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The Technical stuff
For those that would like to know about the mechanical side of things.
Here is a special page that might interest you and perhaps answer a few questions.
Lily and Rosie are replicas of the Model A Ford that were current around 1930 –1933
Rosie is a very good copy, and many of the parts such as bonnet bumpers big style headlights stainless steel radiator surround are what you would buy today from the dealers in America, where you can still buy everything to restore this famous Marque.
Ford built a Limousine version in limited numbers in the 30’s and the Vintage Motor Co have stretched their car to become a limousine working from drawings and old photos as best as possible, but also with wedding cars in mind, and the result is The Bramwith Limousine.
Ours is called Lily.
Vintage Motor Co provided the chassis and body and we provided what is called a Donor Car. The donor was a 2.8 V6 Ford Scorpio. Which had had a recent new engine.
The rear suspension complete with the rear axle drive unit (the diff) was bolted straight on.
The ABS (advanced braking system) as found on most late model cars was re-used, along with the Disc Brakes front and rear. Overhauls were carried out on most parts.
The V6 engine and the 4 speed Automatic Gearbox, complete with the fuel injection system were used.
There is not enough room for the power steering pump, so no power steering, but in the Granada, the weight of the engine and bulkhead area is over the front wheels, whereas on Lily the wheels are more forward.
There is not enough room for the Air Conditioning compressor, so for now still no air con, but conveniently the roof doesn’t heat up like a conventional one, and the car doesn’t cook in the sun like one with a steel roof.
All but the front crossbeam from the front of the Scorpio was used including the Rack and Pinion steering and McPherson Struts
We had a single disc CD player / Radio fitted, and there is a socket at the back of the car to plug in a caravan type chiller.
Many of the ancillary parts were replaced at the time of building Lily and since we collected her in September 02 we have been regularly upgrading.
The Vintage Style tyres as seen on many of our earlier photos have now been replaced.
The reason being that the American DOT Numbers did not cross reference with the European Type Approval numbers, known as the " E " number.
So for anyone that understands the new Tyre laws , we have had to fit E number tyres. These are 195 x 80 x 15 Radial Tyres as found on Landrover Freelanders actually, and speed rated to about 120 mph. These are most robust and as invincible as you can get, but most of all they are Legal , and the cars drive exceptionally well on them, and the Load Ratings are more than adequate for the number of passengers that we can carry.
The 2.8 V6 Ford Cologne Engine pulls the weight of 4 5 or 6 passengers very well indeed.
There are two heaters, one under the middle seat for the rear passengers and one under the dashboard, they keep the car warm inside, the demisters work but are a bit basic.
Most weddings are in fine weather so that’s not really an issue.
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Lily's V6 Engine
The air intakes, are mounted above the engine. (a very snug fit) |
The Vintage Motor Company in Doncaster also built a Badsworth Landaulette for us.
Ours is Called Rosie
We took a different route with the building of Rosie
Rosie has a 3 speed automatic gearbox, ( the C3 ) this is said to be more simple and reliable than the later four-speed box. These are available in quantity and we had one rebuilt, and it was fitted to a 2ltr Pinto engine. This engine was used all through the 70’s & 80’s in the Sierras Transit’s and 2ltr Granada’s, first with Carburettors and then Fuel injection.
Rosie has a brand new 2ltr Pinto engine, not a rebuild; we fitted a new Weber carburettor rather than fuel injection, and even a manual choke along with new fuel pump distributor etc. There is no fancy wiring, computers and technology. Rosie has easy to fix straight forward car mechanics, and is the simpler of the two cars.
The donor car was a Sierra, and in exactly the same way as with Lily, Rosie has been fitted with the suspension & brakes and steering column, with rack & pinion from the Donor.
We didn’t feel that this smaller car needed the ABS braking system, so it has disc brakes front and drums rear. This type of Car has to pass a strict Government test called the SVA
“Single vehicle assessment “ all small private companies have to submit every single car that they build for this extremely rigorous test that takes several hours, and this is much more involved than the MOT.
It probably looks a bit surreal to see a Vintage Car that appears to be 73 years old pop out to overtake, but both cars can mix it with modern day traffic.
However every major town has a Ford Dealer, or a Halfords, and parts for our cars are readily available, and there are hundreds of mechanics that know ford Cars inside out.
To sum up, the benefits are that we expect to be able to buy parts over the counter, and quickly service and make repairs of a mechanical nature during the week. So at the weekend we hope that every wedding will go according to plan. We also expect to give you a safe, stress free journey.
The chances of seeing more cars like these in this area on your wedding day is very slim.
So Lily & Rosie are going to remain a very very unique and delightfully different pair of wedding cars,
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Rosie's 2.0 ltr Engine
Complete with Weber carburettor and 4 branch exhaust manifold
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