DESIGN details for many of the passenger-car engines being built in Britain are presented here. Illustrations are used, wherever available, to make the details clear to the reader.
The author points out that the well-known Royal Automobile Club formula is no longer used in determining the British vehicle tax. This formula was considered by many British designers a millstone around their necks. It is based on piston area, and so they were almost forced to design their engines with small bore and long stroke to keep down taxes on the car.
Thus, the author reveals, the present tendency seems to be toward cylinder proportions approaching square and, in some cases, even over-square.