A NEW FRENCH EXPRESS CHASSIS.
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The Berliet Designed for 15 cwt. Loads and Equipped with Pneumatic Tyres, Steel Wheels and Quickly Detachable Rims, TWO of the most famous commercial vehicle works in France are those owned by the-Berliet Co., and their productions have always achieved wellmerited success in this country owing to their efficient running and general sturdy construction throughout.
The latest chassis to be brought to this country is the new 15 cwt. Berliet, which is designed for express delivery work, and is practically a replica in miniature of the well-known 4-5 ton Berliet chassis, which itself is a very high example ef commercial chassis design, and has proved very popular. The machine is fully imquipped with a lorry body and green canvas tilt, making the whole bod,v light but serviceable and entirely waterproof. The vehicle is eqnipped with special built-up, pressed steel wheels with detachable rims, held in position by seven bolts. • The centre portion of each wheel is huilt up from two pressings riveted to. gather and cut away to accommodate the tyre valve. The substantial channel steel frame is tapered td the front and rear, but is otherwise straight, and the Vehicle is mounted on long semi elliptic springs throughout, and these, combined with the 880 mm. by 120 sum. tyres, make it ride very smoothly.
The price is certainly most moderate, being £395 for the 175 cwt. machine, or, with electric lighting and starting equipment, £50 extra. A somewhat similar vehicle, but with a capacity of 30-cwt., is priced at £595.
The power unit is four-cylindered, with the cylinders cast in one with the top half of the crankcase, and provided with detachable heads. The bore and stroke are mm. and 130 mm. respectively. T h engine is . suspended in the chassis at three points only, and is thus isolated from all stresses due to frame flexions. All the valves are on the near side,
and are completely enclosed by cover plates. The cooling water is circulated by a centrifugal pump through a gilled tubular radiator, and the high-tension magneto is driven from the timing gears through the Medium of a flexible leather coupling. The drive to the pressed steel. fan is by way of a flat belt, and the fan itself is carried on a rocking arm in order to render it adjustable.
The gearbox is formed as a unit with
the engine. It provides three speeds forward and a reverse, and has a centrally positioned change-speed lever. Thehandbrake lever is also centrally positioned. Both the hand and foot brakes operate on the rear wheel drums. The shoes are of the metal-to-metal type acting on concentric drums. Behind the gearbox is a single universal joint of the star type, and the front end of the propeller shaft forms a ball-and-cup joint with the cardan joint housing. The rear axle is of the vertical banjo type constructed of steel pressings welded together. A large rear cover makes the helical bevel drive and differential gear moss accessible. The front axle has forked ends for the steering pivot pins, and the steering tie rod is situated behind it. This tie rod is provided with forked connections, which can be easily adjusted in order to track the wheels cor-rectly. The engine is lubricated under pressure, and a pressure indicator, to show if the oil pump is working satisfactorily, is fixed to the dash.
The 30 cwt. model has not yet arrived in this country, but it will utilize the same type of engine as that on the vehicle just describe& This power unit, incidentally, is very similar to that employed on the 16 hp. Berliet private car.