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LewPalmer
USA
3244 Posts |
 Posted - 29/04/2023 : 17:18:17
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Many of the early cars had numeric designations such as 18/80 or 8/33. I believe the first number was the supposed horsepower rating, but what does the second number mean?
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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Eric Taylor
France
157 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 19:15:19
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The F1 Magna was also known as the 12/70 Magna. 12 was the RAC horse
power rating, presumably the 70 was its maximum speed? |
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LewPalmer
USA
3244 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 19:38:50
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Eric, I'm aware of the horsepower, but in the case of the J2, certainly the 33 in 8/33 didn't mean its top speed was 33 MPH. Even mine did better than that.
Anyone else?
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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BobH
United Kingdom
250 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 20:27:00
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| I understood that the first number is treasury horsepower and the second is actual brake horsepower. |
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LewPalmer
USA
3244 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 21:06:20
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Thanks, Bob. Had I done my homework, I would have eventually come to that conclusion. Brake horsepower it is!
Lew Palmer
PA1169, NA0651 |
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george
United Kingdom
862 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 21:23:17
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| 70 bhp for an F1!!! Geoff |
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Eric Taylor
France
157 Posts |
Posted - 29/04/2023 : 22:14:24
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| 37.2 bhp I believe, George! |
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KevinA
New Zealand
671 Posts |
Posted - 30/04/2023 : 00:04:23
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Whilst some manufacturers used bhp as the second number, MG wasn't generally one of them.
The 18/80 was designated 18hp and 80mph, not 80bhp. It produced around 60bhp.
The mark 3 version, the Tigress, was designated the 18/100 due to its targeted top speed of the magic ton.
Neither reached their speed targets unfortunately.
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Edited by - KevinA on 30/04/2023 00:08:33 |
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tonym
United Kingdom
653 Posts |
Posted - 30/04/2023 : 14:19:41
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Eric
Doubt very much that it was a top speed designation
It wouldn't have done much for sales of the 14/28 !! |
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huw
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 30/04/2023 : 15:23:44
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Reading the above with interest. The only consistency is that there is inconsistency. The early Cowley based 4-cylinder models adopted the tax rating and the supposed engine power of the Morris chassis - the 14/28. As the two diverged, the MG adopted a more apt 14/40. The bigger six-cylinder used the supposed maximum speed in place of the actual engine power, with the Tigress adopting 18/100 i.e. 100mph. For the smaller MG Midgets and Magnas it could be presumed that the four cylinder Midget kept the convention laid down by the - also four cylinder - 14hp and the six cylinder Magna the convention laid down by the - also six cylinder - 18hp. I would like to know! The convention of naming in the UK pre-war was inconsistent - that most manufacturers adopted the RAC hp rating was based on customer need as opposed to any directive from above. From that point, each manufacturer decided based on what i suppose they consider was best for them - hp, speed, cylinders, or nothing at all. Post war and the flat tax rate made the RAC hp rating irrelevant, but some kept on going for a while anyway.
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Edited by - huw on 30/04/2023 15:24:33 |
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