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Notes From Here And There
CARS FOR ENGLAND'S VISITORS
The exceptionally heavy steam- ship bookings indicate that the number of Overseas visitors.
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• England dpring the coming season will be greater than for many years past. This, of course, is oc- casioned by the celebrations that are to accompany Their Majes- ties' Bilver Jubliee, and very ex- tensive preparations are in hand to make this season of particular
interest.
פ"י
London motor car distributors are already receiving numerous enquiries from" intending visitors, regarding the use of a car in the Home Country, and Messrs. Shaw
Kilburn, who have for so many years catered specially for this class of business, are making ad- ditional arrangements to meet
the demand.
The popular 12 and 14 h.p. Vauxhall cars for which they are the sole, London distributors, are greatly favoured by visitors, and after the exceptionally successful 1934 season, secondhand vébicles are beginning to come on to the market. The distributors always have a good selection of these nsed cars, which they have re- conditioned and are prepared to guarantee, and this type of vehicle probably represents the finest value that a visitor could acquire during his stay.
The scheme, which provides for the re-purchase of the car on the visitor's return, is being operated in connection with both new and used Vauxhall cars:
SPARES AND REPAIRS
Many manufacturers of motor vehicles, if one may judge from appearances seem to expect that their products will either last for ever-more or less-without skill- ed attention, or alternatively, that skilled attention is waiting round every corner.
This criticism is elicited by re- cent examination of the instruc- tlon books, and spare parts lists supplied by some makers for operators of their machines.
Illustrations are frequently meagre, indistinct and UTLIN- formative, while the aescriptioris of parts are not so straightfor- ward as to be Infallible,
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In emphatic contrast to this unsatisfactory type is the new range of manuals
Dennis Bros.. Ltd., of Guildford, England, dealing with their 40/45, cwt.. 3i-ton six-wheeler, and 70cwt: four-wheeled goods- carrying chassis, and their Ace 20-seater passenger chassis.
Sectional views, diagrams and photographs in profusion combine with clearly written text to de- scribe the functions of practically every part of the the chassis, to- gether with its correct adjustment if any and general mainten-
ance.
Similarly. the Dennis spare. parts list is designed so as to ren- der mistakes in ordering well- nigh impossible, and only those who have personally undergone the experience can share the feel- ings of some operator on the fringes of civilisation
Who has
been held up for days, perhaps weeks, for a spare part, only to find, on its arriyal, that a slip in ordering or a misunderstanding of the description, has resulted in the arrival of some useless com- ponent Publications like the Dennis are invaluable to every operator, but particularly to those who, by time and distance, are far removed from the source of sup- plies.
ON MILITARY SERVICE
Quite a feature of the British Army contingent which did duty on the Continent during the Baar Plebiscite · was the large number of Thornycroft" rigid 6- wheeled lorries attached to the Royal Army Service Corps con- voy..
Incidentally, the British War Once during the past few years bas made numerous purchas45. of 4 and 6-wheeled chassis, and only recently a repeat order" for eleven "Tartär”. 3-ton. rigid 8- wheelers was completed. Total purchases of Thornycroft vehicles. by the War Office · during the... past three years have exceeded 70 lorries of the rigid 6-wheeled type,
Other users of similar military vehicles of this make include the Governmenta of Portugal,The Sudan, India and Shanghat, and also the Crown Agents for the Colonies.
FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Bales last year broke all records in the history of the Standard Motor Co. and in the opinion of Captain J, F. Black, the managing director, this year will see the figures. both for home and export, materially increased.
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These cars now occupy an im- portant posion in all the leading, makets of the world, Quite re-".. cently a special factory repre- sentative has been in Canada making arrangements for a chain of distributors and dealers cover- ing the entire country.
It is significant that still fur- ther extensions are being made to the plant and factory at Canley, Coventry.
COASTAL MOTOR BOATS FOR THE SIAMESE GOVERNMENT
The fleet of Thornycroft Coastal Motor Boats already in the service of the Stamese Government is be ing increased by three of these craft. The first of the new boats recently completed ber trials satisfactorily, whed a speed of over 40 knots was attained. The remaining pair are in course of completion and will be despatched within the next few weeks.
The boats are powered with twin Thornycroft 12-cylinder petrol marine engines, each de- veloping 475 B.H.P. and a smaller auxilary engine of 30 BHP. Is fitted for cruising at about 7 knots.
The armament comprises two torpedoes, depth charges and two
Smoke pairs of Lewis guns. screen apparatus is carried" and " also wireless equipment.
An impression of the trials of the first boat was broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corpora- tion.
