The Triumph Super 9 was a British motorcar model, first introduced by the

Triumph Motor Company The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company in the 19th and 20th centuries. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg formed S. Bettmann & Co. and started importing bicycles from Eu ...

in 1931 at a price of £185. It continued through into 1933. It had an

RAC RAC or Rac may refer to: Organizations * Radio Amateurs of Canada * RATCH-Australia Corporation, electricity generator * Refugee Action Collective (Victoria), Melbourne, Australia * Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, US * Rent-A-Center, ...

rating of 8.9 hp. The Super 9's were the first

Triumphs ''Triumphs'' (Italian language, Italian: ''I Trionfi'') is a 14th-century Italian series of poems, written by Petrarch in the Tuscan language. The poem evokes the Roman triumph, Roman ceremony of triumph, where victorious generals and their armies ...

to use 12-volt electrics (early Southern Cross's still used 6-volt for a short period) and the first to be fitted with a

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...

engine, which was made under licence by Triumph. Two 6-volt batteries were housed under the rear passenger floor, while the prototype had a single 12-volt battery on the bulk head. Many of the chassis and transmission components were left overs from the Super 7's and 8's.

Engine

The Coventry Climax engines are of the IOE configuration, with a bore of 60 mm and a stroke of 90 mm, giving 1018 cc. Generally a

Solex Solex may refer to: * Solex (musician), Dutch musician * Solex Carburetor, a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX * Solex College, a former private for-profit college in Chicago, Illinois * Solex Unit, a fictiona ...

side-draught carburettor was fitted. During 1931 the rear of the engine was supported on a 3/16-inch steel plate spanning across the chassis, consequently the

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

bell housing Bell housing or bellhousing is a colloquial/slang term for the portion of the transmission that covers the flywheel and the clutch or torque converter of the transmission on vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. This housing is bolted ...

was deep and with the starter alongside. Later cars had a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

flywheel housing and a much shallower bell housing, the starter was then repositioned alongside the engine. This arrangement was used on later Super 9s & 10's and on Glorias. The cooling water is circulated by thermal syphon aided by the sloping shape of the aluminium water

manifold In mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, an n-dimensional manifold, or ''n-manifold'' for short, is a topological space with the property that each point has a n ...

on the head. The dynamo is driven by a Duplex chain with the distributor mounted at the rear end of the dynamo. A top speed of 60 mph was obtainable with a cruising speed of 45 mph. Petrol consumption in the region of 35 mpg for a car weighing 19 cwt. unladen.

Steering

Steering is by worm and wheel, the drop shaft attached to the wheel is on three keyways so it can be turned through 120 deg. to compensate for wear. Also adjustment is provided for engagement of the worm to the wheel.

Transmission and suspension

Transmission is through a single -inch clutch plate along with a 4-speed-and-reverse gear box. The hand brake operated a transmission brake attached to the rear end of the gear box. A conventional

Hardy Spicer Hardy Spicer is a brand of automotive transmission or driveline equipment best known for its mechanical constant velocity universal joint originally manufactured in Britain by Hardy employing patents belonging to US-based Spicer Manufacturing. Har ...

prop shaft connected it to the axle. The rear axle is a worm and wheel with underslung worm, making for a low floor. Ratios 5.25, 5.75, 6.25/1. The brakes are Lockheed hydraulic acting on -inch drums with one leading and one trailing shoe on all 4 wheels. The

petrol tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled ...

is at the rear, unlike Super 7's which had a gravity tank. Fuel was pumped either by

Autovac Manifold vacuum, or engine vacuum in an internal combustion engine is the difference in air pressure between the engine's intake manifold and Earth's atmosphere. Manifold vacuum is an effect of a piston's movement on the induction stroke and t ...

or SU Petrolift. Suspension consists of 4 semi-elliptic springs on rubber bushes damped by Luvax hydraulic shock absorbers. Cars after 1931 replaced the rubber bushes with bronze bushes and grease nipples. Wheels were of the Magnum type with 5 studs fitted with 4.50×19-inch pneumatic tyres. The car had a track of 3 ft in and a wheelbase of 7 ft 8 in.

Bodies

There were three significant models on the same chassis, a 4-door six-light saloon, a 4-door tourer and a 2-door 4-seat tourer known as the Southern Cross. The front doors on the saloon were hinged at the front, while those at the back were hinged to the rear. A sliding sun roof was standard, operated by a rotating handle above the driver. Folding rear

arm rest An armrest is a part of a chair, where a person can rest their arms on. Armrests are built into a large variety of chairs such as automotive chairs, armchairs, sofas, and more. Adjustable armrests are commonly found in ergonomic office chairs. ...

s were fitted but do not appear on the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

. The most noticeable differences between 1931 cars and the later models was a change to the radiator surround and different profiling of the front wings.

Accessories

Optional extras were a

luggage rack A luggage carrier, also commonly called a rack, is a device attached to a bicycle to which cargo or panniers can be attached. This is popular with utility bicycles and touring bicycles. Bicycle luggage carriers may be mounted on the front or re ...

, chrome bumpers and Stevenson Jacking system. The

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...

was leather cloth with leather seating. The only known Super 9 to have Bedford Cord throughout is the prototype; this also has a smokers vent in the roof which is shown on brochures, but is not seen on any production 9's. Instruments consisted of a

speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...

, clock, oil gauge and

ammeter An ammeter (abbreviation of ''Ampere meter'') is an instrument used to measure the current in a circuit. Electric currents are measured in amperes (A), hence the name. For direct measurement, the ammeter is connected in series with the circuit ...

. After 1931 a petrol gauge was added, prior to this a fuel tap was incorporated to give a reserve supply. Dash switches consisted of, a dash light, interior light,

ignition Ignition may refer to: Science and technology * Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses * Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant * Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...

, and a starter button, also choke and fast running control. External lights switching, battery charge rate, and ignition timing were all at the centre of the

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

References

External links

Pre 40 Triumph Motor Club - Contact:- Archivist Graham Shipman (registrar@pre-1940triumphownersclub.net) Ref book: 1940 Triumph Motor Cars ({{ISBN, 0-9550422-1-6) Triumph Motor Company vehicles, Super 9 Cars introduced in 1931