Delivery Box Van
Chassis #: 1683
Engine #: 958
Engineer John Weller and John Portwine (a Norwood butcher) entered business together to build motor cars in 1900. Though 1900 was very early for automobile production, Weller had already gained experience in automobile production, as he had already been making motorcycles with his brothers at West Norwood. At the 1903 motor show, Weller and Portwine exhibited a car they had built, but it failed to reach the market. Instead, they decided to concentrate on commercial vehicles and designed a three-wheel delivery boxy van, which was introduced in 1905. To separate this venture from Weller's motorcycle business, they created the Autocars and Accessories Ltd. They called their vans the Auto-Carriers and proved to be very popular. Merchants such as Boots, Maples, United Yeast, and Aerated Bread were all customers of Auto-Carriers. Aerated Bread ordered a fleet of 70! In total, more than 1,500 examples were built by 1912.Auto-Carriers used an air-cooled, single-cylinder engine displacing 631 cubic centimeters, which was mounted behind the operator's seat. The cargo area offered about 40 cubic feet of capacity and was positioned in front of the driver.
This example was acquired from a British owner who had inherited it from his grandfather, who had bought it new. In 1956, it was officially dated as a 1912 by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain.
By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2014
