Рет қаралды 29,441
IDRIVEACLASSIC is sponsored and insured by Adrian Flux - check them out for your insurance quote on the link below: www.adrianflux...
________________________________
Armstrong Siddeley Lancaster
The Lancaster is a rare beast in 2022 and wasn’t a massive seller at the time of launch. The car came to market in 1945 and just over 3,500 cars were made.
The car was announced just before the end of the war in May 1945 at a point companies had begun to funnel efforts into post war manufacturing and the Lancaster was one of the first of the post war cars to be announced.
Although the car launched in 45, the first cars were delivered in 1946 and production ceased in 1952.
The Lancaster was named after the famous WW2 aircraft and along with the Hurricane, created a lot of excitement for what was to come in the world of automotive post war. The body was produced for Armstrong Siddeley by Mulliners of Birmingham.
Despite being a post war car, Armstrong Siddeley like many businesses, had focused their efforts elsewhere during wartime and whilst the car was new, the engine and transmission unit from the pre-war 16hp saloons were used alongside a Stromberg carb. Although this changed in 1949 when the car was available with an 18hp engine.
This particular car we’re testing today is the 16hp.
Another interesting fact on this car, is aside from a handful of Whitleys, the Lancaster was the only car of the 16/18hp range to feature a sunshine roof.
Aside from the engine and interesting post war automotive information, for me the most interesting thing on this car is the Wilson pre-selector box which provides the transmission for this car.
The Wilson pre-selector box was a pre war invention and at the time of launch was hailed as the most revolutionary device since the introduction of the motor car.
It was said to allow gear changes to implemented with utmost speed and with minimal risk of miscalculation, damage or noise. In a world of crash boxes, this was a far easier and smoother gear change process than evert before.
To use a pre selector box, which we will demo in this video, you choose your preferred gear without touching the clutch pedal and then once ready to proceed into your preferred gear, you fully depress the clutch and release.
Although this sounds a bit of a faff when we go for a drive you’ll see it’s easier than you think!
Now before we go for a drive, let’s meet owner Jon, one of the youngest Armstrong owners in the UK.