No car as special and as uniquely-conceived, as the ‘Chain-gang’ Frazer Nash comes into existence without precedent. In this case, designer, Archie Frazer Nash, had already been involved in the GN business, where he had proved the worth of the extremely simple, but effective, chain drive transmission.
Setting up on his own in Kingston-on-Thames (though assembly soon moved to Isleworth, in Middlesex), Frazer Nash decided to make a sports car so simply engineered that it could be dismantled like a gigantic Meccano set (some owners got very used to doing this!), which would use proprietary water-cooled four-cylinder or six-cylinder engines, and a four-speed-and-reverse transmission with dog engagement of various sprockets linked by chain to the rear axle. The first were delivered in 1924, the last in 1939, by which time their popularity had ended.
Chassis were very simple, with stiff cantilever leaf springs at front and rear (Archie Frazer Nash was said to have been mortally offended if any one of these was seen to deflect) and high-geared steering. Highly responsive handling was therefore assured.
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The chain drive layout was so simple that critics often questioned its efficiency: the drawbacks were that chains could, and often did, snap, and the links had to be cleaned and oiled at least every 500 miles. There was no torque-splitting differential, so the Nash needed a narrow rear track to ensure that tyres were not prematurely worn out: traction, on the other hand, was excellent.
Because the ‘Chain gang’ (the reason for the nickname is quite obvious) was light and handled so well, its competitive potential was obvious, even though the styling (and the poor aerodynamic shape) never allowed high speeds to be attained. Over the years, more suitable engines were chosen. Original cars had Power Plus units; British Anzani followed, and Meadows overhead-valve types powered the first batch of ‘TT Replica’ examples. There was even the choice of twin-cam Blackburne six-cylinder units, and a single-cam ‘Gough four’. Many variants were named after sporting successes: ‘Shelsley’ after the British hillclimb, ‘Boulogne’ after a French racing circuit, and of course ‘TT Replica’ after the Tourist Trophy race in the Isle of Man where the cars performed so well.
Low, narrow, open to the elements, and utterly single-purpose, these were singular cars for the individualist. Only about 350 were built in 15 years.
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