CATERING FOR THE BRITISH MARKET.
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How One of the Oldest Manufacturers of Motor Vehicles is Meeting the Needs of Commercial Users with Passenger and Goods Chassis.
iurANy of those makers who entered _111..the commercial vehicle industry in the early days have either dropped out or are not taking any very active part at the present day, but this cannot be said of De Dion Benton, Ltd., who have always maintained a position amongst the foremost manufacturers in Europe, and the chassis produced by them have achieved an enviable reputation, not only for consistently goad running, but for cheapness in all-in cost. Compared with some other chassis their prices may not be considered low, but if service is to be counted, then the capital cost becomes almost a minor item.
Amongst themany users in this country of De Dion vehicles of various capacities are Selfridge and Co., Ltd., And the figures which this company have given for publication show that the running costs of their De Dion Bouton vans compare very, favourably with those of other makes.
Before dealing with what may be called the standard chassis, which have been on the British market for some little time, and are therefore comparatively well known., we will describe the latest arrival, which takes the farm of one-tanner which will be retailed at 1245. It is certainly a remarkably neat product of clean, straightforward design and ample strength for itei load capacity. It has a power unit of 70 mm. bore mid 120 mm. stroke, built as a unit with the clutch housing and gearbox, this unit being three-point mounted to avoid possible stresses due to frame flexion. .
The frame itself is built of pressed channel steel with side members taper
jug to the ends, iuswept just before the dash and upswept over the rear axle. Low loading is obtained both by the frame upsweep, already referred to, and
the use of underslung springs ; these, incidentally, are almost 4 ft. long, so that no complaints should be received on the paint of good riding. The frame height from the ground is 1 ft. 8+ ins., and the clearance at the lowest point, which is tinder the front axle, SiTg
Dunlop disc wheels and Dunlap pneumatic tyres, S20 mm. by 120 mm., are fitted all round.
The engine is an L-headed monobloe, with preased-ateel covers for the tappets and castellated caps over the valves.
Carburation is effected by a Salem instrument and the iulet pipe is set back at an angle to enable this to clear the magneto. A hot-spot is incorporated.
At the off side, and driven direct from the timing case through a flexible coupling, is the dynamo, whilst the four-bladed cast-aluminium fan, which is mounted on an eccentric spindle to provide adjustment, is driven by a flat belt. This fan runs in a tunnel to increase its efficiency, whilst cooling is effected through a gilled-tube radiator, the circulation being thermo-siphonic. A combined oil filler and 'breather is mounted at the top of the timing ease and a gear pump circulates the lubricating oil under pressure. Helical gears are employed for timing, and it is of interest to note that aluminiuia pistons are utilized in this and the other De Dion engines.
The clutch is totally enclosed and consists of a steel disc with fabric friction material at each side. The outer face of the flywheel forms one-" plate," whilst an outer member with pockets for the compression springs forms the other " plate." The clutch pedal is pivoted directly on the clutch chamber and operates through a ball thrust.
Four speeds forward and a reverse ' are provided by the gearboX. This is remarkably compact and yet has gears of ample size for the work required. The change-speed lever is at the right of the driver and is connected direct to the box, thus avoiding risk of jamming through frame flexion. At the back of the gearbox is a hand-operated transmission brake of the internal-expanding type, with thumbscrew adjustment. whilst behind this again is the forward end of the torque tube whieh surrounds the hexagon-type universal joint of the propeller shaft.
A vertical double-banjo casing, built up of pressed-steel halves welded together in the vertical plane, carries the sPiral-bevel gearing of the final drive and the bevel-type differential.
The axle is of the semi-floating type, the inner ends of the axle shafts being splined into the sun wheels of the differential, whilst the outer ends are tapered and keyed for the wheel hubs. The pedal brake acts on the rear-wheel drums through external-expanding shoes. It has a right-and-left-handthreaded adjuster between the pedal and the half cross-shaft, which bears in the forward end of the torque tube and communicates by a single rod with the miniature whipple-tree compensator carried on the rear axle itself and the levers of which are mounted on splines on the cam-operating shafts. The inner ends of these shafts bear in the housing of the final drive.
It is notable that all the brakes are thoroughly protected from • mud and water, and this should greatly increase their life.
