The SU
Carburetter Co Ltd
The
variable-choke carburetter had always been recognised as being
technically superior to that of the mechanically simpler
fixed-choke instrument. But its commercial realization depended
upon the resolution of numerous difficult production problems.
Despite many setbacks, faith in the basic principle sustained the
determination of early members of the company to over come these
difficulties, with the goal of bringing the product to the market
place.
These principles were devised early this century when the motor car
was a new mechanical wonder, when a small engineering company was
set up in London to manufacture a carburetter invented and patented
by Mr G H Skinner in 1905. The company was registered on the 22
August 1910 by Mr Skinner and his two brothers, Mr T C Skinner and
Mr J H Skinner and was known as ‘The SU Co Ltd’, with the SU
standing for Skinner Union.
The carburetter consisted of a leather bellows which held a tapered
needle, when the throttle was opened the engine then required more
fuel, because the flow of air through the carburetter increased the
bellows would rise, thus taking the tapered needle further out of
the jet, allowing more fuel into the engine. Because the bellows
were a crucial component, it was important that the finest leather
having a smooth and polished surface was used. To this end
Herbert's wife Mabel actual made all the bellows needed, by
hand..
London
Works 1912
Mr
J H Skinner left the company to go and work in the Shoe making side
of the family business, so Mr G H Skinner along with Mr T C Skinner
carried on looking after the business. The company grew and as can
be seen from the above picture of the London factory in 1912 they
were producing carburetters in large numbers. In WWI the company
was involved in munitions production, along with production of
carburetters for Aero engines with a workforce of around 250.
One of the deficiency of the original design was that it did not
have a cold start position (rich mixture). Wolseley Motors Ltd came
up with a solution that was patented by them in 1918, which added
another jet (choke) that could physically be operated by the
driver. This modification was adopted by SU who paid Wolseley a
royalty.
After the War normal work started back up, but there was not much
work about, so in 1919/20 the company made a loss. The company
continued supplying carburetters to Wolseley, Austin, Lagononda and
Napier for many years. But in 1922 the company supplied it first
carburetter to Morris Motors and in that year total production
increased to 2,000 carburetters and mechanical pumps.
In 1926 the company was getting into financial difficulties yet
again, and Mr G H Skinner decided to leave the company. So it was
left to Carl Skinner to find away out of the difficulties. So he
approached W. R. Morris (Lord Nuffield) and following negotiations
the S.U company was purchased by Morris for £100,000.
The following year the London factory was closed down and relocated
to a part of the old Wolseley Car Plant at Adderley Park
Birmingham. Morris Motors Ltd required 1,000 units a week, so
£17,000 was spent on plant and equipment. With now strong financial
backing, the company could develop new products, the first of which
was the Petrolift in 1929 followed by a Aero carburetter in 1932.
One type was fitted to the Rolls-Royce aero engines that powered
the Hurricane, Lancaster and Spitfire. Another type was used on the
Napier engines which powered the Tempest and Typhoon planes.
With the out break of WWII it was important that production was
secured, so a duplicate plant was set up at Riley Motors Coventry.
In 1940 the factory in Birmingham was damaged twice, so they moved
to Highlands Road, Shirley, South Birmingham. Around this time the
Air Ministry had set up a shadow factory in the Wharfe Valley
Yorkshire, and in 1941 the SU Company acquired it to produce
components for aircraft engines, including a fuel injection pump
that was developed for the Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
After the war car carburetters and petrol pumps resumed and the
company moved to a new site in Wood Lane Erdington Birmingham in
July 1947, seen below. With production approaching a total of
223,000 carburetters and pumps per year. In December that year the
company's founder Mr T C Skinner retired and the company decided to
sell its fuel injection manufacturing to the Stirling Company of
America.
The
SU Carburetter Co Ltd Erdington Birmingham
With the merger of Morris Motors Ltd with the Austin Motor Co Ltd
in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation, production was again
increased. A Service Department was set op on the Wood Lane site so
that customers cars fitted with SU carburetters and fuel pumps
could book in for an engine tune, and in the early 60s on average
150 cars per week would be serviced.
When Jaguar, Guy and Coventry Climax joined the group in 1965 to
form the British Motor Holdings, orders increased and production
was around 30,000 carburetters per week which now included the
newer version like the 'HD' to 'HS' types. The next development was
the HIF carburetter which stood for Horizontal Integral Float that
incorporated a electronically controlled cold start system.
Production
Facilities 1965
(With
a workforce of about 1,100, mainly women
production had now reached 1,750,000 units. per
year)
In
1976 the company name was changed to SU Fuel System, then in 1983
it became Austin Rover Fuel Systems. 1984 saw the Design and
Development Departments transferred to Longbridge, with Wood Lane
plant just be coming a manufacturing plant. With engine
manufactures using less carburetter's as the general trend was to
fit fuel injection systems, SU moved some of their production over
to Single Point and Multi Point Throttle Bodies. Additional work
was transferred from Morris Engine plant in Coventry which was
closing down, so SU started to make the 'O' series oil pumps.
Around the same time 1984/5 the UK division of Solex went into
liquidation and in conjunction with Burlen Fuel Systems, negotiated
the manufacture and supply of Zenith -Solex components required for
spares.
1988 was a another year of change with Michael Edwards selling off
SU to the Hobourn Group and another change of name to Hobourn SU.
But in 1989 the Hobourn Group was acquired by Echlin Inc of the
USA. The Echlin Group's UK companies included Quinton Hazell which
supplied the after sales market with a range of products, thus
giving SU another avenue for sales.
After much development the company produced a Plastic throttle body
for the Rover 'K' series engines. which was a first. The company
was not making much money with its market share diminishing and in
1999 the parent company Echlin Group was taken over by the US
company Dana Inc, so another change of name to Dana-SU Automotive.
It was at this point that SU contacted Burlen Fuel Systems Ltd to
manufacture and supply all SU carburetter units, pumps and spares.
So the closure of the Wood Lane plant took place and manufacture
was transferred to Burlen Fuel Systems Ltd who have a factory in
Salisbury Wiltshire.
If you are looking for parts or technical help then visit their Web
site at www.sucarb.co.uk