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Ten Years of Progress in Two.
Page 119
Page 120
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ORLD-WIDE interest will certainly be taken lY in the Commercial Vehicle Exhibition which opens it doors on Thursday, for no other industry can claim to have made such vast strides between Shows as will then be proved to be the ease. In fact, the commercial vehicle industry of this country has set an example to all others at home and abroad, and as transport is the life blood of a nation it goes to prove that the vitality of Britain still exists in an undiminished measure. What the visitor, or the reader of our report, will find so remarkable is that the improvements effected have not been confined to any particular part of the vehicle or type of vehicle, but are general, and it is particularly gratifying to this journal to find that many of the improvements which have been advocated by it for years are now in being.
• The most striking of these are reasonably low frame levels, four-wheel braking with assistance given to the driver in many cases by some form of servo mechanism, rigid-frame six-wheeled vehicles, lighter construction by better design and the use of different materials, and better means for lubricating the chassis.
One striking development will be in connection with the six-cylindered engine, many important makers having produced efficient and powerful units of which the smoothness of running must be experienced to be believed, and some of these engines embody features which are almost revolutionary in their conception and execution.
Most of the principal manufacturers will exhibit rigid-frame six-wheelers, and one or two who do not actually stage such vehicles will have them demonstrating outside the Show. It is probable that certain of the new designs of these and other types of vehicle will open up new markets, and for this reason some ranges of chassis are being considered as additional to those already existing, although, in most cases, the older models will appear in a greatly improved form.
It is claimed by servo-braking enthusiasts that 90 per cent. of the makers will stage chassis embodying some type of this mechanism. Certainly we are all in favour of helping the driver, as far as possible, for his is no light task with the higher speeds and steadily increasing congestion of traffic.
It has been recognized by chassis builders that the flexible frame is of little use in the commercial
vehicle ; in fact, it is one of the biggest thorns in the side of the bodybuilder, and it will be found on this occasion that there has been a general stiffening up of this part of the chassis, every effort being made to reduce racking to a negligible amount, some of the frames being cross-trussed or provided vvth large tubular cross-members which are highly resistant to torsional stresses.
Accessibility is another point of great importance which has been receiving mature consideration and which is especially necessary where' a chassis is equipped for forward control, and! it will be noticed that in the majority of engines all the important auxiliaries are being concentrated at the near side, whilst in certain types in which the dash is carried flush with the radiator it is so constructed that it can be altogether removed or swung clear of the engine in a few minutes. Big efforts have been made to ensure adequate lubrication of every part of the chassis without necessitating the driver adopting uncomfortable attitudes or getting under the chassis, which he will often neglect to do. Consequently, use is being madeof reservoirs giving a constant supply, the "one shot" system or batteries of grease nipples arranged on the chassis frame and within easy reach of the operator.
The employment of rubber for cushioning engine and gearbox vibrations and shocks to the body is exuding rapidly, and suspension improvements include springs in which the strength is automatically variable to load, and the employment of shock absorbers, particularly for the front springs. These and the use of pneumhtic tyres have assisted in the production of vehicles 'affording a degree of comfort which but a year or two ago would have been considered impossible to achieve.