisman triple principally for Berkeley sports cars in 1958. Though powerful, its three-piece crankshaft could be its weakness. Nevertheless, Count Johnny Lurani’s racing team wiped the floor in Italian 500cc sports car racing.
T60 three-wheeler (1800 built) The single rear wheel version was principally for the UK market where tax on three-wheelers was cheaper. The 1959-60 T60 sold faster than any other Berkeley and could be had with a fixed glassfibre hardtop or in open form with hood and sidescreens. It was only sold with the 328cc Talisman Twin motor and still handled brilliantly with the single rear wheel. There was a rare T60/4 with an enlarged back seat that could seat adults rather than just kids.
B95/105 (175 built) In 1959 the 692cc Royal Enfield Super Meteor/constellation 40/50bhp fourstroke engine finally gave the Berkeley chassis the performance it cried out for. It would run rings round early Sprites and Midgets but the engine wasn’t nicknamed ‘Royal Oilfield’ for nothing and the motor also necessitated a bonnet/headlamp redesign which lost the sleek mini-e-type looks. Meticulous building and some modern tweaks can turn it into a really satisfying little sports car, however. Like the T60, the numbers referred to the rather optimistic top speeds.
Structural problems are, with the exception of late T60s (see ‘Rust’ p97), more down to stress than corrosion. The suspension puts considerable loads into the front bulkhead and inner wings, exacerbated by modern radial tyres. Check the steel braces between the two sides above and below the differential, and all round, for cracks and crude repairs. Repairs are straightforward, if sometimes time-consuming. The engine plates can become bent under load, putting the drive chain out of alignment.
Excelsior twin engines are simple and reliable, with issues usually confined to ignition niggles from the twin points – awkward to access on the end of the crankshaft. The triple engine suffers more, having triple points; the solution is electronic ignition (see p96). The triple also has a tendency to lose a cylinder if the bolted-together crank comes loose and strips a Woodruff key. Big-end bearings used to be a weakness too, but Nametab Engineering has solved this with
‘The Berkeley had a composite glassfibre/aluminium monocoque 40 years before the Lotus Elise’
‘Unfortunately many have been hugely modified, so care is needed when buying’
needle roller bearings. Now a well-assembled triple can be a rapid and reliable power unit. A full rebuild will cost around £2000; a little over half that for a twin.
Royal Enfield engines made the Berkeley fly – and had the advantage of a separate Lucas starter and dynamo instead of the rare SIBA dynastart, though the starter was a rare opposite-rotation version shared only with the Triumph 1300 and Jowett Javelin. These days a modern equivalent can be fitted.
The differential is a chain-driven unit exclusive to Berkeley. It’s durable but if it’s missing or broken, a replacement will be very hard to find. With press-fit planet gear shafts in the casing, keeping oil in it is impossible when worn and seizure can result if run dry. Thicker oil or even semi-fluid grease can help, as can capping the worn planet gear shaft holes, but a rebuild (£500) is the only long-term answer.
The SIBA dynastart is fitted on Excelsior and Anzani engines, cleverly performing both charging and starting functions. It relies on a SIBA control box and parts are very hard to find, though clever electronics engineers have developed a solid state item (approximately £70); electronic ignition for twin engines from Steini costs around £150 and a kit for triples will shortly be available again at around £200.
Gearboxes were sourced from motorcycle supplier Albion, which built a special unit with reverse gear for Berkeley and other microcar makers. Early ‘HJR/TR’ three/four-speed boxes are weak, but later ‘VR’ boxes are much stronger – though they don’t appreciate being run low on oil, when they can lock solid. Spares availability is minimal, but complete used gearboxes can still be found for £75-150 depending on model.
Brakes use readily available components on the hydraulic side, but the drums can wear oversize on their splines and become damaged by over-worn shoes. Wheel stud lugs get broken off if a puller is not used to remove the drums, so check carefully. Shoes and front drums (£120 each) are available from the club.
Rust for once is rarely a problem, with the important exception of late T60s and T60/4s (from 1960 with bucket seats) which had steel instead of aluminium (or part-steel, part-aluminium) reinforcement to the glassfibre punt floor. Because this was inadequately
painted, rot soon set in – after which the car would begin to bend in the middle. The club now has new steel sections available at £350.
Front suspension is a twin-wishbone set-up exclusive to Berkeley that is excellent if well-maintained, but the original system of steel kingpins running in steel trunnion blocks inevitably had a limited life. The Club hopes to have spares soon for £250 per side.
The Burman K-type steering box came in two lengths. Some free play is inevitable, but more than 75mm at the rim will fail an MOT – specialist rebuilds cost £750.
Modifications are common but contrary to popular belief, no original Berkeley was ever sold in kit form. There have been various attempts to reintroduce the Berkeley and make kit cars using its styling; some of these are more successful than DIY attempts to shoehorn different running gear into original cars. Minipowered conversions can be lethal but converting them back to original running gear is a huge task (as is finding all the parts). Get a professional engineer’s inspection if considering a converted car, and bear in mind that it will never be worth as much as an original.