Quoting car engine sizes in the UK in the 1950s

[NY]

There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
late 1950s) that was broadcast last night:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1

It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.

Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.

I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).

What do other people think?

[Mark Goodge]

Post by NY
There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1
It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.
Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.
I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).
What do other people think?

1963 advert for a Cortina quotes engine size in cc:

Loading Image...

Mark

[NY]

Post by Mark Goodge

Post by NY
There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1
It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.
Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.
I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).
What do other people think?

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/influx/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/1963-Ford-Cortina-ad.jpg

I've persuaded IMDB to remove the factually-incorrect statement, after I
sent a screenshot of the Jaguar badge on the bonnet of the very car which
provoked the comment: the wording round the edge was "JAGUAR / 3.8 LITRE".
What was amusing was that the car was referred to many times in the script
as a 3.4 (as part of "my car's better than yours" boasting) but the car
actually used for filming was a 3.8. I'm surprised they showed a close-up of
the badge if that was the case.

I think the author of the comment must have been projecting US standards
onto the UK.

[nightjar]

Post by NY
There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1
It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.
Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.
I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).
What do other people think?

I am rather older than you and I have always considered giving engine
capacity in cubic inches as a strangely American thing. My recollection
is that, in the 1950s, cars were described by their horsepower, rather
than engine size. Engine size in ccs was, however, certainly in from the
1960s. OTOH Bentley were producing a chassis with a 3 litre engine as
early as 1919

[Recliner]

Post by nightjar

Post by NY
There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1
It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.
Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.
I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).
What do other people think?

I am rather older than you and I have always considered giving engine
capacity in cubic inches as a strangely American thing. My recollection
is that, in the 1950s, cars were described by their horsepower, rather
than engine size. Engine size in ccs was, however, certainly in from the
1960s. OTOH Bentley were producing a chassis with a 3 litre engine as
early as 1919

That 'horsepower' was usually the tax horsepower, rather than the actual
BHP. It was based on cylinder dimensions, but not the actual swept volume.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_horsepower#Britain>

[nightjar]

Post by Recliner

Post by nightjar

Post by NY
There is a trivia entry in IMDB for the episode of The Larkins (set in the
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14997976/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1
It maintains that car engine sizes *in the UK, not the US* were quoted in
cubic inches, rather than cubic centimetres or litres, until the metric
system was introduced in the 1970s.
Having been born in early 60s, I don't think I've ever heard a car engine
size specified in cubic inches. I've heard engine sizes quoted in ccs or
litres from as far back as I remember. Models of cars have even been branded
in litres - Austin 3-litre (an overgrown Austin Maxi), Austin/Morris
1100/1300, Jaguar Mark II 2.4/3.4/3.8 litre (aka Jaguar 240/340/380) etc.
I think the trivia entry is written in "fluent bollocks" (to use a Victor
Meldrew-ism).
What do other people think?

I am rather older than you and I have always considered giving engine
capacity in cubic inches as a strangely American thing. My recollection
is that, in the 1950s, cars were described by their horsepower, rather
than engine size. Engine size in ccs was, however, certainly in from the
1960s. OTOH Bentley were producing a chassis with a 3 litre engine as
early as 1919

That 'horsepower' was usually the tax horsepower, rather than the actual
BHP. It was based on cylinder dimensions, but not the actual swept volume.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_horsepower#Britain>

Yes, I don't remember bhp being mentioned much before the 1960s Even
then, that wasn't always a reliable figure. The dynamometers were not
standardised and some manufacturers used ones that gave inflated
figures; shades of emissions test figures in more recent years.