FORD VAN POINTERS.
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By R. T. Nicholson (Author of "The Book of the Ford").
1\4 ANY VAN OWNERS buy the Ford chassis bare, and mount special bodies thereon. This is all very well when those bodies do not exceed the dimensions of the standard Ford body —at all events, in length. It is altogether unwise to increase the length at all considerably. The Ford. back axle is very slight, though amply strong for the load for which the van was designed-750 lb. plus the driver—when the load is properly distributed ; but it is not strong enough for any old load, carried in
• ny old way. •
12.—Ford Van Bodies.
I am here dealing with the way in which the load should be carried. As little as possible should be' carried behind. the back axle. There is a certain
"overhang "—about 1 ft. 10 ins.—even in. the standard Ford body, but so little of it that the strain on the back axle is very slight. The natural idea is that, provided the weighOlimit is not exceeded750 lb. plus the driver—it does not matter where the weight is carried ; 'but it matters everything. The farther behind the rear axle the weight is carried, enormously the greater the strain on• the back a.xle becomes. An ounce weight will, in theory, snap the back axle, if the " overhang" is sufficiently increased, and the ounce stowed far enough back. It is unwise, therefore, to mount a body -with a long "overhang"
True, You see plenty of long bodies about, and no harm seems to come to them. Moreover, the Ford standard ambulance.body has a great deal of " overhang." But these long bodies are only satisfactory when the loads carried are very light, and when the main part of the load still bears forward-of the back
axle. 1::to not assume, that, because the Ford engine has plenty of reserve of pciwer, therefore it will haul a ton: it will; but not with the Standard cha,ssis. The engine will stand up all.right under heavy loads, but the chassis will not _
If you must have a big capacityvan, to carrybig • loads, you must have one of those adaptors advertised. I have good accounts of the way in which they do their work. They are all constructed on one main
• plan. Their manufacturers first of all strengthen and lengthen the chassis,' thus 'carrying the rear wheels farther back. They. then provide a specially strong back axle to carry the heavier load; and use the regular back axle simply as a mea.fis of conveying the power (through the medium of a chain) to the new rear wheels, which are also of stronger conStruction than the standard wheels.
Thus converted, the Ford van becomes a thoroughly practical . ton-load truck,' though, conversion is, of course, at your own risk, not being covered by. the Ford Co.'s own guarantee,: • •
13.—Loading and Unloading.
The points that I have just made bring me to the question of loading and unloading.
As far as possible,' diS tribute the load over the floor of the body, 'letting bear rather forward of than behind the back axle. .There is a strong temptation • to place all the heavy goods at the.back, because it is easier to " dump " them there, and also because it will be easier to unload them from that position, Do not do it -get them well _ forward.
And do not let your attendant ride at the • tail end of the van with his legs dangling. It is not his dangling legs that do the.harni, but the fact of his weight bearing behind the back axle.. Keep him where he belongs, up in front. And rememberl -that an attendant ranksI as part of the load, pait of the 750 lb. allowed f Or. ..
In loading, as far as -possible, and with due regard for distribution of weight, stow at the back of the van the goods that will have first to be delivered, unless they are small parcels' which can be handed out at the 'front end. I write this paragraph on 'the assumption that the 'goods will have to be separately delivered on a round. Do not have to hunt every time you deliver a parcel. Stow as far as possible according to your delivery sheet. o•
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12—Remove the magc4ble from its binding to prevent theft of the vehicle.
14.--7Thief Proofing.
Thieve-S. have lately been making a raid on Ford' vans. The Temple Press advertisement columns have notified particulars of several thefts from the road. It is not remarkable that 'Ford vans disappear: the wonder would be if they did not. They are left unattended in a "take it or leave it" fashion: anybody and everybody knows how to drive a Ford, and how to start up the engine (when she is warm I), and we are none of us, alas ! proof against temptation.
How can that temptation be removed, however, by making it impossible to run her ?
