Wolseley 4/44

Manufacturer	BMC
Production	1953 to 1956
Class	Motor car
Produced	29,845
Designer	Gerald Palmer
Body style	4-door saloon
Engine	Morris 1250 cc in-line 4
Wheelbase	102 in (2,600 mm)
Length	168 inches (4267 mm)
Width	61 in (1,500 mm)

The Wolseley four forty-four (4/44) was a Motor car built in the 1950s.

History

The Wolseley Four Forty-Four made its first public appearance on the opening day of the Earl's Court Motor Show. It was originally designed under the Nuffield Organisation but by the time it was released in 1953 Wolseley was part of BMC. Much of the design was shared with the MG Magnette ZA which came out later in the same year.

Unlike the MG, the 4/44 used the well-tried Nuffield design,1250 cc XPAW engine a version of the XPAG engine previously seen in the later MG T-type series of cars but detuned developing some 46 b.h.p. with a three-bearing counter-weighted crankshaft and an S.B. ratio of 1.35:1. Having pushrod-operated overhead valves and unlike the MG a single S.U. carburettor it will readily reach 5,000 r.p.m and produces maximum torque at 2,400 r.p.m. The engine is supported on two tubes of about 21-in. diameter which run forward from the scuttle and these in effect are unstressed torsional. The four-speed manual transmission has a column change, the clutch is of a single dry plate type, 8 in, in diameter, and the gearbox a four-speed unit having ratios of 1.5, 2.53, and 3.8:1,

The construction was monocoque, front-end stiffness is further increased by a rectangular box-section approximately 31 in. deep and 4 in. wide with independent suspension at the front by coil springs and a live rear axle. by using the tunnel as a stressed member so that the car can in some respects be thought of as having a backbone frame built into it the deep and stressed tunnel Contributes materially to the beam stiffness of the car its value in respect of torsional Stiffness. The rear springs are anchored to the narrow-section side members with the rear spring eye slightly higher than the front so as to give an inbuilt understeer characteristic which increases with roll angle. 

For the steering at the front of the car the two half-track rods are placed ahead of the front wheels and connect with a transversely mounted rack-and-pinion steering gear, there being, therefore, only four ball joints in the entire steering linkage.

The car had upmarket trim with wooden dashboard and leather Dunlopillo seats the front seat is bench type, but now tailored for two separate persons although three can be carried. For heating Behind the screen are two wide slots to provide de-misting or de-frosting air received from a Smiths 33-kW heater centrally mounted on the engine side of the scuttle. The heater control unit is placed immediately below the panel, provision as standard of a large-diameter clock in addition to clock and
speedometer, the instruments comprise oil pressure gauge, water thermometer, and fuel tank indicator. finely-veneered wooden fillet, similar material being provided for the window capping. The three-spoke steering wheel has the gear lever immediately beneath it and a corresponding three-spoke horn ring immediately above it. Along with a traditional Wolseley radiator grille with illuminated badge but was expensive at £997 on the home market. It was replaced in 1956 by the similar Wolseley 15/50.

• Top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h)
• Engine Performance: 46 BHP 4,800 r.p.m.  
• Acceleration from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 29.9 seconds
• Fuel consumption of 27.6 miles per imperial gallon (10.2 L/100 km; 23.0 mpg_-US)