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Lacre Motor Car Co., Ltd.

14th March 1907, Page 26
14th March 1907
Page 26
Page 26, 14th March 1907 — Lacre Motor Car Co., Ltd.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Exhibit :—Two 24-cwt. Vans; two 2-ton Vans ; one 16h.p. Chassis.

This company's exhibit is one of the principal attractions of the show, and the aggregate area of its several stands puts it in the proud position of being the largest allottee of space. It has, in addition to its own stand on the ground floor, that of James and Browne, Limited (No. 64), under its exclusive control, as the entire output of the Westcroft Works at Hammersmith has been purchased from that company by the one whose 3,330 square feet of floor space gives it the unique position we have named.

More interest will probably attach to the first 1-ton Lacre chassis, which was delivered from the works about the end end of 1904, than to any of the newer attractive vehicles which are staged. This old " war horse " has been employed for demonstration purposes in all parts of the oountry, and has some 30,000 miles of hard service to its credit, full particulars of which may be had at the stand. It was shown at the Olympia Exhibition of 19o5, and the makers assure us that it has never been strapped on the road for any mechanical trouble, and that it has only been in the repair shop for its usual annual overhaul. Close alongside this trial chassis is a 2-ton van belonging to the Patent Steam Carpet Beating Company, Limited, which has been lent to the Lacre Company, for exhibition purposes, and it possesses a record of 14 months' service without either mechanical stop or a visit to the repair shop.

The six other vehicles which, with a standard r6h,p. 2-ton chassis, complete the vehicular exhibits on the stand are, without exception, sold to customers, and will all be delivered immediately the show is over. They include : 24-cwt. van, with solid top, for Elliston and Cavell, Limited, house furnishers and upholsterers, Oxford; a 2-ton van, with sheet top, being one of seven for Maple and Company, Limited, of Euston Road, NW.; a 24-cwt. van for Harrod's Stores, Limited, being one of 21 similar vans; a 24-cwt. van for Messrs. James Shoolbred and Ccmpany, lotTottenham House, Tottenham Court

Road, W., being one of 30; a 20-ewt. van, with sheet top, to the order of the East Asiatic Company, of Copenhagen, and intended for use in Siam; and, last of all, a 2-ton van sold to the Crown Agents for the Colonies, being one of three for the Southern Nigerian Government.

The n6h.p. 2-cylinder Lacre chassis is well known to readers of this journal, but a few particulars may be given here. The vertical engine has two cylinders, with a bore of 41 inches, whilst the piston-stroke is 5 inches. All valves are mechanically operated, and the loosening of a single nut enables inspection or withdrawal of the valves to be effected. Compressionrelief cams are provided, in order to render the starting up of the engine easy. The Murray patent governor, which au[o:Ilatically regulates the speed, mixture, and the advance of the ignition, is fitted, and any driver is able to control the engine by a single lever, which carries out all the necessary movements. The engine hearings, the pistons, and the crank pins are lubricated by the mechanical, pumptype lubricator, which is positively driven from the engine; it contains no valves which might either clog or stick, and each separate feed is capable of regulation separately. This lubricator should remove any possible risk, however remote, of engine failure, and its design is thoroughly good in all points. We hope to publish full details in the course of a few weeks. The ignition on this system deserves special mention. It is of the low-tension, magneto type, the magnet being part of the flywheel, and revolving round the fixed armature. Special care is taken to test these magnets before they are fitted into the car, in order to prove that the magnetism has been properly absorbed and retained. There is a remarkable absence of wiring, arid the ignition trip-gear has been silenced by the introduction of a patent buffer hammer. The arrangement is most effective and reliable.

Transmission is by means of a leather-faced cone clutch, of generous dimensions, which is mounted on an extension of the engine-shaft ; it exerts no end-thrust when driving. Power is taken to the first gear-box shaft through a neat form of spring drive, and the gear-box is worthy of particular notice, as the change of speed is arranged to avoid any difficulty for an ordinary driver. Each separate half of the transverse countershaft, which carries the small chain-wheels, is separately driven by suitable bevel pinions arid plate wheels, the two halves of this transverse shaft being out of line

as to admit of this disposition of parts. An important detail is the fitting of a torque rod on the off-side of each chassis, in order to relieve the springs, whilst the ample dimensions of the brakes will be noted.

No visitor who goes to Olympia can regard his round of inspection as complete unless he spends some time at this stand, and we feel satisfied that the company's prices, which range from 4:388 for a complete 15-cwt. van to 4:519 for a complete 4o-cwt. van, will attract many new buyers by reason of their lowness considered in relation to the quality of the material and workmanship, and the long record of successful application by users in all parts of the country.


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