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It is only in recent years that the concept of front wheel drive in cars has become popularly acceptable. However, the concept of front wheel drive has been with us since the earliest days of motoring, after all in those days there was not guaranteed ‘way to do it’. Obviously car manufacturers soon realised that it was preferable to steer with the front wheels and this automatically led to rear wheel driving, a simplification perhaps but probably the reason why. In the 1920’s front wheel drive motoring was limited to a relatively few small production runs, with the FWD Alvis being one of the first series U1( FWD cars with only a few hundred produced.
The BSA company in the late 1920’s no doubt examined all the layout permutations when they decided to enter the light car/three wheeler market, then dominated by the Morgan. Two wheels at the front was the popular configuration at that time, but driving through a single rear wheel did mean a ‘motorcycle’ type assembly and a heavy driving load on the single tyre. FWD offered an easily detachable rear wheel with no oily chains - a sales ‘plus’.
So in November 1929 the BSA three wheeler appeared. BSA designers had not restricted themselves to a FWD Morgan or Coventry Victor, and introduced innovations such as a reverse gear, electric start and full weather protection. Independent front suspension was another benefit resulting from the FWD layout and ‘Motor Cycle’ of the day said ‘The details of this vehicle are of such interest that it may be said to mark a milestone in the history of the light runabout’.
The engine in the BSA Three wheeler was based on the Hotchkiss designed 900 air cooled V-twin (1021cc), used previously in the 1922 RWD BSA. This allowed the car to be kept within the 8cwt weight taxation limit for three wheelers. The engine was mounted with cylinders across the car and driving through a cork clutch and conventional gearbox to a differential mounted midway between the front wheels. Final drive was by shaft, flexible coupling and Hooke joints at the front wheels. Two coupled brakes were fitted, one on the rear wheels and one mounted to the right of the differential.
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