Founded over 125 years ago by British pioneer Alexander Duckham, Duckhams Oils has a rich heritage with great British Classics. PMM delves into some of the iconic British vehicles lubricated by Duckhams that are still gracing our roads and workshops today.
From the original Morris Minor to the luxury of Rollys-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, and more, our Great British Isles have produced incredible cars over the past century. Duckhams Oils have been at the heart of many of these vehicles over the past 125 years of motoring evolution.
William Morris (later Lord Nuffield), the British pioneer of family car mass production, became a personal friend of Alexander Duckham, the founder of Duckhams Oils. Duckhams collaborated on suitable lubricants for Morris cars from their earliest days.
By the 1930s, Duckhams’ New Process Oils were specified by the makers of more than 90 per cent of British cars, including all Austin models, Bentley and Invicta, also enjoying ‘approved’ status from Rolls-Royce.
In 1959, British Motor Corporation launched its ground-breaking new £500 family car, the Morris Mini-Minor. The car’s radical design placed the transmission beneath the crankcase, with the gearbox effectively operating in an extension of the sump. While this was fine for space-saving, it caused problems for the engine oil, which, in addition to suffering the usual contamination, was now expected to act as a gear oil too.
Not surprisingly, there were issues. Probably the greatest of these was the ‘shearing’ effect of the high pressures involved in the gears, which quickly broke down the polymers in ordinary oils, causing loss of viscosity and lubrication properties.
Duckhams came to the rescue. While monograde NOL had been the manufacturer’s original recommendation for the Mini, Duckhams Q20-50 proved to be in a class of its own in this type of engine, maintaining viscosity and reducing the oil leaks that had started to plague the Mini. The mini became a Duckhams icon itself, with the Duckhams ‘Q car’ proving a big attraction wherever it went.
Preserving a legacy
Duckhams was involved in the foundation of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the 1980s, being one of the subscribers to the trust through which the museum was financed. More recently, Duckhams supported the prestigious Federation of British Historic Vehicle Club’s classic car loan project to encourage a new generation of historic vehicle owners.
Today, Duckhams provides the lubrication needed to keep classics in tip-top condition. Products like Duckhams Classic [Q] 20W-50 – the original green multigrade motor oil – are widely recommended in many original owners’ handbooks and suitable for use in older, higher mileage petrol and nonturbocharged diesel classic car engines.
Using updated additive technology and highquality virgin base oils, Duckhams Q meets specifications and provides reliable protection for modern cars as well as being suitable for classic cars pre-dating 1950.
