BSA three-wheeler nightmare
After reading The Classic MotorCycle, October 2021, page 84 feature, briefly covering the BSA and mention of the V-twin powered three and four wheeled cars, long-time friend Brian Simmons of Shropshire (formerly Kent) phoned to relate the following nightmare.
In 1950, newly married Brian replaced his faithful outfit with a circa 1930/31 BSA V-twin threewheeler car, bought for £45, in part to convey his wife and he from their home in Biggin Hill to Cranfield in Bedfordshire, for family visits. With inboard drum brake to the front and single drum brake to the rear wheel, the BSA’s V-twin had its gearbox, clutch and differential mounted ahead of the engine. Worm gear and spur type differential took the drive to the front axle, with shafts and universal joints taking drive to the front wheels.
Quite apart from its steering, the gear change systems stretching from in front of the engine to the driver was necessarily torturous. The Simmons’ first drive across London and then on the A5 to Bedfordshire went well, but the return journey, not so good… On one of the A5’s long, sapping hills, Brian caught up with a heavily laden lorry trundling its route up the ascent, so he changed down a gear and accelerated past the mammoth. When level, he changed up a gear and lost all drive… Panic, as the BSA was on the wrong side of the road, with traffic approaching downhill, and slowing.
Excitement over, Brian investigated what had happened. A factory-fitted split pin involved in uniting the gear change linkage had dropped out and the parts separated. After a month’s ownership, Brian felt he was lucky to sell the threewheeler on for near the £45 he’d paid for it.
The BSA three-wheeler wasn’t the first BSA company built car with a V-twin engine. It is known the firm built a handful of cyclecars (fourwheelers, and possibly a three-wheeler) before the First World War with JAP side-valve V-twin engines and bobbin/ wires steering. For 1921, they launched a four-wheel 1080cc V-twin car with rear wheel drive. At an event over 10 years ago, I spotted a seemingly smaller BSA V-twin car, with the Hotchkiss designed engine as later employed for the threewheeler car, as owned by Brian.
At some point, BSA acquired the rights to manufacture the ohv Hotchkiss V-twin engine as a 1021cc unit with Solex carburettor, coil ignition, electric start and dynamo. Lubrication was from a integral sump by submerged gear type pump, which maintained oil pressure with automatic control by a bypass valve. As well as to the bottom end, oil was delivered to the timing gear and cylinder walls.
The car’s dimensions were 11ft 2in long, 4ft 10in wide and 7ft 6in wheelbase. Although more expensive by about £15 at launch compared with the popular Austin 7, BSA promoted it as the more economic vehicle, due to its cheaper road tax advantage over all four-wheeled cars.
Leftovers?
To date, three readers have contacted to imply as parts bin manufacturers, BSA only designed and launched their three-wheeled car to use up a store full of Hotchkiss-designed V-twin engines left over from the abandoned four-wheel car project of the early to mid1920s. This was a view BSA overseas sales manager and past TCM writer, the late Peter Glover, held.