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Significant strides in chassis design

by A. J P. Wilding, MIMechE, MIRTE

IN the past few weeks details have been published of all the new models that the vehicle manufacturers will be introducing at the Commercial Motor Show. A study of these articles leaves no doubt that the Show this year will be an especially important event.

It would be difficult to pick out any one chassis as the most important but as far as new models go the British Leyland Motor Corporation will have the most attractions. Every vehicle maker in BLMC will have a major introduction. Starting with the lightest chassis there will be the BMC EA van, Albion will have a new six-wheel truck-mixer chassis and AEC, a new V8-erigined six-wheeled tractive unit and a high-performance p.s.v. with the same engine. Guy new models have Perkins V8 and Leyland engines whileDaimler will show a new p.s.v. chassis with offset rear engine. Scammell will have its doubledrive Routeman and new 6 x 4 tractive unit and Rover will show the latest, 1-ton version of the Land-Rover. Not least, Leyland itself will have the "best hand" with new fourand six-wheelers taking the fixed-head 500 engine. And for good measure Leyland will show a glimpse of the future with its highoutput gas turbine.

Another company will certainly be looking at the Earls Court Show stands with considerable pleasure. The firm is Perkins Engines whose V8 has been adopted by Ford, Dodge, Daimler, Guy and Universal Power Drives for their latest products and there will be a rash of new six-wheelers with Bedford, Ford and ERF having new trucks in this category as well as four of the BLMC companies already mentioned.

Passenger vehicle interest does not end with AEC and Daimler, for Seddon will show its_ Pennine IV at Earls Court for the first time and Ford will have its much-revised p.s.v., which incorporates the turbocharged engine now standard in its new six-wheelers and some four-wheelers and the option in other models. There will also be the American Ford gas turbine.

Cabs will be a feature on one of the new Scammels and on the Atkinson stand as well as on the Foden display. And this brings me to one of the two Swedish companies who are both exhibiting at Earls Court for the first time. Scania-Vabis has its • 110 model introduced earlier this year and seen for the first time in Britain in July. Volvo models available in Britain now also include a sixwheeler which is to be shown at Earls Court and Mercedes-Benz is to feature a 38-tongross tractive unit which is making its debut in Britain in right-hand-drive form.

Fiat does not market heavy trucks in Britain although it will be taking part in the Commercial Show for reasons of prestige, but Kiockner-Humboldt-Deutz is very much interested in selling here and with SeddonDeutz Ltd.—a link between Seddon and the German company—is now well set for the future. Another German concern will be Bussing which is to show trucks and a p.s.v.

Both new vehicles on the stand of AEC Ltd. will have the 800 Series V8 diesel introduced earlier this year. The maximum output is 247 bhp gross BS AU141 at 2,600 rpm and with a 20ft wheelbase the p.s.v. can take 12m-long bodies. Called the Sabre it is to be shown with left-hand drive but it will also be available with right-hand steering.

The V8 Mammoth Major six-wheel tractive unit is designed for use at 38 tons gross combination weight and this 6 x 4 model will be shown with 10-speed gearbox and the entirely new Leyland Group double-drive hub-reduction axles and two-spring rear bogie. Power-assisted steering is standard on the model and use of the V8 allows modifications to the cab resulting in the Thru-way Ergomatic which is basically the same as the original unit but without the protrusion from the engine cover.

The new 6 x 4 truck-mixer chassis that will be shown by Albion Motors Ltd. be

comes the most powerful chassis made by the concern. The model has an AEC AV 505 engine giving 151 bhp gross (BS AU 141) and this drives through the new AEC 10-speed range-change gearbox also used in the new Leylands. Gross weight rating for the model—the Reiver I29—is 20 tons and the well-established Albion hub reduction rear-axles and four-spring suspension are retained together with the Panoramic Leyland Group cab. A Super Reiver 20 tipper will be shown with the latest Leyland 401, 138 bhp gross (BS AU 141) engine and p.s.v. interest on the stand will consist of a change to the rear-engined Viking with the addition of a model with the Pneumocyelic gearbox.

