B&M Side Valve (3 seater)
B&M Side Valve (3 seater)

B&M Side Valve (3 seater)

A vast majority of the 54 production Bamford and Martin cars were built with a 1.5 litre side valve engine. The engine, designed by H.V.Robb had the head cast integral with the block. This particular example, chassis 1941, is a long chassis tourer with 3 seater cloverleaf bodywork from 1924 and was photographed whilst on display at the Brooklands Museum.

B&M Side Valve (3 seater)

This particular car has a very interesting history as it has been rescued from scrap yards three times in it’s life. The current attractive body, whilst not the original, is correct for the car. The engine is capable of delivering 38 bhp, enough for B&M to advertise its top speed as 72 mph. Sports models had an improved output of 45 bhp but in general, the side valve engine was not powerful enough to compete with more modern engines and Aston Martin went on to develop the 16 valve twin-cam.