HE Two Litre Sports: still going strong

That HE had developed a range of credible vehicles in the space of just four years was admirable, considering that automotive production wasn’t even on its radar prior to the ending of hostilities, and never had been before the war.

‘The HE Two Litre would have been rightly perceived as a budget Bentley’

Founder Herbert Merton had started his engineering career with Armstrong Whitworth before becoming the managing director of the Blaker Engineering Company of Islington, London.

In 1914, Merton changed the company’s name to Herbert Engineering Co Ltd, his Germanic birth surname, Schmeichen, seeming inappropriate as the conflict started to flare up (Merton’s German mother had remarried an Englishman who’d insisted that her son take his family name, but only informally).

Herbert Engineering prospered during the early war years producing gearboxes for Thornycroft, then in 1916 it won a wartime contract to repair and overhaul Le Rhône and Clerget rotary aircraft engines.

This HE Two Litre Sports is one of seven known four-cylinder survivors

But with the cessation of hostilities, all War Office contracts were terminated, leaving Merton with a 36,000sq ft Caversham factory, on the outskirts of Reading, and 600 employees with little to produce.

Enter Herbert Engineering’s works manager, HA Edwards, who recognised the company’s extensive infrastructure and proposed an unchartered foray into car manufacturing.

In order to optimise its talented, time-served workforce, however, all components were to be designed and produced in-house where possible – including the powertrains.

This HE Two Litre’s long-stroke, 1982cc ‘four’ has covered just 66,000 miles – the bottom end had some attention in 1965

At a time when many car makers were using outsourced engines from firms such as Anzani and Meadows, it was an ambitious decision, verging on the foolhardy.

Yet the result wasn’t without merit, even if it did bring Herbert Engineering Co perilously close to collapse before it had the chance to flourish.

By 1923, HE’s Two Litre was the culmination of a very steep, four-year learning curve.

While there was nothing particularly revolutionary about its design and engineering, visually and technically it would have been quite rightly perceived as a budget Bentley.

This HE model was known variously as Two Litre or 2-Litre, as this plaque attests

Reducing engine displacement to 1982cc brought Purchase Tax benefits versus HE’s existing 2.1-litre models, and the sidevalve four-cylinder unit was quite advanced for the time.

A long, 120mm piston stroke and 72.5mm bore was a typical route to extracting healthy torque from a relatively small capacity, and combined with large-diameter valves, aluminium pistons and roller camshaft followers – as well as coil ignition – the powerplant was thoroughly contemporary.

A separate, aluminium cylinder head was designed by Ricardo Engineering and fuel was delivered to a single 36mm sidedraught Zenith carburettor via an Autovac mounted on the offside of the HE’s cast-aluminium bulkhead.

The HE Two Litre Sports will sustain a comfortable 50mph cruise to a sonic backdrop of exhaust roar and some gear whine

The Two Litre’s transmission would also have stood out in the class.

A multi-plate clutch of HE’s own design was in-unit with the engine, mated to a separate four-speed gearbox.

Roland Sully, a former aero-engine inspector whom Merton had first met during the war, had been commissioned to design all of HE’s vehicles (he was also something of a driver, having achieved a Brooklands Class C one-mile record of 83.85mph in a sporting version of the company’s early 11.9hp model).

In the early days, Sully had purchased a Bugatti and clearly taken inspiration from the design of its gearbox, which used twin horizontal shafts at a time when most units had them positioned vertically, with its constant-mesh gears at the rear of the casing.

Entry to the HE Two Litre Sports is via the passenger-side door

Control for the transmission was via a right-hand, inboard lever working through a conventional H-pattern open gate, and – as our host today remarks – the gearshift is either loved or hated, depending upon how quickly you acclimatise.

In a further diversion from convention, drive to the rear wheels was via a torque-tube-encased propshaft to an overhead worm-gear final drive.

To my eyes, the Two Litre is a disarmingly handsome car.

Motoring poet and HE owner WH Charnock said his earlier 1922 model was ‘vaguely raffish, imagine an illicit and loveless union between Bentley and Bugatti’.

‘Flick on the ignition and press the starter button, and the HE’s motor instantly bursts into life’

And I’d agree, although other than the horse-collar-style radiator grille, ‘our’ Two Litre is far more redolent of a slightly scaled-down Bentley 3 Litre, with its high bonnet line (a design affectation, since the engine is mounted low in the chassis) and pinched-in bodywork giving it a lithe and elegant stance.

