Berkeley

[Spottedlaurel]

From a slightly more recent Streetview image, just made out the plate on the white one I posted as being 75UVX. DVLA says it's been untaxed since 1982!

[RichB]

Justayellowbadge said:

RichB said:

My brother had one of these and it was a right pig. A T60 with the Excelsior twin, I was only 13 but was more mechanically minded than he was so I helped strip and rebuild the engine. I seem to remember the magnetos were a nightmare. We lived in Ealing and I had to go to Hatch End to get parts, used to cycle there on my racing bike. It was more reliable than the Berkeley It was bright yellow like the one below. I seem to remember the reg plate was 666KKK probably worth a lot now, certainly more than the Berkeley!

Small world if so, I remember that plate on a Metro in Sussex during the 80s.

Cold well have been, he owned the Berkeley in 1968/69 so may have been scrapped or the plate sold.

[Cooperman]

A guy I knew in Luton who worked at Vauxhall had a B105 into which he fitted a 1.5 litre VX4/90 engine. He used it for competition in 1962-ish.

[PATTERNPART]

What an odd combination! Still, he probably took the engine home from work in his lunchbox...

[RichB]

I would have thought an old Vauhall lump would have dropped straight through the front of a Berkeley and ripped the bottom out!

[Chad speed]

Berkeley's over the years have been the subject (victim?) of a number of engine conversions but the Vauxhall VX4/90 is one I've not come across before, the ones I know about are:

BMC 'A' series transverse front wheel drive
BMC 'A' series (supercharged) rear wheel drive
Saab 3 cylinder 2 stroke
Honda Z600 car engine
Talbot Samba
Honda 550/4
Honda CB900 (Supercharged unsuccessfully then removed) mid engine
Kawasaki Z1100R (yours truly)
Reliant 850 (BRM overhead cam) rear wheel drive
Electric motor

These replaced with varying amounts of body/chassis modification, and in some cases whole new cars were created, the original engines which were:

SA 322 322cc 2 stroke twin British Anzani
SE 328 & T60 328cc 2 stroke twin Excelsior Talisman
SE 492 2 stroke triple Excelsior Talisman
B95 & B105 692cc 4 stroke twin Royal Enfield Meteor/Super Meteor

Chad

[roscobbc]

Which of these conversion didn't spoil the bonnet line - Mini was a popular choice but looked ugly in its subframe even wit 12" diameter wheels like the Berkeley - it was all too high!

[Chad speed]

roscobbc said:

Which of these conversion didn't spoil the bonnet line - Mini was a popular choice but looked ugly in its subframe even wit 12" diameter wheels like the Berkeley - it was all too high!

Original Berkeley's came with two basic front ends, low and pretty with faired-in headlights for the 2 stroke engined SA322, SE328 and SE492, and big nose with conventional headlights for the 4 stroke Royal Enfield engined B95 and B105. The installation of non original engines under these front ends had the following aesthetic results (my opinion only of course):

BMC 'A' series transverse front wheel drive. Usually in a T60, increased ride height and bonnet height increased or engine protruding.
BMC 'A' series (supercharged) rear wheel drive. Only one as far as I know in a SE328, no change to bonnet or ride height although I think the engine was placed so far to the rear that certainly the gearbox and some of the engine were in the cockpit.
Saab 3 cylinder 2 stroke. Only one as far as I know in a B95, bonnet unaltered slight raise in ride height.
Honda Z600 car engine. No change to bonnet or ride height, a perfect replacement for the Royal Enfield and Albion gearbox if you have to.
Talbot Samba, only one as far as I know and in a SE328 with no modification to bonnet or ride height!
Honda 550/4, only one as far as I know in a SE 328, no change to bonnet or ride height.
Honda CB900 (Supercharged unsuccessfully then removed) mid engine. SE328 with engine in the back so no change to bonnet or ride height.
Kawasaki Z1100R (yours truly). No change to bonnet or ride height.
Reliant 850 (BRM overhead cam) rear wheel drive. Re-manufactured body-shell with various subtle body work changes to SE328 shape so unable to tell if bonnet or ride height remains original.
Electric motor. No bonnet or ride height changes.

Hope this helps, its true to say that as the cars have grown in value the enthusiasm for modifications has waned somewhat and the dubious aesthetic and engineering standards of some haven't helped the modified camp. Very few of these engine swaps can be done without major mechanical and structural changes so anyone contemplating it should enter with open eyes.
Chad

[piper]

My father in his Berkeley 4 wheeler, pics taken in 1959, I wonder if the car still exists?

[injected]

Love those pics of YHT985 - I've asked the owners' club registrar about the car and will advise if he knows what happened to it. It looks like a very early Anzani-engined car to me, same as mine.

[dandarez]

Someone above mentioned Laurie Bond.
Wrong spelling. Not unusual, most of the motoring press at the time got it wrong.
He was LAWRIE Bond. Man was a absolute bloody genius. So underrated in the world of engineering.

Take a look at his designs from scooters, bikes, Formula Junior, Berkeley etc.

Oh, and his amazing 500cc 'Doodlebug' Special, which he debuted at Shelsley Walsh in 1947, with obligatory fag in hand before he raced. Then crashed spectacularly but survived.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lawrie+bond+dood...

[Iva Barchetta]

There's a 4 wheel one going into the Historic's auction at MB world on November 26th.

[fireturk]

had the owners club turn up in the field next to my old house a couple of years ago, must see if I can find the pictures!

[Lily the Pink]

Thread resurrection ... I've just heard that the Berkeley name is being reincarnated ... I always thought the Bandit was a nice-looking car but hadn't realised that only two were produced.

I had a yellow B65/SA328 (registration possibly 240YPX) and a green B95 (467BNM) back in the early 70s when I was at college in Kingston on Thames. Neither registration number still exists. Fun cars - I know I drove the B65 down to Weston Super Mare to p/ex it for the B95, and I don't recall any reliability issues at the time; maybe that's rose-tinted spectacles.

[Keep it stiff]

Interesting that it has been decided to revive a brand that I would guess that 95% of people would never have heard of and relate it to an approx. fifty year old product that was not exactly revered for its engineering excellence. I can't see the value in that.

[RichB]

Perhaps the fact that it is little known appealed to them, no preconceived notions of what a 'new Berkely' should be like, unlike the 'new TVR' which people immediately compared unfavourably to a Sag, Tuscan, Griff etc. Perhaps the brand was one of a few that were for sale, perhaps the chaps are Berkeley fans?