Tecalemit grease-gun lubricators are fitted at all important points.
A reversed Elliott front axle is used, and the steering is by worm and wheel, adjustable stops being provided on the steering arms.
The petrol tank is carried on the dash and a large filter is fitted immediately below it.
We will now deal in brief with the other models, perhaps the most advanced of which is the J.E.2 chassis, especially designed for 20-22-seater coaches.
The power unit in itself is a striking example of modern design. It has overhead valves, operated by rocker arms and push rods, oil being conveyed by press-ire to the rocker-arm shaft. The valve springs are doable, one being within the other, whilst rollers in the rocker-arm forks contact directly with the valve-stem ends, adjustment being • afforded by a screw in the other end of each rocker, which is split for locking purposes. The cylinders are cast eu bloc, but the heads are removable as a unit. The crankcase is cast longer than the Mock in order to form a housing for the clutch unit, this housing being finished off in circular form and carrying the studs by which the gearbox is held, the whole being three-paint suspended.
Following the practice employed in several De Dion chassis, the dynamo armature is extended to carry the fan, the whole being driven by a V rubber belt, whilst the Solex carburetter is bolted direct to the cylinder block.
Ignition is by Bosch high-tension magneto, sparking plugs being fitted into the cylinder heads at the off side. Four speeds are provided in the forward direction, the gear control being on the box, whilst, as in the one-tonner, the pedal brake acts on the transmission. At its front end the torque tube is carried by a link suspended from an upswept cross-member, as shown in one of our illustrations. The cardau shaft has a universal joint of the hexagon type at its forward end and a ring-type joint at its rear end, each ball bearing of the latter joint being enclosed and having a Teealemit lubricator. The frame construction resembles that on the one-tonner, hut here again underslung springs are utilized. The axle, however, is quite. different, although embodying spiral-bevel drive, the axle easing being built up of two housings bolted together in the longitudinal vertical plane and carrying trumpet tubes.
Another important feature to which we have not already referred is the front brakes, which are of the Perrot type and are interconnected with the transmission brake.
The clutch resembles that used on the one-tonner.
The cooling water is circulated by a centrifugal pump through a brass radiator with square-gilled vertical tubes.
The other three chassis of particular interest are the 2-ton J.N. type, the 3-4-ton model J.T. and the 4-5-ton model J.V.
The first-named resembles in many features the coach chassis, and it has the same frame height, i.e., 1 ft. 10k ins., but is shorter in the frame and has a side-by-side-valve engine instead of the overhead-valve type. Cooling also is on the tbermo-siphonic system, front-wheel brakes are not employed and the back axle is a pressed-steel casing.
The two heavier models form a most interesting link with the past in that they embody the original De Dion system of final drive through a differential suspended from the frame with short eardan shafts extending between it and the spur pinions driving the rear wheels. The two models differ considerably, however, as regards their engines. The 3-4-tonner has four cylinders of 100 mm. bore and 140 mm. stroke, and a combined dynamo and fan drive is used as on the J.E2. The cylinders are cast in pairs and are L-headed. There is a centrifugal governor at the front end, this being driven from the timing gear, whilst the magneto is at the off side and driven by the rear end of the shaft carrying the pulley for the dynamo-fan drive.
A separate mounting is employed for the gearbox, this being three-point sus pended from cross-members.
A notable feature of the J.V. model is the long and very wide rear springs. In the power unit employed in this chassis the cylinders are also in pairs and Lheaded, but they have a bore and stroke of 125 mm. and 150 mm. respectively. Similarly the engine and gearbox are separate, both being three-point suspended. Another difference is that the cooling-water circulation is by centrifugal pump, instead of being thermosiphonic, whilst the fan is mounted on an eccentric spindle and driven separately from the dynamo by a V rubber belt.
In all these chassis, with the exception of the one-tonner, the foot brake is on the transmission, and it is interesting to note that, in the case of the rear brakes. external-contracting bands are employed.
The 10-cwt. model I.S. chassis is priced at £295, the J.E2 passenger model at £575, the 2-tonner at £495, the 3-4-ton J.T. at £635, and the 4-5-ton J.V. at £670 with pneumatic tyres, or £665 with cast-steel wheels and solid tyres.