Clyno
Encyclopedia
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, they made in excess of 40,000 cars between 1922 and 1929.
Clyno transmission
The name came from the inclined beltBelt (mechanical)
A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts mechanically. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently, or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulleys. In a two pulley system, the belt can either drive the pulleys in the...
pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
s developed for industrial use and later applied to motor cycles. This was an early example of continuously variable transmission
Continuously variable transmission
A continuously variable transmission is a transmission that can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios...
. The pulleys had been made by Frank and Ailwyn Smith (cousins) in 1909 by the Clyno Engineering Company based in Thrapston
Thrapston
Thrapston is a small town in Northamptonshire, England. It is the headquarters of the East Northamptonshire district, and in 2001 had a population of 4,855. By 2006, this was estimated to be over 5,700....
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.
Motor cycles
In 1910, complete motorcycles were starting to be made using Stevens enginesMotorcycle engine
A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle.Motorcycle engines may be two-stroke or four-stroke, reciprocating or Wankel, single-cylinder or multicylinder , or single-rotor or twin-rotor . The engine typically drives the rear wheel, but some small bikes such as the Velosolex have a...
. Stevens went into voluntary liquidation in late 1910 and the Smith cousins agreed to buy their factory in Pelham Street, Wolverhampton. In 1912 they expanded into the factory that had been used to build Humber
Humber (bicycle)
Humber is an English brand of bicycle.One model is the Humber Sport 3-speed pictured on this page. It includes an unusual fork design, called "Duplex", in which each blade consist of two separate tubes, and a stylish chainring that includes the shape of five persons.-History:Made by Humber car...
bicycles. The First World War brought many orders for a combination
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
machine with Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
. With the growth in car sales motor cycle production ceased in 1923.
Motor cars
The first car, and mainstay throughout their existence, the 10.8, designed by AG Booth had a 1368 cc 4 cylinder side valveFlathead engine
A flathead engine is an internal combustion engine with valves placed in the engine block beside the piston, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine...
Coventry Climax model F
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
engine fitted a Cox Atmos carburettor and a 3 speed gearbox
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
. Initially no differential was fitted but this was soon added. From 1926 four wheel brakes were standardised. It was renowned for its reliability and economy. About 35000 are thought to have been made including some sports versions and de luxe Royal models.
A slightly bigger model, the 13 (later 12/28), but still with the same 8 feet 9 inch wheelbase was introduced in 1924 using Clyno's own engine which had a 69 mm bore, 3 mm more than the 10.8 but the same 100 m stroke. About 8000 were made.
A new factory in Bushbury
Bushbury
Bushbury is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards.- Place name and history :...
on the northern outskirts of Wolverhampton was added in 1927 and with it two new models. The 12/35 had the engine bored out to 69.5 mm to increase the capacity to 1593 cc, presumably to cater for heavier coachwork, although most of these chassis seem to have carried fabric bodies.
The last car was the small fabric bodied Nine with a 951 cc engine. The Century (later nicknamed the Cemetery) version was an attempt at a £100 car but quality was starting to suffer and the depression of the late 1920s
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
saw a sales slump with severe competition coming from the Austin 7
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
and Morris Minor
Morris Minor (1928)
This article refers to the motor car manufactured by the Morris Motor Company and its successors from 1928–1933. For the Morris Minor manufactured by the Morris Motor Company from 1948–1971, see Morris Minor....
.
In an apparent attempt to move up market a prototype straight-8
Straight-8
The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase...
was made but never went into production.
Clyno Car Models
| Type | Engine | Approx Production | Year | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyno 10.8, 11 and 11.9 | 1368 cc Coventry Climax 4 cylinder side valve | 35,000 approx | 1922-28 | GBP 152 (1928) Tourer | Cone clutch, separate 3 speed gearbox. Four wheel brakes from 1926. Early cars had no differential. |
| Clyno 12, 13 and 12/28 | 1496 cc 4 cylinder side valve | 8000 | 1923-27 | GBP 215 chassis only | Clyno gearbox |
| Clyno 12/35 | 1593 cc 4 cylinder side valve | 2000 | 1928 | GBP 157 | 12 volt electrics. |
| Clyno Nine | 951 cc 4 cylinder side valve | 300 | 1928 | GBP 145 Four seat tourer. GBP 160 Fabric Saloon | 3 speed gearbox in unit with engine. Fabric saloon. |
Decline
The main distributors had been the Rootes Brothers who at one time tried to buy the company. But, from 1928 they decided to concentrate on HillmanHillman
Hillman is a British automobile marque created by the Hillman Motor Car Company, founded in 1907. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles...
and this hastened the demise of Clyno.
In 1929 Clyno went bankrupt and the assets were purchased by Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
based R H Collier.
However, their Wolverhampton factory remains in existence more than 80 years, now used by an engineering firm who have extended the building substantially.http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/Cars/clyno.htm