Supercharged EA sports chassis list

[Erich]

Geoff, that would mean that least 178 were built. Special order, perhaps. I had also heard that there were cars ordered to be assembled in Northern Ireland. Perhaps these were Ulster bodied TT spec cars. The more information we can collect always enriches our knowledge of the type.

Erich in Seattle

[Mike Costigan]

Bill, the surviving records for B1 and B3 cars list a total of 102 cars; included in that figure are four export 2-seaters (so presumably complete cars) and fourteen chassis with engines (but no bodies). I imagine the largest market for bodyless chassis was Australia, although I know at least one was fitted in the UK with an Arrow body, so most of those chassis presumably went to Aus. If we have around 180 bodies built, then that probably puts the total EA Ulster production rather nearer 200 if we factor in something like 10% supplied as chassis.

[austin]

Hi Walter, I've sent you a PM but not sure you have seen it. Drop me an email, (austin@dotmail.co.uk).

[wheale]

UHi Austin

Thanks , I’ll drop you an email .
Best
Walter

[Malcolm Parker]

The B1 build register is a very interesting source of information for those amongst us who are interested in 'Ulsters'.   It shows that EA Sports tended to be built in batches of up to ten, but more commonly in batches of just five cars.
Like all records, it depends on who was completing them, and some entries are more comprehensive than others.
Generally, if a car had a supercharged engine, a note was made but there are several entries which do not specify whether the engine was blown or not.
My interpretation of the records is that where the car was unsupercharged, the engine number is closer to the chassis number than for the supercharged cars.     This makes sense if you think about it, the blown engines would take longer to prepare than the unblown ones and may have required further attention once they were built before being fitted to the chassis.
Some of the cars on the build register that are not identified as being blown or unblown have engine numbers that suggest they may have been blown, and I suspect that the blown engines may also have been assembled in batches.
All speculation but if so, the proportion of blown cars might be slightly higher than previously thought.

My research suggests that there are around 70 Ulsters extant which at least incorporate parts of original cars.  This is a high survival rate from a total production of probably less than 200 but the Ulster was already something of a 'classic' by the outbreak of WW2 and most ended up in the hands of enthusiasts.

[Lance Sheldrick]

The survival rate is rather like that of the Type 35 Bugatti, ie of the 200 produced over 500 have survived.

[Tony Betts]

Hi Malcolm,

That's an interesting theory, can any of the surviving cars back it up.

or are we looking at those cars loosing there engines over 90 years.

Tony

[Erich]

I know my car ( I believe) does not have its original engine and would expect that most do not. Part of the issue is that today, we are more concerned with originality. When Ulsters were new, they were comparatively inexpensive competition cars. If someone sent a rod out the bottom of the crankcase, they would have been less inclined to have it welded, and would have secured another, perhaps from an engine that had been damaged in another way. Unlike the regular Austin Sevens(saloons, tourers and the like),Ulsters, like any competition car, were somewhat expendable. It wasn't about originality, it was about staying competitive. And if it was raced much by successive owners, things would break, be improved, modified in an effort stay competitive. It would be a rare car that would retain much of its original bits.

Erich in Seattle

[Lance Sheldrick]

I do believe that VE 4492 retained many of its original components because it was stored away in a garage for many years without being touched.

[austin]

VE 4492 is a lovely car that has been kept mostly original, perhaps the best one of the lot?

It was raced in period, there are photos of it at Brooklands and it had a bit of factory support to up the supercharger compression.

My father used to look after it and persuaded the then owner not to race it, instead he built a replica along side it which did get raced.

The replica is now happily sitting in my garage