TESTING OUT THE -HAWKEYE CHASSIS.
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A Successful Demonstration of a Two-ton Chassis.
THE NUMBER of American chassis ' on the British market is considerable, and now that manufactuiers of British chassis are beginning to cope with the orders, chassis .-of foreign origin will have' to show considerable promise, if they hope to continue in demand_ The coneessionnaires for the Hawkeye chassis, Richards,-Thynne and Co., Ltd., of Eldon Street Buildings, Eldon Street, E.C. 4, have fully realised this necessity, and before placing this -chassis on the British market they decided to give it a drastic test before a representative gathering of members of the Press.Crhe company are Continental and Eastern traders with an established reputation and branches throughout the world, and they would not be likelV. to associate themselves with anything in which they had not complete confidence.
In a previous test of the chassis by Captain J. S. Critchley, the vehicle, with a load cf 24 tons and a gross weight of 4 ton 4 cwt., was taken up some of the worst in Surrey, including—' ,Reigate, Wester ham and Codham. Putney.Hill was taken at:17 m.p.h., and the average speed for the whole run was 15.5 m.p.h. The petrol consumption worked out at 9.8 or 41.16 ton miles per gallon.
5 In the test which was conducted before the Press gathering, the Hawkeye, loaded with 24 -ton, started from the bottom of the well-known Pebble Coombe Hill and surmounted this on second gear, which has a ratio of 24 to 1. As a second test the lorry was stepped on the steepest pertion of the hill, which has all gradient of approximately 1 in 7; it was then loaded up with 17 persons in adaition to the previous load, making a total paying load
of over 3 tons. In spite of this the chassis started off on fourth gear without any hesitation, and surmounted the hill at. a lair speed. At the top the driver accelerated until 27 m.p.h. was touched. Owing to some difficulty with the camera the.performanc.e had to be repeated, and even then after this third ne:gotiation of tile hill, the cooling water Was not boil
ing. The three teF.ts showed that the Hawkeye has exceptional pulling powers, and that its four gears lend themselves to work -in the most difficult country. The firstgear has a ratio of 38.4 to 1, and, though it is seldom, if ever, used in ordinary work, the vehiole being usually started on second, yet itis extremely useful in an emergency, such as when the vehicle is called upon to tow another. Direct drive is 8r-to L The power unit employed on the 2 ton flawkeye is a four-cylindered monoblec Buda, with a bore and stroke of 44 ins. and 51 ins. respectively. This engine is too well known to rerluire a detailed description beyond stating that the oil is fed under pressure from a gear type pump through the hollow crankshaft to all the main and-connecting rod bearings. The cooling water circulation is by centrifugal pump through a radiator with a casf-iron header and bottom tank. An Eisemann high-ten:siert magneto is employed for ignition, and a governor limits the speed. a the engine to a safe number
r.U.m.
A Fuller four-speed and reverse gearbox and multiple disc clutch are built u_p as a unit with the engine; the gear change lever being mounted on top of this box. A cardan shaft carries the drive to an internal gear rear axle of Clark manufacture.
In the particulat chassis which we tested' the steering is oil the left, but in future consignments, to conform with English practice, it will be situated on • the right,.
Consignments of 30 cwt. pneumatic tyred, and 2, 3, and 4 ten Hawkeye chassis are on the way to this country.