The Villiers Engineering Co. Ltd.
1946 onwards
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After the war demand continued to be very strong and the
company was almost constantly expanding and re-organizing. In 1956
Villiers produced its two millionth engine and duly presented it to the
Science Museum. |
| In 1957 they "absorbed" J. A. Prestwich Industries Ltd.,
makers of the J.A.P. engines. In 1962 the company were claiming
that: "jointly the two companies produce a vast range of two-stroke and
four-stroke petrol engines and four-stroke diesel engines from 1/3rd to
16 b.h.p. These are the engines which power many of Britain's
two-stroke motor cycles, scooters and three wheelers and the great
majority of the motor mowers, cultivators, concrete mixers, generating
sets, elevators, pumping sets. etc." Not only that but the
old standbys continued: "in fifty-eight years [Villiers] have sent
nearly seventy millions [bicycle free wheels] to all parts of the
world". Not only did the company produce engines but, as they said in
1962: "The Villiers Group offers an extensive service to industry in the
supply of drop forgings, castings, pressings and metal fabrications,
spur, bevel and helical gears, and in the design and manufacture of
Viltool special-purpose machine tools, using the Viltool unit heads and
the 'building block' system of tooling." |
This 1951 Excelsior was fitted with a Villiers
197cc two stroke engine.
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An advert from 1951
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Overseas the company had subsidiaries in
Australia (Ballarat), New Zealand and Germany and associate companies in
Spain and India.
To give an impression of how widely used Villiers
engines were here is a list, names only, of motorbikes which had
Villiers engines in some or all of their models in the post World
War II period alone: Aberdale, ABJ, AJS, AJW, Ambassador, BAC,
Bond, Bown, Butler, Commander, Corgi, Cotton, Cyc-Auto, DMW, Dot,
Excelsior, Francis-Burnett, Greeves, HJH, James, Mercury, New
Hudson, Norman, OEC, Panther, Radco, Rainbow, Scorpion, Sprite, Sun,
Tandon.
In the early 1960's the company was taken over by
Manganese Bronze Holdings, who also purchased Associated Motor Cycles
(A.M.C.) in 1966. A.M.C. was formed in 1931 when A.J.S. was purchased by
Matchless. In 1952 A.M.C. acquired Norton Motors Limited who produced
Norton motorbikes. |
After A.M.C.'s collapse and take-over in 1966, a new
company called Norton Villiers was formed, which would produce machines
using the Norton name. A new flagship machine was needed to replace the
current ageing models and so in 1967 the Commando was developed, just in
time for the Earls Court Show.
The first production machines were completed in April 1968, but there
were bending problems with the frame and so a new frame was introduced
in January 1969. The original model, now called the 'Fastback' was
joined by the 'S Type' which had a high level left-side exhaust and a
2.5 gallon petrol tank. Initially the engines were produced in
Wolverhampton, the frames in Manchester and the components were
assembled at Burrage Grove, Plumstead. The Plumstead works were subject
to a Greater London Council compulsory purchase order, late in 1968 and
closed in the following July. |
An advert from 1953
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| After a Government subsidy, an assembly line was
set up in a factory at North Way, Andover, with the Test Department
in an aircraft hanger on nearby Thruxton Airfield. Manufacturing was
transferred to Wolverhampton, where about 80 complete machines were
produced each week. Components and complete engines and gearboxes
were also shipped overnight, from Wolverhampton to the Andover
assembly line. The police were showing a lot of interest in the
Commando and so Neale Shilton was recruited from Triumph to produce
a Commando to police specifications. The end result was the
'Interpol' machine, which sold well to police forces, both at home
and abroad. The machine was powered by a 750c.c. O.H.V. engine and
included panniers, top box, fairing, and had fittings for a radio
and auxiliary equipment.
