Rowell Motors of Dundee

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In search of Rowell engines

My thanks to all those who have sent details of the serial number and Mk of their Rowell engines in response to my plea. This will be an on going project to enable George Blair and I to gain some idea of how many were produced. If you have, or know of a Rowell, please would you contact me? Email: admin@onthewire.co.uk

This early Mk1 appeared on eBay in January 2012. Rowells rarely come onto the market and this one was even more unusual, being in New Zealand. The serial number of 116 places it at the beginning of production. With the exception of the piston rings which are missing the motor is otherwise in original condition. A final sale price of £606 makes it the most expensive MkI yet. It now resides in Canada.

Thanks to vendor pietenpol for photos and information

From Steve Betney comes photos of this immaculate MkII series 2 that was offered on ebay in 2011. The serial number is 556 and along with it was the brochure illustrated, which is for the MK I motor.

Bought some years ago from a club member who found a Rowell something of a handful in an aeroplane. Apart from the missing timer this early example #124 is in very good condition having had little use. A new timer is under construction. Thanks to David Eade for photos and details of another Mk 1 Rowell.
March 2010

There have possibly been just four complete Rowell motors offered for sale in the last six years. This Mark 1 from Doug Walton's collection was offered at Mellors and Kirk of Nottingham in September 2009 along with a Nordec and a Craftsman Twin, in the same lot. The serial number of 111 makes it early in the production as it seems likely that the numbering started at 100 as was often the custom.

From a regular contributor has come details of two motors. This Mk II Series 2 has had to be extensively rebuilt and the engine number disappeared along with the mounting lug. He also has a nice example of a Mk I with the serial no 137

Thanks to Ken Smith for photo's of this pristine Mk I that appeared at Christie's in 2004. Numbered 106 this represents the earliest engine known so far. Unusually it also has an original Rowell centrifugal clutch fitted for use in a tethered car

From Victoria in Australia, Warren Evans has sent the following:-

I own a Rowell Teardrop. I believe it to be the 'Only One in Existence' to my knowledge.

I purchased the Rowell Teardrop in Tasmania on condition that it was not to be sold overseas EVER. It has only been run twice to my knowledge. Once in Hobart in 1950, officially clocked at 107.5 MPH which is within a bees of 173 KPH .It was then left dormant until I brought it in 2004. I took it to Sydney in November of that year to run in the Oldtime Meet they have there each year. However we had troubles with it, when the tank was pressure tested it must have stirred up some scale which had formed over the years between 1950 and 2004 (54 Years in total). We have however copied the tank. But it has not been run since as we don't have a track in Melbourne.

The serial number of the glow plug engine is 608 (Mk2 Series 1) which is as I received it. However it could have been altered as I brought through a friend in Hobart. The owner ran a Hobby Shop, but because of poor health was retiring. He could have sold it for a large amount of money but did not want it to leave the country. Besides some people think they can buy anything by pure weight of chequebook( It ain't necessarily so).

The body is hand beaten and car was built from information supplied with the engine. Wheels and tyres are in excellent condition and are Rowell's. Gears are spur and interestingly from the firm I buy gears from for my other tether cars, (of which I have 12 & more on the way) and is owned by a chap by the name of Rowell who tells me he is a relative of Wilfred's.

Any one who has taken a Rowell Engine apart will tell you it is far superior to both the Dooling and the McCoy. If fully developed and run against either of the previously mentioned engines. History would have been written differently on which was the more SUPERIOR????

I wrote an article in the "Australian Model Engineering" magazine under the title "So Rare" Issue 116 in 2004. I'm not interested in modern speed cars as I'm an 'Old Hot Rodder' who likes old stuff and builds copies of early cars but doesn't mind using later motors to help them on their way.