THE NEW FORD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5279, 25 May 1928, Page 3

THE NEW FORD.

Arrival in Paeroa on Monday.

Masterpiece in Construction.

#s>ur-wheel Brakes, Standard Gears

After, months of gossip and speculation as to the appearance, etc., of the new Ford Ca.r, one of the models will arrive .at Mr R. L. McCliimhy’s Ford ( X~Sales and Service Garage, opposite the ■ Criterion. Hotel, Paeroa, at 9 o’clock " on Monday morning. A cordial invitation is extended to the public to visit the garage and inspect the new model,, and demonstrations will be given throughout the day. For the benefit to those who are unable to avail themselves of the invitation the following details Of this mechanical wonder will prove interesting : — AN ENTIRE CHANGE. The most remarkable feature that < strikes the eye is what a wonderfully compact little job the new Ford is, The new car does not in .any feature resemble the old and famous “Model. T.” except, of course, it st’ll has the transverse springing. Gone altogether ■ is the old square and ugly, though serviceable, shape, and in its stead rhas beeiii built, a body whoes lines, neatly rounded and compactly built, ’ make the general, appearance of the whole job a. very pleasing one. The .. new model immediately suggests a better co-ordination between, body and chassis, and that is one of the fea. tures of the new car. - THE EXTERIOR. It is a matter for pleasure to the purchasers that a choice of four colours will, be ava.ilable —Niagara blue, Arabian sand, dawn grey, and gunmetal blue. The windscreen and its equipment is a neat job indeed, and t is provided with a srunshada and a specia.l series of ventilators at its < base. The finishings; .are perfect examples of careful workmanship, and the headlamps, radiator top, and other fittings are nickel-plated. The car, is also fitted with front and rear bumpers, which are fitted as standard

equipment. The wheels—called by many people “wire wheels” —:a.re one of the features of the car. Th-Qoid type of wire wheel, of course, was always needing adjustment at the spoke nipples:, or needing new spokes, but in the new Ford the whole wheel is one pipce—spokes and frame —electrically welded together, and the so-called wire spikes are really perfectly tem\pered steel. As the outside spokes do not cross .at all, the wheels are particularly easy to clean. ' . \ THE INTERIOR. \ The interior of the new car is a ■ wonderful improvement. The old straight type of seat has gone for ever, and in its place is a deeper, soitmore comfortably sloped seat, ,' with fine upholstery work throughout. The wheel is perfectly situated, and is larger and more flexible thanl the former models. It is also adjustableThe horn, button and the electric light switch are on the wheel, while on the ■ centre of the steel dash is a raised nickel panel on which are placed a petrol gauge, ammeter, speedeometer, and ignition switch. The switch is ■ provided with a, thief-proof lock—an ingenious device. The controls are situated conveniently in the centre, with the brake lever- slightly forward and with a standard change gear lever of considerable length in a very j natural position- The accelerator has been pl’aced between the clutch apd ' brake pedals. The doors may be opened from the inside by a clever control which is, fitted on the inside about the centre of the door. All such fittings are nickefled, and give a very neat appearance to the whol.e interior. The chassis is a masterpiece of mechanical construction. The radius rods take all driving and braking strains —in fact all longitudinal strain —while the frame is used for the sole purpose of providing something on which to rest the body. One of the greatest features of the g. new car is the three-quarter floating type of rear axle. This has some startling advantages, and is known usually only to heavy cars- This type of axle provides that no road shocks can be taken on the actual rear shaft, a.nd by means of a special bearing are ' transferred to the axle housing. This means also that, having no bearing ' touching the rear axle at all, it cannot wear much, nor break- The road shocks do not go on to the axle at allThis means that the life of that part is greatly increased 1 . This idea of obtaining long life to parts has been carried Qut throughout the car, and such ingenious parts are very important as far ,as the owner is concerned. They greatly reduce the labour of upkeep. The whole‘of the chassis; has been built on these ] ( ines —with a minimum number of adjustments. As a matter, of fact therq are but two things of any import that" can be adjusted—the brakes .and the igni- : , tion distribution.. At the same time, y of course, every ca.re has been, taken to see that the car will run for a very considerable time without any adjustment. A feature of the steering gear is that it is of thei type that provides that no road shocks travel! to the wheel. The whole of it has al,l ball and socket joints, a,nd there is not a pin or. a bush, the steering is irreversible. The four-wheel brakes fitted on the are the mechanical two-shoe internau expanding type, with an individuaj wheel adjustment. The hand brake operates on the, transmission. All working parts on the chassis, such as steering knuckles, brake rods, etc., are made of special non-rust metal. ' S THE ENGINE. The Model A motor is. four.cylinder, and has a bore of 3% in. and l .a 4i%i n stroke. At 2200 r.m.p., which is considered low engine speed in present- '' day engineering, the motor, develops 40h.p. at the brake, or 24.03 R.A.C. rating, which is usually used in this

country. The compression ratio i s 4.1 to 1.

