Books
Books
There are not many books published about Armstrong Siddeley. Here are the best books and articles published so far. Let me know if there are other books and articles that I should add to the list. All of the books and articles that I highlight here include something on pre-war Armstrong Siddeley cars.
Bruce Lindsay Armstrong Siddeley, the Sphinx with the Heart of a Lion (2010) The Lindsay Family Trust, 252 pages
Wow, this is an excellent new book and a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Armstrong Siddeley cars. The book describes all of the models made between 1919 and 1960 and illustrates them with contemporary photographs and images from original catalogues and advertisements. There is god coverage of the vintage and pre-war models. An added bonus is a CD containing 76 catalogues, leaflets and advertisements reproduced in full and spanning the company’s 40 years of production, including four on diesel engines.
Edition of 1,000, available from the Trust or in the UK from John Knowles books, see The Sphinx with the Heart of a Lion
Bill Smith Armstrong Siddeley Motors, The cars, the company, and the people in definitive detail (2006) Veloce Publishing, 494 pages
This is the largest and most detailed book on Armstrong Siddeley. The book covers the whole history of the company from 1919 to 1960 as well as the early life of J D Siddeley and his involvement in Wolseley-Siddeley and Siddeley-Deasy. There is a section at the end on car clubs and societies, bringing the story up to date.
This is best approached as a reference book and is packed full of useful information. I found the narrative hard to read but I continue to be amazed at the amount of information it contains, for example the technical details for each model, stories about individual cars and production numbers.
Widely available.
Robert Penn Bradley Armstrong Siddeley The Postwar Cars (1989) Motor Racing Publications, 208 pages
As the name implies, this book concentrates on the cars made after 1945. There is an excellent 13 page prologue on John Davenport Siddeley and the origins of Armstrong Siddeley Motors written by Nick Baldwin. This describes the story up to 1939 and is well illustrated with contemporary photographs.
Often available on Abebooks and Ebay.
E P Leigh-Bennett Making a Modern Motor Car, An impression of a highly developed Engineering organisation (1924) Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd, 22 pages
Armstrong Siddeley published this book to promote the quality of manufacture at the Parkside works in Coventry. The book is written in a very effusive style, but contains an interesting description of the works and stages of production. The author stresses the importance of quality and makes a very obvious link between car production and the aero-engine manufacture. Includes an illustration of finished cars lined up in the Burlington carriage works.
This is a rare book, but try Ebay
Armstrong Siddeley Motors The Evening and the Morning (1957) 103 pages
Armstrong Siddeley published this promotional book in 1957. It is full of interesting snippets about the company from the formation of Deasy Motors in 1906 through to 1956 with quotes from former employees and extracts from company minute books. It also has very evocative contemporary photographs showing car and air craft engine production at Parkside, Coventry in the 1950s. There is a series of photographs of the company managers when the book was published – all men and all looking very 50s and managerial.
This is a rare book, but is occasionally for sale on Abebooks and Ebay.
Bill Smith and Daniel Young Advertising Armstrong Siddeley 1904-1960 (1996) Yesteryear Books, 80 pages
This book is about about advertising the cars and the book contains many black and white reproductions of advertisements that originally appeared in Country Life, Punch and other magazines. The introductory section is “Armstrong Siddeley – a potted history” by Bill Smith which has well chosen photographs of cars.
Often available on Abebooks and Ebay.
Trevor Alder (compiled by) Pre-War Armstrong Siddeley (1995) Transport Source Books, 80 pages
This book contains reproductions of road tests, articles and advertisements dating from May 1926 to September 1938.
Colin Pitt Pre-War Armstrong Siddeley Unique Motor Books, 76 pages
This book has reproductions of road tests, articles and advertisements dating from 1929 to 1938.
Rod Ward Armstrong Siddeley (2009) Auto Review, 32 pages
This book is densely packed with information and small photographs of Armstrong Siddeley cars and other company products including railcars, tanks and trucks, as well as Armstrong Whitworth aircraft and Armstrong Siddley aero engines. Fascinating summary, but a pity the editing was not more thorough (for example, there is reference to a fantasy early 1920s 15 hp car).
Available from Modelauto Ltd, Leeds
Ray Cook Armstrong Siddeley – the Parkside Story 1896-1939 Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series, No 11 (1988) 140 pages
The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series is an excellent set of publications and this volume, which was the first on Armstrong Siddeley, is particularly well researched and written by the late Ray Cook. The book tells the story of production at Parkside in Coventry and describes the cars, aircraft and engines, railcar and tanks made there before 1939. Sadly, all the original factory buildings at Parkside were demolished shortly after this book was published leaving only the original ornate factory gates sited at the edge of the business park.
Alan Betts Stoneleigh Motors, an Armstrong Siddeley Company Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series No 37 (2006) 86 pages
The only book available on the Stoneleigh, the Utility or Light Car made by Armstrong Siddeley in 1912 and 1921-24. Alan Betts has written a very informative and well-researched book.
Roy Lawton Parkside – Armstrong Siddeley to Rolls Royce 1939-1994 The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Historical Series No 39 (2008) 250 pages
This book takes the Parkside story through to 1994 including the transfer of production from Armstrong Siddeley to Rolls Royce.
