More Space in New Thames
Page 65
Page 66
Page 69
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
pRINC1PAL aim behind the construction of the latest Thames vehicles from the Ford Motor Co., Ltd., has been to increase the body space substantially whilst keeping as near as possible to the overall dimensions of the previous 10-cwt. van. This has certainly been achieved, for the new models, announced today and produced with ratings of 10-12 cwt. and 15 cwt., have over 48 per cent. more body space and are only 1.4 in. longer and 6 in. wider than their predecessor.
Full forward control has contributed in large measure to the provision of 180 cu. ft. of body space. in the standard van, but the inclusion of a passenger seat—optional equipment on models for the home market—reduces this by 10 Cu. ft.
Six versions of the new Thames are available. These are a standard van, chassis and cab, chassis and front panel only, chassis and front panel with cab fittings, estate car, and microbus. Production of the 8-10-seat estate car and microbus, obtainable on 15-cwt. chassis only, will not commence until early next year.
All models have a wheelbase of 7 ft:, and employ a power unit and gearbox derived from those used in the Consul Mark II car. The drive to the threequarter-floating hypoid rear axle is taken through an open propeller shaft. Independent front suspension is by coil springs and transverse wishbones. Channel-section side members are used for the ladder-type outrigged frame, ' which has five over-mounted crossmembers and diagonal bracing at the forward end.
The front-hinged cab doors have interior trim panels, and both can be -locked from inside or outside, but the door used for exit cannot be locked from the inside against re-entry. Check straps have hold-open catches, whilst metal pull handles are screwed to the inside panels. Windows have double
sliding angled panels running in duplex felt channel.
The lower half of the doors is completely sealed against the ingress of water, which runs from the lower channel recess through drainage holes to an external aperture formed I‘etween the door outer panel and the lower edge of a waist-level moulding extending the full length of the door. The windows arc locked by an abutment peg located in the rear panel and controlled from the interior by a knurled knob.
Swaged longitudinally to promote stiffness and obviate drumming, the roof has four top-hat-section transverse n27 supports with felt interlining. Slotted mounting holes at the. cant-rails allow for adjustment should settling occur in service. Guttering surrounds the roof and has drainage holes in its vertical edge. This arrangement is said to clear water frona the body sides and prevent tailing in service.
Single-skin body panels and bolted-on skirt panels facilitate repairs in the event of accidental damage. The twin rear doors have an adjustable threepoint wedge lock and provide an opening 4 ft. 04 in. wide and 3 ft. 104 in. high. When open, the rear doors are each controlled by a two-stage torsion and lock-bar device giving security in the 90° or 150° position.
Adequate Support
Adequate support is given by the body „rear floor member of box section and the chassis-frame cross-member I ft. ahead of it. Unladen loading height is 26 in. on 10-12-cwt. models and 26+ in. on 15-cwt. versions.
The floor is lined with a single piece of fin.-thick resin-bonded plywood. Squared-off rear-wheel arches extend to the body corner panels. They are 44 in. apart between their parallel faces and taper to the full width of the rear-door opening. The body sides are protected against violent load movement at floor level by additional interior panels forward of the wheel arches.
An extra central doer on the near side, 314 in. wide and 45:1 in. high, is optional on the van and will be standard on the estate car and microbus. The loading height at this point is slightly less than that at the rear doors.
To prevent fumes from entering the body, the run of the fuel-tank filler pipe has been arranged to clear the lower body panels and come up through the near-side wheel arch. where the cap is located in the body, skirt.
To eliminate a central blind spot in had weather, the windscreen-wiper arcs are arranged asymmetrically, bringing the wipe cross-over point nearer the driver and high on the windscreen. The bottom-pivoted wipers are vacuumoperated with a booster pump in the circuit. Twin external rear-view mirrors are fitted.
Ample Room
The steering column and the column gear-change shaft pass between the brake and clutch pedals, which arc widely spaced to provide ample room for the largest of feet. The throttle pedal is semi-pendant and operates through a system of rods and levers, whilst a foot-operated dip switch is carried in the floor to the rear of the clutch pedal.
