An Improved Folding-panel Roof
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T N dealing last week with the air ser
vice which Mr. W. L. Thurgood has commenced between Portsmouth and Jersey, we referred to the Q.T. Easiway folding-panel roof which Mr. Thurgood has for some years manufactured at works at Park Road, AVare, Herts. The sole selling rights for Great Britain of this roof have been placed with Quicktho (1928), Ltd., Point Pleasant, London, S.W.18., and the roof, which was always attractive on account of its simplicity, .•has been improved in respects which make it an easy matter to incorporate it in quite orthodox coachbuilding, also much lighter to open or close.
The head consists of four longitudinal panels, forming two hinged units which, in the open position, lie folded on the quarter panels.
The quarter panels used to be recessed to provide an unbroken line when the roof was open, but, whilst the recessed type is still available, it is found that most operators prefer to have the line of the quarter panel unbroken when the roof is closed, instead of when it is open, the reason probably being that the climate of this country necessitates a. closed roof more fre-.. quently than an open one. Incidental advantages are that it is easier to fit the non-recessed type when converting a. fixed-head coach, any radius can be adopted for the quarter panels, and space above the luggage rack is not reduced.
In the standard 8-ft. by 4-ft. size, the roof is supplied complete and assembled, ready to mount on a coach body. It weighs 129 lb. and the price is £24 10s. Two such units (with a strengthening bridge between them) are used for a 32-seater coach.
The improvement which principally affects the • ease of operation is concerned with the handles. Each operating handle is now hinged to the riser, about 1i in. below the hinge line of the folding panel, and the upper end of it, instead of being rigidly fixed to the panel, has a sliding-rod mounting. the object of which is to give big lever
age in the early stages of raising the panels, and decreasing leverage as the panels approach the vertical position. Thus each side of the head can easily be operated by one finger.
The end rollers, instead of being carried on extended arms, are now concealed, and there is a further retainer in the form of a rubber boss working within a metal guide ; this prevents a gust of wind from blowing the hinged panels right over, and it serves to lock the head when open, without rattle.
In examining the new roof, we noticed that the end plates now overlap like scissors and that the panels are of equal width, so avoiding any tendency for leaves or litter to get between them. The increased strength of the four catches also attracted our attention. There is an additional central catch.