The Rise of the Sidevalves

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Rarely does a book come along which breaks new ground on a subject after a century has past. The book The Rise of the Sidevalves throws a light on a period which has had little attention from automotive historians and includes a substantial volume of period information to back up the author's conclusions.

The Rise of the Sidevalves (1910 - 1914)

Through period articles and advertisements, the book chronicles events contested by two Crossley works drivers over a three-year period, as they rise to dominate British motor competition and change the direction of competition car development.

This book seeks to explain how British motorsport competition at the highest levels changed from the monster cars with ever increasing engine size, to what was described at the time as ´high-speed modern engines´ with a fraction of the cubic capacity.

We are guided through reports from over fifty percent of all the English hill climb and sprint competitions which took place in the three-year period, between; the successes of Daimler and Napier prior to 1909, and that of Vauxhall and Talbot from 1913 onward. A period where the Manchester firm Crossley Motors rose to dominate at the top level.

The famous motoring engineering and driver Joseph Higginson is also a major part of the narrative, and features from the first sprint event report, to the last, progressing from a 13/6 litre monster, to the then modern special; the first Vauxhall 30-98.

Louis Coatalen also features in an exciting detailed period description of how his and Mr Bird´s highly acclaimed 1912 Sunbeam Coupe de l´Auto race cars were both beaten by a standard Crossley competition car, which makes an interesting read.

We also are taken through many technical developments which happened in the same period, including an explanation of the first use of dynamic balancing of engine parts, along with the original failure of Edwardian front wheel brakes on Crossley production cars.

With such an unconventional layout, exactly how this book should be used is not obvious, the first half chronologically catalogues each event attended by the Crossley competition department. Each year has a chapter with its own contents page, in the form of a map showing where the event took place, making the book easy to navigate. The following chapters then go on to describe the technical aspects of the cars and the background of two works drivers, the final chapter hosts a few short period stories involving the principle characters in the book.

Considering that very few company records and virtually no Crossley competition photographs survive from this period, this book is a considerable achievement by a first-time author Tom Fryars, whose only previous work was partnering the late John Warburton in a VSCC bulletin article on the same manufacturer during 2018.

The book is recommended for those who want an insight into this neglected period of our motoring history and also serves as an invaluable reference book for over half of the English hill climbs during the years up to 1913.

The Rise of The Sidevalves (1910 - 1914) by Tom Fryars. Certainly, one to enjoy reading and leave within arm´s reach on the shelf to look up.

Click here - to order a copy of this interesting book.

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