Day-Leeds

Day-Leeds was a short-lived British automotive marque associated with Job Day & Sons, a Leeds-based engineering business. The company had its origins in a manufacturing-chemicals enterprise established in 1886 by William Henry Day, a chartered accountant, together with his brothers Albert and Charles. The firm was named after their father, Job Day, and developed a broader industrial role through the manufacture of engines and packaging machinery before entering the vehicle market. The company’s first automobile appeared in 1912. It was a cyclecar powered by a company-built, air-cooled 998 cc V-twin engine. The lightweight vehicle used a tubular-steel chassis, half-elliptic springs at both axles, a cone clutch and a three-speed gearbox. Final drive was transmitted to the rear wheels by belt or chain. The open two-seat car was advertised with a claimed maximum speed of approximately 50 mph. Acetylene headlamps and a single oil lamp at the rear reflected the equipment standards of the period. The basic car was priced at £110, with a more fully equipped version costing £120. It was no longer advertised in 1913, suggesting that this initial cyclecar may have had a very brief production run. Day-Leeds also offered motorcycles, including a model powered by a 499 cc single-cylinder engine. The marque’s next major automotive development was a more conventional light car displayed at the 1913 London Motor Show for the 1914 season. The prototype or early production version used a 1,130 cc four-cylinder Turner engine, but this was soon replaced by a 1,286 cc water-cooled side-valve engine manufactured by Job Day & Sons. The latter engine was designed by W. L. Adams of Laxtonia Engineering Works in Peterborough, who was also connected with aero-engine design during the First World War. The light car employed semi-elliptic leaf springs, rear-wheel braking and a 7-foot-9-inch wheelbase. Power was sent through a cone clutch, a separate three-speed gearbox and a torque tube to the rear axle. After the First World War, the model returned with electric lighting. Available bodywork included an open two-seater and a coupe supplied by the nearby coachbuilder Lockwood and Clarkson. The post-war open car was listed in Britain at £400 in 1919, a price that appears to have hindered its competitiveness. The quoted price was progressively reduced, eventually reaching £225 before production ended in 1926. Approximately 300 cars are believed to have been built during the post-war period. Only two surviving examples are thought to remain, one in England and one in Australia, indicating both the marque’s rarity and some level of export activity. Automobile production was only one part of Job Day & Sons’ business: the company continued making packaging machinery and was eventually absorbed by Baker Perkins. Day-Leeds is therefore best understood as a small, defunct British manufacturer whose vehicles occupied the cyclecar and light-car segments rather than as a mass-market automotive brand.

Job Day & Sons emerged from an engineering and manufacturing business established in Leeds in 1886 by William Henry Day and his brothers Albert and Charles. William Henry had trained as a chartered accountant and initially established himself as a manufacturing chemist. The brothers subsequently developed engines designed by William Henry and packaging machinery associated with Albert. Their enterprise was named for their father, Job Day, a Lincolnshire farmer. The firm entered vehicle manufacturing in 1912 with a cyclecar. This first Day-Leeds automobile used a 998 cc air-cooled V-twin engine made by the company. Its tubular steel frame and relatively simple drivetrain reflected the lightweight cyclecar formula then popular in Britain. The car had half-elliptic springs at both ends, a cone clutch, a three-speed gearbox with differential and belt or chain drive to the rear wheels. It was an open two-seater equipped with acetylene lighting at the front and an oil lamp at the rear. A claimed top speed of 50 mph was published, and prices ranged from £110 for the basic car to £120 with additional equipment. The model disappeared from advertising by 1913, and its exact production volume is not known. Alongside cars, Job Day & Sons offered motorcycles, including a 499 cc single-cylinder design. The company then moved toward a more conventional light car, shown at the 1913 London Motor Show for the 1914 market. The first version used a 1,130 cc four-cylinder engine supplied by Turner. This was soon replaced by a 1,286 cc water-cooled side-valve engine built by Job Day & Sons. The engine design was attributed to W. L. Adams of Laxtonia Engineering Works in Peterborough, an engineer also associated with a First World War aero-engine project. The new light car had semi-elliptic leaf springs, brakes acting only on the rear wheels, a wheelbase of 2,360 mm and a track of 1,140 mm. Its transmission consisted of a cone clutch, separate three-speed gearbox and torque tube leading to the rear axle. The First World War interrupted the development and commercial progress of many small British manufacturers. After the war, Day-Leeds revived the car with electric lighting and offered more than one body style. The range included an open two-seater and a coupe built by Lockwood and Clarkson, a nearby coachbuilding company. The post-war car was advertised at £400 for the open two-seater in 1919. This was apparently too high for the market, and the price was reduced in stages until it reached £225 toward the end of production. Manufacturing continued until 1926, with about 300 cars believed to have been produced in the post-war period. The surviving population is exceptionally small: two cars are thought to remain, one in England and one in Australia. Their locations also provide evidence that at least some Day-Leeds vehicles were exported. Job Day & Sons did not depend solely on vehicle production. Its packaging-machinery business continued after the automotive venture and was ultimately absorbed by Baker Perkins. Day-Leeds consequently disappeared as an active marque, leaving a limited but distinctive record in the history of British cyclecars and light automobiles.

• 1926

  Automobile production ends

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  Day-Leeds car production ceased after the price of the post-war model had been reduced to £225.

• 1919

  Post-war model priced at £400

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  The revived open two-seater was listed in Britain at £400 before later price reductions.

• 1914

  Company-built 1,286 cc engine adopted

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  The light car soon changed to a 1,286 cc water-cooled side-valve engine made by Job Day & Sons and designed by W. L. Adams.

• 1913

  New light car shown at the London Motor Show

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  A more conventional Day-Leeds light car was exhibited for the 1914 market, initially using a 1,130 cc Turner four-cylinder engine.

• 1912

  First Day-Leeds cyclecar introduced

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  The company produced a two-seat cyclecar powered by a company-built 998 cc air-cooled V-twin engine.

• 1886

  Job Day & Sons established

  [1]Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org

  William Henry Day and his brothers Albert and Charles established the Leeds-based business that later produced Day-Leeds vehicles.

A small British engineering marque producing economical cyclecars and light cars for the early twentieth-century market, with additional motorcycle production.

• Cyclecar · 1912

  Day-Leeds 998 cc cyclecar

  An open two-seat cyclecar introduced in 1912. It used a company-built 998 cc air-cooled V-twin, tubular-steel chassis, half-elliptic springs, a cone clutch and a three-speed gearbox. Final drive reached the rear wheels through belt or chain drive. The car was offered with basic acetylene and oil lighting, while a higher-priced specification added equipment such as a windscreen, hood and horn.

• Light automobile · 1913

  Day-Leeds light car

  A more conventional light car shown at the 1913 London Motor Show for the 1914 season. Early examples used a 1,130 cc Turner four-cylinder engine, followed by a company-built 1,286 cc water-cooled side-valve engine. The chassis featured semi-elliptic leaf springs, rear-wheel brakes, a three-speed gearbox and torque-tube final drive. Post-war body styles included an open two-seater and a coupe by Lockwood and Clarkson.

• Motorcycle

  Day-Leeds motorcycles

  Job Day & Sons also offered motorcycles, including a model powered by a 499 cc single-cylinder engine. The available reference material does not establish the complete motorcycle range, production dates or total output.

1. 1Day-Leedsen.wikipedia.org