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• A Crossley Dual-purpose Four-wheel-drive War Machine

18th February 1944
Page 19
Page 19, 18th February 1944 — • A Crossley Dual-purpose Four-wheel-drive War Machine
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ONE' almost automatically couples the name. Crossley with crosscountry types of vehicle, because the Crossley concern has, for many years past, interested itself in this class of machine. Products of the company are being extensively employed in the present conflict, and, whilst we are not permitted to mention the many interesting phases of its activities, the accompanying details of one of its four-wheeldrive chassis will give some indication of at least one of the concern's contributions to our yast range of mechanized war machines,

Specially designed for servile under war conditions, the vehicle is normally used as a two-wheel-drive machine, the advantages of the four-wheel-drive being instantly available with the engagement of an auxiliary gear.

Dealing first of all with the source of power, the four-cylindered petrol engine has a bore of 110 mm. and a stroke of 140 mm., dithensions which give a swept volume of 5,266 c.c. It is a side-valve unit, with cast-iron inserts provided for the exhaust valves. In order to reduce side thrust, the valve tappets are offset in relation to their respective cams.

A pair of oil pumps is responsible for circulating the oil, one supplying lubricant under pressure to the main bearings and auxiliaries and the other being responsible for maintaining a dry sump. The compression ratio is 6 to 1.

The drive is taken through a singleplate-type clutch, provided with a disc brake to assist in gear-changing, to a three-point mounted main and transfer gearbox unit, the former providing four forward speeds and a reverse. For normal running the drive is taken from the transfer box to only the rear axle, but, for heavy work, the gear is moved to a lower ratio, which, at the same time, engages the front-axle drive shaft. In this condition, eight forward ratios and two reverse ratios are available.

Needle-roller-bearing universal joints are provided in the propeller sbafts, which convey the drive both fore and aft. Worm and wheel gearing is used in both the rear and front axles, the drive, in the case of the front axle, being through Tracta constant-velocity joints.

Girling-type brakes are used, front and rear, with a Bendix hydraulically operated servo for the foot brake. The hand brake, which operates on all four wheels, is not servo-assisted.

So far as the suspension is concerned, this is carried out by half-elliptic springs, underslung in the case of both axles, Woodbead swivel eyes being used.

Actually, there are two types of vehicle, as the accompanying illustra. tions will show, but whilst there are differences, they do not affect the main specification details. For instance, the Crossley load carrier has a wheelbase of 11 ft. 6 ins., whereas in tractor form the dimension is 8 ft. 5]i ins, On the tractor there is a ball mounting over the rear axle to provide for the fitting of a two-wheeled trailer, thus making the combination into an articulated sixwheeler. There is also a spring drawbar for towing a four-wheeled trailer.

The following dimensions apply to both types:—Front track, at ground level, 6 ft. 22 ins.; rear track, 5 ft. 10 ins.; ground clearance, loaded, 1 ft. 2 ins.

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