A Six-wheeler with Free Third Axle
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IN our issue for last week, when reporting on the Ford Motor Show, at the White City, London, we referred to a Fordson 2-tonner that was on view to demonstrate the Eureka radial sixwheeler attachment. This device is produced by Messrs. George E. Duerden, at the Empire Engineering Works, Brown Street, Burnley, Lanes (the distributor being the Warwick Motor Engineering
Co., Ltd., Old Trafford, Manchester), and, in its latest form, it warrants close examination.
The trailing axle is a 2i-in. squaresection forging of heat-treated_ nickelchromium steel, and is upswept to the extent of 5 ins, at the ends. Two radius rods extend forward, forming, with the axle, a triangle which pivots at the front end about a 2-in. nickel-steel ball carried in a sub-frame. These
radius rods are transversely pivoted at their anchorage to the axle, so that they do not take the braking torque.
Ordinary semi-elliptic springs are fitted to the driving axle, their rear ends being shackled to balancer arms, which, again, are supported by the trailing axle. Each arm is made of two R-in. spring-steel plates, and is mounted with a broad roller bearing on a 12--in. cross-shaft.
The support to the rear end of each balancer arm is through a universally jointed foot attached to the latter, this being faced with Ferrobestos selflubricating bearing material, and resting upon a table fixed to the axle end.
The foot is extended through the teble, which has a curved slot to receive it, the radius of the slot being struck from the ball joint of the tri angulated drawbar. So as to keep the bearing surfaces in contact and to prevent chatter, the extension of the foot beneath the table is spring-loaded.
'To provide for braking torque, two telescopic spring-loaded rams form, with the axle, a triangle in the vertical plane, each ram being pivoted at its
upper and lower extremity. To the upper ends of the rams is attached a transverse platform, cut from rolledsteel channel, and this is forced by the pressure of the springs upward against two Ferrobestos-faced pads, mounted beneath a frame cros.s-member.
The transverse platform carries a centrally slotted member, which can be engaged by a strong spring-loaded bolt mounted longitudinally in the chassis frame; such engagement permits the driver to reverse the vehicle.
To avoid' interference with brake application, due to the trailing action of the rear axle, the brake lead is taken to a point vertically in line with the pivoting ball. An equalizing bar is interposed between the leads to the two rearmost wheels, 'another equalizer being incorporated between the trailing-wheel and the driving-wheel brakes.