A Converted Coal Cart.
Page 22
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Illustrated Description oil a Clever Adaptation.
We have often, in recent years wondered what had become of the very large number of Oldsmobile runabouts which at one time were such a, familiar feature of the motor traffic of this country. Nowadays it is no exaggeration to say that one is very seldom encountered on the road.
We publish a photograph which, at any rate, supplies a solution. in respect of one of these interesting
little Amerie,an machines. Here we find a very clever adaptation of the engine and gear of a defunct Oldsmobile, which has been literally built into the shafts of an ordinary coal cart, and now this strange combination is regularly employed as a commercial vehicle.
The owner, Mr. G. H. Corker, is seen in our photograph, and it is he who is responsible for this clever, and certainly unusual, adaptation. We learn that Mr. Corker purchased a second-hand Oldsmobile for 23 complete at an auction sale, and it is the engine and gear mechanism of this chassis which he has used in order to render his coal-cart an" auto." Cross girders have been built on to the shafts, and these are made to carry the engine and gearbox.
The back axle of the original car is mounted below the shafts, and is driven from the gears by a short chain. In this way, the original axle takes the place of a differential countershaft. It is supported. as will be seen from our illustration, by stout iron hangers from the shafts. The power is then transmitted by very long chains to big chain wheels bolted to the coalcart's road wheels by means of clips round the spokes.
Those who remember the Oldsmobile standard will recall that the engine normally develops 8 h.p.,
and has a single-cylinder motor, with a 6 in. stroke and 41 in. bore. The gear is epicyclic, with twospeeds and reverse. The changespeed handle can be seen projecting from the side of the bonnet or apron, with the starting-handle lever close by it. Soon after the experimental runs with the contrivance it was found necessary to fix two jockey sprockets, in order to insure that sufficient tension should be maintained on them, as there was a tendency before that for the chains to slip off, a contingency which we should not regard as unexpected. The jockeys in question are mounted on mattress springs.
There is an external brake operated by a side lever ; this was originally on the coal-cart. There is another one, a great heavy lever, of which the handle is situated somewhere near the driver's right ear, and this operates on the tires of the back wheels. The front of the machine is now mounted on double elliptic leaf springs, and the radiator is of the horizontal type, housed immediately over the forecarriage. The petrol tank is hidden from view, but is, as a matter of fact, in the same position on the opposite side of the car as the steering wheel is on the visible side, The front wheels and the steering gear are all part of the original Oldsmobile.
The cart itself can still be tipped, in the same way as before its horse was superseded by an engine.. When it is desired to run at a rather higher speed than usual— that is to say, when a journey of any length with the empty cart is to be undertaken, larger chain snrockets are substituted for those shown in the photograph. Fitted as shown, the vehicle, which weighs. one ton one cwt. empty, can carry a load of one ton of coal at speeds of 3 m.p.h. and 6 m.p.h. on the two gears, respectively. With the larger sprocket wheel, these speeds can be 10 m.p.h. and 20 m.p.h. respectively. We are unable to venture a guess as to what happens to the back part of the vehicle when the last-mentioned speed is in use, especially if no load be on board Over ordinary level roads the owner can get 10 rit.p,h_ out of the machine with a ton up. This converted cart can do 15 miles to a ,gallon of petrol, and the best test ;that it has so far been made to accomplish was to take over one ton of coal up a gradient of 1 in 8. The owner finds he can do the work of two horses, and with the cartage charges which are common in Harrogate at present he can earn 9s. 6d. in one afternoon on less than a gallon of petrol.
Although this machine presents a. very remarkable appearance, it is quite evident that the owner of the structure deserves a very considerable word of praise for his exceptional ingenuity in adapting so unsuitable a driving gear for this particular purpose. The oombination of a horse tip-cart with the power and driving mechanism of a superseded model of an American petrol-driven runabout is no ligh accomplishment for the most skilled of adapters, and when it is added that this machine is actually capable of being operated economically, and of earning respectable returns, still more credit is due.
We have already mentioned that the owner as well as the maker of this adaptation is Mr. G. H. Corker, and his address is 1, Mayfield Grove, Harrogate. His ingenuity may lead some readers to wish to communicate with him.