The Bayard-Clement Taxicab Chassis.
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Two distinct types of taxicabs are produced at the Bayard-Clement factory, on the banks of the Seine. They are similar in general lines of construction, but differ considerably in their power, one being fitted with a twocylinder engine of nominally 9-It horsepower, and the other possessMg a fourcylinder engine modestly rated at to-I6 horse-power. Both are employed very extensively in Paris, being used exclusively by one of the largest cab companies, hut it is the smaller two-cylinder vehicle which is found best suited for city service, the larger model finding its most profitable employment for long.-period hiring, or for station work. At the present time, there are 300 of the two-cylinder type in use in the French capital, and 150 of the fourcylinder model; the smaller car, however, will shortly be much more numerous, the Compagnie Gen6rale having made arrangements for the replacingof another large series of its horse cabs by Bayard-Clement taxis.
The four-cylinder cab, having a wheel base of 9 feet, is capable of receiving a very comfortable four-passenger landaulet body. The frame is of the usual channel section, inswept to give a wider steering lock, and dropped to give a lower side entrance, and well suspended on three-quarter
elliptic springs at the rear and semielliptics in front. The entire power plant is mounted on a longitudinal sub frame attached to the cross-members with which the chassis is strengthened. Bore and stroke of the four-cylinder engine, the cylinders of which are cast in pairs, is 2.9 by 4.7 inches, the normal engine speed being 1,200 revolutions a minute. Though standard lines of construction are followed in the motor, there has been So much attention to accessibility and such careful workmanship as to lift it far above the level of comrbonplace. All valves are on one side, operated by a single camshaft, and are, of course, interchange
able, The crankshaft has five bearings, and is attached to the upper portion of the crank chamber, the lower half being merely an oil well.
On the 1909 model, several detail improvements have been made on the engine. Thus, instead of the lubrication's dependence on pressure from the exhaust, circulation is assured by means of a mechanical pump within the crank case and operated by a worm gear off the centre of camshaft. On the models now in use, the lubricator is carried on the dashboard, and is provided by two sight feeds, one going to each pair of cylinders, and by a hand pump for increasing the flow under strenuous conditions. As all the models are equipped for double ignition, though the two systems are not always used, the camshaft had to be provided with a worm gear to drive the distributor for accumulator ignition. Advantage has been taken of this to fit a lubricator pump, while at the same time simplifying the chassis by the avoidance of the dashboard lobricatcr. The only oil tank is the crank chamber itself, which is filled through a raised " mouth " on the right forward arm cf the engine base, covered over with a plate held in position by a thumb screw. The amount of oil carried is about five pints, the correct quantity being assured by an overflow cock in the base of the crank chamber. As the amount of oil in the crank case is constantly-. unheated by a dashboard manometer, the only care of the driver, so far is lubrication is concerned, is to fill at rare intervals.
Igniiioa is generally by means of a high-i elision Bosch magneto only, with plugs in the cylinder head immediately over the inlet valves. In this case; the dashboard is remarkably clear, carrying only the two manometers, for oil and water, and a two-way switch. As already stated, however, all models are built to be fitted with a double ignition if desired, the distributor being placed on the vertical pump spindle on the valve side of the motor. A single shaft, operated by a worm gear, command, both the magneto and the water pump, the former being on the right-hand side and the latter on the left of the engine, just behind the radiator.
Cooling of the engine is assured by means of a special radiator, of the honeycomb type, haying a diagonal flow of water. A belt-driven fan is in operation at its rear, the proper tension of the beli being assured by a doubly arm Am\ ing of easy regulating, and proof against disarrangement. The care of the constructor is shown by the provi,ion of cocks at the base of each of the cylinder water-jackets, as well as at the lowest part of the pump and radiator, thus allowing the drawing off ot every drop of water. A lead is taken from the radiator to the carburetter:. and another one to the dashboard inate,tneier.
The carburetter is of the float-feed typc . with its mixing chamber waterjarketed. At slow speeds, the air supply is obtained through openings at the Lase of the mixing chamber, and below ihe nozzle; as the motor in
crease, speed, additional air is obta:ned by the opening of two metallic shutters connected to act simultaneote.ly by means of suitable levers, and automatically closed by means of a light spring on the outside of the carburetter. Control is by both accelerator pedal and steering-wheel throttle.
'Transmission of power is through a leather-faced cone clutch, with light springs under the leather to ensure a progressive holding. The gear set pro..
'ides three speeds forward and a reverse, bo:h primary and secondary shafts being mounted on ball bearings. A powerful brake is carried on a drum on the rear extension of the primary shaft, the brake bands being hung from a transverse shaft supported in a couple of radiating arms cast integral with the gearbox.
The rear axle, of the live-axle type, is a particularly solid construction and, lurther, is well protected against water and dust. An inspection plate on the upper portion of the differential housing provides for examination of this detail and periodical lubrication. Stout radius rods are carried from the frame members to the rear-axle casing, a beltand-eye connection being employed a: the frame.
With it very few exceptions, the difference between the four-cylinder and the two-cylinder model is one of size. Thu wheel base of the smaller car is but 84 inches, and, iTI order to give the necessary space for a closed two-passenger body, the engine has been carried further forward, the radiator being somewhat ahead of the front axle. On the two-cylinder car, double ignition is not fitted, a high-tension Bosch magneto alone being relied on to supply the indispensable spark. The radiator is of a special tubular type, without fins, and is not provided with a fan. On the tooS models, the two-cylinder cabs had lubrication from a dashboard system operated by pressure front the engine. We are informed that on the. mon models the same force .feed system %%ill be employed as for the larger cars. The only differences in the transmission, other than size, are that radius rods are not fitted, the rear axle being rendered sufficiently rigid by the sleeve encasing the propeller shaft, Engine control has been reduced to the operation of an accelerator pedal only, the steering wheel being quite free of any levers.
All the two-cylinder cabs used in Paris are provided with the steering wheel on the left, the brake and change-speed levers consequently being in the centre. The rule of the road in France being the contrary of that pertaining in England, the Compagnie Gkerale believes that drivers are better able to work through traffic when in this position. Left-hand steering has been adopted to a smaller degree on the four-cylinder chassis.