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Man zfinements in AUSTIN I F-WAR CHASSIS

2nd February 1945
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Page 26, 2nd February 1945 — Man zfinements in AUSTIN I F-WAR CHASSIS
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IN its immediate post-war programme, the Austin Motor Co., Ltd., will offer six basic types of commercial vehicle. Two are light vans, of 82. cubic ft. and 120 cubic ft. body capacity, respectively. One is a

2-ton long-wheelbase .lorry. The next pair are both 5-tonners, one a long-wheelbase machine and the other a short-wheelbase end-tipper. This last chassis will be available also as a tractor unit for . a semi-trailer or full trailer combination. Finally, there is .a coach chassis of 15-ft. wheelbase. These plans were announced on Tuesday last at the Longbridge Works, Birmingham, to a gathering of leading dealers. As the first post-war declaration to be made by a vehicle maker, it will serve as a useful indication of what operators will be oflered in the way of rfew vehicles, generally, during the immediate post-war period.

Broadly speaking, these vehicles are similar to those which were first announced in 1939, but there are various detail refinements incorporated as a result of five ' years' use in civilian and military hands. In describing them it will be convenient to consider the heavier group of model.; first.

These, it will be recalled, all employ a six-cylindered o.h.v. engine of 85 mm. bore and 101.6 min. stroke, giving a capacity of 3,459 c.c. and a Treasury rating of 26.8 h.p. In unit with it is a Borg and Beck .11-in. single-plate clutch and a four-speed gearbox from which a Hardy-Spicer tubular propeller shaft, . with needleroller universals, takes the power to a fully floating : spiral-bevel back axle. • Lockheed hydraulie brakes with slotted shoes are used . and, in the case of the long:wheelbase 5-tonner as well as of the Coach chassis, a Clayton DeWandre vacuum

servo unit is provided. All except the 2-ton chassis have 16-in. drums. On this smaller model the tyres are .32-in:

by (s in Dunlops with twins at the rear, giving a maximum permissible gross weight (vehicle plus load) of 5 tons 5 cwt. The larger types all have 34-in. by 7-in. , Dunlaps, again with twin sr at The rear, :giving _a per missible gross weight of 8 tons 5..cwt. , . . . '. ..

Steering .gear includes Thompson self-adjusting rod .„ connections and Bishop . camsand-roller mechanism which, however, is nbw of the • type in which roller bearings carry the roller which engages with the cam. This gives more efficient and lighter steering.

The electrical system. is based on a 63 amp.-hour battery fed by a belt-driven 12-volt dynamo with automatic voltage control. The facia panel carries a speedoMeter with mileage recorder, oil-pressure gauge, petrol. gauge and ammeter, as well as the choke and starter controls.

'Standard chassis equipment includes detachable starting handle, tool roll, running boards, scuttle dash, bonnet, four wings and a spare wheel without tyre. The cab is of steel construction with a V screen, of which one panel opens. Both doors ha.ye winding windows and toughened glass is used all round. Driving mirror and electric, screenwiper are included in the equipment.

Turning to the refinements, and starting at the front of the vehicle, the most noticeable of all is a new radiator cowl with a broad central vertical band relieved by four narrow chromium-plated strips. Behind this, the radiator itself is provided with an expansion chamber in the header tank (as already described in " The Commercial Motor " in connection with the Austin military ambulance), the purpose being to prevent loss of cooling . water. The water pump also has been redesigned and incorporates a special gland arrangement which prevents air /tom being drawn in on the suction side.

Regarding. the engine, the exhaust guides are extendel towards the valve head with a generous clearance between the stem and the extension, which thus serves as a shroud th shield the stem. The valves will continue to be of high chromium alloy XB steel, which has been Used for some little time past.

The lubrication system has been modified considerably. In place of the floating strainer in the sump there is-now a fixed one of finer mesh and larger 'area; -this provides more thorough cleaning of the oil before it reaches the pump and draws from the cooler depths of the sump.

COnsiderable thought has evidently been given to the effective delivery of lubricant to the various bearings. At the mains, for example, there iS a large groove or passage running right around the outside of the shell, which is drilled radially at four points to distribute oil to all parts of the bearing. The drilled passage lead.. ing to each big-end is blocked at its outer end, and a. second hole drilled at an angle so as to deliver oil to the area of lowest pressure, from which it is spread by the motion of the connecting-rod bearing.

