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  Sixties
Transport   |
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His brief was to produce
a metal box with four wheels, no more than 10 feet long, to carry
four adults in comfort along with their luggage. The factory foreman,
Albert Green, assembled the first Mini - registration number 621
AOK - in just seven hours, in early 1959, at the Longbridge factory
in Birmingham! |
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The other 'cult' car among the youth of the Sixties was the most popular car ever manufactured - the Volkswagen 'Beetle'. It was originally designed in the early Thirties by Ferdinand Porsche for the German motorcycle manufacturers NSU and Zundapp. The first prototypes were produced by Mercedes Benz in 1937. Because of the fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez crisis, the tendency had been towards smaller, more economical vehicles rather than the mighty gas-guzzlers of the Forties and Fifties. The slowing in sales of the large car market was one of the factors which resulted in Jaguar cars taking over the Daimler Motor Company on 19th June 1960. An even smaller means of transport, the Bubble Car, was popular for a time from the late Fifties onwards and is now seen as a cult icon of the early Sixties.
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The Mini really took
over from where these, mainly German, vehicles left off. Made by
B.M.C. they cost around £500 and were very cheap to run, bringing
the possibility of four-wheeled vehicle ownership to many for whom
it had previously been financially beyond. The
Mini re-wrote the rules about car design, being a front wheel drive
car with a transverse-mounted engine, the four 10" wheels having
independent suspension. Capable of 50 mpg it had a top speed of
around 70mph. |
British manufacturers enjoyed
considerable sporting success in the Sixties, both in rallying and sports
car racing. Mini Coopers finished 1-2-3 in the 1963 Monte
Carlo Rally but were all disqualified for having illegal light-dipping
systems - so much for cutting edge technology! Lord Nuffield, the creator
of Morris cars, died on the 22nd August 1963 aged 84. The ultimate early
Sixties four-wheeled success symbol was probably the sleek, sexy, elongated
E-type Jaguar whose shape epitomised the modern streamlined designs of
the new decade. The prototype, 9600 HP, had reached a maximum average
speed of 150.4 m.p.h. over two runs during tests by driver Peter Riviere
on a stretch of Belgian motorway between Antwerp and Herental.
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This particular hand-built
car had no wing mirrors, badge plates or bumper overriders and was
fitted with perspex windows in the rear and tailgate to reduce weight.
It also had a larger than standard roll bar to prevent it leaning
too much when cornering at high speed. The test was carried out
in Belgium because even though no speed limit had yet been introduced
on Britain's only stretch of motorway between Rugby and London it
was thought that there would be too much traffic around for safety. |
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Of course, if you owned a car, you had to drive it somewhere........ Trafalgar Square - mid-60s A20 traffic jam - late 60s
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Some
other 'classic' cars of the Sixties included, but were by no means
limited to: 1962 - Aston Martin DB4 Vantage, Ford Zodiac III, Consul Cortina, MGB 1967MCC, Triumph Spitfire, Morris 1100, Ford Zephyr Mark III, Lotus Elan 1963 - Ford Anglia, Hillman Imp, Porsche 911, Vauxhall Viva, AC Cobra 289, TVR Griffith 1964 - Ford Mustang, Austin 1800, Mini Moke 1965 - Reliant Scimitar coupe, Vauxhall FC Victor, Ford Zephyr Executive, Hino 1300, Aston Martin DB6 1966
- MGCGT, Mark II Mini, Jensen FF and Interceptor, Ford Cortina Mark
II, Lotus Europa, 1968 - Jaguar XJ6, Ford Escort and Corsair, Reliant Scimitar GTE, Morgan Plus 8, Colliday Chariot 1969 - Austin Maxi, New style Ford Capri, Aston Martin DBS, Datsun 240Z |
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During the Sixties,
car production in the U.K. saw rapid growth, but was completely
outstripped by the growth of the European industry as demonstrated
by the following production figures:
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From a vehicle ownership base of about 9.5 million in 1960, the British market had increased to about 15 million cars by the end of the Sixties. Manufacturing cost problems, not helped by the multitude of strike actions during the decade, caused many of the manufacturers to merge, or disappear. For instance: in September 1966 7,000 workers were laid off by B.M.C. who announced plans for 11,000 redundancies. The resulting strike closed all B.M.C. factories until November 11th when the redundancies became effective. This was just one of the actions taken by the busy trade unions during the decade - the full list is almost unbelievable. In fact, during the period September to November 1966 100,000 car workers were either idle or on short time working! The main movements between manufacturers culminated in a merger between the Leyland Motor Corporation and British Motor Holdings to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation on 17th January 1968. Click for car merger graphic |
