BIG4 sidecar (details) variations  (iss. 138)

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This page intends to categorize the variations found on military BIG4 sidecars. Parts which to my knowledge have not changed are not mentioned.

Variation one:
Sidecar as found on the pre production series of 1938. In this case the sidecar was provided with a windshield for the passenger and the spare wheel fitted to the wooden box behind the passenger seat. This version had provisions to carry a Brengun on teh off side of the sidecar.
Series production was built without the windscreen and in some cases provided with a tray to transport a rifle on the near side of the sidecar.

Variation two:
Sidecar for armed passenger fitted with a Motley mount gun support. The wooden box was deleted or replaced by a smaller one and the spare wheel was fitted on the front.
A single example has been found which also was fitted with a Thompson machine gun mount to be operated by the rider. This was also fitted to a or some Model 18 and 16H motorcycles, likely for evaluation purposes but failing in usefullness

Variation three:
Sidecar for transport of goods with a so called "AA type" sidecar box, which was 9 inches longer than the standard AA box.

(This referred to the pre war (UK) Automobile Association sidecars which were used to carry tools and basic spare parts to keep members of the AA mobile in case of break downs. Similar boxes were also used by the Dutch "Wegenwacht" after the war, but then mounted to BSA's or Harley Davidsons.)

Special variation:
Two combinations were modified at the Small Arms School (S.A.S.)  to carry a 3.2 inch Ordnance ML-3 mortar on a platform mounted onto the chassis of the sidecar. (ref. O&M).  It was not a succes as the mortar needed a three man crew but could only carry two.

First variation mentioned in each row is the oldest, variations in one column not necessarily same time frame between rows.

	Item	Variation one	Variation two	Variation three	Variation four
Body	Body	Standard passenger body rear mounted spare wheel (preproduction series with windshield and missing valance on front mudguard)	Passenger body front mounted spare wheel, Motley mount with Bren gun, low wooden  chest at rear.	AA type box sidecar, spare wheel at the rear	Experimental Ordnance ML 3-inch  mortar mounted on sidecar chassis
		Near side rifle carrier fitted.	Standard passenger body heavily armed with Motley mounted Bren gun and supported Thompson MG, likely a one-off
Electrical parts	Side lamp
	axle flood light	Lucas L-WDAF1