1960 Mason Engineering Car Showroom (FEEDBACK WELCOME)

[Mason148]

Welcome to the Mason Engineering Car Showroom. Our engine showroom is here. Mason Engineering was founded in 1955 by Stuart Mason after a dispute with his former employers Austin Motor Company over merging with Morris Motors. He set up the company with the sole intention of beating BMC and making better cars than them. Eventually, Mason Engineering moved up a level and became a premium brand more akin to Jaguar, BMW or Mercedes with an emphasis on being the best in its class. This means we want the sportiest sports car, the jeepiest jeep and the vaniest van. Joking.

HOW THIS THREAD WORKS
I will work through my company chronologically and update my cars with new trims and models as time goes by.
All prices will be displayed in pounds and dollars using USDMFTW's formula and will be adjusted for inflation for that model year.
Quality sliders will be used but only for cars that warrant them.
My cars will be named as follows:

Each cars rank will be signified by a letter with B being the lowest and F being the highest
A J before this rank shows that it is an SUV
An S shows that it is a sports car
A V shows that it is a van. (This model will have no rank)
An M shows that it is a MPV/Minivan
Each generation will then be signified by Roman numerals
Model trims will be signified by the horsepower of the engine rounded up with higher numbers signifying a higher trim

Any feedback or comments will be much appreciated.

1960 MODEL LINEUP COMING SOON

THE C-II

PRICES
40 Trim - $1700 OR £585
50 Trim - $1784 OR £614
60 Trim - $1884 OR £648


THE E-I

PRICES
120 Trim - $2727 OR £938
140 Trim - $3060 OR £1053


THE SD-II

PRICES
80 Trim - $2195 OR £755
100 Trim - $2398 OR £825

[Mason148]

THE 1957-59 C-I



For Mason Engineering's first ever car, we decided that it would be best to try and get our cars out there in order to build our brand image and to do this we launched the C-I in 1957; a small family saloon. Since we did not have much money at this point, we were quite limited and so we decided to make a car that was accessible to as many people as possible by prioritising a low price and high drivability.

MODEL OVERVIEW
Steel Ladder Chassis
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
Solid Axle Coil Rear Suspension
Steel Body Panels
Longitudinal Engine Placement

C-I TRIMS

C-I 40
1959 PRICE - $1631 OR £557
IN PRODUCTION - 1957-59



Our base trim used a 1.0 litre engine with 36hp and 53ft-lb of torque to push the car from 0-62mph in 24.5s and on to a top speed of 73 mph. Weighing just 675kg means that this car managed to also obtain 36.2 mpg with a 3 speed manual gearbox. This low weight can be attributed to the lack of frills such as a radio, however, the interior was of a sufficient standard.


ENGINE
A100-B1036
1.0 litre (63 cubic inch) Inline 4
36hp (27kw) @ 4200rpm
53ft-lb (72Nm) @ 2200rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Open Diff

GEARBOX
3 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
145/80R12 Hard Long Life Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
210mm (8.3 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
4 Seats
Standard Interior
No Entertainment
Standard 50's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 24.5s
Top Speed - 73mph (117kph)
Fuel Economy - 36.2 mpg (30.1 US-mpg, 7.8 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 23.4s @ 61mph (98kph)
Weight - 675kg (1488lb)
62-0mph - 45.7m (149.9ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:35.86
Airfield Track - 2:09.32



C-I 50
1959 PRICE - $1713 OR £585
IN PRODUCTION - 1957-59



This trim includes the first ever engine created by Mason Engineering; a 46hp, 1.2 litre 4 cylinder engine which improved performance over the 40 model. 0-62mph dropped to 19.9s, whilst top speed jumped to 84mph. This car still managed to achieve 35mpg despite weight increasing to 710kg, mainly due to a basic AM radio and a change to a 4 speed manual gearbox.