Motorcycles|
On two wheels, the Sixties saw the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers coming to the forefront, particularly Honda and Yamaha, with brand new machines and technology, where just a few years previously they had been copying British designs very closely. Although the British motorcycle industry had been in decline since the late fifties due to a combination of government incompetence and bad management, British machines still ruled the superbike end of the market for much of the decade but were being overtaken by Japanese technology and designs by the end of the Sixties. |
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Motorcycle
production of the leading nations in 1969
was: |
Germany: 52,568 England: 71,010 Italy: 580,000 Japan: 2,576,873 |
The major British manufacturers of the decade were Triumph, BSA and Norton who produced many classic machines such as:
1959: The first T120 was developed from the T110 with a separate gearbox and twin carbs 1960/61: New duplex frame introduced 1963: New gearbox and unit construction engine. Frame produced with a single downtube 1964: Competition TT special built for the U.S. market only, with bigger carbs, 11:1 compression and a Lucas ignition system 1966: Smaller fuel tank, 12 volt electrics and fairing lugs fitted for police use 1968: 30mm Amal concentric carbs, new front frame and swinging arm, tls front brake and compression increased to 9:1 1969: Triumph Trident introduced, a 3-cylinder machine. |
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In 1962 the Joe Dudek streamliner
with a 670cc T120 engine tuned by Johnson motors set an FIM approved world
speed record of 224.57 mph. This was increased to 245.50 mph in 1966 by
Bob Leppans Gyronaut X-1 streamliner running two pre-unit 650 engines.
Triumph retained the speed record throughout the rest of the decade.
Malcolm Uphill set the first
100 mph lap in the 1969 Isle of Man TT 750 production race on a 650 Bonneville,
averaging 99.99 mph for the three lap course. He also did the Manx GP
double in 1965 and won the 1969 Thruxton 500 mile endurance race on a
Bonneville.
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Lightning, Thunderbolt and Rocket |
1962: The names Lightning and Thunderbolt first appear in BSA's American production catalogue
1963: Twin carb A65 Rocket launched in the U.K., called Thunderbolt Rocket in the U.S.A.
1964: Twin carb A65L Lightning introduced as competition to the Triumph Bonneville. A limited edition 'clubman' racing version was made between September 1964 and October 1965 with a close ratio gearbox, dropped handlebars and rearsets.
1965: The Thunderbolt, a
single carb version of the Lightning, was introduced as a replacement
for the A65 Star tourer.
The 1968 BSA Range Page 1 Page
2
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Atlas and Commando |
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1962: Norton Atlas launched in the U.S.A. 1964: Norton Atlas launched in the U.K. in February 1967: Pre-production Commandos had sloping Atlas engines with an isolastic mounting 1968: First production Commandos appear in April, sporting a diaphragm clutch system 1969: The 'S' model
is introduced, with high, left-side mounted exhaust pipes. |
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Scooters
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in London with no motorised transport there was always the ubiquitous
red bus. The most famous of these, the double-decker Routemaster,
was designed for London Transport in 1959 by Douglas Scott ( who also
designed telephone booths in 1963 ) and was destined to become one
of the icons of Sixties London. For paying passengers there were also the 'black cab' taxis and the London trolleybuses, the last of which ran on May 8th 1962. The first minicabs were launched in the capital by a company called Carline in Wimbledon on 6th March 1961. |
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| The London
Underground system has, of course, been there forever but in 1962
London's first new tube line since before the War was authorised. It took five years to build the Victoria Line (between Walthamstow and Victoria). If you wanted to travel free you could get yourself a space-age folding bicycle - the Moulton. It was originally designed in 1958 by Alex Moulton but Raleigh, the major cycle manufacturer of the period, were not interested. Moulton continued to produce the machine and it became almost a fashion accessory in the built-up city areas by the mid-sixties until Raleigh realised their error and took the company over in 1967. Raleigh also produced a moped - the Raleigh 'Wisp' - a bicycle with an engine of sorts. |
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All
Original Material
SixtiesCity 2008 |
