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Road Exp

22nd December 1933
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Page 38, 22nd December 1933 — Road Exp
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ROBUST NI

V 2-TONNER 0 NE of the most interesting new 1934 models in the 2-ton class is the Thornycroft Handy, and there is justification for expecting that users of commercial vehicles having had the opportunity a examining it at the recent Show at Olympia and of studying its construc

Built for manceuvrability and economy of operation, designed to afford a big body space for its chassis dimensions, and incorporating several ingenious methods of weight, saving, the Handy has a 9-ft. wheelbase, 36-ft. turning circle, petrol consumption equivalent to 16 m.p.g., and unladen weight, in the form tested, of 2 tons 5 cwt., so that it comes easily within the £.30-tax class.

Considering that its chassis price of 343 includes a large • and well-built cab, that it is a • machine of particularly robust ' construction, that it is in the first rank of British commercial vehicles, and that it carries a

• reputation of which the B32

Thornycroft concern may be justly proud, its first cost is no less attractive than its other characteristics.

On the day of our test we set out from the maker's London depot, near Vauxhall Bridge, in a black fog and drizzling rain—conditions that could hardly be worse for negotiating the traffic that lay before us on our route to the north of London. The manner, however, in which the Handy wormed its way through the crowded streets and out of the gloom, and its immunity from skidding on the greasy surfaces and slippery tramways we traversed, impressed us greatly, Furthermore, the time occupied put us well ahead of our originally planned schedule when we reached the foot of Brockley Hill, at the end of the Edgware Road, which we had selected for our hillclimbing test.

From what we had already observed of the machine's performance, we were not surprised to .find that it made light of this ascent. Approaching the gradient at about 19 m.p.h. in top gear, the machine lost speed as it climbed, but reached a point some 100 yards short of the beginning of the 1-in-8 section before " third" was engaged at 15 m.p.h.

The steeper slope demanded a still lower ratio, but first gear was not needed, our road speed never dropping appreciably below 9 m.p.h. Indeed, from the moment of engagement of " second " the speedometer needle moved steadily up the scale, recording 13 m.p.h. (actual) as the summit was attained. The bare quarter of a mile from the stone post near the foot of the steep section to the water trough at the top occupied exactly one minute.

When testing vehicles in this district, our regular custom, as readers of these reports will remember, is to investigate the manner in which they restart on the 1-in-fl portion of Cocks Hill just to the east of Elstree.. Deceptive in appearance, it has been greeted with contempt but remembered with respect by snore than a few drivers in the ' past, and this occasion proved no exception. We asked the demonstrator accompanying us to stop at the appointed spot and to restart. Under-estimating the gradient, he attempted to do so in second gear, but failed. On the lowest ratio, however, no difficulty at all was encountered.

Both the hand brake and the clutch functioned faultlessly during these operations. With the atmosphere-at about freezing point, the temperature of the cooling water after the hillclimbing test was found to be 174 degrees F.

Investigations of the accelerative powers of the Handy were next carried out. The curves shown in an accompanying graph were plotted from the mean figures obtained B33 on rims in both directions over the same stretch of approximately level road. They indicate a satisfactory turn of speed, a lively flexible engine and a quick gear changer Some difficulty was experienced in finding suitable surfaces for brake tests, as experiments on concrete and smooth tarmac—wet and slippery— resulted in fruitless sliding about. However, certain level patches of wellgritted tarmac were found to afford a type of surface on which skidding was reduced to a minimum, and here some figures quite creditable, despite the conditions, were obtained. They could doubtless be improved upon, however, on dry roads.

The skidding experiences were not without their interest, as they revealed the

reaction of the Handy to violent braking On slippery roads. Although its course in. this combination of circumstances was not straight in the sense of the vehicle remaining parallel with the line of the road, the path of the centre, about which it tended to rotate through a few degrees, fulfilled this condition.

Furthermore, no marked feeling of inseverity was conveyed to the occupants of the vehicle, and the possibility of its overturning through striking some low obstruction, even at the highest speeds at which the experiments were made, seemed remote.

Braking tests revealed that the Marelli servo gear came into action almost without • time lag, and, accordingly, that but little advantage resulted from using both brakes simultaneously.

The effect of the hand brake alone was not markedly inferior to that of the foot

brake—an extremely important point in ,our opinion—and the use of the former in conjunction with the latter, despite the wet roads, did not promote greatly increased skidding, as is often the case.

We referred earlier to the fact that the day on which we conducted these tests was a cold one. In this connection we would make a criticism of the method of ventilation of the cab. On forward-control vehicles the heat of theengine in summer is liable to raise the temperature of the cab unpleasantly, and, apparently as a precaution

against this, the designer of the Handy has placed the szoneguard which forms part of the front of the cab some inches ahead of the radiator, beyond which the sides of the housing do not extend. Consequently, a big volume of air enters the cab through the space thus formed, and no provision was made to reduce it on the model we tested. As e result, a draught blows continually on to the legs of both driver and passenger—an unpleasant state of affairs in frosty weather.

In other respects the cab is a particularly good one, an exceptionally unrestricted outlook in all directione being afforded. It is also free from drumming—the noise from the power unit never rendering conversation impossible without unduly raising the voice.

One of our illustrations shows bow the cab can be lifted off the chassis as a unit, leaving the engine, etc., accessible for overhaul. The operation is

quite simple, only five bolts having to be undone. Another characteristic that should be mentioned is that it is easy to get in and out of the cab by a step in front of the wing.

Starting and finishing at the junction of the Barnet By-pas and the LondonCoventry road, the route chosen for measurement of petrol

consumption w a s through Welwyn and Codicote to a point some 2.5 miles short of' Hitchin and back. This run included the long slope up beside Welwyn Garden City on the outward journey, and Welwyn and Digswell hills on the return. For only the second of these three aclivities was third gear needed. The last was ascended at a steady 22 m.p.h. The distance was 34 miles, the time 1i hour (average speed 22.7 m.p.h.) and the quantity of fuel consumed two gallons and one pint (16 m.p.g.);

Although the petrol tank on the Handy we tested was equipped with a calibrated glass tubular gange, we did not rely upon its accuracy, but carefully measured in a receptacle of known capacity the quantity required to bring the fuel in the tank up to its original level.

Earlier in the day our suspicions of the speedometer's precision had been aroused. Accordingly, we carried out a series of careful checks of the distance recorder against milestones, over some 10 miles. These showed that it was recording 10 per cent. below the actual mileage traversed. A timed mile covered at constant speed proved the speed recorder to be at fault to the same extent. Therefore, every reading taken during the day was corrected. The explanation of its inaccuracy put forward was that it had gears for the alternative tyre equipment, namely, 6.50-in.-2()-in. This does not seem to account for so large an error, but its existence was proved to our satisfaction in the manner described.

In view of the novel frame construction and spring Mountings employe4 on the Handy, it was with no mean interest that we observed its riding qualities and' stability. Perhaps our brake-test experiences and the freedom from skidding noticed earlier. demonstrated the latter characteristic most emphatically, whilst with regard to the former we are able to state that in traversing road surfaces known from past experience to be definitely rough, the smoothness of our progress was but little affected. The combination of strength and lightness afforded by the' box construction of the cross-members and the use of built-up.:spring brackets, etc., seems satisfactory

The vehicle is intended for really hard work, and designed 'to •give long and reliable service under exacting conditions, to withstand overloading, and to tow a trailer, if necessary. . We have no hesitation in predicting that it will fulfil these objects and do so without making markedly greater demands upon the repair shops.

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