MINOR VEHICLE IMPROVEMENTS.
Page 27
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Some Practical Ideas By Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
FOR general haulage work it is a grsat convenience to have a body fitted the sides of which may be dropped in order to facilitate loading and unloading. " H.S.," of Wrexham, suggests various points with this object in view, and the
week'S prize of 15s. is awarded to him. A further valuable asset is to be able to remove the complete sides of a vehicle in order to use one or both as planks for sliding packages up or down.
The fixings of the detachable sections• to the fixed portions comprise the germ
of " " idea. Suitable hinges can be made from angle iron, such as is used on the popular W.1). type of body, the hooked lower end of each iron being of such a curve that when the lorry side is swung downwards it an easily be lifted off the fixed portions.
For the purpose of fixing the upper edge of the side to the back of the cab, a cam-action fastening is suggested. A Plate is bolted to the end of the lorry side, the upper extremity of which is curved slightly outwards and forked. An arm is fixed on a pivot bolt to the stationary part of the body, having at its opposite end a knuckle piece riveted to it.. The working end of the knuckle piece is a cam, so that when the knuckle is horizontal there is sufficient play for the arm to be lifted out of the fork, but when the knuckle is depressed the cam action takes up the slack and pulls the side of the body inwards and holds It there.
IMPROVEMENT in the appearance of their vehicles is desired by the majority, of drivers, and a tip suggested by " H.A.B.," of Rotherham, may be of interest. In order to make the letters on the top of radiators or on the makers' name plates more prominent, the whole area incorporating the lettering is treated with black or other suitable enamel and allowed to dry hard. The next procedure is to obtain a stick, wrapped round with smooth emery cloth, and polish the projecting portions. The paint is rubbed off the high points, but the recesses are not touched, and the enamel heightens their appearance.
INCREASED safety is naturally re garded as an improvement. "A A W ," of Wolverhampton, advocates the use of a retaining device for hand brakes, in order to prevent the activities of small boys or other persons tampering with a vehicle which is left unattended.
His method is to drill a hole through the hand-brake lever and several through the ratchet sector at points to correspond with the various notches on the quadrant, in order that the use of the device may not be nullified by a change of position of the lever due to wear of the brakes. A split pin attached to the brake lever by a short length of chain or string completes the idea. In action, all that has to be done is to apply the hand brake in the normal manner and push the pin through the one in the ratchet sector.
A. SOMEWHAT puzzling trouble has
been experienced by " G.T.," of High Wycombe, and other cases have been known in which a similar difficulty has arisen. The use of high-pressure grease guns is becoming popular on all types of vehicle. In a few instances, despite the enormous pressures available, very little lubricant can be forced into the bearings. " G-.T." found that, even with the nipple removed and fastened to the end of the gun, only a very slight amount of grease could be forced through. Therefore the trouble lay in the nipple and not in the tapped holes leading to the bearings, as was at first thought.
The ball sealing the upper end was first driven out by means of a blunt wire nail, the small spring underneath removed, and the channel in which the ball moved was drilled out 1-16th in. oversize. Spring and ball were then replaced and the lip closed again. By this means sufficient room was left around the ball for the easy passage of grease.
AN easy-starting improvement carried out by " G.W.T.," of Birmingham, to his Milnes-Daituler-Mercedes lorry may be of service to those handling this type of vehicle or others to which the idea is applicable.
The carburetter in question was fitted with a single jet and a priming tap on the inlet pipe. This arrangement did not function satisfactorily ; therefore the priming tap was removed and a tap union fitted, which enabled a pipe to be taken from it to the float chamber of the carburetter, being coupled to a union which existed in the original instrument to accommodate an overflow pipe.
By joining these two points, " G.W.T." states that a rich mixture is provided for starting purposes by opening the tap.