Shortfinals – aviation and more!

By: shortfinals

Aug 12 2011

Tags: 'I'm back!', 'The Shining', 1903, 1950s, 1953, 26hp, 803cc overhead-valve engine, American, Austin A30, £2500, £481, boot-lid, classic car, cobbled street, Coventry, Crich, Crich Tramway Village, Derbyshire, detail design changes, developed version, edge of the Peak District, England, Europe, European, European trip, folding down the rear seat, founded in 1903, Great Britain, hill-top village, home market, hydraulic brakes, increased power, initial launch model, Jack Nicholson, launch price, Morris Minor, motor vehicle, museum, Museums, National Tramway Museum, new model, Nikon, no opening boot-lid, Peak District, photographs, pre-war model, rear seat, Second World War, small saloon car, somewhat staid motor cars, space in the boot, spectacular facility, Standard 8, Standard 8 Basic, Standard Motor Company Ltd, Standard Ten, tourist sites, trip to Europe, venues, West Midlands, World War Two

Category: British Isles, Derbyshire, England, Great Britain, Museums, Peak District, Second World War

2 Comments

‘I’m back!’ No, it’s not Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’…just me back from a long and fabulously interesting trip to Europe. Many fine museums and tourist sites were visited, and my poor old Nikon nearly had a nervous breakdown, with the amount of shots taken. After a LOT of sorting out, I should be able to post some nice photographs; let’s start with a classic car from the 1950’s.

The Standard Motor Company Ltd was founded in Coventry (now in the West Midlands) in 1903. They were noted for making reliable, if somewhat staid, motor cars. Prior to World War Two, they produced a small saloon car called the Standard 8; after the war, production of the pre-war model resumed, in a climate where the home market was desperate for any motor vehicle. It wasn’t until 1953 that a new model of the ‘8’ was produced. It had an 803cc overhead-valve engine of 26hp, and hydraulic brakes on all wheels (something which some cars did not have); however, owners of the first examples found themselves having to gain access to the space in the boot (trunk to my American friends) by folding down the rear seat – there was no opening boot-lid! The ‘8’ was designed to compete with the Austin A30 and the Morris Minor, and did so quite effectively. Increased power and detail design changes soon followed, along with a developed version known as the Standard Ten. The launch price for the original ‘8’ was only £481, but a good example, today, will cost you anything up to £2,500.

Here we see an example of the initial launch model, a Standard 8 Basic, parked on the cobbled street at Crich Tramway Village, home of the National Tramway Museum. This spectacular facility is located in the little hill-top village of Crich, in Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District, and is well worth a visit.

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https://www.picfair.com/shortfinals