£200,000 ORDER

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 325, 10 April 1928, Page 7

£200,000 ORDER

FOR MORRIS SIX-WHEELERS j Prior to placing aJJ 200,000 order for j Morris six-wheelers, the Royal Air i | Force subjected two vehicles to a very ' I severe test. Flight-Lieut. R. E. H. Allen, one of the best known military flyers in England, who conducted the test, reported as follows:—“Two Morris six-wheeled vehicles were loaded with 30cwt. useful load in addition to driver and ‘second _ man.’ The engines were rated at 15.9 h.p., their bore and stroke being 80 and 125 mm. respectively. They each hauled a loaded four-wheeled trailer whose gross weight was three tons. The convoy was driven across London and then along the Great Xorth Road for a distance of 115 miles in all. This distance was covered in 8£ hours’ running time, giving an average speed of 14 miles an hour. “Bearing in mind that this route is of a very undulating nature, and that London was crossed from one end to ; the other at the worst time as regards traffic congestion, it will be conceded that this was a remarkably good performance. The vehicles were taker, from stock and not specifically tuned. The return journey was performed in a similar manner. | “Although (by means of an auxiliary gearbox) the vehicles had eight for- i ward speeds, once London traffic was left behind, gear changes had to be j made on the average only once in j every two miles. A complete record ! of every gear change was made ot the time. The low set of gear ratios had only to be used when the outfit was baulked on a gradient by other traffic. “Between 20 and 25 miles an hour could be maintained on good level roads. Xo boiling occurred. No adjustments of any sort had to be made. About three-fourths of the power 1 available was used most of the time.”