The steering column upper support bracket also forms a mounting for the horizontal lever-type hand brake and its ratchet. Operation is by cable. A moving-arc speedometer; which encloses a fuel gauge and ignition andoil-pressure warning lights, a mainbeam indicator, and flasher warning lights, are mounted on the instrument c28 panel immediately in front of the driver. On the dash, between the instrument panel and off-side door, are the ignition rock, lamp switch and panel-light switch. Choke and push-action starter controls are situated adjacent to the rear of the engine compartment. Behind the driver's seat is a 45 tt.h. battery, shielded from the load.
In the centre of the dash panel there is a glove box, which is raked to retain its contents. On the estate car and microbus this is to be provided with a locking door.
Mounted in the roof over the engine compartment is an interior light which has a central clear lenk for illuminating the engine or reading documents at night. A foam-upholstered passenger. seat, foot rail, passenger sun visor and rear quarter bumpers are combined in one home-model option. The bumpers are mounted on substantial steel brackets direct to the ends of the frame, The spare wheel is carried at the rear, and may be raised or lowered by means of a cantilever arm engaging with a hook and spring-located plate in the centre of the wheel. The arm is operated by a horizontal jack screw having a hexagonal end to fit the wheelbrace, Four plates engaging with the inside of the rim locate the wheel in the raised position.
Trimmed in washable two-tone p.v.c., the driver's seat, which is adjustable for 4 in. in a fore-and-aft direction, has the engine located alongside. The radiator is immediately in front of the engine, and is fed with air through a floor-level grille and ducting which tapers up to the bonnet cowl. This hinges' forward at seat height, and is sufficiently strong to act as a third seat.
Although there is access from the driver's seat to the near side, this tends to be hampered by the cool-air duct particularly when a large-capacity fresh-air heater is fitted as an extra on home models, and as standard on certain export models.
Having a capacity of 1.703 c.c. (103.9 cu. in.) the engine is a fourcylindered overhead-valve unit of
" over-square " dimensions. Bore is 82.55 mm. (3.25 in.) and stroke 79.5 mm. (3.13 in.). The standard compression ratio is 6.9 to 1, with 7.8 to 1 as an alternative. The lower compression enables standarftrade fuel to be used.
Maximum net output is 52 b.h.p. at 4.400 r.p.m., whilst the maximum torque' is 85 lb.-ft, at 2,000 r.p.m. To improve host dissipation and lengthen valve life, the valve guides are cast integrally With the cylinder head.
The inlet manifold carries a Zenith 34 V.N. downdraught carburetter and has been modified from that used on the cars to reduce the overall width of the power unit, which is carried on three-point rubber mountings. Fueltank capacity is 8 gal.
Pressurized Cooling System
The cooling system has a capacity of 15 pints and is pressurized to 7 p.s.i. Draining is aided by a remote control adjacent to the filler cap and coupled to the radiator drain tap. Provision is made for the use of a starting handle.
Power is transmitted to the threespeed-and-reverse gearbox through a hydraulically operated 81-in.-diameter clutch. The gearbox has helical constant-mesh gears with synchromesh on second and third ratios.
The rear axle is carried on rubberbushed, semi-elliptic springs with levertype hydraulic dampers, which are a standard fitting. Ratios available are 4.11 to 1 standard, 4.62 to 1 optional and 5.12 to 1 to special order on 10-12cwt. models, and 4.62 to I standard and 5,12 to 1 optional on 15-cwt, %ehicles.
New Front Suspension
A departure from previous Ford practice in this country, the front suspension incorporates transverse wishbones of unequal length and coil springs with coaxial hydraulic telescopic dampers. Rubber bearings are used except at the extremities of the wishbones, where ball joints form the stub-axle pivots,' as well as the outer wishbone bearings. An anti-roll bar couples the suspension units at the rear.
Having a diameter of 16+ in., the two-spoke steering wheel operates through a worm-and-peg steering box to give a turning circle of 35 ft. The ratio is 14 to I. The drop arm and drag link operate a three-piece track rod through a bell-crank lever on' the off side. The centre section of the track rod is supported on the near side by an idler lever, whilstthe short sections coupled to each stub axle assembly are provided with sleeve adjusters. These sections are flexibly connected to the centre section by special rubber joints which coincide with the lower wishbone pivot axes.
