MAKING BEST USE OF THE FORD.
Page 30
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Valuable Advice on Every Phase of Ford Transport, Which will Appeal to the Owner, Driver and Repairer.
TINT THIS series of hints concernXing the Ford light chassis and ton truck, we endeavour to deal with the subject from every viewpoint, so that the advice will appeal to the owner, driver, maintenance engineer or mechanic.
We shall welcome for inclusion among the hints those which have proved of value to individual users, and will make suitable remuneration for any which are published.
322.—Improving Contact in the Coil Box.
The coils on the Ford are very often loose in the coil box, and, consequently, do not make proper contact with the blades provided in the box for this purpose. The result is an irregular miss at high and low speeds, the usual method of curing the trouble being to watch the Coil in the box, but this is often inconvenient. If, however, the contact buttons on the coils are well cleaned and some solder run on to them to make them slightly convex, it will be found that an efficient contact point is made on each.
323.—A Useful Dashlight.
Our drawings show a useful and simply made dashlight which has been supplied to a starter-model Ford van. The materials required were as follow :—A side-lamp bulb bolder, two small blocks of wood, one slightly larger than the other, a piece of lath 1 in. thick, one 6-volt single-contact bulb, a few wood screws, two small bolts, a piece of lighting flex and a short length of copper wire.
The bulb holder is fixed into the two blocks, which are drilled for the purpose the earthing wire being wound round the body of the holder between the blocks so that, when these are screwed together, the wire is held securely without the need for soldering. The lath is secured by screws to the larger of the two blocks in the manner shown and then to the underneath of the instrument plate.
In the example shown it was actually held by the bolts securing the dealer's name plate. The lighting flex is taken from the bulb holder to one of the block terminals and the earth wire to any convenient bolt holding the body to the frame. The lamp will light when the lighting switch is turned to either position, and no trouble with reflection will occur if the lamp be properly fixed. It proves very convenient both when running or when effecting adjustments.
324.—The Prevention of Frontwheel Wobble.
One of our contributors states that he has recently handled a number of cases of front-wheel wobble in the ton truck, and he believes that the notes which he sends may be of value to other readers.
In the first place, he states that, owing to the design of the steering gear, it is obvious that any deviation of the front wheels from their course will be felt at the steering wheel. Wobble, or "shimmying," as some drivers aptly term it, is both unpleasant and dangerous, and if the vehicle be operating over rough roads it sometimes occurs frequently.
The secret of the trouble and its cure lie in the set of the front axle, which controls the amount of castor effect given to the front wheels. The correct amount is given in the accompanying illustration. If excessive slant be imparted to the axle, great effort will be required to steer round a corner, although little work will be necessary to keep the vehicle straight.
On the other hand, if very little slant he apparent turning will be easy, but the tendency to swing straight after rounding a corner will disappear, and, what is more important, the axle will then be in a position where wobble is most easily set up.
In the first case dealt with, the axle was practically vertical, owing to the nuts of the spring perches having been replaced by ordinary lock-nuts, which, coupled with the end-play in the spring shackles, allowed the axle to float. In such instances the fitting of the proper nuts will sometimes effect a cure. The writer himself fits coned washers between the nuts and radius rod, and these assist in keeping the axle in the right position.
In the second vehicle dealt with, the trouble only occurred on very bad roads, and it was ultimately traced to a scored roller race in the off-side front wheel, thus causing what might be called a periodic vibration.
The third case was difficult to trace in that, when tested, the slant of the axle was found to be correct. Finally, by jacking the wheels clear of the ground and leaving the assembly free by packing the chassis and removing the jacks, it was proved to be possible to move the axle and wheels in a fore and aft direction for quite an appreciable amount, after which examination of the radius-rod ball revealed excessive wear at this point. A further instance revealed loose perch nuts and a repaired radius rod in which one leg was longer than the other.
No mention has yet been made of wobble caused through a bent axle. This is usually only prcsent at very low speeds, and naturally an axle cannot be bent except through an accident, and so would be checked over at the time of repair—or ought to be.
325.—Repairing a Front Hub.
A recent instance occurred of a vehicle entering a garage for the replacement of a .brioken front hub. The vehicle was -wanted quickly, but a new htib could not be obtained locally.
The hub, which had broken off at the inner end of the screw thread, was cleaned and mounted in the lathe chuck. . the broken end then being turned off to within n ins, of the flange, and to a diameter of 14 ins. for a length of 11 ins. A piece of mild steel of 21 ins. diameter was then placed in the lathe and bored right through with a 1-in. drill. One end was drilled out 1/0/ ins. diameter to a depth of 11 ins., care being taken to make it a force fit on the hub. The two parts were then pressed together and the new portion secured by the three fine-threaded setscrews, from which the beads were cut. .The repaired hub was placed in a lathe and the new part turned down to 21 ins, diameter for its whole length, the front end bored out to take the Ford race, thus leaving a flange of it in. for this race to butt against. The front of the hub was then faced off to the required length and the thread cut.