Talk:Weslake

Please Help: Expand.

I created this page but don't know a lot about Formula 1 or Grand Prix, etc. Please help by expanding or correcting this page. --Robby 20:05, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

Overhead valves

What do you mean with "for the overhead valve version of the Morris series A engine" as far as I know there were only a few late prototypes using an OHC setup. Every other heads like 16 valve heads are after-market products. http://www.austin-rover.co.uk <- here`s a lot about the sereis A engine. Strassenbelag 07:54, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Please read my comment a little more carefully, if I'd meant OHC I'd have typed that.

The story is, in the early 1950's the austin motor company were trying to produce an updated small motor car to replace the austin 7 model that they had had pre war. The manager of the company, Len Lord, contacted Harry Weslake to licence the Overhead Valve conversion he was producing for the old Austin 7 Sidevalve. The resulting engine was the series A motor Austin used in the A35 and which was then used in the mark II Morris Minor, after the Austin and Morris companies were combined into BMC.

Anybody who has lifted the bonnet of a Morris minor, Mini, Allegro or anything else with a Series A engine will have seen a brass plate rivited to the rocker box listing the Weslake patents the engine was made under. Also anyone who's taken one of the thing to bits will have seen its a mildly updated 1930's sidevalve engine which given Austin Rover were still making the things into the 1990's probably explains a lot about British industry as was.

I suppose I should have said Austin OHV engine in the initial comment, but I thought the Morris 1000 was the best known example of the use of the engine apart from the original Mini.

According to Harry Weslake's Autobiography, Austins agreed to pay a royalty on each cylinder head used rather than buying the design outright, which I reckon explains the books title, "Lucky All My Life". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.150.166.78 (talk) 18:19, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Vanwall

" He also designed the Straight-4s engines for the 1958 Vanwall Formula One Grand Prix Car, " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.3.68 (talk) 05:58, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Is this true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.3.68 (talk) 05:53, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Probably not, the vanwall cylinder head followed the layout used by the Manx Norton racing motorcycles designed by Joe Craig and Leo Kusmicki at Nortons, Tony Vandervell who owned the Vanwall team was also a major shareholder in Nortons at the time. Also the layout of the vanwalls head is completly unlike anything else weslake did. —Preceding unsigned comment added by HandSguy (talk • contribs) 18:44, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Name

What is Weslake's full name? I've seen him described as Henry Weslake in articles from 1957. Rupertlt (talk) 17:16, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

His first name is probably actually Henry (as noted at Harry (name), Harry is a common diminutive for Henry). Googling "Henry Weslake" returns lots of engine-related stuff. DH85868993 (talk) 23:49, 12 May 2011 (UTC)