Daimler Majestic - Construction

Construction

A minor evolution of the preceding Regency the Majestic, like all new Daimlers following 1937's New Fifteen, was designed around that same massive cruciform-braced box-section chassis equipped with André Girling's design of coil-sprung independent front suspension with a well-located hypoid bevel driven 'live' rear axle using semi-elliptic springs.

The Majestic's four-wheel Lockheed-servo-assisted Dunlop disc brakes were regarded as a first for a British production car. It was the first saloon car without any claim to a sportscar nature to be equipped with disc brakes. An emergency or handbrake was provided by fitting special pads to the rear brake discs which were operated by cables and rods.

The engine, slightly larger than the Regency's, was an inline six of 3.8 litres (3794 cc), based on previous Daimler sixes with pushrod operated overhead valves and retaining the 107.95 millimetre (4.25-inch) stroke, but with the bore increased to 86.36 millimetres (3.4 inches) from the 82.55 millimetres (3.25 inches) of the One-O-Four, giving a power output of over 147 brake horsepower (110 kW) at 4,400 rpm and produced 209 lb·ft (283 N·m) of torque at 2,800 rpm. The Majestic had a maximum speed of around 180 km/h (112 mph) but see Performance below. To help with the increase in the bore, the cylinder block was considerably enlarged to allow for the fitting of completely new liners: dry liners as present on the One-O-Four were absent on the Majestic. The Borg-Warner transmission required repositioning of the starter motor and consequent modifications to the crankcase and cylinder block castings. The crankshaft has four main bearings, integral balance weights and a torsional vibration damper mounted at the front.

The top of the radiator was lowered 2 inches from the One-o-Four's. The styling of the Majestic is similar to, but wider and with smoother lines than the short lived Regency One-O-Four model it replaced. Interior width was increased by approximately 4 inches by extending the sides to the edge of the car. The handsome body is massive with a conventional high waistline —the doors later seemed to be high with narrow windows— and a rounded rear window. There are two standard-sized headlamps at the front extremities with Daimler's usual pair of fog lamps or driving lights just above low-set bumpers. There are plain disc wheels.

The usual Daimler luxury fittings included: heating and ventilating equipment, windscreen washer, cigar lighter, lockable glove compartment, two courtesy lights when any door is opened, special reading lights for passengers, spring-balanced lid for the luggage compartment which is illuminated when the car sidelights are in use, etc.