Topic: AL76 - 1903 Lea-Francis designed by Alexander Craig

[Allan L]

Well it's about time we had something that wasn't made of pressed steel sheet so here's one for the early car fans.
One point for the maker and year and a second point for the engineer responsible for the design.
A further point if you can identify the relevance of another maker.

[frederick59]

Is it french?

[Allan L]

Is it french?

Not French.

[frederick59]

from the houses behind it must come from the UK

[Allan L]

from the houses behind it must come from the UK

Yes it does!
I'd offer another point for identifying the location, but this is Autopuzzles. isn't it?

[frederick59]

could it be a Daimler?

[Allan L]

could it be a Daimler?

No it couldn't.

[Trommel]

Steamer?

[Allan L]

Steamer?

Not one of those.

[Allan L]

81 viewings and we've only got this far?
Have we promoted all the old car enthusiasts to Expert and above already?!

[Allan L]

OK it's been with the rookies for a fortnight and there are so many unsolved rookie puzzles that it was down to page three.
Let's see how long the experts take to solve this!

[RayTheRat]

Lanchester?

[Allan L]

Not a Lanchester but just as eccentric in its own way!

[Allan L]

OK it's been with the experts for a fortnight and there are so many unsolved expert puzzles that it was down to page three (just as it stuck in the rookies section).
Let's see how long the pros take to solve this!

[Wendax]

Is it a Pilgrim, built by Pilgrim's Way Motor Works of Farnham? The engineer would be F. Leigh Matineau then.

[Allan L]

Is it a Pilgrim, built by Pilgrim's Way Motor Works of Farnham? The engineer would be F. Leigh Matineau then.

No it is not, but I see that it does have at least one unusual feature in common.

[Wendax]

Singer 8-10 hp resp. 12-14 hp with Lea-Francis engines, engineer Alexander Craig?

[Allan L]

Singer 8-10 hp resp. 12-14 hp with Lea-Francis engines, engineer Alexander Craig?

Now you are on the right track - I'll just say that Alexander Craig is the right engineer.

[Wendax]

Could it be the first Lea-Francis from 1903?
Is the connected marque Maudslay where Craig worked before?

[Allan L]

Could it be the first Lea-Francis from 1903?
Is the connected marque Maudslay where Craig worked before?

It could be just that car but, although Maudslay wasn't the connected marque I had in mind, you have really answered the puzzle if you put together elements of two of your three posts!
Locked for you to do that!

[Wendax]

I'm not quite sure if I understood what's right and what's not. I'll have a try:

The puzzle car is one of three 1903 Lea-Francis built.
The responsible engineer was Alexander Craig.
The horizontal engine was used for the first four-wheel Singer cars which would be the connected marque.

[Allan L]

That's right!
Two points of anyone's money!
I understand that the Singer was not much different from the Lea-Francis as a car, but we have not found detailed pictures yet.
My comment about the Pilgrim was because it too had a horizontal engine with the crankshaft across the car.

[Wendax]

My comment about the Pilgrim was because it too had a horizontal engine with the crankshaft across the car.

That's where my detective work started: the car looked like it had a flat (horizontal) engine underneath the seats, so I tried to find a suitable car...

Perhaps I should have have looked at the puzzle poster's personal favorite marque first. 

[Allan L]

My comment about the Pilgrim was because it too had a horizontal engine with the crankshaft across the car.

That's where my detective work started: the car looked like it had a flat (horizontal) engine underneath the seats, so I tried to find a suitable car...

Perhaps I should have have looked at the puzzle poster's personal favorite marque first. 

Yes and if you look on the website where you found that photo you will find photos of puzzler and his car (as seen rather smaller to the left of this!).