Stripped for action
Page 35
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The recent unusual spate of hot weather produced some odd methods of engine cooling. They ranged from opening radiator filler flaps to the removal of body panels.
I am told that the first method is probably the most common but serves no useful purpose and while the second method is practised effectively overseas and might produce useful results here, the vehicle finishes up looking more like a skeleton than a lorry.
If we were giving prizes for ingenuity, which we are not, then the premier award would surely go to the owner of an elderly Bedford seen last week in Manchester with its hinged panels at the sides and rear of the cab removed. It was sporting hard plywood blades, not unlike smoke deflectors, which used to be fitted to steam locomotives.
The Bedford had them mounted under the front bumper in an effort to direct air through the engine and cab. I can't say how the engine was affected, but the driver was stripped from the waist up and Still appeared to be suffering. Many of these "modifications" to drivers and vehicles could be avoided if the cooling system was maintalLned in summer as in winter.