Salute to a Rebel
Page 46
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AWKWARD people, these road hauliers. Take Mr. Peter Beamish, 42-year-old haulage contractor, of Normanston Drive, Lowestoft. He pleaded guilty at Lowestoft to refusing to fill in part of this year's census form. "I feel that somewhere, some time, somebody bas to make a little stand," he told the Court. " I realize the penalty, but I think the cost will be worth making the protest. It is just my personal feeling with regard to the bureaucrats in Whitehall."
Mr. Beamish was fined £5, with £3 3s. costs.
Son et Lumire
ASMALL slice of history was made when John Moon did his road test of the Leyland-Scammell articulated outfit, the report of which starts on page 250 of this issue, for the complete test was filmed. This is believed to be the first time that a road test of this sort has been covered in this way, and the resulting 15-minute colour and sound film should be available shortly.
The film was made for Leyland Motors, Ltd., by the photographic section of Standard-Triumph, yet another of the valuable acquisitions made by Leyland over the course of the past few years. Strangely enough, filming did not disturb the normal course of the test overmuch, but recording the commentary and sound effects was a different story: all praise B12 though to Brent Laboratories, Ltd., whose recording engineers worked wonders with what seemed like thousands of feet of tape-recorded engine noises.
Front-wheel Drive
A T the recent Hardy Spicer Press function, held to commemorate the production of half a million Birfield constantvelocity joints for B.M.C. Mini-cars and vans, I was particularly interested in a reference in the hand-out to "the trend towards front-wheel-drive vehicles" and in the announcement that "a substantial order has recently been placed by a large British manufacturer for inclusion in a model yet to be announced." Front-wheel-drive offers valuable latitude to the bodybuilder with regard to space and loading height and, undoubtedly, if it were not for. loss of traction on steep gradients, the makers of larger goods-vehicle chassis would also develop front-Vvheeldrive models.
Hydrostatic Transmission
IT is noteworthy that the Hardy Spicer company consider that hydrostatic transmission will probably be developed for all classes of vehicle in the not-too-distant future. In the event, it is likely that the system will take the form of an engine-driven pump feeding an hydraulic motor mounted on the chassis from which the drive will be transmitted to the wheels through short propeller shafts equipped with constant-velocity joints.
Although the use of two wheel-mounted motors for each driving axle would offer a number of advantages, they would add materially to unsprung weight, and this arrangement is considered unsuitable for vehicles operating at higher road speeds.