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BRISTOL
Page 98
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Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd., Bath Road, Brislington, Bristol, 4.
THE latest passenger chassis to come from Bristol is the LH lightweight design with a horizontal engine mounted under the floor amidships. This chassis which was announced in July has a kerb weight of under 3.5 tons and it is reported to be causing a great deal of interest among operators requiring an intermediate type of vehicle suitable for coaching and rural stage-carriage bus services.
The LH is designed to accommodate bodies with lengths from 22ft to 36ft, the chassis being produced in three wheelbase lengths. The wheelbase and overall lengths are: LH/S-12ft 6in and 21ft 3in: LH-16ft 2in and 25ft 10in; and LH/L-18ft 6in and 28ft 2in.
Designed maximum gross weight of the LH chassis is about 11 tons and the models are offered with either the Perkins H6.354 diesel or the Leyland 0.400. Transmission is through a Turner T5/400 direct-mounted five-speed overdrive synchromesh gearbox. The rear axle is a BMC 7-ton capacity spiral bevel and the front axle has a capacity of 4.5 tons.
A second recent development from Bristol is the VR chassis with its engine and gearbox mounted transversely at the extreme rear of the chassis. Singleor double-deck bodywork 30ft Sin or 32ft 9in long can be accommodated according to the wheelbase and the designation of this new version is VRT. As well as long and short chassiswheelbases are 16ft 2in and 18ft 6in respectively there are high and low frame versions of the VRT18in or 21in.
These same variations are obtainable on the VEIL chassis introduced by Bristol at the last Commercial Motor Show. This model has its power unit and transmission located longitudinally behind the offside rear wheels. Apart from location of the power unit the VRT and VRL are the same and six alternative engines are listed. These are the three Gardner six-cylinder diesels. the Leyland 0.680 or 0.600 and the AEC 691. A Bristol/Self Changing Gear epicyclic gearbox with semi-automatic control is used and fouror five-speed versions are obtainable.
The RE single-deck coach chassis with horizontal rear engine continues to be offered by Bristol. There are various versions of this and a recent addition to the range is a chassis suitable for 12 metre (39ft 4in) long bodywork. While this long RE--designated the REMH—M standing for metric—has already been designed, it is not yet in production. Full introduction of the model is waiting for confirmation of the change in the British regulations permitting 12-metre vehicles to operate in this country.