ENGINE
A100-B1246
1.2 litre (73 cubic inch) Inline 4
46hp (34kw) @ 4200rpm
63ft-lb (85Nm) @ 2700rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Open Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
145/80R12 Hard Long Life Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
220mm (8.7 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
4 Seats
Standard Interior
Basic AM Radio
Standard 50's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 19.9s
Top Speed - 84mph (135kph)
Fuel Economy - 35.0 mpg (29.1 US-mpg, 8.07 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 22.5s @ 64mph (103kph)
Weight - 675kg (1565lb)
62-0mph - 46.0m (150.9ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:25.59
Airfield Track - 2:04.15

[Mason148]

THE 1959 SD-I



After 2 years on the market, the C-I had managed to rake in a substantial amount of sales. To put some of this money to use and to diversify Mason Engineering's car portfolio, the board decided to create a new car line. Initially, Mason Engineering was going to launch a larger sedan, however development was put on hold after a series of design flaws were found. This caused the engineers to focus mainly on the SD-I which featured a number of firsts for the brand. First monocoque chassis, first independent rear suspension system and also an all new engine with a direct acting overhead cam. This 2 seated sports car was the start of Mason Engineering pursuing a more premium image which they would be later known for with the C-I being a play it safe car to avoid bankruptcy.

MODEL OVERVIEW
Steel Monocoque Chassis
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
Double Wishbone Rear Suspension
Steel Body Panels
Longitudinal Engine Placement

SD-I TRIMS

SD-I 80
1959 PRICE - $1985 OR £678
IN PRODUCTION - 1959



This was the first variant of the SD-I offered in 1959. Using the all new A101 engine, this car managed to get 79hp from a 1.6l engine which gave it quite good pace. 0-62mph happened in 11.5s and the car went onto a top speed of 117mph. Despite this, the car also managed to obtain over 34mpg, mainly due to its low weight of just over 700kg. This car was a hoot to drive with sports 155/80R12 tyres giving it good grip for the time and stopping in a shade over 40m from 62mph.


ENGINE
A101-B1679
1.6 litre (98 cubic inch) Inline 4
79hp (58kw) @ 5200rpm
89ft-lb (121Nm) @ 3900rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Automatic Locking Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
155/80R12 Sports Compound Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
220mm (8.7 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
2 Seats
Standard Interior
Standard AM Entertainment
Standard 50's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Standard Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 11.5s
Top Speed - 117mph (189kph)
Fuel Economy - 34.2 mpg (28.5 US-mpg, 8.26 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 18.5s @ 81mph (130kph)
Weight - 706kg (1556lb)
62-0mph - 40.8m (133.9ft)
Automation Test Track - 2.57.50
Airfield Track - 1.46.25

[Mason148]

1960 UPDATE

Unfortunately, in late 1959 tragedy struck Mason Engineering. There was a fire at our car production plant which completely destroyed our production capabilities. The fire department were unable to find a cause, however our CEO Stuart Mason believes that it is an act of arson by the British Motor Company (later known as British Leyland) after a dispute meant that Stuart who was a leading engineer at Austin Motor Company left before their merger with Morris Motors in 1952. They always said that Stuart would regret his decision and after a series of anonymous threats, Stuart arrived one morning to find his factory burnt to the ground. Rather suspiciously, BMC offered all of Mason Engineering's workers jobs at their production facilities with many taking their offer up.

It seemed like the end.

But this is Mason Engineering. We don't just give up. Most companies who burnt down after just 2 years of production would take their insurance money and quit. But we took our £87,000 and rebuilt. Our designers worked hard on a new company face to make us more noticeable on the roads. Our R&D department researched better safety features for all of our cars. Our engineers luckily stored their engine plans off site and we were able to resume production of our A100 and A101 engines after the new engine factory was built. The rebuild was completed on 21st March 1960 due to everyone taking part in the rebuild including the board after Stuart led by example and put his hard hat on. Mason Engineering had completely rebuilt in the space of six months and in that time had also taken the effort to create the all new E-Series, an executive car which set the Jaguar Mark 2 as its main rival which utilised an all new straight six engine family to match it. The loss of our car plans meant that even with our engine plans, the engineers had to create new cars which they felt warranted the creation of the C-II and the SD-II. This major upgrade did however mean that Mason Engineering would need to recoup these costs which meant that car prices rose. However, our PR department did well to disguise this by giving our brand a more premium brand more similar to Jaguar than the BMC that they were before.

MODEL CHANGES
The C-II launched in 40, 50 and 60 trim
The E-I launched in 120 and 140 trim
The SD-II launched in 80 and 100 trim
The A200 engine family starts production with a 2.2 litre variant and a 2.5 litre version
The A100-B1560 is created
The A100-S1898 is created

[DoctorNarfy]

Just a warning, British Leyland is still around at this point, and I think they'd give you legal Trouble over the SD-I, Looks like a nice car though

[Mason148]

Lucky for them (not for me) a fire at the factory meant that we lost all the tooling to create our cars so for 1960 the SD-II is going to be released. Stay tuned. And thanks for the compliment.