It may be recalled that these successful tibats have been sup- piled to practically all the world's Navies.
A NEW LEYLAND EIGHT. WHEELER
An 8-wheeler, the "Octopus,” has been added to the Leyland Tange of heavy goods vehicles The design of this new vehicle 13. based on that of the "Hippo." with an additional axle placed be- hind the front axle, thereby m- creasing the load capacity and providing a vehicle which can deal with cumbersome, unwieldy loads that are beyond the powers of an average vehicle. Both long and short wheelbase models are offered, with alternative petrol or cil engines and one or two driving axles.
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The-new models differ from the "Hippo" range mainly in respect on their having a fourth axle and heavy-duty gearbox, the latter. being designed to give a range of gear ratios suitable for the in- creased load without it being. necessary to employ an audillary gearbox. The steering of the "Octopus" models confirms Ley- land's previous experience with eight-wheelers, Le.. that the ease with which the machines can be controlled is actually greater than is the the case with a two or three-axled model, Both front
axies are ateered. Overseas users have not yet had the oportunity of seeing the vehicles in action, but in England they are already proving their worth, one old user of Leylands ordering no fewer than five a few days after their Introduction.
LATEST IN ARMOURED CARS
A limousine car of perfectly normal appearance has just been completed at the works of Hooper &Co the well-known London coachbuilders.
In this case, however, appear- ances are deceptive, for actually the car is armour-plated all round, including the root while the windows and windscreen are of bullet-proof Triplex glass..
Mounted on 8.40/50 hp. Rolls- Royce chassis, this car has been built to the order of the Presid- ent of San Domingo. which lies in the eastern part of the Island of Hayt! in the West Indies.
It is a tribute to modern steel manufacture that, despite the armour plating, the total weight of the car is only 5 cwts, more than one of normal ánish..
✓
HONG KONG DAILY PRESS TUESDAY, MAY 14, 7935.
MOTOR JOTTINGS
SUPERCHARGING
to.
For Popular Cars
Because or its associations the term supercharging at one once creates an impression of racing and racing cars. But it has long been realised that if a. degree of forced Induction were applied quite В normal engine, an increase of performance could be obtained without sacrifice of those desirable "soft" qualities which make the normal.or 1300- sports type of unit so pleasant and tractable in ordinary cricumst- ances
When Centric Superchargers, Ltd., of Ribble Bank Mills, Ereston, Lanes, seriously tackled the pro- blem of supercharger manufacture some time ago, their object was, primarily, the application of B moderate degree of supercharge to quite normal engines by means of a blower that should reasonably have a life equal to the life of the engine, that could be fitted easily to existing cars, and that would not be ruined if lubrication was neglected.
Avoiding Seizures
The Centric supercharger was fully described in a recent issue of "The Autocar and it is not necessary to recapitulate more than the "fact that there are no rubbing contracts whatever be- tween the vanes and the bore. while the vanes are carried on ball bearings. Lubrication, there- fore, is not exacting, since the freedom from rubbing surfaces eliminates the main cause of seizures; moreover, the power absorbed is so small that driving. by an belting has proved perfectly Satisfactory, and thus an adapt able and silent drive can be ar- ranged easily:
it
Next came the problem of ap- plication to popular makes of cars without making any altera- ation to their construction for t was decided that the ntting of a Centrle supercharger must be so simplified that the device could be fitted without" structurať alter- ations, using existing bolt holes, and so forth, and that it should be removable at any time if
desired.
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A good deal of ingenuity had to be directed to this end, especially in certain instances where there was very little room under the bannet. Such things as Atting the blower between the dumb irons, thereby scrapping the starting handle, or alternatively of accommodating it by means of unsightly dishes and excrescen- ces in the bonnet sides, were rig", orously avoided.
In some cases slightly lower compression ratios were desirable, notably on the Morris and Ford 8 h.p. models, both, of course be ing of the side-valve type, of course, being of the side-valve type, and new light alloy cylin- der heads are provided, which in corporate means for fixing the supercharger.
Perhaps the most outstanding example of the way difficulties of Installation have been overcome is in the P-type MG Midget, where there is very little room.. under the bonnet. However, the supercharger is carried on bracket at the off side and driven
a connection incorporating a re- by a V belt tensioned by a jockey;
iler valve and a new induction manifold lies "alang-aide cylinder block, and the whole can be fitted and removed by any rea- sonably handy individual, no con- structional changes to the power unit being required.
