An Unorthodox
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NEW THREE-WHEELER
The Tatra Parcelcar has a 528 c.c. Single-cylindered Air-cooled Engine, and the Chassis Consists Mainly of a Large-diameter Central Tube A N interesting and original tithree-wheeler for light delivery work has just been produced by the Tatra Works, Ltd., of Prague. An outstanding feature of all Tatra designs is the employment of a large-diameter steel tube in place of the ordinary frame, and this idea is embodied in the new product.
The engine-and-gearbox unit is...boIted up to the tail end of the central steel tube. The 528 c.c. engine has a single cylinder of 82 mm. bore and 100 mm. stroke, and it develops about 7 b.h.p. under normal conditions. Positive air cooling is employed with a turbine fan and air jacketing. The crankcase, fanhousing and cylinder jacket form an aluminium casting.
The gearbox, which is built up as a unit with the crankcase, provides three forward speeds and a ,reverse, whilst shaft transmission is employed to the rear wheel, final drive being by bevels.
The rear wheel is supported from only one side, an arrangement which facilitates•wheel Changing; the stout tubular arm which forms the wheel carrier also serves as a propeller-shaft casing.
At the front the suspension system comprises a single transverse spring, whilst a substantial quarter elliptic, enclosed in a gaiter, looks after the rear wheel and takes up the torque. Wheel steering is employed, a standard type of worm-and-sector gear being fitted. built for the particular job in hand, unlike certain other Continental machines, which seem to comprise ordinary motorcycle engines pitchforked into the midst of a jumble of steel tubes, chains and pressings.
The big steel tube which forms the backbone of the Tatra serves as an anchorage for the body bearers, as%well, curiously enough, as an efficient silencer, the exhaust being taken directly into the tube.