[Mason148]

THE 1960 C-II



The fire destroyed all of our design blueprints for our cars and so we had to design them again. We managed to find a few shells that we were able to base our cars on but instead of just recreating the C-I, we decided to start again and make the C-II instead. Our engineers decided to make the change from a body on frame design and instead utilised a monocoque chassis after the development of the SD-I showed its benefits. A major benefit of this change was that the car managed to save 9kg of its 700kg weight despite the fitting of advanced safety as standard on all models. Another change that our engineers made for this car was to include independent rear suspension by using semi trailing arms instead of the solid axle in the C-I. This improved the cars handling which made it more engaging to drive as well as easier to drive with slight improvements to the cars comfort. On the design front, the car utilised the all new signature grille of Mason Engineering in order to stand out from the crowd. The car launched with an all new 60 horsepower 1.5 litre along with the previous 1 litre 40 trim and the 1.2 litre 50 trim.

MODEL OVERVIEW
Steel Monocoque Chassis
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
Semi Trailing Arm Rear Suspension
Steel Body Panels
Longitudinal Engine Placement

C-II TRIMS

C-II 40
1960 PRICE - $1700 OR £585
IN PRODUCTION - 1960-PRESENT



Carrying over the 36 horsepower 1.0 litre engine used in the C-I 40, this trim benefited from the weight loss which improved performance with a drop in 0-62 times, a rise in top speed and improved braking performance. Changes compared to the C-I also include wider tyres with most other things staying the same.

ENGINE
A100-B1036
1.0 litre (63 cubic inch) Inline 4
36hp (27kw) @ 4200rpm
53ft-lb (72Nm) @ 2200rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Open Diff

GEARBOX
3 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
155/75R12 Hard Long Life Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
210mm (8.3 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

UNDERTRAY
None

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
4 Seats
Standard Interior
No Entertainment
Advanced 60's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 24.2s
Top Speed - 75mph (121kph)
Fuel Economy - 36.2 mpg (29.8 US-mpg, 7.89 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 23.40s @ 61mph (98kph)
Weight - 666kg (1469lb)
62-0mph - 44.0m (144.4ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:31.94
Airfield Track - 2:07.67



C-I 50
1960 PRICE - $1784 OR £614
IN PRODUCTION - 1960-PRESENT



This trim had similar improvements like the 40 trim in acceleration and braking but a drop in fuel economy like the 40 trim which surprised our engineers. The 1.2 litre unit remained unchanged from the previous generation with the 46 horsepower still giving a sub 20 second 0-62 time and an 84mph top speed.


ENGINE
A100-B1246
1.2 litre (73 cubic inch) Inline 4
46hp (34kw) @ 4200rpm
63ft-lb (85Nm) @ 2700rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Open Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
155/75R12 Hard Long Life Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
220mm (8.7 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

UNDERTRAY
None

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
4 Seats
Standard Interior
Basic AM Radio
Advanced 60's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 19.7s
Top Speed - 84mph (135kph)
Fuel Economy - 34.7 mpg (28.9 US-mpg, 8.14 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 22.50s @ 65mph (105kph)
Weight - 701kg (1545lb)
62-0mph - 44.3m (145.3ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:22.83
Airfield Track - 2:02.74



C-I 60
1960 PRICE - $1884 OR £648
IN PRODUCTION - 1960-PRESENT



The all new for 1960 A101-B1560 engine was fitted to this new 60 trim which gave it considerable performance for the day. 15.8 seconds to 60, a 91mph top speed and a sub 2 minute airfield track time beats some cars from 2015. However comfort was still important with the fitting of a higher quality AM radio giving the passengers an enjoyable ride to their destination.

