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The smallest of the Alfa Romeo exhibits is the Romeo

2o front-wheeldrive 1-ton van. This vehicle, which has been in production for three years and is available with either petrol or oil engine, has been modified slightly this year. The petrol engine has an improved watercirculation system, redesigned cylinder head and special long-life piston rings.

The Mille truck, which is completely new, is powered by a 155 b.h.p. sixcylindered 11-litre oil engine. An eightspeed synchromesh gearbox is mounted separately and, like the clutch, has an air serVo to reduce the effort required of the driver when changing gear.

'•The Mille has full forward control, a payload rating of 8 tons and a maximum gross train weight rating of 30 tons. The frame is all-welded and the steel cab has a pleasing appearance. The mate's scat has a deep reclinahle squab and a sleeping berth is provided in the back of the ca b.

Lattice Frame

A horizontal version of the truck engine, uprated to develop 160 b.h.p., is employed in the new Mille Al 7/1's passenger chassis. This vehicle has a lattice-type frame fabricated from channel-section members, and by mounting the engine so that its top is within 2 in. of the floor it has been possible to make the frame height much lower than is normally found in underfloor-engined designs.

As with the goods chassis, an airoperated gearbox is employed and a large double-reduction rear axle is fitted. Conventional semi-elliptic springs are used and at the rear these work in conjunction with large lever-type dampers and telescopic dampers.

The Autobianchi Ambrosiano 31tonner is conventional. It has forward control with a new style of cab, and the power unit is a 4.16-litre oil engine developing 67 b.h.p.

Fast Haulage

By contrast, the Fiat C4ON 4-tonncr is a normal-control vehicle with an unladen weight of 3 tons 7 cwt., designed for high-speed transport. It has a 90 b.h.p. oil engine, giving a maximum speed of 50 m.p.h., and a five-speed synchromesh gearbox is employed.

Hydraulic brakes are operated through an air servo, and leaf springs, aided by telescopic dampers, are employed at both axles. The C4ON is suitable for use with 13-ft. bodies and sells in Italy for about £1,700.

The introduction of the 1100 T range preceded the British Ford announcement of their models by two days. Available as a 185-cu.-ft. van, drop-sided truck or a nine-seat bus, the design incorporates integral construction and independent front suspension on coil springs and wishbones. A 1-litre petrol engine, which develops 38 b.h.p. at 4,800 r.p.m., is set well back in the frame, so that the radiator, mounted directly ahead of the engine, lies on the centre line of the front wheels.

The engine cowl is not dropped immediately ahead of the radiator to allow a clear passage from the driving seat to the kerb, there being a large, fiat-topped tunnel between the cowl and air-intake grille. This is, however, covered with rubber to form a suitable wearing surface for the driver to clamber over.

As with the Thames, sliding doors are not fittest to the cab, but there is a side sliding door to give access to the payload space and twin doors at the rear. The sliding-door gear consists of rubber rollers which give a smooth action in almost complete silence. The drop-sided truck has a deep well, but this can be covered with boards to provide a flat platform level with the bottom of the hinged sides. A similar layout is employed in the French Citroen 1-ton vehicle.

The new Fiat van sells for £725, whilst the truck is about £25 cheaper. Although of integral construction, it can be supplied in chassis form, so that operators may have their own special types of body mounted upon it.

Lancia, who hitherto have made underfloor-engined vehicles with the engine ahead of the front axle, show their first passenger chassis with an engine mounted below the floor amidships. This is the Esatau 703. The engine, which is remarkably clean externally, is of 8.87-litre capacity, yet it is claimed to develop 150 b.h.p.

Inclined Radiator

A conventional all-welded frame with integral outriggers is used, and the side members are flat along their upper flanges. Attempts have obviously been made to reduce the frame height without imparing ground clearance, and the radiator, for example, is mounted at approximately 30° to the horizontal, ducting being provided in front of and behind it.

The eight-speed synchromesh gearbox is air-operated and has a preselective action. It is mounted in unit with the friction clutch, but separate from the engine.

Dual-circuit air-pressure braking is employed and semi-elliptic springs are used at both axles. The rear axle is a double-reduction unit. A drum-type transmission brake is mounted on the back of the gearbox and a mechanically operated exhaust brake is employed. The standard tyre size is 11.00-20 in.

The latest version of the Lancia Esatau 8-ton chassis is the Esatau-B, which is basically similar to its predecessor, except that a pleasing new cab is employed. As with the Esatau passenger chassis, the clutch and gearbox assembly is mounted separately from the engine, and the gearbox has an air-pressure-operated preselective action.

Luxury for Crew

Like the Alfa Romeo Milk cab, the new Esatau cab has a reclining seat for the mate and a sleeping berth at the back. A three-axle version of the Esatau-B, rated for a 10+-ton payload, is available.

A new Viberti cab has been designed for the Lancia Beta 190 2+-tonner, giving an improved appearance to this forwardcontrol design. The engine is a 2-litre twin-cylindered two-stroke compressionignition unit, with a maximum power output of 42 b.h.p.

The Iso 400 four-wheeled chassis is powered by a front-mounted horizontally opposed twin-cylindered four-stroke aircooled petrol engine. This has a capacity of 392 c.c. and it develops 14 b.h.p. at 4,700 r.p.m. Being flat, it occupies little space and the engine cowl inside the cab is small and does not obstruct access to the driving seat from the kerb.