ON THE ROAD
The Talbot Saloon
CAR OF BREEDING This car is obviously a' tho- roughbred." It possesses a sense of life. with a feeling of sureneas Everything is just right, the con- trols being perectly, and requir ing a minimum of effort. Steering and brakes were always outstand- ing Talbot features and are both beyond criticism in this case. The steering is light, yet steady and accurate
and unaffected by the road, while, the brakes pull up the car with an excellent compromise between" power and smoothness.
Engine-Six cylinders, over- oll pressure fails, and the battery- head valves operated by push-level indicator also on the dash. rods, four-bearing crank-shaft vibration damper, two-plece pis-. tons, oll Alters or both pressure and suction sides of pump. oli pressure Ught indicator on dash, Zenith down-draught pump type carburetter, hot-spot induction, crankcase breather coupled to air intake, fuel feed by pump from 19-gallon rear tank su- spended at three points cooling by pump and fan thermostat controlled shutters. radiator mounted on power unit, ignition by 12-volt Delco-Remy coll, twin contact breakers, and automatic advance distributor, dynamotor directly coupled to crankshaft, 24-volt starter, power unit direct- ly mounted in frame. RA.C. rat¬ ing 23.8 h.p, tax £18, bore 80mm.. stroke 112mm., capacity 33776.0. Transmission, Certrifugally operated clutch, automatic pre- selective
lubrication gear-box, "from engine with extra oil pump at rear. four speeds, ratios 4.35, 5.93, 8.24, and 1483 to 1; enclosed propeller shaft, automatically lubricated universal, semiñoating rear axle; anal drive by spiral ' bevel.
Brakes-Foot-brake acting on all four wheels, self-servo shoes of stamped steel. 16in. steel, drums with aluminium,ribs. front operation by armoured cable, rear by single rod, right-hand lever operates rear brakes only.
General-Worm and nut steer- ing, dropped frame, semi-elliptic springs forward. semitantilever at rear, silent bloc shackles, auto- matic lubrication, Hartford fric- » tion type shock absorbers and,' Luvax, hydraulic shock absorbers with hand control, balanced wire wheels, Dunlop Fort tyres 29 by 5.5 in.
Dimensions.Wheelbase, 10ft.; track, 4ft. 7 in.: overall length.. 16ft.in. width. Sft. Sin.; turn- ing circle, 39ft, 10in.; weight com- plete, 38cwt...
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Models and Prices. Airline sa“ loon, £850; four-door saloon, Air" four-some, £895; "Open £895; "drophead foursome coupe. £295; tourer, £795: chassis.
£600.
Makers-Clement Talbot, Ltd., Bariby Road Ladbroke Grove, London, W. 10.
Local Distributors.-Armour and. Melvin. Ltd., 91 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, C.2.
SPECIAL FEATURES The 34-litre Talbot is a recently introduced model intended to provide high efficiency with re- finement. while the example tested carried a four-light air- Une saloon body of the most mod- СЕД type. Engine and chassis are sturdy designed, and beauti- fully finished in detail. Typical Talbot practice is followed, such as the use of a dynamotor mount- ed on the front end of the crank- shaft with two batteries worked in series to give a 24-voit start- ing current. Then the knifeedge. valve rockers are retained while the, pistons have crowns or alu- minium alloy and skirts of cast- Iron.
The new Roesch-designed "tIB-.. fle clutch”. consists of shoes which are expanded centrifugal- the13, the shoes themselves compris-
ing the weights, while the WI son-type gearbox automatically selects the next highest gear, the lever beneath the steering wheel next moving upwards to the notch as soon as a change is effected by the pedal. For down- ward changes the gear must be selected by hand Beneath the steering wheel on the left is the control for the hydraulic shock-
So far the cars for which stan-- dardised sets are available are the M.C. Midget, M.G. Magnette, Morris Eight,, Ten-Six and Ten- Four, Austin Seven and Ten, Ford Eight, Triumph. Gloria Ten, §in- ger Nine, and the Jowett. Others are in course of development.
Performance Figures
Beveral cars of the above-men- toned makes have been fitzed, and the results have shown the expected improvements in per- formance. The maximum speed has been increased by 5 to 10 m.ph, although this is not the main object. The real benefit has been found in vastly superior acceleration and the ability to hold speed on gradients where formerly the car would gradually slow down until a change of rear was necessary Consumption has: only slightly increased as a 19- suit of the ability to obtain higher average speeds.
Lubrication is effected by a separate pump on the superchar ger and a small tank, and there
absorbers which are "atted in addition to the frictional type. There are many minor refine- ments such as the automatic
tell-tale lamp which lights up if spring lubricators, the dashboard
is no mixing of oll with petrol: It is not exacting, and several cases have occurred in which no damage has resuited after run- ning for up to twelve hours with- out all.
