Bond Minicar

Bond Minicar is a series of economical three wheeled microcars which were manufactured by the British car manufacturer Sharp's Commercials Ltd (the company was renamed Bond Cars Limited in 1964), in Preston, Lancashire, between 1949 and 1966.

The basic concept for the minicar was derived from a prototype built by Lawrence "Lawrie" Bond, an engineer from Preston. During the war, Bond had worked as an aeronautical designer for the Blackburn Aircraft Company before setting up a small engineering business in Blackpool, manufacturing aircraft and vehicle components for the government. After the war he moved his company to Longridge where he built a series of small, innovative racing cars, which raced with a modest amount of success. Described as a "short radius runabout, for the purpose of shopping and calls within a 20 30 mile radius", the prototype was demonstrated climbing a 25 per cent gradient with driver and passenger on board. It was reported to have a Villiers two stroke engine with a three speed gearbox, a dry weight of and a cruising speed of around At the time of the report (May 1948), it was stated that production was "expected to start in three months' time". The prototype was built at Bond's premises in Berry Lane, Longridge where it is now commemorated with a blue plaque. Sharp's Commercials was a company contracted by the Ministry of Supply to rebuild military vehicles. Knowing that the Ministry were ending their contract in 1948, and recognising the limitations of his existing works as a base for mass production, Bond approached the Managing Director of Sharp's, Lt. Col. Charles Reginald 'Reg' Gray, to ask if he could rent the factory to build his car. Gray refused, but said that instead, Sharp's could manufacture the car for Bond and the two entered into an agreement on this basis. Bond carried out some further development work on the Minicar, but once mass production was underway, left the project and sold the design and manufacturing rights to Sharp's. The prototype and early cars utilised stressed skin aluminium bodywork, though later models incorporated chassis members of steel. Though retaining much of Lawrie Bond's original concept of a simple, lightweight, economical vehicle, the Minicar was gradually developed by Sharp's through several different iterations. The majority of cars were convertibles, though later, hardtop models were offered, along with van and estate versions. Minicars were generally available either in standard or deluxe form, though the distinction between the two was largely one of mechanical detail rather than luxury. The cars were powered initially by a single cylinder two stroke Villiers engine of In December 1949

The car proved popular in the UK market, where its three wheel configuration meant that it qualified for a lower rate of purchase tax, lower vehicle excise duty and cheaper insurance than comparable four wheel cars. The three wheel configuration, low weight and lack of a reverse gear also meant that it could be driven on a motor cycle licence.

In April 1962 the purchase tax rate of 55 percent, which had been applied to all four wheeled cars sold in the UK since the war was reduced to 45 per cent. In November 1962, it was reduced by another 20 per centage points to 25 per cent – the same rate as that applied to three wheelers. This rapid change meant that at the point of sale, some three wheelers became more expensive than four wheeled cars like the Mini. In response, Tom Gratrix, head of Sharp's sent a telegram to the Chancellor of the Exchequer warning that unless a similar tax cut were given to the purchase tax rate for three wheelers, there would be 300 redundancies and possibly the closure of the Sharp's factory. No cut was forthcoming, sales of Minicars declined rapidly from this point and the final Minicar was produced in 1966. At the end of production 24,482 had been made.

At the motorcycle show in November 1951, Sharp's announced what they described as "a revolutionary design in the field of commercial vehicles". The Sharp's Commercial 3 Cwt took the concept of the Minicar's light, three wheeled, utilitarian design, and adapted it as the basis for an open top lightweight industrial vehicle. The yellow and black prototype at the show was powered by an Indian Brave Though the Sharp's Commercial never entered production, it served as a forerunner to van and pickup versions of the Mark B which appeared in 1952. It had the same load capacity and also shared the same extended length of the pick up, but had an enclosed aluminium compartment behind the driver's seat with a side hinged rear door. A short fabric roof covered the gap between the van compartment and the windscreen. The number of "Safety Saloons" produced is unknown, as factory records do not distinguish between the Saloon and the Minivan. Badged as the 'ESC' (England's Smallest Car), this prototype utilised the main body and rear suspension of the Mark B, but added mock front wings, a passenger side door and a valance beneath its oval shaped grille. On these the front wings had become longer and less triangular in profile than the ESC, the grille was also lower and more rounded and the front valance was now a more defined bumper shape. The new Minicar design was very well received, and was due to go on sale in early 1952. By July however, "owing to supply difficulties" it was still unavailable, and the earliest production cars were not recorded as being built until October 1952. Four of the cars were on display at that year's show along with a Sharp's Minivan. The change in the body style from the Mark B was both functional and aesthetic. The Mark C utilised the same 180° steering lock and worm and sector steering system that was seen in the prototype Commercial and the front wings allowed for ample clearance at full lock. They also addressed a demand from customers for a "greater smoothness of line", Other improvements included rod and cable operated brakes on all three wheels,

During development, the Mark C had utilised the same sliding pillar suspension on the rear as the Mark B, but by September 1952, this had been changed for Flexitor suspension units produced by George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd. The Flexitor units were a type of lever arm shock absorber which used bonded rubber in torsion as the shock absorber. On these units a stub axle is mounted upon a trailing arm with the pivot point being a steel rod. This rod is bonded inside a rubber tube which runs through and is also bonded to an external steel housing. The housing is bolted to the underside of the car. The units provide about of vertical movement to each independent rear axle. The engine mounting was said to have been a regular source of failures on both the Mark A and the Mark B, and this new design was again the work of Granville Bradshaw. Bonnets in fibreglass followed soon after, but these were not used on production vehicles until December 1954. However it appears it made little impact and the arrangement was short lived. As with previous Minicars, the Mark C was improved and developed over time with numerous minor changes. Most notably, Villiers replaced the 6E engine with the 8E version in June 1953. This had the same overall capacity, In October 1953 a new Triplex windscreen and surround was introduced, the dashboard glove box was removed, a two roll seat replaced the earlier round top variety and the old gearchange and steering shaft u/j's were eliminated. Steel was sometimes used for rear wings when supplies of aluminium became difficult to obtain. The changes between the last Mark Cs and the Mark D are, like those between the final Mark As and the Mark B, almost entirely hidden from view and the cars are externally identical. Beneath the Mark D bonnet however, Villiers had substantially upgraded the engine, which now became the Mark 9E. The main changes were a 4 plate clutch, a heavier final drive chain with simplified adjustment and a higher top gear ratio. The 9E was said to produce a 12½ per cent increase in power over the 8E, providing a claimed at 4,000 rpm. This increased the cruising speed to around , with a top speed of Electrics were upgraded from 6 to 12 volt, allowing more powerful headlights with separate side lights within the headlamp units. All Deluxe models include the SIBA Dynastart. Four versions of the car were offered by the factory: the two/three seater Standard Tourer and Deluxe Tourer and the four seat (two adult front seats and two child size inward facing hammock style seats) Standard Family Safety and Deluxe Family Safety. The two/three seater models were also available directly from Sharps with a detachable fibreglass hardtop. The revised engine was reported to give the Mark D notably better acceleration, better climbing ability and lower fuel consumption in direct comparison with its predecessor. With the introduction of the Mark E in December 1957, the two/three seater Mark Ds were dropped from the range as were the hardtops and the Standard version of the Family Safety. A four speed gearbox replaced the three speed version in October 1958 and the model was renamed the Family Tourer. This version never entered production, and only one is believed to have been produced.