A four-speed gearbox is mounted in unit with the engine, which drives the c33 spiral-bevel rear axle through a two-piece propeller shaft with rubber universal joints.

Welding is employed in the assembly of the chassis frame, which has three cross-members, and cruciform bracing. The front wheels are independently sprung, each with a single inverted semielliptic spring, mounted transversely, acting as upper links, with wishbones for the lower links. Longitudinal semielliptic springs are used at the rear axle and hydraulic brakes are fitted to all wheels.

Of the many van conversions based on the Fiat 600 Multipla design, the one that shows most promise is the OM., which has received Fiat's full approval and is being produced in large numbers. The Fiat-O.M, van has a payload rating of approximately half a ton and its body capacity is 106 cu, ft.

Several styles are offered, the two basic types having either twin hinged doors or a large sliding door on the kerb side. There is also a lift-up flap in the rear panel above the engine compartment.

The Casaro air-sprung exhibit is a Tubocar 53-seat coach built for the S.A.T.T.I, company, of Turin. The coach is an inter-city model employing Fiat running components, and it has an underfloor engine.

There are two Ceat air springs on the front axle and four at the rear, and there are two levelling valves and telescopic dampers at each axle. The front suspension layout is simple. The spring is directly on top of the axle beam and axle location is by dual radius arms at each side, with a single transverse Panhard rod. Rubber bushes are used at all joints.

A single radius arm is employed on each side at the rear, whilst lateral location is provided by a triangulated frame attached to the top of the differential pot. The system is not unlike certain layouts seen at the Frankfurt Show two months ago, the principal difference being in the type of spring employed.

Viberti show a form of rear suspension employing the Ceat air spring, the exhibit consisting of a section of chassis frame with a double-reduction dropped-centre rear axle. As with the Casaro layout, two air springs are employed on each side, but axle location is by four radius arms, the lower pair being angled to give lateral stability.

c34

Exhibited in a similar manner is the layout for the rear suspension of a bus utilizing Viberti Pogioli plastics andrubber suspension. 1 his is a much more simple layout than that needed for air suspension, as each spring is self-contained and there is no need for location or torque-resisting arms. A Viberti Monotral 39.-seater coach with this suspension at both axles is also to be seen on the stand.

Cent engineers told me that at present only one size of air spring is to be manufactured, but should the demand arise, particularly from Fiat, they would be likely to manufacture a smaller unit for use on private cars. Before putting the present spring into production, Ceat sent some of their engineering representatives to the United States to study closely the suspension units at present being manufactured there, and decided that the General Tire and Rubber design offered the greatest possibilities.

The Pirelli-Firestone air spring is almost identical to that manufactured in the U.S.A. and employed by General Motors on their goods and passenger vehicles, but the Pirelli-Saga spring is unlike anything yet exhibited. It is called the Elipress and the rubber bellows unit has embedded in it a helical coil spring.

This spring is claimed to give several advantages over a normal type of air spring. For instance it can support the weight of an unladen vehicle when the air pressure has dropped to zero, as occurs when the vehicle is standing overnight. It is also said to give improved stability to the suspension layout. Fiat are reported to be experimenting with it.

Other than the use of the Vibertipogioli "plastics" springs on three makes and the 13erroja coil spring employed on a

Bertoja trailer there is little new to hi found among the trailers. Most Italia' six-wheeled trailers continue to emplo] a steerable rear axle with the object o reducing 'tyre wear on corners.

An interesting six-wheeled trailer h shown by Adige among the outsick exhibits. This has been designed foi carrying liquid methane gas, but insteac of having a single high.pressureu tank, ii carries 42 30-ft.-long bottles arranged jr six layers, seven bottles in each. OVCI 140,000 cu. ft. of gas can be carried, the storage pressure being 160 atmospheres.

Adige show a semi-trailer dolly also, for converting a semi-trailer into a drawbar unit. This type is used in large numbers in the United States, and one has been developed for the British Army by Cranes (Dereham), Ltd., for use with 10-ton semi-trailers (The Commercial Motor, October 5, 1956),

The Adige unit has a standard S.A.E. fifth-wheel coupling and is fitted with 12.75-20-in, single tyres, so it would be suitable for use with a semi-trailer of about 9-ton capacity. The dolly had obviously been prepared for the Show at the last minute, because it had no brake cylinders or air lines.

Passenger bodywork exhibits are of a high standard and there are few exaggerated frontal stylings to be seen. One of the most popular chassis employed by bodybuilders is the Fiat 306 underfloor-engined model.

• Indeed, it is possibly the popularity of this chassis which was introduced some two years ago, which has led, other companies, such as Lancia and Alfa Romeo, to develop designs of this type. Rearengined passenger vehicles seem to be losing popularity and S.I.C.C.A. remain the principal protagonists of this layout.

Certain forwarcl-engined chassis continue to be popular, whilst the small O.M. Leoncino and Tigrotto chassis are much in demand for bodies seating up to about 25 people.

One body based on such a chassis is shown by Boneschi and is known as the Stylebus 58. It is a 26-seater with a not unattractive appearance created by sweeping the lower body panels inwards at front and rear, the rear end looking something like the stern of a ship.