A New Light Van.
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There is undoubtedly a great deal of very careful attention being paid. at. the present time to the motor-delivery requirements of the smaller classes of trades. men. Up to the present, there are but few completed machines which can be suggested to an owner of this kind who has been convinced as to the inefficiency of his existing horse -draught methods. Wehave not neglected to afford our readers what information we have been able to collect as to the supply of suitable models, and we have included in our columns a number of articles which have served excellent guides to these who have been contemplating the maintenance of the smaller classes of delivery vans. But, with it all, up to the present there have been few definitely achieved attern pts to meet the reqlirements of this special dais of user, who bids fair, within the next few years, to be numerically superior to his "heavier "
brethren. There are, of curse. one ortwo notable feur-wheeled exceptions, and there is the useful range of three-wheeled parcelears.
We commence by stating that. moreattention is bring given to these undtubted requirem en t 5, and this is a. fact, although many models with which tests are being conducted, or which are as yet only in the evolutionary stage, a not yet fully available fer employment. The first few results. of this new endeavour to meet the tradesman's requirements over and beyond his desire to use a machine of the purely parceicar type, are beginning to come to Lend.
One day last week we e-ant down to the. Wimbledm workshops of the 1..tor Carrier and Cycle
Cc. This is a concern vehieh for a period of four or five years past has, been investigating the tradesman's delivery problem at first hand, and, like anether maker we have in mind, it has been doing
this by the hiring and maintaining of large numbers of pedal-propelled delivery cycles. They have over 1000 of such machines out on
contract. Experience thus gained as to the limitations of many
tradesmen's deliveries, aid as to
the special requirements of most of them, has been invaluable to this undertaking,. The 7-cwt., four-whee.led parcelear, which is DOW being
placed on the market in considerable a um la e r s, after careful design and experiment in the Wimbledon shops, is, therefore, entitled to careful consideration on the part of prospective owners.
Mr. A. Barraclough is the engineer who has b;-.,:en, responsible for the design and the construction of this 7-cwt miniaImre inotorvan. which it has been decided to call the " Unique," and unusual in design it certainly is. Our illustrations. serve well to convey an impression of the general arrangement of the principal components which h as been adopted and stand
ardized. It is apparent that the chassis. schemc itself has be.en evolved not by any means with the idea. of copying some other maker's established practice, but from a keen desire to make the best job to suit the small tradesman's many and varied requirements.
The whole of the power plant, engine, clutch and gearbox is mounted on a short and stiffly-braced subsidiary frame, which is slung amidships in -the chassis. A short propeller shaft drives thence to the stiff little bevel-driven back axle. This arrangement enables. the engine to be comfortably stowed beneath the driver's seat, with the result that the latter can be arranged very compactly and with the maxim u m con sid eration for the driver's comfort and efficiency. The position of the radiators . is unique, as also is their appearance ; there is one on each side of the driver's seat, and both of them are connected, via the engine, by transverse inlet and outlet pipes. The cooling is syphonie in principle. Each radiator has a centre battery of plain tubes, with
a sheet-metal top and bottom casing. They are strongly built to withstand vibration.
The two motor cylinders are cast separately the bore is 3.;1 ins, and the stroke 31 ins., and the engine develops between S h.p. and 9h.p. normally. A Claudel, a Zenith or a Solex carburetter is fitted, and P U.H. magneto is used as standard. The lubrication is by splash, and the petrol feed by gravity. The clutch is a leather-lined cone, and its springs are external and easily adjusted. The gearbox is the essence -of simplicity, and provides three speeds forward and a. reverse, the top being direct. The whole of the top of the box is removable, thus rendering the interior commendably accessible, A contracting brake, operated by face cams, is stiffly anchored at the back of the gearbox. A light torque-bar frame prevents the axle from twisting.
All the chassis components are light, but appear to be well placed in respect of weight. distribution. The total weight of the van, as it stands, with body, is It ewle, so that the vehicle should be economical on tires from this point of view if not also from that of equal weight distribution. We may cite, as an example of the fact that this chassis has been evolved with the principal object of producing a satisfactory small delivery unit, the provision of the two sets of brakes —that are to the rear of the gem-set and the pair of expanding brakes on the back wheels--operated in a manner which we have always recommended, but which we so seldom find even in the products of great factories. In this little chassis the rear brakes are oper
ated by pedal, whilst the counter-. shaft brake is treated as the emergency one, and is applied by lever. This is as it should be, and is calculated to save a great deal of wear on the gear-drive back axle.
While we were at Wimbledon we inspected Mr. Barracloughfis new engine starter, which he has patented and which he intends to offer as an additional fitting on these " Unique " vans at a. small extra charge. This is a kick starter of ingenious design; andfor the duty it performs would appear to be a. useful Ittle accessory.
The Motor Carrier and Cycle Co. now consider that they have practically reached the end of their preliminary experiments. The first machine has been subjected to strenuous trials over a period of mm-e than twelve months, and, consequently, arrangements have already been made for the transference of the machine, plant, and
equipment from Wimbledon to new premises at Clapham. As a mattee of fact, a lease has been acquired of Tilling's depot at Clapham. The plant a.t Wimbledon, although a small one, _is of an unusually complete and modern nature for an establishment of the presentsize. A modern grinder, and a number of good lathes, drills and millers are included. We understand that the arrangements which will be made in the new depot will enable the company to turn these machines out in considerable numbers, and they are satisfied, in view of the showing of the first few examples, that a very big trade is going to be done with them for tradesmen. Particularly are we inclined to confirm this opinion from the fact that the company will entertain the sale of the machine outright at £145 for cash, or on the deferred payment system for down and £2 a week thereafter. Should it be desired to arrange for the contracting for the maintenance of these little trade vehicles, this will be done at an inclusive cost of 41d. per mile, which charge would cover everything, including insurance of the van, but, of course, not of the load.
We Commend this new model with considerable interest to the examination of tradesmen and others who are on the look out for something which should properly be classified as between the parcelear and the cpnverted cab-chassis model. During the course of a short trial run in South London, we found the " Unique light van to have a good turn of speed, to be easy of control and well sprung. It should be an economical machine to run. We had an excellent demonstration over very rough roads.