The cost of the complete Cen tric equipment is approximately £30 (1,000c.c.), £35 (1,200 °C.C.), and £40 (1,500 cc.), with a small extra charge for ntting : (about £2) when this is not carried out
by the owner. The above prices Include everything necessary for the particular car involved.
Engine and gearbox in this model are particularly sweet- running without any reminder of the fact that the unit is bolted directly in the frame which it serves to reinforce. On third 84 m.ph. is reached before there is any suggestion of vibration, and on second 43 mph, while 88 can be obtained on top with the 4.38 to 1 axle ratio. There is an alternative 4 to 1 axle ratio, how- ever, which gives a maximum of 97 m.ph, at 4500 r...
One of the chief charms of the car is the comfort and security felt at high cruising speeds. At 55 to 60 m.p.h. 'the car is not ex- tending itself at all, and 70 to 75 m.p.h. is very easily reached and held regardless of ordinary gradi→ ents. Acceleration is excellent and regular, being of the straight-line order up to 70 m.p.h. At the same time the engine is flexible and pulls away easily from low speeds on top,
CONSISTENT ACCELERATION From a standing start through the gears 20 m.ph. was reached in 3.5sec., 30 m.p.h. in 5.5sec., 40 m.ph. in 8.Tsec., 50 mph. in 13.2- sec., 60 mph. in 19.2sec., and 70 m.ph in 27sec.
The automatic clutch functions admirably, and has no lag while taking up the drive with a ältety
TESTING THE BRAKES
Device Which Enables Accuracy
Correct brake adjustment is, of course, of vital importance in or-. der that the brakes may retain their maximum eficiency, and in order that their stopping power may be used with safety, that is, without swerving oy skidding be- ing set up by unequal adjustment. Most manufacturers and many large service stations are now equipped with expensive brake- testing machines,, and a small, compact, and inexpensive, brake dynamometer has now just been introduced by 8. Smith and Sons (Motor Accessories), Ltd.. which should appeal to the smaller ser- vice stations and also to private owners who may run two or threa cara
This Quick-Test dynamometer consists of a small truck carrying a caterpillar track, on which the Styre rests. The track is driven through gearing by a handia con- taining the measuring apparatus and the resistance to rotation offered by the brake is indicated on a graduated dial;
· METHOD OF OPERATION The testing operation is carried out as follows. A special jack in.
difficult to equal with foot opera- tion. The gear pedal too is light and has a moderate travel, and the take-up of the gear brake bands is notably smooth. Credit must also be given to the suspen- sion and to the convenience of the shock absorber control. This is more than a refinement on a fast car, and deserves wider use,
The comfort and equipment of the body also deserve mention, The fouh doors have frameless -windows with louvres, the Beating is luxurious. and the finish taste- ful and pleasing. The body lends itself to attractive colour schemes, and DWS, permanent Jackets are a practical feature, the more desirable on" account of the car's low setting."As a whole, this Tal- bot suggests not only elever de-, sign but pride of craftsmanship. It is not a dear car
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applied to the brake pedal to depress it about hali-way. The front axle, for example, is them jacked-up to raise both `wheels about
inches from the ground, and a piece of wood is placed under the off wheel to prevent the axle tipping under the thrust of the caterpillar track. The tester is 'wheeled into post- tion behind the near wheet, and
both pointers on the recording, dial are set to zero, and the handle, tumed in @clockwise direction
The wheel will be caused to rotate in ita normal direction, and the yellow pointer will travel over. the left portion of the dial and record the resistance of the brake. A reading of 4-5 may be shown for a 12 h.p. car, or 7-8 for a 20 hp. car, and if necessary the brake should be adjusted to give such a reading. The operation should be repeated two or three times, the pointer being returned to zero each time to confirm,the reading.
Next, the tester la removed by turning the handle in the reverse direction, and the yellow händ is left in position. The off front brake is now tested, the machine being placed.. behind the wheel and the handle turned in an anti-clock-wise direction, « The
black pointer will move round the right side of the dial, and when it. gives the same reading as the yel- low pointer the operator knows that both brakes are working equally. It may be necessary" to adjust the off brake to obtain this result, of course.
The rear brakes are adjusted in a similar manner, and if, as is often the case, it is recommended that the braking effort should be, for example, 80 per cent, on the rear and 40 per cent, on the front wheels, the deatred proportion may be given. In anch' a case if the dial agure of 5 is obtained for "the front brakes then the dial figure for the rear, wheels should
1. be SX0/4 or 7,5,
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