THE LATEST FOR COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS.
Page 70
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A New Clyno Dual-purpose Vehicle Which Can be Used for Business or Pleasure.
AFEW weeks ago we had an opportunity for describing the new light van which the Clyno Engineering Co. (1922), Ltd., Wolverhampton, has recently placed on the market, and that the company is preparing to cater for another branch of the commercial side of the business is indicated by the recent introduction of a dual-purpose
model. The new vehicle is built and equipped so that it can meet the requirements of the commercial traveller for the normal part of the working week, after which it can be employed as an ordinary saloon car, the transformation being made possible by the removal of certain fittings—the work of a few minutes.
As a matter of fact the new dual-purpose vehicle has a chavis similar to that used in the light van, and it would not be out of place to refresh the memories of our readers with the salient features of the design. The engine is a fourcylindered monobloc with a bore of 66 mm. and a stroke of 100 ram., its cubic capacity being 1,368. The R.A.C.
1344 rating of the unit is 10.8 h.p., but the brake horse-power developed at 1,500 r.p.m. is 16 and at 2,950 r.p.m. 25.
Lubrication is attended to by a submerged plunger pump which is operated direct from the camshaft, and it forces oil to the timing gears, main bearings and troughs under the big-ends. A Lucas. higb-tension magneto is used and carburation is effected by a Cox-Atmos component. The cooling water is circulated on the thermo-siphonic principle.
The engine power is conveyed through an internal-cone clutch and thence to a three-speed-and-reverse gearbox, The box is mounted at the forward end of the torque tube and anchored on the centre cross-member of the chassis by a patent type of housing which automatically takes up wear.
The propeller shaft is, as we have indicated, enclosed and it takes the drive to the rear axle, the final drive being by spiral bevels. The chassis design includes the provision of four-wheel brakes of Clyne design, the internalexpanding shoes working in drums of 12 ins. diameter. The front and rear brakes are operated by compensated and interconnected controls, the connections being made through high-tensile steel rods.
We have now given a summary of the main chassis details and can proceed to a brief description of the body and the means by which it can be altered to meet two distinct needs. The picture reproduced on this page shows the vehicle in its commercial guise, and the manner in Which_ a. series of shelves is fitted can be seen. The rear of the body includes in its design four vertical support battens which are grooved for carrying shelves—three in number—.
these being bolted in position. The shelves are 42i ins, long and 31i ins. wide and are slightly inclined. Each shelf is adjustable and has a front guard rail which prevents goods from falling off.
Apart from carrying samples on the &helves other goods or personal luggage can be housed in the space between the back of the driver's seat and the front of the shelves, this being 18 ins. wide. Covers for the windows are provided for use when the vehicle is engaged on traveller's work, these being of plywood, covered with material to represent blinds. Plywood is also used for covering the interior panels of the body.
The equipment is simple in the extreme, but quite sufficient for the needs of the average commercial traveller. It can be removed in less than five minutes and replaced by the usual seat squabs which form part of the equipment of the saloon car.
The ordinary saloon car has certain drawbacks for commercial traveller's uses, one being that it does not impress as a businesslike turnout. The new Clyno model removes this disability and, apart from enabling samples to be Wt in an orderly condition where they are not liable to damage, it possesses the merit of being readily convertible to pleasure uses without any evidence of its workaday activities being retained. These features, plus the fact that the vehicle sells complete at £210, should db much to ensure its success.