Day-Leeds

The Day-Leeds was a British automobile manufactured by Job Day & Sons of Leeds, Yorkshire. [1]

William Henry Day was a chartered accountant who in 1886 set up as a manufacturing chemist. With his brothers Albert and Charles they set up the company of Job Day & Sons making engines designed by William Henry and under Albert packaging machinery. It was named after their father Job Day, a Lincolnshire farmer.[2]

In 1912 they made their first car, a cyclecar powered by an air cooled 998 cc V-twin engine which they built themselves. The tubular steel chassis had half-elliptic springs all round.[3] Drive was to the rear axle through a cone clutch, three speed gearbox with differential and finally a belt or chain to each rear wheel. A top speed of 50mph (80km/h) was claimed.[1] The bodywork was open with two seats and acetylene lighting at the front and a single oil light at the rear. The basic car cost £110 or £120 with windscreen, hood, lights and horn. It was no longer being advertised in 1913 so production may have ceased.[2]

As well as cars a range of motor cycles was also offered with a 499cc single cylinder engine.[2]

For 1914 a completely new and more conventional light car was shown at the 1913 London Motor Show with a four-cylinder 1130 cc engine made by Turner but this was soon replaced by a 1286 cc water cooled side valve engine made by themselves.[1] The engine was designed by W L Adams of the Laxtonia Engineering Works of Peterborough who also designed a World War I aero engine. The car had semi elliptic leaf springs, rear wheel only brakes and a wheelbase of 7 feet 9 inches (2362mm) and a track of 3 feet 9 inches (1143 mm).[3] Drive was to the rear axle through a cone clutch, separate three speed gearbox and torque tube.

The model was revived after World War I with electric lighting now fitted. Body types included a two-seat open car and a coupe made by nearby company Lockwood and Clarkson. The price quoted on the UK market in 1919 was £400 for the open two seater and this seems to have been uncompetitive as the price was progressively reduced to £225 when production ceased in 1926. It is thought that around 300 cars were made in the post war period.[4]

Only two cars are thought to survive, one in England and the other in Australia showing that some cars were exported.[2]

Production of packing machinery continued with the company being absorbed by the Baker Perkins company.[1]