Ashley were manufacturers of body shells and

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

for

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

s from 1955 to 1962. They also offered a range of products for special builds: radiators, header tanks, lighting sets, steel tubing, sheet aluminium, various suspension parts, water pumps, tires, tubes and wheels. The company also made bonnets and hardtops for other mass-produced sports cars, including the

Austin-Healey Sprite The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Gra ...

and

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British FMR layout, front mid-engined sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974. Its sleek appearance, advanced technologies, ...

History

Ashley Laminates was founded in 1955 by Peter Pellandine and Keith Waddington. The name "Ashley" was chosen as it was the name of Peter Pellandine's house in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford, London, Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the we ...

. They designed and built their first car using GRP for the bodyshell. The two set up a small factory in a garage next to the Robin Hood Inn at

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

to produce shells. The garage has now made way for a pub car park. In late 1956 Pellandine left the company to found

Falcon Shells Falcon Shells was a British company that produced specials/kit cars from 1956 until 1964. History Falcon Shells was founded in 1956 by Peter Pellandine following his amicable split with Keith Waddington of Ashley (automobile), Ashley Laminates. ...

, another specials company. Pellandine took with him the rights and tooling to manufacture the short-wheelbase bodyshell for the Ashley 750 and the Sports Racer which he continued in production as the Falcon Mark 1 and Mark 2 respectively. In 1958, to increase manufacturing space, Ashley Laminates moved to the Potteries in

Upshire Upshire is a village in the civil parish of Waltham Abbey in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The centre of the village is on Horseshoe Hill (a minor road), on which is The Horseshoe public house, and the church of St Thomas, a Grade ...

, whilst retaining the Loughton premises as a showroom. He also introduced a new bodyshell, the 1172, and the Regent chassis. 1960 saw the introduction of the Sportiva

Ashley 01

In 1961 the company moved again, this time to Bush Fair,

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

, but the following year production of body shells ceased when the specials market waned, due to a change in Sales Tax rules. The company, however, continued to manufacture GRP hardtops and bonnets for sports cars. Adverts from 1963 onwards indicate that the company changed names to Ashley Auto Improvements and moved, this time to

Bishops Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the M11 motorway and Stansted ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. Although Keith Waddington died in the mid-1960s, the company continued until 1972. The Ashley range of bodyparts has been re introduced in 2010 b
Moto-Build Racing
in Sutton in Surrey and whilst at present it focuses mainly on the MG Midget and Austin Healey Sprite there are moulds in progress for the Triumph Spitfire Mk1, 2 and 3, there is a website dedicated to this a
www.ashleygt.co.uk

Models

Ashley 750

Based on the short-wheelbase (6-foot 3 inch) Austin Seven chassis, with its 747 cc engine (hence the model name). Later a long-wheelbase (6-foot 9 inch) version was offered. The price of both was the same: £78 for the shell and £25 for the hard top. The early hardtops had gull wing doors but it is believed that none have survived. When Pellandine left, he took the rights to build the short-wheelbase version, while Ashley just manufactured the long version.

Ashley Sports Racer

Introduced shortly after the 750 for £90, it was made to accommodate wheelbases from to As the name suggests the shell was primarily designed for track rather than everyday road use and could be mated to an Elva chassis. A number of contemporary racing cars used it.

Ashley 1172

Launched in August 1958, it was initially a roadster with a detachable hard top, to fit the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

8 and 10hp chassis of wheelbase with the

Ford Sidevalve engine The Ford Sidevalve is a side valve (flathead engine) from the British arm of the Ford Motor Company, often also referred to as the "English Sidevalve". The engine had its origins in the 1930s Ford Model Y, and was made in two sizes, or "8 HP", ...

. It had a displacement of 1172 cc from which the model took its name. The Regent chassis was advertised as an alternative underpinning for the shell. Early in 1959 a fixed head coupe was offered whilst from January 1960 the 1172 was also available to fit the {{convert, 7, ft, 10, in, m, sing=on Prefect ladder frame. The roadster shells retailed for £105 and the coupes for £160. The rights to the 1172 body were acquired by Yitzhak Shubinsky of the Israeli

Autocars Co. Autocars Co. Ltd. () of Haifa, Israel, was Israel's first car manufacturer. History Autocars Ltd, founded in 1957, made fiberglass-shelled Automobile, cars that were popular in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s. Government agencies were force ...

and modified, becoming both the Autocar Sabra and in a manufacturing agreement with Reliant, the

Reliant Sabre The Reliant Sabre (also "Sabre Four") and the Reliant Sabre Six were small two-seater sports cars produced by Reliant between 1961 and 1964. History Developed in collaboration with the Israeli motor company Autocars, as a result of the Mana ...

.Reliant/Autocars Sabra, www.sporting-reliants.com
Retrieved 21 March 2016

Ashley Sportiva

Debuting in November 1960, it was initially an 1172 with revised front styling. It was made available as a bodyshell or with an Ashley chassis. It could be had as a drophead or a fixed head coupe with two or four seats. Later Sportiva's had a revised rear with boot lid and a longer wheelbase of eight feet to accommodate the new Mark 6 chassis. The fixed head coupe bodyshell retailed for £182.

Ashley Sportiva Morgan +4 Coupe

Debuting at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show this Morgan +4 fitted with an Ashley Sportiva body-shell never went into production.

References

* British Specialist Cars Volume 1: A Collection of 60 Unique Sports Cars - Jasper Wilkins (1977) * 1960 Sportscar Specials - Bob Rolofson (1960)

External links

The Ashley Story
including Bodies, Hardtops, Adverts and much, much more.

* ttp://www.fairthorpescc.com Fairthorpe Sports Car Club: incorporating the Ashley Register
Ashley Laminates Ltd
incorp, Ashley Vehicle Registry and Historical Archive. Kit car manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1955 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1972 1955 establishments in England 1972 disestablishments in England Companies based in Essex Companies based in East Hertfordshire District British companies disestablished in 1972 British companies established in 1955 Vehicle manufacturers operating in Essex