Armstrong Siddeley Heritage Trust
Armstrong Siddeley 234 & 236 Sapphire
The Sapphire 234 and 236 were two cars identical in appearance but equipped with different engines. The 236 was fitted with the six-cylinder 2,310 cc engine with the option of either a conventional 4-speed gearbox or a Manumatic semi-automatic. The 234 had a four-cylinder engine of 2,309 cc and used a conventional 4-speed gearbox, wire wheels were an option on this model. Overdrive was an extra cost option on both models.
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Internally both cars were similar except for the 234 model housing a rev-counter centrally on its dashboard
The following three images are of an Armstrong Siddeley 234 that was converted to a DHC by Eric Sokell, to the original factory spec. Sadly, this model was never produced by the factory.
Here are the two engine variants available for this range of motor cars. The right-hand image is of the 234 engine, four cylinders of the 346 engine, which gave the car an impressive performance but a somewhat harsh ride. The left-hand image is of the 236 engine, an up-rated version of the earlier 18hp engine, this gave a more sedate performance with a silky smooth ride.
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These pictures are early factory publicity shots, close examination of the right-hand picture shows the grills on either side to the radiator grill have square edges to it them, this marks it out as a preproduction Amethyst version
Both models were known as either 234 or 236 Sapphire's which helped to confuse the buying public with the 346 Sapphire. Research by the Heritage Trust of factory images has shown that the model was known as the Amethyst during the development phase, please click on the Amethyst button to read about this program
