A Van that has Everything
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/M PROVED in appearance, economy, performance and comfort, the new Austin -1-ton van is an exceptional vehicle. One reason is that, although it is based on a private car, the-suspension and weight distribution are such as to remove most of the instability frequently found with vans of this type, especially at high speeds.
The new van succeeds the A40, which was introduced nine years ago. It has a 47 b.h.p. o.h.v. petrol engine, as opposed to the 42 b.h.p. unit of the earlier model. A new design of four-speed synchromesh gearbox is fitted, and although a steering column gear-change is used, selection of bottom gear presented no difficulties during the test. ,
Integral Construction Integral construction is employed, and although the body panels have been swept to give an improved appearance, little loss of payload capacity has resulted. The van has a capacity of 110.cu. ft, as opPosed to the 116-cu. ft. body of the earlier model:The length 'of the payload' comPartment has' been slightly increaSed,'whilst the flOor line is 3 in. loWer. The floor is a Steel pressing and the Wheel:arehes,-have flat tops.
Full car comfort is given and the tallest f drivers 'Will hot find the driving position cramped: Apart from the absence of a lid tothe faciapanel glove locker and the use of separate bucket seats, the cab is identical to the forward part of the A55 car.
Both cab -doOrs can be locked from
inside or outside, and as they open through almost 90°,' easy access is given to the driving seat from each side of the vehicle, the floor being devoid of hand brake or gear lever. These doors, in common with the twin rear doors, incorporate spring catches which hold them fully open.
The rear doors have large windows, which prove useful when reversing, and the cab doors incorporate swivelling vent lights and quick-acting drop windows, the winders for which need only 14 turns for full travel of the glass.
A high standard of finish has been attained, and the cab has a washable plastics head lining. There is plenty of stowage space, a full-width shelf being located beneath the facia panel, in .addition to the glove locker, but the absence .of an interior light calls for criticism, as, does the provision of only one rear-view mirror. There should be two, mounted on the wings so' that they can be seen through. the wiper arcs in wet weather. (Two will be legally obligatory in 1958.) . The engine is a 1.489-litre fourcylindered unit, and follows conventional B.M.C. practice for B-series engines. It has a full-flow oil fitter, and lead-indium big-end bearings are employed to give Jong life. A Zenith carburetter is used The test vehicle had a lowcompression engine for use With commercial-grade petrols, but .a highcompression (8.3 to 1) unit is offered, this being suitable for premium-grade fuels. The high-compression engine develops 51 b.h.p. at _4,250 .r.p.m., whilst the torque output is 81 111.41. at 2,000 r.p.m..
During the test pronounced pinking was noticed on many occasions— regular fuel being used throughout— and it is possible that the ignition timing, which should be at top dead centre when fully retarded, was a little advanced. Because of the difficulty of reaching the distributor this setting was not, however, checked.
Two-pedal Control Offered
The standard clutch is a 8-in.diameter single-dry-plate unit, but Manumatic two-pedal-control transmission is offered at an additional price of £41 13s. 4.d., including purchase tax, and when this is fitted a 7.25-in.-diameter centrifugal clutch is used. The gearbox has synchromesh engagement of the upper three ratios in each case.
As supplied for test, the van was carrying a load of 10+ cwt., and when it was evenly distributed over the floor, the front wheels were carrying 131 cwt between them, A passenger seat had been fitted, this being an optional extra, and complete with driver and passenger the vehicle was tested at a gross weight of 1 ton 131 cwt.
Hill-climb and brake-fade tests were made on Succombs Hill, this being half a mile long with average inclination of 1 in 9 and sections of up to 1 in 4+. These tests were made in an ambient temperature of 57° F.
At the bottom of the hill, the coolant temperature was recorded as 164° F. and a fast climb was then made in 1 mm. 35 sec. Low gear was required for 7 sec., just past the steepest section of the hill, but most of the climb was made in second gear and it was possible even to engage third for 12 sec. between the two steep sections. The climb caused a coolant-temperature rise of 21° F., which is reasonable in view of the low engine speed during the greater part of the ascent.
Two descents were then made in neutral with the foot brake lightly applied to restrict the speed to 20 m.p.h. Each of these descents lasted just over a minute and " crash " stops from 20 m.p.h. at the bottom of the hill showed no evidence Of fade, other than that slightly harder pedal pressure was required after the second test. The frictional area of the brakes is entirely adequate for all uses.
Returning up the hill the van was stopped in a 1-in-5 Action, where the hand brake held it quite easily. A reasonably smooth first-gear restart was then made using about one-third throttle. Higher up the hill the van was again stopped, this time on the 1 in 41 section, which occurs on a bend. Once again the hand brake proved effective, but it was only just possible to make a getaway in first gear.
It is not often that a +-ton van would be called upon to restart on a gradient of this severity, so I was not unduly troubled• by its performance on the I in 4.-} section. Whilst a slightly lower rear-axle ratio would improve the hill-climbing ability it would detract from the maximum speed which, at over 75 m.p.h., is sufficient to appeal to all overseas users.
Braking tests revealed that despite the 1-ton rear-axle loading, the rear wheels locked when making full pedal-pressure stops. This caused skid marks of up to 25 ft. when braking from 30 m.p.h. on a dry concrete road surface, but, even so, the stopping distances recorded are good for a 1-ton vehicle.
Although the rear wheels locked, skidding was in a straight line. Hand-brake stops made from 20 m.p.h. revealed useful braking power at the rear wheels, 37 per cent. being recorded. It is possible to obtain a 'good pull on the dash-mounted hand brake, the position of which, behind the steering wheel, is not as awkward in use as would appear at first sight.