Atkinson Vehicles Ltd. will have the biggest tractor it has built for many years— for 100 tons gross—and the four other exhibits will include three tractive units and an eight-wheeler with various specification differences. On the demonstration park Atkinson will be having an eight-wheeler with Australian cab and liolset Velvet Ride rear suspension.

Altogether there will be 12 vehicles on the Vauxhall Motors stand and one of them will be an example from the range of Bedford six-wheelers just introduced. This will be a K ME for 22 tons gross. The chassis is

based on the KM maximum-gross fourwheeler and is now in line production at the Vauxhall factory.

Part of the story of BMC at the Show has to be left until next week when changes to existing models will be announced but one highlight of the three stands that will carry the BMC sign will be the 350 EA van introduced to replace the long-standing LD range two weeks ago. With a gross weight of 3.5 tons the EA can carry a payload of about 30cwt and it is a completely new van with a square-cut body of convenient shape. There are two basic versions, identical except that one is lft 9in, shorter in the body and this gives alternative capacities of 274 cu.ft and 322 cu.ft. Wheelbase is the same and so are the mechanical components with a set-back under-floor-mounted 2.5-litre engine—petrol or diesel producing 70 bhp or 66 bhp respectively—and driving through a four-speed synchromesh gearbox.

One of the four German makers represented at Earls Court will be Missing which this year announced plans to sell its models in the UK. Three vehicles are to be shown— the Parfekt rear-engined coach, the BS 19 S tractive unit for 38 tons gross combination weight and the BS 15 L 16-ton rigid which has an underfloor engine.

The major new exhibit by Daimler Transport Vehicles Ltd. will be the CR-36, a lowheight double decker for 36ft overall length. This vehicle will be shown with a Northern Counties body and has a Cummins V8 engine mounted at the rear but slightly offset to the right to allow the fitting of a rear staircase and platform. Also new to Earls Court is the Daimler Roadliner with Perkins V8-510 diesel engine which is now an option to the Cummins V6-200 and the British Leyland 800 Series V8. This year's Commercial

Motor Show also is used as the debut of the 36ft Fleetline single-decker. Like the Roadliner with Perkins engine this example will be shown as a chassis only.

Ambulance bodywork has been a speciality of Dennis Bros. Ltd. for many years and at this Show the company will go one further with the introduction of its new frontwheel-drive ambulance chassis which uses a Jaguar engine, fully automatic transmission and independent suspension all round. The model has been designed to meet the requirements of the Working Party on Ambulance Training and Equipment published in 1967 and the design should prove completely acceptable to users of this type of vehicle. Also on the Dennis stand will be three examples from the Pax V 15-ton range which was featured at last year's Glasgow Show and has an all-plastics cab and lightweight chassis construction.

As announced on August 30, ERF will have five vehicles at Earls Court and among them will be two new models—a four-wheeler for 16 tons with a new plastics cab and a light-weight construction and a three-axle tractive unit with set-back second-steering axle for 32 tons gross train weight. The lightweight four-wheeler has a Gardner 5LW engine and is expected to have a chassis weight of about 4 tons. The 32-ton-gross tractive unit has air suspension for the rear bogie and other changes by ERF include improvements in the LV cab, a two-axle tractive unit with an air suspension system for the driving axle and an eight-wheeler with taper-leaf springs for the rear bogie.

Flat will have four vehicles on its stand at the Show ranging from the Fiat 214 25cwt pick-up to the 619 and 693 tractive units— fourand six-wheelers respectively—which are designed for 38 tons gross combination weight. On the Fodens stand there will be no completely new vehicles but of particular interest is a new half-type cab which will be fitted to two vehicles—an eight-wheeled tipper and a six-wheeled truck-mixer chassis. And on the demonstration park Fodens plans to have a tractive unit with the same unit.