The motor has four-point suspension,, and rests in the, frame at a 3 1-3 degree angle, that places the crankshaft practically in line with the drive shaft when the car is> loaded. This reduces power loss, to a minimum and strain in the universal joint, due to direct application, of power. Cra.nks.haft is statically and dynamically balanced, and aluminimum pistons are fitted. To ensure quiet, the t’ming gears are made of a bakelised fabric instead of metal, .and the cams haye been designed to follow the bush rods closely and prevent valve clicking.

An entirely new oiling system has. been evolved. It is a combination of pump,' splash, and gravity feed. A pump delivers the lubricant to the, valve chamber, from which it flows by ' gravity—to the crankshaft main bearings. A dipper oni each connecting rod bearing cap drives oil into the bearings and splashes, it all over the working parts of the engine. The old' magneto ignition, system Of the “T” has been banished. The generator now fitted is of the powerhouse or six-pole type with only one coil in a waterproof ease. Located at the top of the engine, the distributor is connected to the plugs by short bronize springs, an unusual fit-

ting. A pulley from tile end of the crank, shaft drives tihe fan belt. The same belt a'so drives the generator. .A water pump is also fitted oni theyfan shaft. The fan is designed like an aeroplane propeller .and runs in a tunnel.

HIGH TENSION WIRES ABOLISHED The ba.ttery supplying current for the starting, lighting, and ignition system is 6-8 v., 13 plate, and is carried underneath the floorboards. The mass of high tension wires, in the Model. T has been abolished, and the only high tension wire now is one piece about 9in long. For this reason, and that the ear has thief-proof locks attached, the insurance in) Canada has been already reduced 25 per cent. That is also expected to take place here.

Gravity petrol feed lias been retained but instead of inserting a loose ta.uk under the bonnet —a constant source of r,atti ( es and vibratory iloises —the tajik used is one piece of welded steel, with the cowel forming its top and sides. Provis is made to carry any overflow, while filling, away from the. motor/

Having decided to use .a standard gear box, the designers have supplied a good one. The main shaft runs on ball' bearings, the countershaft oh roller bearings, and the reverse idler on a bronze bearing. AU. gears are heat-treated chrome.aloy steel.

The gear ratio,s are : High, 3.7 to 1; second, 6.7 to 1; low, 11 to 1. Reverse, 13 to 1The multiple dry-disc clutch has four driving and five drjven discs. The motor, clutch, jmd ge;a.r.box are of unit construction, and all working parts are completely enclosed. The spiral-bevel geared rear axle is of the three-quarters floating type. Axle housings ale steel forgings weeded to steel tubing. Bolted to these is the, differential housing, made of rolled chantoe], steel. All bearings are of roller type, and the wheels rpn on roller bearings on the axle housing. Torque tube drive has been retained. The rear axle has a total, o'f, seven roller bearings. One of the most interesting features on the new car is, the extensive use of electrically weeded steel and steel formings, and the elimination 6f malleable iron. MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS. Lubrication, throughout is by the well-known Alemite Zerk grease-gun system. Tyre size, 30 by 4.50 balloon. The windscreen is of “Trip),ex” un. splintefable glass. “Champion” spark plugs ars fitted, and Ford Zenith carburetter, which has an ingenious construction which provides for a continuously correct mixture of petrol and air. The wheelbase is 103%in, the track >s6in, and the road clearance, taken at the differential, which is the lowest pqiht, 9%'in. THE BODY. The body is insulated from the chassis by a heavy fabricoid material from end to end, anid fenders are i n " sulated from the body and chassis in the same way,. Insulation is used throughout the whole car for the purpose of eliminating all friction, squeaks, drumming, and rattles. THE MILEAGE. Recent tests indicate that a speed of 50 and up to 60 miles ,an hour are readily obtainable by this car, and, at a normal driving speed of 30 miles an hour a petrol consumption of one gallon in 30 miles c.an be looked for. This cannot be obtained, of couise,, where the car is driven at an. excessive or extremely low rate of speed. Tests are sa.id to, have s.iiown that a two-door Sedan with five passengers cai ccelerate from sto 25 miles an hour in .10 seconds, .and that 40 mUes an. hour on second is possible. From the foregoing it can be seen that the new Ford is indeed a new car. While it does n'ot contain any features not familiar to most motorists, it is a complete break from tlic Ford trad’tion. The big mystery is how so much can be given for the money, for the car embodies several features usually sold on higher-class and dearer cars. In. fact a great number of. its parts—clutch a.nd gearbox, for instance—are from the Lincoln. The marvel of the whole car is how it can be so perfect mechapicalb ana yet be so cheap.#