Perhaps recognising that a certain amount of warranty work was inevitable, given the length of HE’s guarantee, easy access was provided to dashboard electrics and mechanisms via hinged panels between the scuttle and engine-bay bulkhead, which also created an area for toolkit stowage and the like.

Underpinning the in-house aluminium body was a pressed-steel chassis with channel-section sides and tubular cross-bracing.

The HE Two Litre’s dashboard electrics are easy to access, which helped with maintenance

The only break from the norm was the Two Litre’s suspension, which used three-quarter (as opposed to semi-) elliptic springs at the rear, with semi-elliptics at the front, all of which were controlled by André Hartford dampers.

Incredibly, Neil Gough, who purchased this HE Two Litre five years ago, is only its third owner in just over 100 years.

During that time the car has never been restored and retains its original engine, gearbox and bodywork, with only the interior trim requiring a refresh a few years ago.

The HE Two Litre’s steering has some play but is predictable and light

First owner Dr Bailey must have been drawn into the HE’s charms (and, perhaps, its lengthy warranty) enough to pay a hefty premium over more mundane offerings in the class.

Costing £595 in ‘Sports Touring 3-Seater’ trim (a Sports 3-Seater was also available for £720, with a 3in-longer wheelbase, and Rudge-Whitworth wheels and hubs), the HE Two Litre was well over £100 more than a Wolseley Fourteen or an Austin 12hp and even comparable to the tax-loaded imports from Renault, Fiat and Studebaker.

But Bailey was clearly smitten with the car.

He kept it for 24 years, although he – and the following owner – must have used it sparingly, with only 43,000 miles being accrued up to 2019 when Neil took it on (the mileage today is over 66,000, because Neil freely admits that he enjoys driving it so much).

The HE Two Litre Sports has four-wheel brakes, but this early system doesn’t inspire full confidence

Bailey’s tenure with the car also included its only two significant upgrades, both carried out at the HE factory.

The Hartford dampers were an improvement over HE’s standard items, suggesting that the good doctor had some appreciation of chassis dynamics and was at pains to fully optimise the HE’s handling by using the best components available.

Bailey also requested that his car be fitted with the latest four-wheel braking system, which must have been made available shortly after delivery.

(The Autocar described the then proposed technology from HE in a September 1923 issue, nearly a year before Bailey bought his car.)

‘This HE Two Litre Sports has survived a century with little more than regular maintenance, proving the underlying quality of the design’

All-wheel braking had been treated with deep suspicion until this time, the feeling being that it would cause loss of control and general discomfort to occupants.

Bentley and Vauxhall, among others, were early adopters, and it would be fair to presume that Merton and Sully would have wanted to follow suit.

HE’s system used the foot pedal to operate all four drums, with the larger-diameter, finned rears still being dominant and incorporating a second set of shoes for the handbrake.

The smaller front drums were operated by rods that pulled towards the centre of the car, activating skew gears to separate the shoes.

The HE Two Litre’s gearshift splits opinion, but it’s a pleasure to drive

As we’ll see, it was still a technology that was very much in its infancy.

It was also a technology that required not insubstantial investment.

Laudable though Merton’s ambitions were, the UK’s economy was soon in a parlous state after an initial post-war boom.

Like many other car makers (Austin, Belsize and Vauxhall to name but three), HE was struggling financially, and it was placed into receivership in 1923.

This HE Two Litre’s leather trim has been refreshed

According to author Simon Fisher in a recent Vintage Sports-Car Club Bulletin, it is thought that Thornycroft bought HE’s main plant at this stage, providing funds for Merton to build a smaller factory nearby.

Production restarted in 1925, but, despite developing a new range of six-cylinder models later in the decade, by 1929 HE went into voluntary liquidation as the fall-out from the Wall Street Crash bit.

In 1931, Herbert Merton closed HE’s Wolsey Road works for good, with Thornycroft once again buying his factory.

Merton died in 1950, aged 66.

The HE Two Litre’s dashboard has six dials, including a temperature gauge

Testament to his legacy, though, is Neil’s HE, which is thought to be one of just seven four-cylinder models to exist today.

That it has survived a century with little more than regular maintenance proves the underlying quality and longevity of Herbert Engineering’s original design.

Purchased by John Milner in 1947 (the car’s only other keeper prior to Neil taking it on), the Two Litre – then, as now, registered XU 5227 – did have some engine work carried out through 1959-’60, when Phoenix Green Garage re-metalled the main bearings and reground the journals.

