1913 Argyll 25/50 Open Tourer

Lot details
Registration No: Un-Reg
Chassis No: 8226
Mot Expiry: None

One of the 'three As' of Scotland's leading motor manufacturers (Albion and Arrol-Johnston being the other two), the Argyll company had a turbulent career in the first two decades of the 20th century, years that witnessed initially rapid growth and great success with remarkably large sales figures, followed by the hubris of their palatial new factory at Alexandria coinciding with a downturn in business, the death of its talented designer Alex Govan in 1907, shortly to be followed by liquidation. Reorganisation saw production recover somewhat in 1909 then 1910, and an innovation was the introduction in 1911 of front wheel brakes, of similar layout to the later and widely used French Perrot system, to their otherwise unremarkable range of worthy cars. In fact, Argyll's designer sold the rights of this design to Perrot in 1914 when the company folded for the second time. Another brave gamble was using the Burt-McCollum single sleeve valve engine, adopted for two models, the 2½-litre 15/30hp and the 4-litre 25/50hp for 1912. But now the license holders of the Knight double sleeve valve patent took action for infringement: Argylls eventually won the protracted case, but suffered huge costs as a result of this action and an appeal, ones that contributed to the further financial collapse.

First registered in Blackpool, this Argyll is said to have been discovered intact in Rochdale not long after WWII, with fire damage to the rear of the body and hood. It was quickly restored by Tom Stothert, a member of a family much involved with veteran car activities in the North-West from the 1950s onwards. A monogram, 'ASW'(?) superimposed, has been preserved on the paintwork of the rear doors, a clue that might lead to an identification of the original owner. By the late 1950s, always noticeable because of its striking yellow body colour, this car was a regular attender at VCC events in the area and further afield, and this continued in the hands of the vendor until 1969, when circumstances dictated its being laid up in storage. It has a VCC Dating Certificate (serial no 560) quoting the date of manufacture as 1913.

The 25/50hp Argyll was current from 1912 to 1915, and the four-cylinder engine sat in a sub-frame, and had a bore and stroke of 100 x 130mm, giving a capacity of 4085ccs. There were twin cylinder blocks, the detachable heads of which had to be joined together prior to replacement. The principle of the single sleeve valve engine will fascinate the engineer, and although its applications on motor vehicles remained very few, this type of valve design became much more widely employed in aircraft engines. As well as moving up and down as the pistons rose and fell, the sleeves oscillated, following a elliptical path to uncover inlet and exhaust ports, an action described by that gifted writer, the late Anthony Bird as 'an exotic rumba-like motion'! The benefit was a much more silent-running engine than those with poppet-valves, and the frictional increases of the design were significantly lower than those of the more familiar Knight double sleeve-valve engines. Coolant was circulated by a water pump. There was dual ignition, employing a Bosch coil and a high tension magneto. An updraught Zenith carburettor was fitted.

A multiplate clutch took the drive to a separate 4-speed right hand change gearbox, and thence by torque tube to an overhead worm back axle. Rear suspension was by ¾-elliptical leaf springs, with conventional semi-elliptical front springing. The braking system was Argyll's own design, and was well engineered to match the rest of this expensive chassis: £750 for the 25/50hp Argyll touring car was a great deal of money in 1913. Both pedal and lever braking operated all four wheels, and there was diagonal compensation. Detachable wire wheels carried 880 x 120 beaded edge tyres.

The upholstery was redone in black hide over 50 years ago, copying the original style, and now has an appealing patinated appearance and the odd worm hole! There is a rear windscreen, at present detached but complete, and the rear compartment features a footrest that doubles as a toolbox, and with the car, there are sidescreens. Under the rear carpet are two storage boxes set into the floor, intended to take the tins of petrol and engine oil, for which this type of engine always was greedy. The magneto and dynamo, the latter mounted on a plinth extension of the crankcase centrally placed at the rear, are detached. There is a self-starter, an impressive piece of original equipment whereby a heavy electric motor drives by shaft a friction wheel which, by pressing down a pedal, can be brought into contact with the flywheel rim and thereby spin the engine. 12-volt CAV electrics are fitted, with the enormous brass Model F headlights: the switchboard, mounted below the dashboard, features a separate switch for each individual lamp, and also contains the fuses behind a cover. Also on the dashboard are the fuel filler for the scuttle mounted petrol tank, and an oil pressure tell-tale. The steering wheel features the usual hand throttle and ignition advance and retard levers, and the Beatonson windscreen caries a vacuum wiper motor. A vertical shaft Klaxon horn is mounted on the nearside running board. The radiator was rebuilt with a replacement core shortly prior to the car being laid up.

After almost 40 years of inaction, this fine late Edwardian touring car will need at the very least thorough checking over and cosmetic attention to regain its former glory. At present, the engine will not turn, but this is thought to be due to 'gumming up', rather than terminal mechanical failure. But the car is structurally sound, and the vendor describes driving this handsome, original, powerful and well-braked 1913 Argyll as a "tremendous experience".

PLEASE NOTE: Mr Robert James who works as a volunteer at the Glasgow Museum of Transport has kindly contacted us to say the following:

As I was working through my research notes with regard to the Argyll Company I came across this bit of information originally written by George Oliver which may be of interest.

"It is likely that this 1913 'Streamline Torpedo' is the sole survivor of its type in Britain. It is possible that it belonged originally to Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (who christened the Cape-to-Cairo Argyll at Kensington Palace, incidentally). In nautical terms these cars were very well found, their standard equipment being of a most comprehensive nature". (Referring to an image of the car)

George Oliver was a motoring journalist and a well regarded expert in Scottish vehicle history, with a background in the Sword Collection and a number of published books, Rolls Royce being one of the marques to his credit. He obviously was also interested in the Argyll Company and the above quote about 'your' Argyll in from the 1967 production of Profile Publications: Number 67 - 'The Single Sleeve-valve Argylls'.