Jim Jarron's Motoring Pages

Car production resumed on the 6 September 1945 when an 8hp model was released.

The Wolseley Eight, although a pre-war design, was new to the marketplace. It used the Morris 8 Series E bodyshell as its base. The introduction date of the Eight had been originally fixed for September 11th, 1939. The factory was tooled-up for production, catalogues were printed and the price had been fixed at £172/10/- but, with the outbreak of war, the car had to wait six years before it was introduced.

After the war, the Wolseley company was awarded a Government contract for for a fleet of Wolseley Eighteens. After this was completed, Eighteens for civilian use came off the production lines and were followed by the Fourteen and Twelve, with the Ten being the next model to be reintroduced.

ht was to follow, but there was an unexpected setback when, in the winter of 1945, the experimental prototype was stolen. It was, however, found a few days later by the police in London.

The Eight had an overhead valve 918cc four-cylinder engine, which developed 33bhp. Interestingly, it was also intended to use this engine in the Morris Minor. A few Minors were experimentally equipped with this power unit, but this proposal was not proceeded with.

The Eight stayed in production until 1948 when a new range of cars appeared.