vith Economy
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From Results Based On a 500-mile Test, the Bradford Van Appears to Favour Hard Work, Showing a Relatively Low Fuel Consumption Under Those Conditions. The Vehicle Put Up an Excellent Performance on Hill-climbing speed to give the engine and chassis a chance to get well bedded down.
A reasonable average speed was maintained on the journey and topgear performance on hills and gradients was notable. Whereas with a four-cylindered vehicle it would be normal to change to a lower speed at 25 m.p.h., the Bradford appeared to find a high torque at that point, and a change down to second gear was not required until the speed dropped to 15 m.p.h. or below.
The running in period was extended until 350 miles were showing on the mileometer. The vehicle was then filled with timber and breeze blocks to the maximum loading for the first series of tests. At the local public weighbridge it was ascertained
that a load of 10 cwt. had been added, but unfortunately, when the distributed load was taken, it showed a wide variation from the total load, so this has been omitted from our data panel.
Acceleration and braking tests were made along the usual stretch of the Great South-west Road. With
only a slight breeze, conditions were as near perfect as possible. Although there were no synchronizing gears to facilitate rapid gear changing, he Bradford proved to have a liveliness comparable with others of its class. From rest, 20 m.p.h. was reached, through the gears, in 8 secs., and .30 m.p.h. in 13 sees.
Top-gear acceleration was correspondingly good, although from 10 to 12 m.p.h. the two-cylindered unit did raise certain objection to the severity of the test. Nevertheless, 20 m.p.h. was accomplished in an average of 9 secs. and 30 m.p h in 19.2 secs.
High Braking Efficiency
Braking equally On all four wheels, the van was brought to rest in 43 ft. from 30 m.p.h. and in 18.5 ft. from 20 m.p.h. These figures were made at a time when the drums were well warmed-up and the efficiency should be at its lowest. As it was, the stopping distances showed an efficiency of 70 per cent., which may be considered excellent.
Fuel-consumption measures were next fitted to obtain an accurate result over a 50-mile give-and-take course. The Bradford was left out in the open for the night to test its starting capabilities under the worst possible conditions. On the following morning, the van was covered with a thick rime, and I had my doubts whether the engine could be turned on the starter. However, within 5 secs. the engine had started, and with the fuel measures in circuit, the straight consumption test was begun.
Heavy traffic was encountered between Streatham and Croydon, and it was not until we turned off towards Warlingham that the road
became comparatively traffic-free. The long climb up Sanderstead Hill warranted nearly half a mile of second-gear work, although the lesser gradient at the top was taken in top gear.
Turning off Warlingham Green, we descended Succombs Hill to the Brighton road and proceeded along to Godstone. This involved a long gradient which was accomplished in top gear at a speed of 18-22 m.p.h.
From Godstone we branched off to Oxted and Westerham, again meeting hills that required a fair amount of second-gear work. After passing through Oxted, the mileometer showed that we had covered 25 miles, so a turn was made and the route retraced. This, of course, balanced out to a certain degree the hills that had been climbed on the , outward journey, but also brought in the climb of Succombs Hill on the return.
Readings taken at the foot of Suceombs Hill showed an atmospheric temperature of 33 degrees F. and radiator temperature of 145 F. The climb was made without difficulty, bottom gear being used for almost the entire length of the hill. The radiator temperature, taken at (-6 the top of the climb, showed a rise of 13 degrees F., proving that it would take a considerably stiffer gradient or higher atmospheric temperature to make the Bradford show signs of overheating.
The remainder of the journey was made in light traffic, in which the van would normally be expected to work. After 50 miles the test was stopped and the measures refilled. It required 1.68 gallons of petrol to replenish the measure, which corresponds to 29.8 m.p.g.
Time taken for the test was 1 hr. 58 mins., which is equivalent to an average speed of 25.3 m.p.h. Considering the traffic and hilly territory, both consumption and average speed are remarkable.
Excellent Cold Starting
Again the Bradford was left out in the open for the night, and a cold start was made on the following morning for the local delivery test. This test was planned over a 50-mile route, which, starting from the suburbs of London, incorporated a fair amount of traffic work and was staged so that an average of four stops was made in every mile, representative of local delivery work. The engine was switched off at every stop and the starter used for the 200-odd occasions on which the engine was re-started. The payload, which had previously been 10 cwt.. was reduced to 5 cwt., which would be typical of conditions of door-todoor delivery.
No check was made on the time occupied by the test, which took the greater part of a day to run oft Fuel consumed for the 50 miles was 1.87 gallons, which is equivalent to 26.6 m.p.g., a good performance which may, to a large extent, be attributed to the flexibility of the engine in top gear.
The economy of the Bradford is difficult to equal, and the simplicity of the chassis layout makes for easy maintenance.
1 found two minor points which I consider might be improved. First, the engine dipstick has a screw-on cap, Ahich is not easily started on its thread from the side of the van, and. secondly, the petrol-filler cap has a fine thread, which could easily be damaged by a careless driver. Otherwise the chassis offers little scope for adverse criticism. Steering, acceleration and braking are all that could be desired.