Siddeley-Deasy (Stoneleigh) : Stand 46.
Page 30
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THE STONELEIGH CO'31M_ERCIAL
46] MODELS. [46
Load H.P. Drive Price (a).
30 cut. 24 Worm 495
(a) Chassis with tires.
Two examples are staged at Olympia in addition to an ambulance van.
The Stoneleigh commercial vehicle chassis, built by the SiddeleyDeasy Motor Car Co., Ltd., Parkside, Coveutry, occupies a prominent position on Stand No. 46. This chassis, it will be recalled, was first exhibited at the last Manchester Show. It has many original and special features to command the attention of visitors. Its 24 h.p. four-cylinder engine is one of the Silent Knight type, and an inverted cone clutch connects it to the three-speed-and-reverse gearbox ; the drive is thence through a tailshaft to a worm-driven live axle. The most remarkable feature about the construction of the Stoneleigh chassis is that the back axle and gearbox are rigidly connected by a stout torque and thrust tube which encloses the tailshaft, and just forward of the gearbox is a large spherical member which is located in a suitable socket which is carried on a transverse member of the frame, so that the tractive effort is transmitted from the tailshaft
s20 tubing, the gearbox, and the spherical joint to the aforesaid transverse member.
Another interesting feature is the position and method of actuating the footbrake. The worm shaft is extended backwards, and mounted thereon is a ribbed brake drum surrounding a pair of expanding brake shoes, and in order to avoid undue complication by the use of bell-crank levers, etc., the designers have resorted to the use of a pair of bevel segments, which certainly gives a finished and workmanlike appearance to the axle, and affords a practical and efficient means of applying the brake. The brake drum may readily be withdrawn
without disturbing any of the operating gear, and when it is withdrawn new blocks may .easily be fitted if required, or the old ones may be relined with suitable material. The side brake drums are of unusually large diameter for a chassis of this capacity ; 30 cwt. is the load intended to be carried. The Stonekigh commercial chassis is by no means a competitive cheap job, but has been produced with the idea of giving satisfactory service in hard work.
The ambulance van which is shown also has a Silent-Knight type of engine, and the cantilever system of springing employed undoubtedly makes it a most easy riding and suitable type of chassis for the purpose for which it has been constructed. This partieulan model should appeal to many of the deputations from municipalities which have already arranged to visit the Show. It is rather a surs prising feature—in face of much_ apathy in other directions—that so ninny local authorities have grasped the advantages offered by commercial motors in carrying out the everyday co-operative work of towns and cities. We have little doubt that such visitors will carry away with them good impressions, and the resnIts of visits such as these will bear fruit in many directions.