Specialized Coachwork Refinements
Page 46
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NEARLY three years ago the allweather head produced by Mr. W. L. Thurgood, the coachbuilder of Ware, Hertfordshire, was described in this journal and, in the meantime, it has been successfully employed on numbers of vehicles.
A separate company, with the name Comfort-Travel Patents Co., Ltd., of Park Road, Ware, has now been formed to manufacture the head for supply complete to other coachbuilders throughout the country, ready for incorporation in their own bodywork. The same company will handle the NonChafe seat, another of Mr. Thurgood's products, which, incidentally, was exhibited at the Olympia Show in 1931.
Known as the Easiway, the roof is suitable for bodies of from. 6 ft. 2 ins. to 7 ft. inside width, and is supplied ready to drop straight on to the cant rails, no previous preparations and no shaped quarters being necessary. The fitting operation takes approximately one hour. Also, existing vehicles may easily be converted. The roof is guaranteed for five years not to leak.
The standard section gives an opening of 8 ft. by 4 ft., suitable for vehicles of from 20 to 26 seats, and the price is 124 10s. For 32-seaters or double-deckers, two such sections, with a strong centrepiece, are supplied at 149. Any type of ventilator can be fitted.
The Easiway roof consists of four rigid panels of shaped section longitudinally hinged. As our illustrations show, it is quickly opened and closed by means of two handles and, when open, fits into recesses, giving an unbroken line from front to rear. The main longitudivals are flitched for their full length, the framework being entirely of ash, and the panels are of }-in. plywood, primed and moleskin covered.
By means of aluminium J-plates and overlapping metal lips, the hinged joints and ends are effectively waterproofed, whilst the centre joint consists of plain rubber lips of special section, wlich abut and are compressed before the seating of the panels. Three tapered dowels ensure correct alignment. Four holding-down clamps with bevelled striking plates prevent rattle when the head is closed.
In the process of opening, the head runs on four rubber rollers, the roller irons having bosses which move sideways into strong spring clips ; these prevent rattle when the head is open, but do not resist closing as the panels move sideways out of them, The Non-Chafe seat also has been improved. Each passenger has a separate cushion and seat back, the latter being hinged to an outer rail of the upper frame of the seat case, so that, with the vertical movement of the seat cushion, the back rest rises anti falls, giving a most welcome relief from the customary chafing at the passenger' back. The improvements relate in particular to the guide for the back rest, it being thought desirable to avoid all need for lubrication. A very hard fibre of square section now provides a solution, this being screwed to each side of the back-rest frame, so that it rides up and down in a light steel channel, which is boxed into the fixed portion of the seat back. The latter has plywood panelling on either a wood or tubularsteel frame, and is mounted on light cast-aluminium pedestals. Of course, the entire seat can be lifted out for cleaning purposes.
The Non-Chafe seat differs little in appearance from ordinary seats, and the price is not much higher, double seats being obtainable at from 14 12s. 6d. to 7 guineas, according to the finish required, which, naturally, can be anything up to the most luxurious variety with neck rolls, etc.