Curio user and Curiouser
Page 59
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LEWIS CARROLL would have loved this curious tractor for launching gliders. It has a Commer TS3 oil engine, reputed to develop 120 b.h.p., mounted above the rear axle. It drives forward into a 2-to-I step-up gearbox and thence to the back wheels through a BorgWarner torque converter and three-speed fully automatic transmission. The step-up gearing is required to provide sufficient
input speed for the converter and to reduce the torque applied to the transmission. The vehicle has a maximum speed of over 60 m.p.h. and, with an unladen weight of about 2 tons, possesses considerable powers of acceleration. The rearward disposition of the power unit assists standing-start wheel adhesion and reduces the tendency for the rear wheels to lift as the glider casts off.