A NEW ITALIAN 10-CWT. VAN CHASSIS.
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Particulars of the New Fiat 10-cwt. Chassis Which will be Seen by the Public for the First Time at Olympia.
new Fiat 10-cwt. chassis _IL possesses all the good features of the 10-15 h.p. model 501 Fiat touring car chassis, supplemented by others designed to fit it more efficiently for commercial use.
The model 501 engine and gearbox, for example, are used in this new chassis, and the rear-axle design is, to all intents and purposes, the same on both. The wheelbase, however, has been lengthened and the width of the track increased, and these alterations have enabled an increased amount of body space to be afforded—a matter of some. importance in connection with van chassis: The engine, which has a 'bore and stroke of 65 mm. and 110 mm., is a fouroylinder monobloc. It has side-by-side valves mid a detachable head.. A crossshaft at the front of the engine drives the water pump. on the near aide and the magneto on the off side. As one outcome of this arrangement, both pump and magneto have the maximum of accessibility. The lighting generator is chain-driven off the timing gear and is also arranged at the near side of the engine, all the driving mechanism being totally enclosed and the dynamo itself being mounted, to facilitate adjustment of the driving chain, in a split boss, which is cast in one with the crankcase. The starter motor is on tbe tame side as.the engine, and is similarly supported in the ffy Wheel housing. On the off side of the engine there is the ingenious Fiat carburetter, which is bolted directly up to the cylinder block and which embodies a clever economizer arrangement, whereby, on the manipulation of a Bowden-type lever on the dash, the strength of the mixture may be reduced after the engine has got into its stride and is running comfortably.
The outstanding characteristic of the Fiat chassis—namely, their neat and pleasing design, the lack of unnecessary odds and ends of connections and so on— is exemplified, to take one particular instance, in the arrangement of the ignition wires on this engine, these being .enclosed, for the main part, in a flat casting, which is secured by a couple of setscrews to the top of the detachable cylinder head. It is important to note, in view of criticisms which have been madein other directions, that this passion for neatness on the part of the Fiat Co. does not in any degree operate to diminish the accessibility, of the various component parts of the chassis. Before leaving the engine it may be of interest to note. the arrangement of the control gear. The magneto advance and retard mechanism is operated,by means of a friction-held lever on the top of the steering wheel. The throttle is controlled by an accelerator pedal, supplemented by a hand control which takes the form of a:knurled outer tube on the steering column. Mention should he made, too; of the easily visible oil level indicator, which takes the form. of a bar transversing a. window-covered slot in the crankcase.
The engine, crutch and gearbox form one unit, which is three-Point suspended in the main frame and protected by an excellently designed undershield. The clutch is a multiple steul disc, and the gearbox affords four speeds ferward and a reverse.
The controls for both gearbox and hand brake are mounted on the righthand side of the ehassis, and the arrangement, which is peculiar to Fiat cars, is ingenious and commendable, in that there is no risk of binding of the change-speed lever on its spindle when it is moved in a lateral direction. This lever is mounted at One end on a long sleeve ;which is supported by a cross-shaft in ;he chassis. At the other extremity of this sleeve is another lever, the outer end of which is . cupped, and engages a spherical end of the actual change-speed lever, which operates the forks and other mechanism inside the box.
The brakes are both arranged to take . effect on large wide drums attached to tho rear wheels ; they are of the internaleXpanding order, and the drums have radiating fins cast upon their outer surfaces. A particularly interesting feature is the means of adjustment.
The springs are semi-elliptic those on the rear being undershing. The wheels are of the Sankey-type pressed steel and accommodate pneumatic tyres of 765 mm. by 105 mm. section.
The wheelbase of this van is 9 ft. 1 in., track 4 ft. 8 ins.; it has a turning circle of 35 ft., and accommodation for body space, from dash to end of frame, of 7 ft. 9L ins.
It is interesting to note that the total weight of the chassis complete is less than 14 cwt., .and its price is 276.