Pre-war freewheel devices.

[ian Howell]

I suppose this should appear in the pre-war section, but I am hopiing for a wider audience in my search for knowledge!

Here we go again (I hope!): -

According to the Jowett Technical notes from Bob Jones, the Webley and Scott freewheel was fitted to (some?) cars from about 1936. A similar device was also fitted to some Armstrong Siddeleys of the same period.

What appears to be a freewheel device is fitted to my 1930 Long Four - as is a prop shaft with the centreing devices at the ends. The freewheel may not be Webley & Scott, but what others could have been / were fitted? No obvious makers marks visible

If the freewheel and centreing devices were 1936+ features, could they have been retro fitted to a standard Long Four, or have I got hold of a very early version?

6 years seems a bit extreme, or else the later parts fitted the earlier cars very nicely. The freewheel device looks very 'right' with no signs of adaption to make it fit / work.

Can anyone shed any more light on these devices?

To those who have had the stamina to follow my saga so far, I am now in the process of replacing the rear inner wheel arch plates, and replacing as little as possible of the original woodwork around the arches.

As an 'odd job' that needs loads of patience, I am making a replica Jowett script badge for the radiator following a pattern kindly provided by Tony Fearn. It will take a year or two as I get fed up with the 'fiddly' bits very quickly, but it is already recognisable as 'Jowett' and Tony's pattern is very easy to follow. Thanks Tony.

Doesn't the CD Bradford engine look great in the pictures? (See Bradford section).

Those Victorian style castings with the generous radius fillets somehow make the whole thing look quite artistic.

[Tony Fearn]

Hello Ian.
I got a flier through the post today which of course has nothing to do with free-wheel devices, neither do I know anything about them, but there's an advert from Netto which says that from Monday 4th Sept. they are selling a rotary drill and tool set which looks a bit like a Dremel system. It's 130 watt, 230V/50Hz, comes with accessories, with a stand, case and cable, and costs £9.99. There is also an extended accessory kit containing 118 pieces for an extra £6.99. Perhaps you won't be as "fed-up with the fiddley bits" if you have something like this to hand when fabricating the Jowett script. If you're interested and don't have a Netto within striking distance, I'll go and buy one and bring it to the AGM in October, or to Beaulieu if you plan to attend or have someone to collect it from there. Regards, Tony.

[ian Howell]

Tony: -

Thanks for that Info. I get around all over the South East so I will check out Netto TONIGHT!

Well, the fiddley bits are good for the soul. After a frustrating day of watching paint dry or arguing with those who should know better, it's good to 'work out' on a bit of metal that doesn't fight back (usually!).

Progress report: - One inner wing plate replaced, second one marked out. I drilled 1.5mm holes for the nails, but I suspect that Jowetts used hardened steel nails so they were stronger and didn't need to have holes drilled. Certainly they were difficult to grind the heads off.

Next up - one rear wing, to establish feasibility of various suggested repair methods.

Watch this space.

[TedAllen]

Hi Guys,
Refering to the Netto tools, Aldi have stocks of a digital measuring gauge with a depth measure in a case complete with battery.
I bought one from Lidl a couple of years ago and it really is a quality bit of kit. And guess what......it was only £9.99!