The Brockway 50-cwt. Chassis.
Page 14
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Final Drive by Roller Chains. Peculiar Springing. Timber Cross-members.
Yet another American chassis is now available, this tune offered by the Vulcan Car Agency, Ltd., 166, Great Portland Street, W., and with a capacity of 60 cwt. including the weight of body and fittings.
An Assembled Chassis of Wellknown Components.
We can almost imagine we hear our readers, or at least those who have followed closely our written descriptions of the many recently offered American assembled propositions, repeating to themselves, Continental engine, dry-disc clutch, Brown-Lipe gearbox, honeycomb radiator, TimkenDavid-Brown over-type rear axle, and so on.They are pretty sure to be right if they occasionally substitute, say, a Covert gearbox, a Buda engine or a Sheldon rear
axle. In this particular instance our old friend, the Continental, is again in evidence. This time the monobloc unit is utilized, 4,1, in. by 6i in. bore and stroke respectively, with pump circulation for the water, and the provision of fan blades in the flywheel, as well as the customary fan behind the radiator to assist in the cooling.
Real Commercial-vehicle Radiator, Clutch, Gearbox.
For once in a way we are provided with a real commercialvehicle radiator. This is of the built-up type, and is carried between coil springs attached to the main frame. The clutch again is a large fibre-lined cone, so that we were wrong on two counts in our suggested specification. Between clutch and gearbox runs an articulated clutch shaft. The box itself is a Brown-Lipe, three-point susendd, and provides three speeds forward and one reverse. Bolted to the rear end is the casing for the bevel drive, differ ential gear, and cross shafts, the final transmission in this instance being by roller chains. vehicle. Two of them are arranged longitudinally, the front ends sliding in guides, whilst at the rear
provision is made for attachment of a transverse spring. The latter is carried by a wooden crossmember. A fourth spring is bolted to another cross-member, also of timber, immediately over the back axle, its ends project downwards and, when the chassis. is fully loaded, conic into contact with plates bolted to the rear axle. It will be seen that the arrangement makes provision for adequate springing, no matter whether the vehicle is running light or fully loaded. It is notable that the three cross-members referred to, which serve as supports for the springs, are all wooden beams, the brackets in which the front end of the springs slide being attached to the third.
All the wheels run on Timken roller bearings, the front axle being one of the Timken Co.'s standard units. The steering gear is neatly designed, a feature of the ball joints employed being that, in the event of excessive wear and lack of attention, it is nevertheless impossible for the rods to drop. The steering gear is of the worm and sector type, and a large wheel is provided.
A feature of American. chassis, which we have observed before, and again in the model under review, is the provision of detail fitments. As an instance of this, our illustration of the front end of the chassis shows the bracket for the number plate, about the last thing usually supplied.
Price. Steering and Brakes.
With the usual equipment as regards lamps, tools, and so on, and complete with American size demountable solid tires, the chassis is to be sold for 2525. It should be noted that, although on the chassis we inspected the steering column is situated on the left-hand side, the models which are to be sold have this placed on the offside. The brakes are internal and external ones on drums carried by the rear road wheels.