The Rodley was a British

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are oft ...

Rodley, West Yorkshire Rodley is a suburb in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated within the Calverley and Farsley ward of Leeds Metropolitan Council, just inside the Leeds Outer Ring Road, north-west from Leeds ...

between 1954 and 1956. Henry Brown also designed the

Scootacar Scootacar was a British three-wheeled microcar built in Hunslet, Leeds by Scootacars Ltd a division of the railway locomotive builder, the Hunslet Engine Company between 1957 and 1964. It was allegedly built because the wife of one of the di ...

microcar (built between 1957 and 1964). The body was of steel construction, rather than the more usual glass fibre, and was mounted on a steel chassis. The engine was a rear-mounted, direct driven impeller air-cooled 750 cc twin-cylinder unit made by

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

driving the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox and chain to the axle which had a friction

differential Differential may refer to: Mathematics * Differential (mathematics) comprises multiple related meanings of the word, both in calculus and differential geometry, such as an infinitesimal change in the value of a function * Differential algebra * ...

. The suspension was by independent coil springs at the front and underslung semi elliptic at the rear. Steering was by a chain system. Although the car was advertised as a four-seater and fitted with four seats, the rear ones, as might be expected in a microcar, were rather small and cramped. The fabric roof panel could be rolled forwards to give an opening roof. Although the production target was 50 cars a week, only 65 were ever built, and only one is believed to survive. It was at the time the cheapest four-wheel car available on the British market but rapidly acquired a very poor reputation, especially for overheating to the extent of catching fire.

References

A-Z of Cars 1945-1970. Michael Sedwick and Mark Gillies. Bay View Books 1993. {{ISBN, 1-870979-39-7

External links

Rodley pictures and specificationInformation about the location of the former Rodley Automobile Company premises, between "The Owl" pub and the former "Rialto" cinema, in the village of Rodley, on the outskirts of Leeds
Microcars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Defunct companies based in Leeds Cars introduced in 1954

See also

References

External links