THE BRUSSELS SALON
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THE industrial-vehicle section of the Brussels Salon, which opened on Saturday last, and closes on December 14, is by far the most important exhibition of its kind yet seen in Belgium, writes our own representative. Last year's show was poor because the " heavies " were ousted from their special building and squeezed into the Palais de in Cinquantenaire, amongst private ears. They have now returned to the great annexe building, also occupying a second hall.
The Belgian national industry is worthily represented by Minerva, F.N., Brossel, Dasse, Miesse, Bovy, etc. France has, as usual, the largest representation, but the German contingent is particularly strong and there are many interesting newcomers to the Show.
Compression-ignition engines are the leading feature of the Salon, for Belgium is not a whit behind France in follAing the oil-engine movement. The Miesse concern exhibits the Gardner unit, for which it has obtained manufacturing rights, and the six-cylindered engine staged attracts much attention, whilst a four-cylindered model is to be seen mounted in the Miesse standard type-42 51-ton chassis.
No special changes are made in Miesse petrol vehicles for 1932, apart from the adoption of a new and rather striking form of radiator.
A detail noted in the big Miesse sixcylinder bus chassis is the transmission brake, in which twin discs, in one casting with a i-in. air space between them for cooling purposes, are gripped between shoes operating on their outer faces. Lockheed hydraulic control, much favoured in Belgium, is employed for the wheel brakes, whilst a neat and simple form of individual adjustment for each shoe is provided by means of eccentrics and small levers in notched quadrants on the back plate.
Ons of the high spots of the show is the new Minerva oil engine, an adaptation of the famous sleeve-valve petrol unit of that make.
The new engine is being produced in four-cylindered and six-cylindered forms, the example shown being a " six " with a bore of 115 ram. and stroke of 140 mm., giving it a total cylinder capacity of 8.7 litres.
The cylinders are cast in pairs and the one-piece crankshaft is mounted on seven bearings, whilst the pistons, which are particularly long, have four compression rings and two scrapers. Sleeve operation is carried out on similar lines to that in the Minerva petrol engine, i.e., with roller-chain drive to the eccentric shaft.
Direct injection is employed, the injectors being mounted centrally in the cylinder heads, whilst the fuel pump is the new Scintilla device described in our issue dated October 28. Careful attention has been paid to the cooling arrangements and to obtain a correct distribution of water between the three blocks. The water pump is coupled directly to the fan shaft. A 24-volt dynamo is mounted on the off side of the engine, beneath the fuel pump, both the dynamo and pump shafts being driven by roller chain.
The four-cylindered model is of similar design and has the same bore and stroke. A 6 h.p. electric starter is employed on these engines.
Another interesting exhibit on the Minerva stand is the big lowlevel bus chassis with offset transmission to an inverted pottype rear axle. The standard Minerva six-cylindered engine is employed. As with other big Belgian passenger chassis, suspension arrangements are on particularly robust lines.
The M.A.N. exhibits are of particular interest, the most impressive oil-engine in the show being staged by this concern. The unit shown is a 120-mm. by 180-mm. six-cylindered model of 12.2 litres capacity, developing considerably over 100 b.h.p. at 1,400 r.p.m. The cylinders are cast in monobloc form and the detachable heads are in groups of three.
The Bosch fuel pump and injection system are employed, and the valves, operated by push-rods and rockers are mounted vertically in the cylinder heads. Direct injection is used, the injectors being arranged centrally, without precombustion chambers.
A complete Jong chassis and an oilengined tractor are also exhibited. The chassis has certain points of interest, particularly in the matter of transmission. A solid rear axle consisting of a substantial drop forging is employed, final drive from the de shafts to the wheels being by straight pinions which act as a double-reduction gear.
The Krupp concern stages three chassis, two of which merit special notice. One is a big oiler with a Junkers threecylindered engine and the other, a 24tonner with the remarkable Krupp aircooled engine, of which we were able to publish first details some time ago. This is a horizontally opposed four-cylindered unit with positive air-cooling by turbine fan.
The engine, which has a bore and a stroke of 90 mm. and 120 mm. respectively, develops 60 b.h.p. at 2,500 r.p.m. The crankcase, fan housing and clutch housing are formed from a single aluminium casting, with cover plates above and beneath, the lower one comprising an oil sump. A Siemens dynamo starter is coupled to the nose of the crankshaft and the valves are operated from a central camshaft. The cylinder heads project beyond the casing and are provided with a great number of fine, deep fins.
New Belgian oilers are shown by Brossel, which employs the MercedesBenz engine, one of these being mounted in the Brossel chassis. Amongst other oil-engined exhibits, those of Satires and Biissing are notable.
Saurer stages .seven vehicles, five of them being oil-driven. The gigantic Saurer oil-engined six-wheeled chassis
is the only vehicle rivalling in dimensions the Biissing six-wheeled 85-passenger bus. Biissing, as usual, has one of the largest stands in the show, staging a remarkable range of chassis.
Mercedes-Benz shows nothing but oilengined chassis, including the large sixcylindered six-wheeler, which has twin, bevel-driven rear axles. A feature of this chassis is the large-diameter torque tube, formed from a steel casting.
The Compagnie Lilleoise des Moteurs has an important stand, displaying all models of the well-known Peugeot Junkers engine, whilst another interesting compression-ignition exhibit is the remarkable Serste engine, which is shown in movement. This curious unit, which Las a pneumatically operated cliff valve for the exhaust, was frilly described in The Comvmrcial Motor some time ago.
It cannot be said that Belgian commercial coachbuilders are keeping pace with the rapid mechanical development of the industry, although the workmanship is good.
Passenger vehicle bodies are not so numerous as usual in the Salon, but Jonckheeres have some tile examples, one being a 40-seater on a Minerva chassis and another a luxury coach exhibited on the Minerva stand, A third Joneitheeres exhibit worthy of mention is a 22-seater .bus, with accommodation for a dozen or more standing passengers, for service in Antwerp.
A feature noted amongst passenger bodies is the increasing use of leather upholstery.
Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., shows four chassis, including the R.E.L., the T.X., the T.X.P.I. and the R.P. Morris interests always appear to be particularly well served in Belgium, and it may be mentioned that the stand of Morris Motors, Lid., in the car section marks a fine effort in the way of British enterprise abroad. It is a pity from many points of view that other British makers do not exhibit.
The light parcels-delivery vehicles shown are all of the fore-car type, some of the Belgian motorcycle manufacturers displaying useful examples, those of F.N. and Spiegel being outstanding.
Dasse has a fine new eight-cylindered bus chassis, in which the propeller shaft is in three sections, with four rlardy joints and two supports, a transmission brake being mounted on the forward end of the rear section. The rear axle is a particularly cleal1 assembly, employing S.M.V. pinions.
The Truck and Tractor Appliance Co. has a big stand, staging a full range of its products, including three-way tipping gears, trailers with oscillating suspension, etc.
It may be said without question that the general atmosphere of the Belgian show is quite different from that of a year ago. In spite of the difficulties of the moment, there is an air of gcnoine business and, during the opening days of the Salon, exhibitors expressed themselves as already satisfied with ties trend of affairs.
France is represented by Bernard, Chenard and Wrilcker, Citro6n, Delahaye, Lath, Panhard-Levassor, Peugeot, Renault, Saurer, etc., and the United States by Dodge Bros., which has an enormous stand, Federal, Ford, International Liberty and Studebaker, the American contingent being much smaller than usual.
In Belgium, as in France, the sale of American goods is becoming more difficult, whilst, in the case of British pro7 duets, present exchange conditions are operating in our favour,