ENGINE
A100-B1560
1.5 litre (91 cubic inch) Inline 4
60hp (45kw) @ 4300rpm
79ft-lb (107Nm) @ 2700rpm
92 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Open Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
155/75R12 Hard Long Life Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
220mm (8.7 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
220mm (8.7 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

UNDERTRAY
None

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
4 Seats
Standard Interior
Standard AM Radio
Advanced 60's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
None

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 15.8s
Top Speed - 91mph (146kph)
Fuel Economy - 33.2 mpg (27.6 US-mpg, 8.51 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 20.85s @ 69mph (111kph)
Weight - 727kg (1603lb)
62-0mph - 44.5m (146ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:15.20
Airfield Track - 1:57.71

[Mason148]

THE 1960 E-I



If Mason Engineering is to pursue a premium image then an essential part of that is to offer an executive car that is prestigious, comfortable and also interesting to drive when corners come around. Jaguar was dominating this segment with their Mark 2 and we wanted to steal sales from them with a better car. To do this, we created the E-Series. This 5 seater saloon aimed to transport businessmen and their products across countries to meet clients in comfort whilst also enjoying themselves on the way. It could also be used as a family car for a more well off customer than those who bought the C-II due to the large boot and spacious cabin. the E-I launched with Mason Engineering's first ever 6 cylinder engine which gave a very smooth drive and power all through the rev range due to a nice torque curve which meant that drivers could stay in 4th gear and still be able to get a move on if needed. It also utilised Mason Engineering's first power steering unit which was standard across the range which made the car much easier to drive.

MODEL OVERVIEW
Steel Monocoque Chassis
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
Semi Trailing Arm Rear Suspension
Steel Body Panels
Longitudinal Engine Placement

E-I TRIMS

E-I 120
1960 PRICE - $2727 OR £938
IN PRODUCTION - 1960-PRESENT



The 120 trim was the base trim at launch with a 113 horsepower 2.2 litre inline 6 engine that managed to shift this car over the quarter mile just as fast as the SD-I. But speed was not what this car was about. The premium interior and standard AM radio made this interior a lovely place to be in for hundreds of miles for all 5 passengers which meant that the 28.4mpg that this car was capable of was a good thing as the passengers didn't need to get out beforehand to stretch their legs.

ENGINE
A200-B22113
2.2 litre (134 cubic inch) Inline 6
113hp (84kw) @ 5200rpm
129ft-lb (175Nm) @ 2900rpm
98 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Automatic Locking Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
175/75R14 Medium Compound Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
275mm (10.8 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
275mm (10.8 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

UNDERTRAY
None

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
5 Seats
Premium Interior
Standard AM Radio
Advanced 60's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
Power Steering

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 11.6s
Top Speed - 104mph (167kph)
Fuel Economy - 28.4 mpg (23.6 US-mpg, 9.95 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 18.54s @ 80mph (129kph)
Weight - 1056kg (2328lb)
62-0mph - 42.3m (138.8ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:04.32
Airfield Track - 1:49.98



E-I 140
1960 PRICE - $3060 OR £1053
IN PRODUCTION - 1960-PRESENT



A 2.5 litre variant of the A200 engine was used for the 140 trim which meant a bump in the power to 134 horsepower and 150ft-lb of torque. This made the E-I even faster and also more comfortable as the designers gave it a better AM radio and a better suspension setup due to the increased weight. Better quality drum brakes were also used meaning that the 22kg weight increase only led to a 0.1m increase in the stopping distance from 62mph. This car was capable of holding its own with sports cars of the day but was also super comfortable for its occupants which made its list price a bargain for the engineering that had gone into the vehicle.

ENGINE
A200-B25134
2.5 litre (153 cubic inch) Inline 6
134hp (100kw) @ 5200rpm
150ft-lb (203Nm) @ 2900rpm
98 Regular Leaded

DRIVETRAIN
RWD
Automatic Locking Diff

GEARBOX
4 Speed Manual

WHEELS AND TYRES
175/75R14 Medium Compound Road Tyres
Steel Rims

BRAKES
275mm (10.8 inch) 2LS Front Drum Brakes
275mm (10.8 inch) SLS Rear Drum Brakes

UNDERTRAY
None

INTERIOR AND SAFETY
5 Seats
Premium Interior
Premium AM Radio
Advanced 60's Safety

DRIVER ASSISTS
Power Steering

SUSPENSION
Progressive Springs
Twin-Tube Dampers
Passive Swaybars

TECHNICAL DATA
0-62mph - 10.9s
Top Speed - 118mph (190kph)
Fuel Economy - 27.4 mpg (22.8 US-mpg, 10.3 lt/100km)
Quarter Mile - 18.18s @ 84mph (135kph)
Weight - 1078kg (2377lb)
62-0mph - 42.4m (139.1ft)
Automation Test Track - 3:01.13
Airfield Track - 1:47.97