Articles in magazines and journals
Anon “The Siddeley Special” Thoroughbred and Classic Cars, p 66-68 (December 1981)
Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club Sphinx (1966 to date)
Nick Baldwin “Marmon 34 and Armstrong Siddeley 30 – How close were they?” The Automobile Vol 11, No 5, July 1993, pages 58-60, 62 and 64
Bill Bishop “Strip-down for a Siddeley Short” (1926 Armstrong Siddeley 18hp) The Automobile Vol 6, No 11, January 1989, pages 60-62; Vol 6, No 12, February 1989, pages 60-62
Bill Bishop “Armstrong Siddeley – the vintage years” The Automobile Vol 9, No 4, June 1991, pages 10-15
Bill Boddy “A History of the Armstrong Siddeley Car” Motor Sport November 1958, pages 772-76 and 785; and December 1958, pages 836-40 and 849
Bill Boddy “Armstrong Siddeley cars of aircraft quality” Mayfair Vol 16, No 2 1981
Michael Brisby “The 1932 Armstrong Siddeley 20hp coachbuilt saloon” The Automobile Vol 2, No 10, December 1984, pages 20-26
Michael Brisby “On the road today with a 1934 Siddeley Special” The Automobile Vol 4, No 7, September 1986, pages 32-37
Michael Frostick with photographs by Neill Bruce “Sphinxes, Epicycles and Aircraft Quality – Armstrong Siddeley” Automobile Quarterly Vol XXI, No 1, pages 12-29, Automobile Quarterly, Princeton, New Jersey
H.K. Freeman “Armstrong Siddeley’s Urchin” on the Stoneleigh, The Veteran and Vintage Magazine p 248 and 258
Zoe F B Harrison “The 15-year restoration of a 1935 Armstrong Siddeley 17hp Tickford” The Automobile Vol 11, No 10, December 1993, pages 65-68
David Burgess Wise “The Many Cars of J.D. Siddeley” On Four Wheels Vol 7, Part 103, Pages 2044-2050, Orbis Publishing Ltd, London (1975)
Articles in books
Nick Baldwin “Armstrong Siddeley” A-Z of Cars of the 1920s (1994) Bay View Books
David Culshaw and Peter Horrobin “Armstrong Siddeley” The Complete Catalogue of British Cars (1974) Macmillan, London, pages 47-50
Michael Sedgwick “Armstrong Siddeley” in GN Georgana (Ed.) The Complete Encyclopedia of Motor Cars (1969) Ebury Press, pages 53-54
Michael Sedgwick “Armstrong Siddeley” Vintage Car Annual No 1, edited by Mike Worthington-Williams, Pages 34-45, Marshall, Harris & Baldwin (1979)
Armstrong Siddeley’s technical publications
Armstrong Siddeley provided a handbook with every car. The handbooks for the Mark 1 models were landscape format; the Mark 2 models were portrait format. These are the handbooks for the Mark 1 cars: the colours of the covers were 30HP maroon, 18HP blue, and 14HP pale green.
Below are the handbooks for the later Mark 2 cars. This time the colours are 30HP bright blue, 18HP brown and 14HP blue.
Below are copies of three of the parts lists that Armstrong Siddley published in the 1920s. The lists show photographs or drawings of many of the parts and list all the parts, including variations for different batches and models. The photograph shows the parts lists for the 14 HP, 15 HP and 20 HP cars.
Hi
Where can I purchase these books of the Armstrong Siddeley. I do own a 1934 model myself, I would like to learn more about these cars.
Kind regards
Johan
Johan
Some of the books are still in print so try Amazon. The book by Bruce Lindsay is available via http://www.armstrong-siddeley.com/. The out of print books sometimes appear on http://www.abebooks.com and on Ebay.
do you have any info on windwings for 26 touring,were they a factory fittment item or were they an optional extras,or were they pucahed by the owner aftermarket.My dad had atourer in the shed but sold it in the early 60s. From memory it was finished in a dark blue. I have a pair of windwings which I believe may be from that car but would like to see an original set to varify that is where they came from.
Thank you for your time,
Best wishes
bluebeard.
I feel sure that the windwings were extras, probably not supplied by Armstrong Siddeley.
Hello I wonder Which one book by Armstrong Siddeley who writes extensively about air cooled diesel engines?? Regards Diezelman from Norway
Hello There is six pages on the diesel stationary engines in the book The Sphinx with the Heart of a Lion by Bruce Lindsay.
Hello. Is there any way to contact the author Alan Betts for more information? Thanks in advance.
Hello. I suggest you contact the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, PO Box 31, Derby, England DE24 8BJ as they published the book and should be in contact with author Alan Betts.
Hi,
I was congratulate you for the beautiful and thorough like pages on this very explicit English make cars.
I happen to be the owner of a very rare Hi,
I was congratulate you for the beautiful and thorough life pages on this very explicit English make cars.
I happen to be the owner of a very rare S3 Gr?f & Stift auto. It is an Austrian car of 1924 with original coachwork by Burlington Carriage Co. Ltd. Of Coventry. From what I have read this company was owned by Armstrong Siddeley. I am looking for more information on this coach builder and the name of the person decommission the construction of the coach at Burlington.
Can you help me with some information?
Is there a book or link where I can get more information on cars built at Burlington for other makes like this one?
Thanking you in advance I remain.
Gratefully and cordially yours,
Malcolm
+55 11 99984-5016
malcolmforest@gmail.com