Wolseley 4/50.
This old photograph has no notes on the rear, so where the Wolseley was photographed I cannot say. At first glance, I assumed it was a 6/80 saloon, but the lack of sidelights under the headlights made me wonder if it was something different. A high-res scan of the photo showed different badging on the bonnet sides, and another look at the photo showed that the bonnet and front wings weren't as long as those to be found on the six cylinder 6/80. This only left the 4/50, the smaller four cylinder brother of the '6'. The Wolseley shown has no number plates visible, which again makes me wonder if this is a press photo, or perhaps an in-house photograph of a pre-production 4/50. It also has painted headlamp surrounds, when production cars I believe featured chrome plating.
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More information about the 4/50 Wolseleys.
Both the 4/50 and 6/80 Wolseleys were introduced in 1948, and sold until the early 1950s until such time as the 4/44 and 6/90 were ready for production. If the shape looks familiar, there is a good reason for this - the bodyshell, from the screen backwards, was shared with another Nuffield Organisation product, the four cylinder Morris Oxford MO. The front end of both Wolseleys featured the traditional upright grille (slightly narrower on the 4/50 when compared to the 6/80), with illuminated Wolseley badge to keep their loyal customers on side. The 4/50 was offered with a single auxiliary lamp mounted on the front, whereas the 6/80 had a matching pair.
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Under the skin, the 4/50 was powered by an engine of 1476cc fed by a single SU carburettor. Problems with the valve arrangement on this engine (and on the six cylinder version) could lead to burnt engine valves, and the head was prone to cracking if the engine overheated at all. As with the Minor, leaf springs can be found at the rear, with a torsion bar arrangement handling the angles up front. Records suggest that only 8,925 Wolseley 6/50s were built between 1948 and 1952, with very few examples surviving to this day. The 4/50 was a monocoque design, so any major rust issues would soon sound the death knell for a tired 4/50, so this combined with the engine's tendency for unreliability back in the day, ensured that few would survive into the new millenium.
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