Girling two-leading-shoe hygraulic brakes incorporate 9-in. units al each wheel. The front brakes have facings 21 in. wide, whilst those at the rear are in. vt>ide. Total facing area is 147 sq. in. The hand brake operates on the rear wheels only. Dual hydraulic cylinders are used for the front brakes and transverse cylinder expanders for the rear.
12-v. System
The 12-v. positive-earth electrical system has constant-voltage control. Double-dip semi-sealed headlamps have 42-36-watt bulbs. Parking lamps are separate at the front, but are combined with the stop lamps and reflectors at the rear. A single wind-tone horn is operated by a central push, whilst flashing direction indicators are actuated by a self-cancelling switch also on the steering wheel.
Five-stud fixing is used for the wheels, which, on 10-12-cwt. models, are fitted with 5.90-15-in.' (six-ply) tyres. , The increase in rating to 15 cwt. is obtained by fitting an extra leaf in the rear springs and using a lower axle ratio and larger t y re.s-6.40-15-i n. (six-ply).
Overall dimensions of the standard van are: Length, 13 ft.; width, 5 ft. 101 in.; height, 6 ft. 61 in. The height is increased to 6 ft. 61 in. when applied to the 15-cwt. model. The track at the front is 4 ft. 5 in., and at the rear, 4 ft. 7 in.
The principal load space is 7 ft. II in. long, 4 ft. 111 in. wide and 4 ft. 31 in. high. Estimated taxation weight of the 10-12-cwt. van, is 19+ cwt., the 15-cwt. model being 25 lb. heavier. The 10-12cwt. chassis with cab weighs 16 cwt., whilst the chassis with front panel only weighs 141cwt. Again, the 15-cwt. equivalents are 25 lb. heavier.
Basic prices of the new Thames models are as follows: I0-12-cwt. chassis with front panel only, £394; chassis and front panel with cab fittings, £419; chassis and cab, £449; standard van, £489. Purchase tax is £78 12s. 3d. in each case.
Cost of the 15-cwt. chassis and front panel is £404: chassis and front panel with cab fittings, £429; chassis and cab, £459; standard van, 1499. Purchase tax on each of these is £80 8s. 8d. .
Although these prices apply to primer finish only, full-colour finish is available at extra cost in green, yellow, blue, grey, black, red, ivory or fawn. Prices of the estate car and microbus will be announced at the time of production.
Three versions of the export models in full-colour finish are available— standard, tropical or cold climate. Over and above the equipment supplied on home models, the standard export vehicle has a millboard head-lining in the cab, a passenger scat, sun visor and foot rail, a high-compression Cylinder head, an oil-bath air cleaner in place of the oil-wetted type, and a temperature gauge. A fresh-air ventilator is provided-on the radiator ducting.
. The tropical cab has, as additional items, an external sun visor, tropically rated engine cooling and a sump shield, whilst the cab for cold conditions is fitted with an extra-large-capacity heater, windscreen washers and a radiator blind.
During a brief test run in one of the new 15-cwt. vans fully laden, the suspension was found to provide a comfortable ride over indifferent road surfaces. Short-pitched bumps made themselves evident, although not to a serious degree. A possible contributory factor was the short wheelbase.
Conditions were wet, and the curved windscreen combined with the wiperarc layout, provided good visibility. The booster pump in the circuit proved its value whenaccelerating hard, because the wiper's slowed only fractionally, when turned on to maximum speed.
Driver Cramped
The controls were pleasantly light to operate, but, on right-hand-drive models at least, drivers who are rather broad across the shoulders might find the driving position a little cramped. The driver's right shoulder was almost touching the off-side door window.
The steering column gear-change functioned satisfactorily, but some skill
• was neededto obtain a completely silent change into bottom gear while on the move.
During a F-mile run at speed down an unmade road near Hainault which contained numerous deep, water-filled potholes, the suspension travelled from full .bump to full rebound on several occasions and 250-1b. sections of the load became airborne. Even under these conditions the vehicle could be controlled easily with one hand and maintained a true course.