Restoring the 1911 Napier

Napier No.10078 is a type 38 'Pleasure' model, bought new by my great-grandfather John Shannon, after he retired to Toowoomba. It has been owned by our family ever since. (Pic 1)

' Erected ' on 21/02/1911, The Napier has a four-cylinder motor which runs left-hand, with a bore and stroke of 82 x 127 mm, giving a cubic capacity of 2720 cc, and 16.9 h.p. RAC rating. The motor has the flywheel on the front of the crankshaft and drives through a multi-disc oil- bath clutch, a three-speed gearbox, and 4:1 ratio differential, which with the 815 x 105 tyres, gives a road speed of 23.1 m.p.h. at 1000 r.p.m..

Apart from the usual local trips, family outings, etc., that most cars of that era did, it also made numerous trips to Nebo and Longreach to visit family members. Considering the bullock-tracks through the scrub which passed for roads in those days, I take my hat off to both the driver and the car.

When John died in 1925, my father, who managed a sheep station near Blackall, acquired the Napier, and as was the custom with obsolete vehicles in those days, cut the back seats off and made it into a utility. It was used to cart wool to a rail (Pic 2) siding about seven miles away carrying four bales at a time. It made many trips over the years till 1934, when it was put up on blocks and the radiator drained. As a small boy, I remember watching that being done.

With friends, I salvaged the Napier as well as other gear. The poor old girl had a hard time over the years. All body parts, lights, radiator, bonnet, fan, water pump, diff. assembly and anything brass, had gone, including the cross-shaft bush, which had been smashed out of the alloy crankcase with a hammer!

1 did get the chassis, steering assembly, front axle and springs, the engine gearbox unit, a rusted-out fuel tank, four sad mudguards and five wheels, one of which required the chopping down of a tree and grubbing out of a stump, to salvage. (Pic 3)

Rearing and educating a family, droughts, bank managers, probate, and the necessity to earn a living, all tend to severely interfere with one's -hobbies so it was not until 1989- 90 that I realised I had to get started or I would not last long enough to finish it. Luckily, I had managed to acquire a radiator and a pair of headlights by then.

(Pic 4 & 5) 1 decided to do the body first, as when it was completed, I felt I would have a real incentive to do the mechanicals. This required taking the chassis to Brisbane and numerous trips up and down over the years, but finally, the finished article, painted and upholstered, was back in my workshop ready to fit.

Restoring Napiers is a lot like an incurable disease and fellow sufferers are only too happy to discuss their troubles with, and offer help and support to fellow victims! An enthusiast in Sydney compiled a list of all owners of Napiers or parts thereof, and circulated these details to us all.It has been of invaluable help to a lone Napier addict, over 600 km from the nearest other car. With help from this list, I was able to obtain a collection of parts which contained a suitable diff. as well as water pump, tailshaft, and sundry small parts.