Answers to Queries.
Page 14
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Our readers will be informed by the Editor on axy Points connected with the construction or use of commercial motors. Where a direct reply is desired, a starnPed and addressed envelope should be enclosed f a request for _privacy is not specially made, any
query and answer may be Published.
Wheel Tracks in India.
" B." [1,3141 writes :--" We should be very glad if you
• would ask in your valuable paper the usual wheel track in India. Thanking you in anticipation, we remain." ANSWER.—The usual wheel track for a native cart in India, a " hackery," is about 4 feet, but we do not think there is any reason why motor or other vehicles of different tracks should not be used in India.
Nickel versus Japan for Bright Parts.
"ML." [1,315] :--There is no way of renovating the nickel plating on the fittings of your van, and the only thing to be done is to send them away to some firm and have them properly re-done. A good plan would be to have the parts japanned black and subsequently stoved; this finish, although not so showy, is more suitable for the commercial vehicle, which has to run perhaps for long periods through rain, and what is sometimes worse, heavy mists. The japanning would be undertaken by any firm which sells motor accessories.
Vehicles for Hilly District.
"M.O." [1,316] :--In an exceptionally hilly district such as yours there is not the slightest doubt but that a steampropelled vehicle would give you satisfaction in every way. You say that " there is hardly a level half-mile of road within a radius of ten miles of this town," and it is in just such an area that a steam wagon should prove its superiority over a vehicle fitted with an internal-combustion engine. You could get the body built locally, to your own specification. For a vehicle to carry nearly 51 tons, solid rubber tires are out of the question for such work as you propose. If you intend to study the comfort of your driver, and his mate, during inclement weather, fit the body with a serviceable hood, and let this extend well forward in front of the driver's seat.
Gilled-tube or Honeycomb Radiators?
" Merchant " [1,317] :—We regret the apparent delay in answering your query, but the fault is not ours; your letter took five days to complete its journey to our offices. There is really not much to choose between the gilled-tube type or the honeycomb pattern of radiator, if such is properly designed for the work it has to perform, as well as being of ample capacity. There is a tendency, at the present time, to cut down the size of the radiator, in order to add to the smart appearance of a vehicle, but this is a mistake, because a commercial van, or lorry, is bought to do useful work, and to pay its owner a reasonable profit. A small radiator forebodes endless trouble in the future. But there is one great advantage that the gilled-tube pattern has over the other, from the point of view of a commercial user : it can be cheaply repaired if it is damaged by the vehicle to which It is attached running into anything. Another point is that honeycomb radiators frequently leak, as a result of vibration, and this may occur either between the cells themselves or where they are fastened to the surrounding frame. This trouble, however, is not nearly so common as it was, owing to improved design and methods of manufacture, Some excellent honeycomb radiators are advertised in this journal.
Is a Second Man Necessary?
" RM." [1,318] :—It will not be necessary for you to pay the wages of a second man for your delivery van. In the case of a horse-drawn vehicle, an attendant should be available, in order that there may always be one man to watch the horses when they are standing still ; but, with a motorvan, it is an easy matter for the driver to stop his engine when the actual delivery of a parcel takes place, and, if the engine is in good running order, it is just as simple to start up again. Unless you have a maintenance contract with the makers of the vehicle, your driver should be a good mechanic, so that all running repairs can be done in your own garage. If the driver is a good man, and you pay him a fair wage, your maintenance bill will come out low at the end of twelve months.
Back-axle Derangements.
" R.S."11,3191:—If the back wheels incline inwards it is due, in the case of your van, which has a " dead " axle, to one of three things : either the bushes are badly worn ; or, worse, the axle itself has " sagged " in the centre; or, as sometimes happens, especially in the case of a back axle, the journals have been bent upward, owing to the vehicle having been loaded beyond its capacity. In the first case, it is a comparatively easy matter to remedy the fanit ; the hubs need simply be re-bushed. If the trouble is due to either of the two other causes, the axle must be taken dawn and straightened out, or, if it is very much out of truth, it must be replaced by a new one. It is extremely unlikely that you will find anything more serious than that the bushes are badly worn, especially as you say that the vehicle has been very carefully used in the past.