Motoring Two New Fourteens THERE is really very little resemblance
between the two ears I haVe to describe this week, and the tact that - I have put them into one report does not imply that there is any basis of comparison. The price is-nearly the same, but in every other respect they belong to quite different- categories. The first, the 147.1)..p. Armstrong-Siddeley, lately known as the " 12- Plus," though strictly speaking a new model, is an enlarged edition, of the original Twelve ; the second, the 14-h.p. Triumph, is entirely new. The Armstrong-Siddeley represents a continuation of proved policy, with the necessary and expected improvements, while the Triumph ancompromisingly breaks new ground. In point offset, it was this very difference befween the two that first interested me. Is either design an indieation of future development ? At that price Of.£300- or--; thereabouts will the car of the year after next be of one of
these two widely differing types ? • - - - • •
The question is of--some- importaltOe to- oixtraWctureis if not to owners. Int,the Triumph is $ foirinVa decided reVerslin to type, if'* expression is justified. For the first time for sornethingOike ten years- a high-grade •medium- powered touring ear, with. an --impressive performance but without any real. tliports " leanings; has been given a plain 4-cylinder engine with a eomparativeky plain gear-box. Wore- Over that engine has dimensions that are to the best of my belief, new. They are 757millimetres 'stroke by 100 bore, a design radically different filial the last " popular " Four ratio, which was 72 by 120, -The latter gave a- larger cubic content but it belonged; roughly speaking, to the same category without, however, a comparable performance. ' In the Armstrong-Siddeley you have the result of years of experiment on definite lines. Each car is, to my thinking, an almost- unqualified success in its own class, and althotigh they differ so widely in conception and behaviour it is more than probable that each could be made to do the other's job. It is not the end but the means that are interesting.
The Armstrong-Siddeley has a 6-cylinder engine . (the makers remain- faithful to their original design) with a bore and stroke of 01 by 95.24. This is an increase of piston- diameter of 5.5 over the original Twelve, and if anyone were inclined to doubt the claims made for the high efficiency of the inOdern rnoter7engine he-might be convinced by a trial of
- the two ears. Fir and a half millimetres is probably to:the lay mind of today; as to the engineering mind of a few years , ago, an almost negligible inerease; but the increase in power- yield, in liveliness and in all-round efficiency is very marked. From end to end the car is a great improvement on the smaller edition. So far as my own experience goes, it is also the most successful Armstrong-Siddeley yet made.
There are no departures from the regular lay-out of these ears, the valves- being overhead, operated by push-rods, the
cooling by pump and fan,' the ignition by coil and battery. The two feattirei Which distingiiiih it are the use -of .4 Claudel Hobstui carburettor and aisingiilar siroplicity and of ektOtkon--‘The latter is by far the more important;, ' view of old-motorists., One carburettor, in 1936; is like another in its-results, hirt that workmanlike; smooth finish, that .order and neat arrangeraerit-OtiornpUrieuts which mean true accessibility are not Often fOlutd-tuday. Nobody could :help keeping the Armstrong -Siddeley. engine as 401 decent pieces of machinery should be kept.: The usual Wilson four- speed- -,gear-b.44 is fitted with- a new type of jeltslipping clutch that gives exactly the right degree and duration of slip to insure a perfectly smooth change. Permanent jacking is fitted and in all important respeet§ the car' is equipped according- to up-to-date standards.
The- bodywork of the saloon impressed me as much as the rest. It is, as might be eipected, a small one but the design makes the most of what room there is. The single front-seat (invariably more comfortable than buckets) has a tubular frame which allows the feet of the rear passengers ample room. This means that they have those extra inohes that make just the difference between a " four-seater " and a body that will comfortably accommodate four adults. The seating is particularly comfortable. The car has a very good turn of speed, something hie 65 miles an hour, the engine runs quietly and with remarkable smoothness, the brakes are excellent, the steering light and firm and the springing gives good road-holding. It climbs hills fast and is a very good example of a type that is peculiarly British— a well-designed, lively family car. It costs £320.
The Triumph might be regarded as a very new thing or an old thing modernised, according to the views of the buyer. The 4-cylinder engine which has a cubic content of 1767 c.c., taxed at £10 10s., is exceptionally efficient. I imagine that the compression ratio is well over 6 to 1, but except on picking up on a high gear from low speeds there is no evidence of it. The pull is very smooth and, as we used to say, silky, and it would need a very well-trained ear and an equally sensitive 'touch to distinguish its working from that of a high-class Six. In practice there is no difference at all. I was decidedly puzzled to account for the power as proved by the very swift acceleration, the quite brilliant hill-climbing and the ease with which a mile a minute was kept up as a " cruising speed." The maximum revolution-rate is 4,300 a minute, at which a road-speed of 80 miles an hour is registered. • For a cat of this type this is by no means a high engine-speed, yet, unless there is some unfamiliar quality, power and road speed depend, in small engines, upon high engine-speed. There is nothing unusual about this engine or Its components. Two carburettors are used, but today three are quite common in high-efficiency machines. What- ever the secret is, it is well worth keeping.
This is the sort of performance the Triumph gives you, high speed and marked liveliness, but the main attraction of the car is its docility. It makes very little noise either in the engine or in the synehromeshed gear-box and there • is no vibration you could swear to. Gear-changing is as easily done without as with the use of the synchromesh and just a shade faster. The steering is one of the best examples of the right kind I have come across„,,light, firm and steady. The brakes are good, without being extra- ordinary, and at over 30 miles an hour the suspension gets better and better. It is a little rough at low speeds, but that may be the fault of shock-absorber adjustment. To sum
the new Triumph has something not far short of the performance of a proper " sports " car, with the manners of a subdued family car. The bodywork is beautifully finished, the seating comfortable and all the fittings first- [Note.—Readers' requests for advice from our Motoring Correspondent on the choice of new cars should be accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope. The highest price payable must be given, as well as the type of body required. No advice can be given on the purchase, sale or exchange of used cars.]
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