I'm not sure what benefit there would have been to having a unit smaller than the first 803cc a-series.

I assume that a very small engine wasn't required because there was simply no longer a worthwhile UK market for a low-powered baby car - hence no A20.

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E" not a "T".

I think you have to look a bit further on than just Austin 7 or 8 replacements. The A series went on to power a wide variety of vehicles and was in production for a long time growing from 803cc to 1275cc sturdy, reliable and tunable the A series was and still is a good all round engine, it would seem in the long run the A series was the right choice, had a smaller lighter engine been developed it would have probably not have been so adaptable and as such a waist of resources in the long run.

Location: Pembrokeshire.

I had one of the two stroke prototype Ehrlich engines for a short while in the early 90s, with a view to getting it running. It was owned by the A30 / 35 owners club. Work commitments prevented me making a start, though I had set about trying to find suitable piston rings as they were missing. It was a most unusual beast, and if I remember correctly there were two pairs of cylinders, each pair with v shaped con rod with a big end onto the crank journal and the second piston articled on a smaller joint just above the big end. Two pistons thus operated together. I don't think there were four plugs. I believe each head allowed one spark plug to ignite the mixture across a combined combustion chamber. In truth, I think the complexity of the engine put me off starting the rebuild. The club's publicity officer took the engine to show at a club rally but told me his work's transit van had been stolen, the diesel engine removed from the front and the Ehrlich engine from the back. Secretly I have always hoped it will turn up in someone's private collection. Such a shame if it was scrapped by some ignorant trasi(en)t driver.

Location: Fishbourne near Chichester

Hi Michael

I had a quick look at the Trojan con rod. Not entirely discimilar except much more compact and the previously mentioned joint on one half of the V that allowed the two twinned pistons to move parallel in their bores.
If you do a Google image search, there's an image of a sectioned engine that shows the set up. My memory of the V shape probably the result of it being out on the kitchen table!

Regards
Nick

This is a very interesting read - It makes me think of an Opal I have seen pictures of on the web but not located any further information about which sounds close to what you are talking about - a 1938 Opal with apparently an A35 A-series and presumably gearbox?

Perhaps similar to what could have been if production / development had continued post-war?

Location: Whangarei, New Zealand

Location: Fishbourne near Chichester

Hi Alex,
Looks like a very dice place for the Fuel pump.


colin south of whangarei

Location: TINOPAI NZ

People here seem to be suggesting an engine smaller than the 803cc. I have always wondered why the engine was as small as 803. It soon enlarged into the more powerful 948cc which was presumably what the public wanted.
Maybe Austin made the right decision to leave the very small car manufacture to the likes of Reliant, Bond and Issetta.

That's my thinking Andrew. The 803 was short-lived because it was simply too small. On a side note I would argue that the A30/35 and the Mini were the spiritual successors to the Austin 7,(which after all had got consistently larger in its production run) and Austin would have had very little success with anything smaller.

Location: Whangarei, New Zealand

From personal experience, the 803cc engine was OK in an A30, but very under powered in the Series 2 Morris Minor - probably why it was short lived, though the later A35 vans had an 850cc version (I think) which was quite sufficient.

I very much doubt the Opal with the gold seal A series is anything other than a later engine transplant. A friend had a very early Austin (I don't remember what) with a similar engine and was faced with the predicament of trying to find a period replacement or continuing to enjoy power, reliability etc, etc.

on that note, I believe the DVLA rules allow a later engine from the same manufacturer to be fitted to a vehicle, where the original is hard to replace. I seem to remember Honda and Rover cars being similar at one point. Does this mean I can pop a VFR750 engine in my Speedex without having to re-register it on a Q?

Oh and being a 2 stroke the air cooled Ehrlich engine was ported - no valves, with one of the twinned pistons sorting the inlet and the other the exhaust.

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/pictures/this-engine-was-produced-by-dr-j-ehrlich-in-england-in-1946-news-photo-90744958#this-engine-was-produced-by-dr-j-ehrlich-in-england-in-1946-he-had-picture-id90744958


Regards, Nick

Location: Essex

Alex Disher

Colin Reed

Hi Alex,
Looks like a very dice place for the Fuel pump.


colin south of whangarei

Agreed! There are a couple of odd things about the conversion including the fuel pump, the downdraft SU's, the distance between the radiator and fanblade is pretty large, and the radiator seems to have been moved forward a fair way too. The sump would need to be pretty weird to get the engine far enough forward to necessitate moving the radiator though. Intriguing though, I'd love to know more about it...

Location: NW Devon