Jaguar

by Bill Vance from https://www.timescolonist.com The Jaguar company grew from humble roots planted in 1922. It began when two young motorcycle enthusiasts named William Walmsley and William Lyons formed the Swallow Sidecar Co. to produce stylish aluminum-clad, zeppelin-shaped motorcycle sidecars in a small shop in Blackpool, England. The Swallow sidecar became a popular product and in a few years as their skills grew they progressed to producing stylish open and closed bodies for cars like tiny Austin Sevens, and later for Standards, Swifts, Morrises and Wolseleys. They relocated to Coventry in 1928 and renamed their enterprise Swallow Coachbuilding Co. to reflect its venture into manufacturing cars. It would become S.S. Cars Ltd in 1934, and after the Second World War became Jaguar Cars Ltd. When Swallow Coachbuilding Co. started building its own SS badged cars it used Standard Motor Co. chassis and engines. They were rakish machines emphasizing imaginative styling and low-slung lines. The first SS I introduced in 1931 based on the Standard 16 was a signal that S.S. Cars was on its way as an automobile manufacturer. The SS 1 had Standard’s 2-litre, side-valve six, the beginning of the company’s preference for six cylinder engines. The SS I had dramatic styling with a long louvered hood, front cycle fenders, Rudge-Whitworth centre-lock wire wheels, rear-mounted continental spare tire and no running boards. It was what we would now call a two-plus-two, accommodating two adults in front and two children or small passengers in the rear. Its low profile 1,422 mm (56 in.) height was achieved by lowering the chassis and mounting the springs outside the frame rails. The engine was moved back in the chassis and the wheelbase was a little longer than the Standard model. A smaller SS II was built with a four cylinder engine. The SS […]