Most elaborate of these refinelnents, however, is the method of lubricating the camshaft clatin. A passage is drilled to the front bearing of the camshaft, which is provided, at this point, with two axial grooves onthe ' shaft surface leading to the chain wheel. As the cam' shaft rotates, these grooves register in turn with the oil hole and deliver a squirt of oil to shallow dished pressings riveted on to each side of the chain wheel. Thence, centrifugal force carries the lubricant outwards to the teeth and the chain itself. By delivering one squirt of oil ,per revolution through each groove in this way, all the oil passages can be comparatively large, and,' thus, there is no risk of choking them even if the oil be allowed to become undesirably dirty.

Another innovation at thiS point is a■patented and remarkably simple form of automatic tensioner which

• also silences the timing chain. It consists of an oilproof synthetic-rubber ring placed in the groove between the two rows of teeth serving the duplex roller chain. Its outer diameter receives the chain at the point of engagement and cushions it, at the satne time tending to force the rollers outwards from the centre of the wheel so as to maintain a constant tension even when the chain has stretched.

On these heavy chassis the only remaining change of importance is in the rear axle. In place of the ball beatings previously used to carry the crown-wheel and differential assembly, there are now taper-roller bearings.

Before turning to the, yams, something must be said about the 5-ton tipper, which is virtually a new model. It has an all-steel body of 4 cubic yd. capacity, and is provided with drop sides and a tailboard hinged at the top. Its tipping gear is hydraulic, with a vertical ram„sitnated between the body and the cab.

The smaller van (82 cubic ft.) remains as in 1939, so far as the body is concerned, but its 8 h.p. 900 c.c. engine has all the refinements just mentioned in conneetion with the heavy vehicles, and its radiator has the expansion chamber. In its gearliox, the mainshaft assembly has been modified and no longer uses spring. rings to take end thrust. The lubrication of the layshaft, too, has been altered; in place of grooves cut in the bushes there are now flats on the fixed spindle, these being placed in the no-load area.

Other transmission improvements are to be found in the back axle. The bevel-pinion shaft is now carried in pre-loaded taper-roller bearings, and greater rigidity • is given to the mounting of the bearings themselves by a modification of the part in which they are housed. This latter change is due, in part, to an improved lubrication arrangement, wherein deflectors and galleries catch oil flung from the bevels and guide it to the bearings.

Steering is by Bishop cam gear, instead of by worm, and the steering ball joints on drag link and track rod are provided with larger and harder, bearing surfaces, grooved to distribute the lubricant.

Spring brackets on the chassis frame and on the back *26 axle have been stiffened and strengthened, and the shock absorbers are now double-acting at the rear as well as at the front. The rear mounting of the power unit is now by two rubber pads set at an angle, -instead of the single horizontal. Pad used •previouSly. A .small point which, in certain circumstances, should simplify maintenance is the provision of a grease nipple at each end' of the clutch-withdrawal shaft, and a similar nipple for the steering-arm shaft.

In the larger van, .similar improvements are to be found, but in this case the body also is new. This model has an 11 li.p:engine:of 1,227 c.c. capacity; and

a. load capacity of 120 cubic ft. A neat effect is obtained by fitting cover plates which enclose the top half of each -rear wheel. These covers, being held in place by a Single hexagon nut of the Same size•as those used on the wheels, are quickly detachable, but, while

in place, they are firm and apparently rattle-proof. The van body and its rear doors are of steel. A useful detail • is the provision of a shelf above the windscreen.

It is noteworthy that, almost without exception, the various modifications to these Austin commercial vehicles are not designed merely to reduce produCtion costs: On the contrary, they appear likely to involve some additional, if slight, expense. In short, the object throbghout appears to be to produce still better vehicles, and we feel that this policy is thoroughly in the interests of the operator.

Just what the prices will be, it is not yet possible to say; nor can delivery dates be forecast. This it must be emphasized, is a post-war programme, but its publication at this date should be helpful to those who, like the Austin concern, think it wise to get as far ahe,ad as possible with plans for .peac'e-time.

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Organisations: US Federal Reserve
Locations: AUSTIN, Birmingham

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