Merriworth-Morton's 'Specials' for Hillman Imps
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r0 interesting designs have been dieveloped by Merriworth (Engineering) Ltd., Dartford, Kent, in conjunction with Morton's (Coventry) Ltd., for transport concerned with the new Hillman Imp private car. One of the designs is a simple, lightweight car-transporter combination, four of which are already in service, with a further six on order. An important feature is that hydraulic rams have been eliminated, cars being loaded and unloaded onto and from the upper deck by means of static ramps at
the collection and delivery points, Each combination can carry nine imps and the total unladen weight of the towing vehicle and its trailer is 5 ton 15 cwt. The prime movers are Commers, with Baia) or Bramber wheel-base extensions.
The other new design is a• box-van semi-trailer, 24 of these being used by Morton's to take engines from Coventry to the Rootes Linwood factory. Formicafaced exterior panels are used on these bodies, these being based on 0625-in.thick marine-ply boards, and this facing
material has been chosen because earlier semi-trailers of a similar type had side curtains, the life of which was only one month. The use of Formica is said not to impose any price disadvantages, whilst further savings have been made by using p.t.f.e. runners instead of rollers for the sliding doors. In conjunction with hinged doors, access is given to the interior of the body from each side over its full length, thus facilitating stillage loading by fork-lift trucks. Thirty stillages can be carried, each containing four engines.