There have been a number of changes by the Ford Motor Co. Ltd. recently and the latest models will make up most of the exhibits on the stand. The major news from Ford came on August 23 with the announce ment of the turbocharged version of the 360 Cu. in. engine and its fitting into new six-wheelers and in the latest R-Series bus and coach range. The engine is also an option in D800 rigids and artics and in the 16-ton gross version of the D1000. For the D1000 24and 28-ton tractive unit models the Perkins V8.510 diesel was introduced as an option to the Cummins V8 diesel and a lowerrated version was made a further option in the 16-ton-gross model.

Changes to the R Series were detailed in CM August 23 and include modifications to the suspension, braking and engine air intake systems as well as the fitting of highercapacity rear axles.

Detail changes as well as new models will be featured on the stand of Guy Motors Ltd. Two of the new chassis have the Perkins V8.510, 185 bhp SAE gross diesel engine these being a two-axle tractive unit for 28 tons gross and a 20-ton-gross six-wheel doubledrive chassis for concrete mixer applications. As well as these there will be a six-wheeled model designed for Continental operation at a gross weight solo of 26 tons but suitable also for use with a drawbar trailer at maximum weights permitted in Europe-38 tons gross combination weight. A further new model to be seen will be a 16-ton-gross four-wheeler, also in the Big J range, which has the new Leyland 401, 138 bhp diesel and a lightweight chassis construction.

An important change on the Guy models which reduces unladen weight is a change on the four-wheelers from an underslung rearspring layout to semi-elliptic springs mounted on top of the axle and therefore requiring lighter spring hanger brackets.

The Leyland fixed head 500 170 bhp diesel is certain to be a big attraction at Earls Court. This new power unit was announced in CM August 30 and the week after details were given of the Leyland chassis that are to be fitted with the power unit. These are the Lynx four-wheeler which is made as a rigid for 16 tons gross and as a tractive unit for 26 or 28 tons gross combination weight and the Bison six-wheeler. Examples of both will be at the Show. The chassis are completely new with high-tensile-steel frames and they use the Ergomatic cab but with a different styling to that on other models. Power steering is standard on the fourand six-wheel rigids and the latter has a two-spring lightweight rear suspension developed from a type used by AEC and being introduced at this year's Commercial Motor Show on a number of BEMC vehicles.

Of major interest on the stand will be the Leyland gas turbine truck which will be described in CM next week.

Seddon-Deutz Ltd. will be exhibiting four vehicles on behalf of Klockner-HumboldtDeutz of Germany. These will be a 210 D 16 FS four-wheel 36/38 ton g.c.w. tractive unit, a 235 D 22 FS 38-ton g.c.w. 6 x 4 tractive unit; a 210 D 26 AK 26-ton-gross 6 x 6 dump-truck chassis with normal control and a 150 D 14 FL chassis equipped as a fire appliance—a water tender escape for Glasgow fire service. The four-wheeled tractive unit has a 230 bhp gross V8 air-cooled diesel while the 6 x 4 tractive unit has a 235 bhp VIO of the same type but is also offered with 250 bhp and 270 bhp versions; the 6 .x 6 chassis has the same V8 engine as the 210 D tractive unit. The fire appliance is one of six supplied to Glasgow and it has a 156 bhp V6 diesel.

Interest on the Mercedes-Benz stand will be in the LPS 1923 38 ton gross combination weight tractive unit. This six-wheeler will be seen for the first time in Britain in right-handdrive form. It has a 225 bhp diesel engine and the exhibit will have the alternative 12-speed splitter gearbox that is available in the model. Standard equipment includes power-assisted steering and Mercedes-Benz will also be showing its newly p.s.v.-certificated 0.302 luxury coach, and the L406/L408 van range and 28and 32-ton-gross tractive units.

There is not much news from the Rootes Group for this year's Show but Dodge is now offering the Perkins V8.510 engine in a number of its models. One of these is a new 28 ton gross combination weight tractive unit —the KP1000—which is an improved version of a similar-weight model introduced at the Glasgow Show last year. From the beginning of next year certain other models in the Dodge 500 range will be offered with the Perkins V8 as the standard instead of tin Cummins V8. But the Cummins will still be offered as an option in the maximum-gross weight models in the 500 Series.

Outwardly the new 1-ton 109 in. LandRover to be shown by the Rover Co. Ltd. will be identical to the current normal-control models. But underneath there have been a number of changes to increase the weightcarrying capacity which is now the same for on-road and off-road use. But the new Crusader 6 x 4 tractive unit from Scammell will bear no resemblance to anything else made by the company. This is a vehicle built for the future with probable increases in UK gross weight limits in mind together with demands that are likely in the future for vehicles with higher power-to-weight ratios than are currently offered. The Crusader to be shown will have a General Motors V8 suPercharged two-stroke diesel with an output of 290 bhp but listed as standard for this model is a Cummins V8 320 bhp unit.

The Crusader will not be the only introduction to be made by Scammell at the Show. There will also be the new double-drive version of the Routeman which has a similar two-spring suspension to the 6 x 4 chassis. The eight-wheeler is to be sold for tipper application mainly and only one wheelbase will be offered which will -limit the gross weight to 24 tons although the chassis will be plated for 26 tons to give some leeway to operators in uneven loading. A third model to be featured by Scammell started off as a development to meet an order for BRS but is now to be offered generally. It is a Handyman two-axle tractive unit for 32 tons.

There will be three of the latest 110 chassis on the stand of Scania Vabis of Sweden. Two of them will have right-hand drive—a four-wheeler and a six-wheeler--while the other will be a left-hand-drive chassis with sleeper cab and designed for Continental operation. The big change with the Scania 110 as compared with the previous 76 Series is in the cab which now tilts for access to the power unit and has an extremely high quality of interior finish. Changes since the model was introduced at the Amsterdam Show have been an air-operated change for the secondary section of the 10-speed splitter gearbox and the introduction of hypoid gearing for the heavy-duty rear axle which is the option in the model. In spite of being stronger, the singlereduction hypoid-bevel unit is 100lb lighter than the previous heavy-duty axle.

Seddon is not going to have any completely new models for Earls Court but both Pennine IV passenger chassis and the Seddon 32: four tractive unit with Rolls-Royce 220 bhp diesel are being exhibited at Earls Court for the first time. The 32; four is plated at 32 tons—the current British limit—but it is designed to be suitable for operation at 38 tons gross combination weight. Universal Power Drives Ltd. will be featuring double-drive and single-drive examples of its third-axle conversions and in addition it will have a new 4 x 4 tractor intended primarily for use on timber transport and similar work. This model is suitable for use at 24 tons gross combination weight and the difference between it and its predecessor is thatthe Perkins V8.510 is employed.

The Commercial Motor Show will be the first time that the latest version of the Volkswagen 1-ton van has been seen at Earls Court and although the model was introduced barely 12 months ago several new safety features have been adopted. A number of other details have also been changed including insulation of the engine compartment to reduce the level of noise entering the vehicle.

Another newcomer to Earls Court will be Volvo and this Swedish company will have three vehicles on its stand. Two of them will be F86 chassis, a four-wheeler tractive unit for 32 tons gross combination weight and the latest model from this Volvo range to be offered to British operators—the FB86 sixwheeled rigid plated for 22 tons gross. The six-wheeler will be shown with a Parator container-handling system on its platform. The third Volvo will be the F88 which Ailsa Trucks Ltd. featured as UK concessionaire for the Swedish firm at the last Glasgow Show. Demonstrations of this bigger and more powerful four-wheel tractive unit—it has a 270 bhp turbocharged diesel—have been given by Ailsa to many British operators and deliveries of the model in this country have now begun.

One of the electric vehicle makers to be represented at Earls Court is Austin Crompton Parkinson Electric Vehicles Ltd. and while this concern will be featuring its existing models as far as chassis/cabs are concerned, two of them will have special features. Both of these particular chassis are Morrison Electricar F36/40 models. One is said to be the first electric vehicle to be exhibited in this country incorporating an aerial-lift platform—a Skyworker which gives a horizontal reach of 28ft and a vertical reach of 35ft. The second vehicle has a special body designed for the Medical Research Council and it is to be used for the Speech and Communication Research Unit of the Council attached to the Edinburgh University.