Right from the beginning the Commando took part in racing events, and
after its win in the 1969 Hutchinson 100 and a second place in the
Production T.T., the company decided to produce a racing model. This led
to the development of the successful 750c.c. overhead valve 'Production
Racer'. It featured a tuned engine, front disk brake and was finished in
bright yellow, which led to the machine being known as the 'Yellow
Peril'. |
The Norton Interstate. Courtesy of Jim Boulton.
|
A new version of the 'S Type' was introduced in March
1970. It was called the 'Roadster' and had a 750c.c. O.H.V. engine and a
low-level exhaust, with upward angled silencers and reverse cones. The
model 'S' was discontinued in June. September 1970 saw the introduction
of the 'Fastback MK. 2', which was soon replaced by the Mk.3. It had
alloy levers and modified stands and chain guards. |
| The ‘Street Scrambler’ and the ‘Hi Rider’ were launched
in May 1971 and the ‘Fastback Long Range’ with a larger petrol tank, was
launched in July. January 1972 saw the appearance of the ‘Mk.4
Fastback’, an updated ‘Roadster’ and the ‘750 Interstate’, with its high
performance ‘Combat’ engine. The ‘Combat’ could deliver 65 b.h.p. at
6500r.p.m. with a 10 to 1 compression ratio. Unfortunately the engine
proved to be extremely unreliable, main bearing failures were common and
pistons tended to break off at a slot, under the oil control ring. These
problems gave the company a bad reputation, which wasn’t helped by the
fact that the ‘Commando’ suffered from quality control problems which
were well covered in the motorcycling press. By the middle of 1972 the
BSA-Triumph group were in serious financial trouble and the Government
decided to bail the company out with a financial rescue package,
providing it would agree to merge with Norton Villiers. Norton Villiers
Triumph was duly formed and the new company got off to a shaky start.
In January 1973 the ‘Mk.5 Fastback’ was launched and the ‘Long Range’
was discontinued. In April the ‘Roadster’, ‘Hi Rider’ and the
‘Interstate’ all began to use a new 828c.c. engine. Development work
also began on a 500c.c. twin, stepped piston engine, with a monocoque
pressed steel frame. The new engine was called the ‘Wulf’, but the
project was dropped in favour of developing the rotary Wankel type
engine which was inherited from BSA. |
| Things went well that year for the Norton racing team,
as Peter Williams won the 1973 Formula 750 T.T. and Mick Grant came in
second. Unfortunately the company itself was in deep financial trouble
and redundancy notices were issued at Andover, which was followed by a
sit-in at the works. The situation continued to deteriorate in 1974 and
came to a head in June when the Government withdrew its subsidy. |
The 750 Commando. Courtesy of Jim Boulton.
|
| There was a general election and luckily the incoming
Labour Government restored the subsidy. The company decided to close two
of its sites and concentrate production at Wolverhampton and Small
Heath. This caused a lot of industrial unrest at Meriden, and resulted
in a workers’ sit in, which stopped production at Small Heath. By the
end of the year the company had lost over 3 million pounds. Even
during these hard times the company still managed to produce new models.
1974 saw the release of the ‘828 Roadster’, the ‘Mk.2 Hi Rider’, the
‘JPN Replica’ and the ‘Mk.2a Interstate’. Only two of these were to
continue in production the following year. Early in 1975 the company
reduced its range of models to just two machines, the ‘Mk.3 Interstate’
and the ‘Roadster’. Both machines were improved by the fitting of an
electric starter, a left side gear change, right foot brake and rear
disk brake.
Things went from bad to worse in July when the Industry Minister
recalled a loan for 4 million pounds and refused to renew the company’s
export credits. The company then went into receivership and redundancies
were announced for all of the staff at the various sites. At
Wolverhampton an action committee was formed in an effort to continue
production and develop the ‘Wulf’ engine. The works were picketed and a
prototype machine called the ‘Norton 76’ was produced. This came to
nothing as the Wolverhampton works had closed for good. It was a sad end
to such an important company, and a bitter one. Many of the local
workers never received the money that was owed to them. Norton Villiers
Triumph managed to survive when the Government stepped in to save part
of the company, but unfortunately this did not include the Wolverhampton
works. The British motor cycle industry was in its death throes.
The market for British machines disappeared, there was not enough demand
to maintain the factory. With a strange burst of enthusiasm
the company bought the gates from the now demolished Tong Castle and
erected them at their works entrance in Marston Road. It was a
last gesture.
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