trolleybuses. The company was founded by Sydney S. Guy (1885–1971) who was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Guy Motors operated out of its Fallings Park
factory from 1914 to 1982, playing an important role in the development of the British motor industry.
History
Foundation and the First World War
Sydney S. Guy registered Guy Motors Limited on Saturday 30 May 1914, the same day he departed his position as works manager at the Wolverhampton company, Sunbeam. A factory was built on the site at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton.[1] and by September 1914 production was under way on the newly designed 30 cwt lorry. This employed a much lighter form of pressed steel frame, unlike the more commonly used heavy rolled steel channel frames of the time.[2] This made the vehicle able to cross difficult terrain and a 14-seat post bus built based on the design was used for crossing the Scottish Highlands.[3]
In 1915 Guy Motors came under control of the
Ministry of Munitions and production was focussed on the war effort. In spite of the wartime situation, Guy brought out a revised version of their 30cwt lorry in May 1915, with the engine (made by White and Poppe) and transmission mounted on a separate subframe from the main body.[4] A year later they revealed their new 2-ton model,[5] this time powered by a Tylor JB4 engine (a type approved by the War Office and in use on wartime trucks by Karrier and AEC). They also produced Wasp and Dragonflyradial aircraft engines, Tylor truck engines and Maudslay gearboxes as well as being the country's largest maker of depth charge fuses.[6] For their efforts during the war Guy received a commendation from William Weir, Secretary of State for Air.[3] Due to orders from the ministry Guy prospered during the war, expanding its factory and became an established name in British manufacturing.[7]
In 1917 Sydney Guy applied for two patents relating to modified valve gear, one of these outlining how it could be used in a V8 engine,[8] and in 1919 he launched a new version of his 2-ton truck with an engine using this valve gear, and he started production of his first car, a luxury 4 litre V8, the first British V8 engine.[9] The Guy cars were produced in a separate works and in relatively small numbers, whereas £70,000 was invested in the main factory in 1919 with the aim of increasing production to 40 to 50 2-ton trucks per week.[10]
1920s
Guy Motors were one of the first companies to get back to commercial vehicle production after the war, and in March 1920 they were expanding the buildings and plant on their 60-acre site, and had £2.5 million in orders.[11] However, the post-war period was to prove difficult for the motor industry as military contracts were cancelled and military vehicles no longer required for service were sold onto the market at low prices. The Guy 4 litre 8-cylinder "Open Tourer" car was joined by a smaller model in 1921, the "Guy Saloon Car" with the 2465 cc four-cylinder 16.9 hp. A cheaper model followed in 1924 with the 1954 cc 13/36 with an engine from Coventry Climax. There is some uncertainty regarding the number of these cars made, but it is generally agreed it was in the 100s rather than thousands.
The main commercial interest of Guy Motors was production of the commercial chassis and engine ready for a variety of bodies to be fitted. This was available in different wheelbases and was used both for trucks and for buses, and still used the separate subframe to mount the engine and transmission as had been developed during WW1. At the commercial show at Olympia in October 1920 two examples were shown, one having a single decker Mulliner bus body seating 28, the other with shorter wheelbase, but otherwise identical chassis and engine, having a 2.5 ton tipper wagon body.[12]
In 1924, the company adopted the slogan 'Feathers in our Cap' which led to the addition of a Native American mascot to their vehicles. 1924 also saw Guy produce the first-ever dropped-frame chassis for passenger vehicles (the B-type). This design allowed passengers to enter buses in a single step and became extremely popular, Guy receiving an order for 170 from Rio de Janeiro alone.[7]
Growing populations in towns and cities meant larger capacity buses were a necessity, leading Guy to develop a 6-wheeled version of their dropped-frame chassis, which allowed for the introduction of the first 6-wheeled double decker buses and 6-wheeled trolleybuses in 1926.
petrol-electric bus, of which Wolverhampton had several, and Rees Roturbo Co Ltd, who were also based in Wolverhampton, on the design of a trolleybus. Guys modified their 3-axle chassis, fitting a single 60 hp (45 kW) Rees-Stevens electric motor at the front of the chassis. Rees Roturbo produced the regenerative control system. The first BTX vehicle, with an open rear staircase, was tested on the Wolverhampton system in December 1926, and Silvers placed an order for a further 58, with enclosed staircases. The Hastings Tramway Co ordered 50 single-deck BTX trolleybuses and eight open-top double-deck versions, while Rotherham ordered five.[13] Guy double decker buses and trolleybuses would prove popular, with a fleet of double deckers sold to the London Public Omnibus Company and exports supplied all around the world.[9] Exports served as a major source of income for Guy with sales to South Africa, Pakistan, India and the Netherlands, their armoured vehicles proving particularly popular for covering difficult terrain, with 100 supplied to the Indian government in 1928.[9]
In 1928, Guy took control of fellow Wolverhampton manufacturer the
Wall Street Crash had a crippling effect on industry and the subsequent recession meant that Guy could no longer afford to fit out Star's Bushbury plant and, in 1932, that company entered receivership.[14]
Despite performing well throughout the decade, by the end of the 1920s Guy was facing an uncertain future, due to the expensive takeover of Star and the Wall Street Crash, which had seen its share prices fall from one pound to one shilling (5p).[3]
1930s
Guy was able to endure the Depression due to orders from the War Office and by taking advantage of the 1930 Road Traffic Act which encouraged the development of lighter vehicles.[15] They produced a 2-axle version of the BTX trolleybus, known as the BT model, in 1930, which was available with a 26-foot (7.9 m) double deck body, or a 27-foot (8.2 m) single deck body, and also produced some 23-foot (7.0 m) chassis for export to Delhi.[16] In 1933, the Arab bus chassis, designed for use with diesel engines, was launched and would prove a mainstay of Guy's success for the next twenty years.