Club History

The Wolseley Hornet Special Club officially came into being on 1st October,1950. It owes it existence to W. Boddy, the Editor of Motor Sport, who kindly published a letter in the October 1950 issue. This letter was from an owner bewailing the lack of a Club or similar facility for owners of Hornet Specials or other Sports Model Wolseleys.

The chief exponent of the marque was the late Colonel M.A. McEvoy whose McEvoy Special of the 1930's was basically a Hornet Special. The Club was formed to preserve and foster interest in the Wolseley Hornet Special. Since its inception, the Club has been well supported and has provided an ideal framework for owners and enthusiasts to share their common  interest.

The Wolseley Hornet Special 1930-35

A vogue for small six-cylinder engines led to the introduction of the Wolseley Hornet, in saloon form in late 1930. With its overhead cam engine and hydraulic brakes, it broke new ground and from 1931 it was made available in chassis form.

It was not long before the sporting potential of this light car was realised and many of the smaller coachbuilders who abounded in those days tried their hand at sporting bodywork on the chassis, producing both open two and four seaters and coupés.

One of the earliest was an Abbey bodied car built for Eustace Watkins Ltd (E.W.) theLondon dealers. These early Hornets were characterised by a radiator that was slatted to control air flow through it and of course the vertical dynamo engine and a 3 speed gearbox and central accelerator pedal.

1931  Swallow  bodied  special. Note  the   vertical  slats  to  the  radiator

The engine of the Wolseley Hornet has its origins from the first world war when Wolseley Motors made Hispano Suiza engines under license for fighter aeroplanes like the S.E.5a. Post war the     10 h.p. Wolseley had an overhead camshaft and then evolved by the late 1920’s into a small         4 cylinder o.h.c. engine of 848cc’s, being that of the first Morris Minor which was subsequently the basis of Cecil Kimber’s M type Midget.

In 1930 Wolseley Motors basically added two more cylinders to the Minor’s 848 cc engine, producing a six cylinder o.h.c. engine of 57mm bore and 83m stroke giving 1271cc’s, with the vertical dynamo driving the camshaft. This engine was used to power the first Hornet saloons produced in 1930, the chassis of which was an extended Morris Minor one. The Hornet engine became the basis of all the six cylinder over head cam M.G.'s starting with the F type, which was the same engine as the early Hornet. This engine had all the ports to the valves on the same side     (not crossflow) and had a single carburettor. Later Hornets moved away from the vertical dynamo, which the M.G.’s retained.

Specialist tuners such as Vic Derrington and Michael McEvoy were quick to see the potential of the Hornet’s lively 1271cc engine. They developed four-speed remote control gearboxes, improved camshafts, twin carburettor conversions and even superchargers to extract more power. In April 1932 the Wolseley Company bowed to the inevitable and marketed the Hornet Special in chassis form only. Even more coachbuilders became involved and the Hornet was now available in a wide variety of guises to suit every taste.

The Special chassis was slightly different to the 31’ extended Minor one; it had 12-inch hydraulic brakes and a four-speed gearbox with remote control. Engine changes included a move to a chain drive from the vertical dynamo drive, which shortened the engine, twin carburettors and an oil cooler. From 1932 these Hornet Specials were characterised by a new radiator design that had a single chrome embellishment vertically down the middle of the shell. The typical cost at the time of an E.W. Special was £298 in 1933.

1932, 2 seater  Corsica type bodied  special.  Note  for 1932 the   radiator no longer  has  vertical  slats  and  the   radiator  badge  has a  black  background.

Some of the Specials were entered into various sporting events of the time, with perhaps the most notable being the 1932 relay race at Brooklands race track, which they won with a respectable average speed of 77.57 mph with the fastest member averaging 82m.p.h. The winning team was entered by F.S. Hutchens and supporting drivers B.H. Wickens and E.J. Erith. The team comprised two E.W.- Daytona’s (named after the beach hosting world record breaking events)and a 1931 E.W International bodied car (not a special chassis).

For  1933 year, Wolseley  made  some  changes   to  the  drive  train making it more robust (and heavier), but the chassis  and  engine  were  largely  unchanged.

In late 1933 for the 34 year, Wolseley announced their new Hornet special chassis. This was an underslung arrangement of the rear axle with a cross bracing arrangement designed to reduced some of the flexibility in the chassis ( up to now the chassis had been overslung). The chief changes to the engine were a new cylinder head of a cross flow design still with twin carburettors and a new block. The gearbox was different incorporating a synchromesh on 3^rd /4^th gear and a free wheel arrangement as per the equivalent 12hp saloon. This free wheel was retained for one year only. The radiator was changed for a more rakish version and is characterised by a U shaped chrome embellishment where the earlier cars had the single strip. The bodies however had now put on a lot of weight with only a small increase in performance ( 45bhp) and were more tourer's than sports cars.

1934 Eustace  Watkins  Daytona.  Radiator  is   more  steeply  raked  and  has  double embellishment to   the  centre.

In 1935 Wolseley installed the 14hp engine of 61.5 mm bore and 90mm stroke from the Fourteen saloon giving 1604cc. The chassis was basically the same but was a little more robust in places again adding to the weight and the free wheel had disappeared. The engine still retaining the original 1" inch and 1/8th S.U was now up to 50bhp but the engine was somewhat restricted them. These 1935 cars are characterised by another new radiator shell which was deeper to accommodate a taller radiator, and back to a single vertical chrome embellishment.

1935  Eustace  Watkins  Daytona. Note  the  deeper   radiator with single  vertical  embellishment, the  absence of   a  headlamp cross brace bar  and  the  badge  now   has  a  white  background.

Throughout its life the Hornet has represented variety, value for money, and fun.

 By 1935 the car industry was beginning to hit troubled times again, and Sir William Morris decided to rationalise his car production. MG retained sportscar production as by now the marque  had built up a reputation in competition which aided sales. The Wolseley Hornet Special disappeared, as did the o.h.c. engine which Morris replaced with o.h.v. pushrod engines. From now on Wolseleys were to be badge engineered Morris's utilising the same mechanical components.

Coachbuilders

The following is a list of known coachbuilders on the Hornet Special chassis:-

© Wolseley Hornet Special Club 2000