The flywheel’s mass was also reduced to improve drivability.

The HE Two Litre Sports looks slightly like a scaled-down Bentley 3 Litre

Other than a repaint of its original black coachwork 25 years ago, the HE today is very much the same as it was when it drove from that London garage in ’24.

As its name suggests it is a three seater, with the body tapering to a clog-shaped rear incorporating a well-trimmed space for an extra passenger – or to use as a generous luggage area.

Due to the outboard handbrake, you enter the snug cockpit through its only door, on the passenger side.

The floor is quite high, so you sit with legs outstretched, the pedals (with a centre throttle) out of view.

London’s J Smith & Co Motor Agents left its mark on the HE Two Litre Sports, too

The large, four-spoke metal steering wheel incorporates a quadrant with hand-throttle and ignition advance/retard controls.

It dominates your view, and behind is a wooden dash with dials for time, oil pressure, water temperature, charge, speed (to 80mph) and revs (to 3000rpm).

There are two small plaques, one showing the HE’s build number (3030, duplicated on the inside of the bonnet’s folding panels), the other affixed by the original supplying dealer.

With so many cars of this era modified for ease of use on modern roads, it’s a privilege to drive something genuinely period-correct.

Room for one in this rare classic car’s snug rear seat

Flick on the ignition and press the starter button, and the HE’s motor instantly bursts into life, settling to a deep baritone burble through its large-diameter exhaust.

Close your eyes and you might think you were aboard a Bentley 3 Litre.

I’m slightly apprehensive after Neil’s comment about the divisive gearshift, but – for me, anyway – it’s one of the most delightful vintage mechanisms I’ve laid my hands on.

The clutch is almost unfeasibly light, so much so that initial care is needed to find the biting point, but once on the move gears mesh seamlessly, with nothing more than a quick double-declutch to aid engagement.

The rev counter in the HE Two Litre Sports reads to 3000rpm

If there is a slight glitch, it’s that the lever itself is so close to the inner bodywork that it’s easy to trap your fingers as you move across to the third/fourth-gear plane.

You’d never describe the Two Litre as fast, but HE’s ‘Swift as a bird on the wing’ slogan wasn’t too far off the mark and it will happily cruise at 50mph, with ample torque allowing you to keep that speed constant, up hill and down dale.

The engine note grows into a satisfying bellow when extended, but gear noise through the intermediate ratios tends to dominate under acceleration.

The HE Two Litre Sports celebrated its centenary in 2024, and it’s got plenty more miles ahead of it

The brakes feel authentically weak for a system still in early development, and I found my right hand hovering over the handbrake on a number of occasions in case pedal power was lacking.

In short, better than a Vauxhall 14hp, but not a patch on a Bentley.

Like the other controls, the steering is light and not too low-geared, with predictable play through the worm-and-nut box.

I enjoyed driving the car from the off, though, despite wishing that the front axle was better located (it shimmies at low speeds and requires your attention over bumpy surfaces at higher velocities).

But the quality of the HE’s structure, the smoothness of its controls and the overall build integrity beggar belief for a car that is just starting its second century on British roads.

So maybe Herbert Merton’s five-year pledge to would-be HE owners wasn’t quite as risky as it seemed after all?

Images: John Bradshaw

Factfile

HE Two Litre Sports

• Sold/number built 1922-’25/n/a
• Construction pressed-steel chassis, aluminium bodywork over ash frame
• Engine iron-block, alloy-head, sidevalve 1982cc ‘four’, single Zenith carburettor with Autovac feed
• Max power 13hp (RAC rating)
• Max torque n/a
• Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
• Suspension: front beam axle, semi-elliptic springs rear live axle, three-quarter-elliptic springs; Hartford dampers f/r
• Steering worm and nut
• Brakes drums
• Length 13ft 6in (4114mm)
• Width 5ft 4in (1626mm)
• Height n/a
• Wheelbase 9ft 8in (2946mm)
• Weight n/a
• Mpg 22-24 (est)
• 0-60mph n/a
• Top speed 65mph (est)
• Price new £595
• Price now £125,000*

_{*Price correct at date of original publication}

Enjoy more of the world’s best classic car content every month when you subscribe to C&SC – get our latest deals here

READ MORE

Bentley 4½ Litre: history repeating

Vauxhall 30-98 Wensum: The Yellow Peril

Austin Ten adventure: kick-starting the passion