ROADSIDE AND GARAGE.
Page 65
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Interesting Contributions from Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
A Better Fastening for Rear Doors.
THAT some improvement in the fastening of the rear doors of closed van bodies has been needed we have been assured by many users, and we are, therefore, glad of the suggestion made by "A.E.K.," of Derby, which is as follows
Most users of motorvans have found the standard type of rear-door fastener to be unsatisfactory, as Under constant vibration day by day the lock springs and allows the rods to work out of their locating holes, when the doors become free to fly open, with consequent danger to road users and to the general public. Another disadvantage of this class of door fastener,is the time wasted in fastening and unfastening the doors when working on do.or-to-door delivery in congested districts—drivers can constantly be seen placing their hands first in one pocket and then in the otter searching for the key, or else walking back to the driving seat to look for it under the cushions.
Of course, a key can be fitted as a permanency, but it very often forms a useful hand grip for the youthful " hanger-on," who has only to give it a turn to release the doors and expose the contents of the van to all 1111d sundry. To -overcome many of these disadvantages, and to obtain a far more efficient device, the fastener illustrated on this page was adopted and fitted to many vans.
As can be seen from the diagram, a long bar of flat iron, in this case 2 ins, by in., is slotted at three points, so that it can slide on three bplts fitted into the door ; at the top of the bar two prongs are formed so that they can fall into two eye-bolts fitted into the body. At the bottom of the body, just below the doors, a bracket is formed so that the bottom of the bar just enters it at the Same time as the prongs begin to drop into the eye-bolts.
This device will be found effectively
to secure the doors, at the same time binding the two doors together so that most of the rattle to which these doors are subject will be prevented. The dimensions given on the diagram are suitable for vans around the one-ton size; for larger sizes, such as threetonners, a little increase in dimensions would be desirable, On whatever van doors it is placed it is necessary, when fitting it on one door, to note that it will overlap the other door by half an inch.
Some Welding .Tips.
IN our issue of December alth we
published a letter from "R.S.," of Accrington, in which some tips were given on the subject of welding broken parts of commercial vehicles.
This matter appears to be of interest to mechanics, as we have received several letters bearing on the subject of repairs by welding. One correspondent, " T.13.," of Normanton, who is a welder, claims to know of a better way` of repairing a cracked frame than that suggested by " R.S.," which was to weld a long reinforcing plate on the tap of the channel. The suggestion of " T.13." is that the crack in the frame should be grooved out by a chisel right down to the bottom of the flaw, then welded up to the, level of the surface. With such articles as wing stays, he says that the broken parts should be tapered as shown in his sketch, so that there is sound metal built up throughout. In both cases he suggests that the super fluous metal can be cleaned off with a file until the part look S like new.
We cannot say that our experience of welding confirms this view, as if is well known that metal deposited by welding seldom has the strength of the original metal; consequently, unless the section of the part be increased at the weld, there must necessarily be a weak spot there, and we agree with when he says that ".if the metal has proved itself not strong enough in the first place it is hopeless to expect it to stand up to its work unless the metal be made thicker by building up the. weld."
Another contributor, " J.S.B.," of Sheffield, says that whilst he agrees with "R.S." as to the welding of such articles as wing stays, he disagrees with him as to the method of repairing cracked frame members. He suggests that a plate of metal laid an the top of a chassis channel is not so effective as one laid in a vertical direction, and further says that he has found the best way to deal with a cracked member is as follows:—
Having had a fair experience with cracked frames, he examines the crack, and if the crack does not extend to the
top of the channel he drills a hole at the end of the crack, which he -finds greatly helps to stop the damage from extending. He then fits a plate 3 ft, long inside the channel, as shown in his sketch. He points out that this may seem to be unnecessarily long, and that many may think that 1 ft. would be ample, but the success of his method Iles in the great length of the plate. This he makes a good fit inside the channel and secures it with bolts that are a driving fit in their holes. He tells us that sueh a repair was carried out on a 4-5-tonner, which regularly carries 6 tons, some four years ago, and it is still running. Where it is impossible to fit a plate inside the channel, he fits a channel on the outside. It is not, however, easy to see how he always finds a channel that will fit, especially in the case of a. frame member which tapers. He is most emphatic on the matter of the plate and the bolts being good fits.
Where pieces-have been fitted inside
frame and no welding has been employed we have often seen failures owing to the pieces breaking after a period of use. In faieli a case the safest plan he to use a larger piece which will entirely fill the channel.