The regular way is ta switch off, and remove the switch-key. So simple, but so useless, for the provident thief carries a Ford switeh-key, and that will fit any Ford on the road. A special lock and key can, however, be provided, which will practicalti ensure your van against theft.
-A Surer way is to take. your magneto cable off it binding-post on the dash before leaving the van. The expert thief might possibly .discover what yolk had done, and, having replaced the cable, drive off ; but it would take him a long time to find out what was amiss, and be would not ritia the risk of investigatin things if she did not start urrat once, for he woul know that yOu were liable to come back at an moment, and catch him hi the act. It is, however, bit of a nuisance to take off the binding-post nu every time to unhitch the cable: To get. over thi
treuble, file a slit out of the metal terminal of th -cable, so that it becomes a hook. If the terminal .nu is then slightly loosened, the hook can be pulled off the bindingpost.. •I have never found that the hook is -liable to Slip off the post by Vibration if the nut is tightened properly after replacement of the hook. It is, however, as well to carry a light spring washer on the post, and under the terminal nut, to obviate the chance. With the cable intentionally removed by you, there is, of course, no current, so that the engine cannot be started.
Then the would-be thief -will go aadly away, more than ever convinced that• the Ford is a bad starter,
but yon do not mind that! . ,
15.—Brakes:
The hand brake on the Ford van is not intended for regular use. It is provided onlyto hold the van at a standstill—not to bring it to a standstill. If used regularly for braking it soon wears out. If used only for holding the van it lasts for any length of time. Its effectiveness depends. on the • friction of a metal shoe with a metal drum(or, rather, of two shoes with two drums—one in. each back wheel), and this metal to 'metal friction means, in constant use, rapid wear.
All three pedals can be used to operate foot brakes., True, the B pedal is the foot brake proper, but either
. of the other two.the C and the R pedals-:—will serve to brake the van.
. The C pedal will only slow her—not stop her, but you often want to slow her without stopping her. The R (reverse) pedal is a very powerful stopping brake. Only use it as such, however, with the brake handle in 'forward position. .Let the three pedals all do their share in braking— the idea being that their bands, which all engage drums in the transmission, and so do the braking, will thus wear about equally ,and may all be replaced at the same time. If you rely on the foot. brake proper solely for braking its lining will wear out eompara
tively: rapidly, and the job of lining that alone will cost nearly as much as the job of lining all three bands at the same time. When the wear is spread over all three bands the relining job will be very rarely needed.
In grease, when skidding is easy, brake with the C pedal as much as possible ; it minimizes the Skidding tendency.
Use the hand brake only for bringing the van finally to a .standstill, after you have got her nearly to that point by use of the other brakes, and for holding her at a standstill. .
Never keep any one foot brake on for more than about 30 seconds. Alternate. (This does not apply to the C pedal, which may be kept on for any length of time if in proper order.) Long, continuous use of the B and B. pedals is likely to burn out the bands, by
reason of the heat developed by friction. If the pressure is released for a few seconds every now and then, the bands get bathed in a fresh supply of' oil throw" up by the .flywheel, and that new oil cools and lubricates them, so that they are again ready for service.
. If your hand brake is constantly in need of adjustment, and the shoes are frequently in need of replacement, and if your B brake—the foot brake proper— has everlastingly to he relined, you have only yourself to thank for it. Put the hand brake only to its proper use, and distribute the wear of the foot braking over the other three, and you will give.long life to your brakes.
16.—Inserting Plugs Do not be too hefty with a long spanner (and the kit plug spanner is a powerful. tool). The Ford engine takes coned plugs, which act like a wedge, when hard forced into their holes in the engine. You only -want to get the plugs gastight there, and yo-u do this with very little fuming—if the.thre ads are clean. Keep the threads clean—the threads on the plug and the threads in the engine as well. A little blacklead paste (like that used far lubricating .bicycle chains) will be a. help towards making insertion and retnoval easy, or a rub with a blacklead brush will serve the same purpose. Test for leakage with a squirt of oil.