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Rochdale Cars

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Brief History of Rochdale Cars

 

In 1948 panel beaters Harry Smith and Frank Butterworth founded Rochdale Motor Panels in an old mill building at Hudson Street in Rochdale, Lancashire. 

This duo went on to develop their company into what was to become one of the most successful kit car firms of the 1950s and 1960s. The story starts in the early 1950s when a friend introduced them to the joys of motor-sport, in the form of the 750 Motor Club. 

As a result, Rochdale Motor Panels started producing a small number of aluminium bodies to fit the Austin 7 and other one-off competition specials.

 It is estimated that 16 bodies in total were produced, with four known survivors. One of these Austin 7-based cars (PMA 134) is still being raced, having started its competition career almost 40 years ago! 

In 1961 Derek Bennett (of Chevron fame) built what was intended to be the ultimate Rochdale Olympic. This hybrid space frame chassised, Coventry Climax-powered and Olympic-bodied car was fast and light. Mechanic Paul Owens took the car out for a shakedown run, but unfortunately it left the road at Clay Hill and was scythed in two by a steel cable. Fortunately the driver lived to tell the tale later becoming a director at Reynard!

However, producing small numbers of custom-built cars didn't make economic sense. Rochdale Motor Panels needed to produce more cars in less time, and despite Harry Smith and Frank Butterworth's skill and expertise, they quickly realised that working with aluminium was both expensive and time consuming. 

The solution to their problems was a relatively new and quite innovative product, GRP. 

They soon discovered the advantage of working with fibreglass and in 1954 were able to market their first GRP shell, the Mark VI 

Why a Mark VI? Well it was thought that customers might not buy a shell it if it was called a Mark 1! 

The Mark VI shell could in fact be adapted to fit a range of chassis with wheelbases from 7'6" right through to 9'. About 150 of these shells were produced with about 6 having survived. The Mark VI was soon to be joined by the C and F types, which were still bare shells with quite a lot of work having to be done by the buyer (including cuting your own doors). 

Although these shells could be modified, the common wheel-base aimed at was 7'6". About 30 C and 50 F types were produced, of which only two of the C and three of the F type still exist. 

With an eye on the ever-developing market for road-going cars, the company introduced the ST (Sports Tourer) shell. This was marketed in 1955 and was designed to bolt on to pre- or post-war Ford chassis, typically that from the Ford E39A. Some 100 examples were made and 7 still survive.

In 1957 the GT was introduced. Usually this was powered by the Ford 1172cc engine, this 2+2 fixed-head coupe was to prove to be Rochdale's biggest seller. In total, 1,350 were sold, of which some 80 remain. In 1959 an open top version, the stylish Riviera, developed from the GT was introduced. 

Despite a huge factory fire in 1961, and a short production run, about 50 examples were constructed, four of which are still with us. Although the GT was such a success and well thought of in the motoring world, Rochdale were a pro-active company and looked to how they could develop the design and function of the car. Feeling that they could improve upon the rather flimsy Ford ladder chassis that the GT sat upon, the company introduced their own chassis constructed from square-steel sections. This was bonded into a one-piece floor moulding, which was then in turn bonded into the bodyshell. 

This modification was offered on later Riviera and GT models and resulted in very stiff and lightweight cars. Encouraged by the success the company had achieved with this revised model, and inspired by the announcement of the Lotus Elite (the first car with a GRP monocoque), thoughts turned towards producing their own fibreglass monocoque.

The resulting Phase I Olympic was an advanced and well-designed car. Richard Parker headed the design team, although Harry Smith and Frank Butterworth contributed to its final appearance (Richard Parker was poached by Colin Chapman and went to work for Lotus for a short while). It was light, strong and aerodynamic. 

A small number of Phase Is used the Ford sidevalve engine, but the majority utilised mechanical components from either the Riley 1.5 or echoed the prototype and used the Morris Minor engine. Cars equipped with the 1.5 units could achieve well over 100mph. Many other engine options were also available including, rather interestingly, one of Lotus's favourites at the time, the legendary Coventry Climax all-alloy engine.

Unfortunately, early in 1961 the original factory succumbed to a dreadful fire, although luckily a few brave souls managed to save some of the Olympics by pushing them out onto the road outside! 

Fortunately alternative premises were soon found at the nearby Littledale Mill, after a short spell at Duke Street. A direct result of the fire (apart from the loss of sales) was that only the Olympic made it back into production. Despite this setback, the Phase II Olympic was introduced in 1963 and this version was even lighter than its predecessor. It also had a practical innovation in the form of an opening rear hatch. Engines were typically Ford 1500 or 1600 units, usually in Cortina GT trim. Acceleration was brisk and top speed had improved to 115mph. Despite all it had going for it, sales of the Olympic never really took off.

The advent of the Mini in 1959 changed the face of motoring. This was followed shortly after by the government's removal of the purchase tax advantage kit cars had held over production cars. These factors, combined with Britain's industrial relations problems at the time, made the supply of components sporadic. The net result was that by the mid 1960s sales had tailed off. Some of the blame for this must also be leveled at the company itself. As competent as it was, the Olympic was not as constructor-friendly as the earlier cars and required much more input and ability from both builder and factory alike. By the early 1970s production of the Olympic had ceased, during which time 250 Phase I and 150 Phase II cars had been sold. Of these, 100 Phase 1 and 65 Phase II are known to the Rochdale club.

CONTACTS

The Rochdale Owners Club is the only club that is solely devoted to the marque, having over 100 members worldwide. A register within the Fairthorpe Sports Car Club (with which close links are still maintained) had previously represented the Rochdale marque. Club membership is only £15 and some of the benefits on offer to members are technical advice, an excellent spares service, a high quality quarterly magazine and the club also organises an annual kit car show at Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield.