A LOW-PRICED CHASSIS FOR 30-cwt. LOADS.
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With a Full Equipment, Including 6-in. Pneumatic Tyres, the 30-cwt. Fiat Sells at £295.
-no ARTICULARS have been available in this country for a week or two concerning the new 30-cwt. Fiat chassis, which is to replace the 25-cwt. chassis placed on the market last year, but the information available was, to our knowledge, inaccurate, because it did not take into account the modifications which were to be made in the chassis for the British market. Until those modifications were decided, we have withheld any reference to the new chassis, because it was obviously useless to describe the, chassis which had been built for the markets served from Turin and not for those that come under the control of Fiat (England), Ltd.
Briefly, the new model is a 30-cwt. chassis fitted with 32-in. by 6-in., straight-sided, pneumatic tyres, and having electric lighting and starting equipment, five lamps, electric horn, tool kit, jack, spare wheel and tyre, to sell at the low price of £295. These facts, taken into consideration with the high quality of Fiat work, make the new chassis an extremely attractive proposition.
There is no need for us to go into minute specification detail, but the engine is four-eylindered, having a detachable head and being 75 mm. in the bore with a piston stroke of 130 mm., developing over 35 b.h.p. The crankshaft is mounted in three bearings, the pistons are of aluminium alloy, and the connecting rods are of steel with phosphorbronze big-ends lined with white metal. The engine is lubricated by a submerged gear-type pump, which forces oil through special leads to the main bearings, timing wheels, etc., and through a drilled crankshaft to the big-end bearings.
A new and improved type of radiator with cast-aluminium frame and a removable tube block has been adopted, so that in the event of the fracture of a tube it may be easily and quickly replaced. The water is circulated by a centrifugal pump.
The clutch and gearbox form a unit with the engine, and the former is an improved type with fabric-faced multiple discs. The gearbox gives four forward speeds and a reverse, with central control.
The rear axle is 'bevel driven, whilst the cardan shaft is contained in the tubular torque member which, with the back portion, forms a T-shaped component. Large brake drums are fitted to all four road wheels, all the brakes being internal expanding. The frame Is deep in section and strongly constructed.
The petrol tank is of ample size (14 gals.) and is placed at the rear, the fuel being pressure fed to an auxiliary tank on the dash. A dynamo for electric starting and lighting is incorporated in the :construction, being driven from the half-time shaft by a chain.
Long and flexible semi-elliptic springs are used at front and rear. The steering is of the worm-and-wheel type providing three renewal when the worm teeth on the wheel are worn.
The space available for a body is 10 ft. TOI ins. on a wheelbase of 10 ft. The frame tinder load is 25 ins, from the ground. The total length of the chassis is 14 ft. 8 ins., and its weight is 23 cwt.
The road elearanee is 10 ins. and the wheel track is 4 ft. 8 ins.