'TEN SPEEDS FOR ALBIONS
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A NEW gearbox based on the wellti known Albion GB.241 fiveor six
speed box is to be offered in Clydesdale CD21A, Reiver RE25A and Super Reiver RE29 goods models from June of this year, and may later be made available to other vehicle manufacturers through the L.M.C. Special Products Division. The new box offers up to 10 forward and two reverse ratios, and production has already started.
To be known as the GB.243, the new box incorporates a train of auxiliary gears at the front of the Iayshaft, these being in constant mesh. Selection of the high or low trains is by means of a sliding dog clutch forward of the additional gearing and dogs incorporated in the power take-off gear, these being moved together in such a way that as one set engages, the other set disengages. The auxiliary change is made in the driver's cab by a separate gear lever. The ratios given by the GB.243 box are as follows, those ratios additional to those of the basic GB.241 unit being shown in italics: 0-76, 1.0. 1-605, 2447, 2-655, 3-552, 4-308, 5•764, 6-988 and 9.352 forward, the reverse ratios being 6.343 and 8.487 to 1.
The additional gearing cannot be incorporated in existing GB.241 boxes. The new unit is dimensionally similar to the basic gearbox except for slightly greater overall length, the effect of which is to move the rear driving flange 2.75 in. farther back. This in turn results in the use of a shorter propeller shaft.
It will be recalled that this is not the first time that Albion Motors Ltd. has incorporated a range of auxiliary gearing to increase the number of ratios of a main gearbox, for in September, 1954, details were released of a modification to the then current Albion five-speed box which consisted of the addition of an epicyclic train -which gave a 1-33-to-1 step-up on all the five main ratios.