Although the power-to-weight ratio is not unduly high for a van of this nature, excellent acceleration times were recorded, probably because of a wise choice of rear-axle and gearbox ratios. First, second and third gears were used when ' accelerating from a standstill to 40 m.p.h., and fast and smooth changes were made despite the rather long travel of the gear lever.
No Excessive Judder
The direct-drive figures reveal that the engine performance in this gear is quite satisfactory and there was no excessive transmission judder, even at 10 m.p.h. It is not recommended, however, that top gear be used in town work at speeds much below 20 m.p.h., particularly in view of the extremely lively performance in third gear.
Consumption tests were made along my usual five-mile stretch of road between Sheldon and Meriden, figures being recorded in both directions. This undulating main-road circuit, has in the past been shown io give closely representative figures equal to all conditions of operation.
Tests were made carrying full load, half-load and no load, and when making stops the van was halted for 15 seconds on each occasion, the engine being left idling. Normal acceleration was used from each stop.
Better Figures Possible
It is possible that the figures returned, good as they are, are slightly below those that will be experienced in service, because the fuel tank that had been provided by the makers had been mounted under the bonnet close to the exhaust manifold and was liable to excessive evaporation because of the underbonnet heat.
Tests were made in ambient temperatures varying between 55° F. and 66° F., and coolant checks made periodically showed that the radiator
B10 temperature was consistently 100° F. above ambient.
The results obtained show a fairly wide difference between non-stop running and simulated local-delivery working: this is only to be expected with a power-to-weight ratio of below 1.4 to 1, but even so the van is unexpectedly economical, whether making four stops per mile or run ning non-stop. During the tests a road speed of between 35 m.p.h. and 40 m.p.h. was maintained.
The van is extremely manceuvrable and gives a good forward range of driving vision. It is as pleasant to drive as its car counterpart and every bit as safe.
Several passengers commented on the comfortable, roomy cab. the quietness of the power unit and the smoothness of the sus,
pension at all speeds and over all types of surface. Up to 50 m.p.h., in fact, there is little engine noise detectable in the cab, and gear whine in the indirect ratios is by no means excessive.
The test van had an efficient freshair heating and ventilating system: /this is available as optional equipment, and full provision has been made for it to be completely built in. Amber flashing direction-indicator lights are standard fittings; and are separate from the front and rear lights and thus easily distinguishable to other road users.
Comprehensive Instruments
Instrumentation is fairly comprehensive and the speedometer incorporates two mileometers, one of which is graduated in tenths of a mile and has a trip mechanism. A thermometer is included and although this registers only cold, normal and hot, it proved useful on one occasion when the radiator drain tap worked loose and the cool ing system emptied itself!
The excellence of the steering and suspension was demonstrated to the full over a stretch of grass-covered rough ground where, despite the relatively small ground clearance at the rear of the van, it was possible to travel at high speed in complete comfort. Even over very bad ground, traction was maintained at the rear wheels.
was not impressed by the nearly horizontal petrol filler neck, which is located just behind the right-hand cab door. It is extremely difficult to fill the tank from cans and on several occasions when petrol was being obtained from a fast-flowing pump, air locks in the tank caused spillage of fuel.
ct root extractor vent would be an asset.
Maintenance tests revealed that with the exception of certain engine components, the van has been designed with an eye towards easy maintenance. It took 12 seconds to raise the bonnet and a further 5 seconds to check the water level in
the radiator. The engine-oil level was verified in 25 seconds, this time being a little longer than normal because the dipstick tended to gel mixed up with the ignition leads.
The 12v. battery is stowed above the off-side front wheel and I checked the cell levels in 34 seconds. The brake and clutch-fluid levels were each checked in 7 seconds, there being two combined master cylinders and reservoirs adjacent to each other mounted on the scuttle pressing. The fusebox is on the opposite side of the scuttle and the fuse was changed in 20 seconds.
A gauze-type air cleaner is fitted, so that there was no oil level to check, and the carburetter main and compensating jets, which are housed in the float-chamber bowl, were removed in a total time of 1 minute and replaced in 1+ minutes. One of the bowl-securing bolts has a square end which acts as a jet key.
I was able to check the make-andbreak gap in 2 minutes, but this was not particularly easy because the distributor is located low on the right of the cylinder block and is partially obscured by the battery, coil and heating motor. The cylinder-block drain tap, which lies behind the distributor, is almost impossible to reach.
For accurate work on the distributor it is advisable to remove the battery, and to this end the battery is secured by only one wing nut.
The sparking plugs are not particularly difficult to reach, and I was able to remove No. 1 plug in half a minute and replace it in a similar time. A box spanner is provided in the tool kit for this job, whilst the screw-driver provided acts as a tommy.
Access to the gearbox dipstick is through a rubber plug in the cab floor. The floor is covered by a rubber mat, but this is quite easy to lift and replace, and the gearbox level was checked in the total time of 33 seconds.
The spare wheel is carried on a hinged tray below the rear of the body. This tray is supported by a long bolt, which is turned by inserting the wheel brace through a hole in the van floor (this could mean moving some of the load at times). It is not difficult to remove the wheel or replace it, and these two operations were carried out in 48 and 56 seconds respectively.
Reasonable Price
I Was thoroughly satisfied with the performance of this new Austin van. It offers the best in current practice at a most reasonable price. It is neat but commodious, fast but economical, and attractive, comfortable and well-finished. Its basic price is £487, plus £71 18s. 3d, purchase tax.
A +-ton pick-up, specifically designed for overseas use and having a particularly roomy cab, is also available. This has a similar mechanical specification, thus its performance will be directly comparable with that of the van tested.
The pick-up has a payload space of 40 cu. ft. and the tailboard and side panels are double-skinned for strength. Like the van, it is available with left-hand drive.