BRITISH CARS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 301, 15 September 1933, Page 15

BRITISH CARS

Improvements for 1934 MANY INNOVATIONS While radical changes in appearance and general design are not anticipated In the new models to be displayed at Olympia, at the annual motor show to be held next month, yet there will be at least one new car of a totally unorthodox character, states “The Motor.” The general run of 193-1 models, however, will display many Improvements but will follow the conventional plan. Thus, coacliwork is not being redesigned on streamlined principles, but nevertheless will display many features calculated to reduce air resistance, such as smoother outlines and outswept rear panels devised to give a tall effect. Wider Coachwork Coming Bodies on the whole will tend to become wider on small cars, due to exceedingly careful planning of the rear end of the chassis. The elbow room can b<i increased by fitting armrests over the wheel-arches so that the passengers actually make use of the total width available from panel to panel. Central folding arm-rests will continue to be popular. In addition to making the front seats adjustable some manufacturers will extend this principle to the rear seats, as has already been done by various specialised coachbuilders and by concerns building the more costly types of car. The general design of wings and running-boards will show improvements both in appearance and in utility. Wings with deep valances and sweeping lines are to be the rule, merging neatly Into running boards which, except in the least costly cars, will be curved to suit. The most important development In connection with coachwork equipment is undoubtedly found in the real move towards providing adequate ventilation. This is decidedly overdue, as there are few saloon cars at the present time which can be driven In comfort with all the windows closed. During 1932 and 1033 great improvements were made in the direction of preventing engine fumes from reaching the interior of the body, but row many more makers are about to provide some means for ensuring that a current of air will ventilate the Interior without draughts. Abolisliing the Strangler. As regards the controls, the general tendency is to simplify the duties of the driver by making the mechanism as automatic as is practicable, for example, starting a cold engine will not (in various 1934 models) require the use of a hand-operated strangler, because the richness of the mixture wilt be automatically adjusted by means of a thermostat. Another scheme is to employ a thermostat to regulate the heat applied to the inlet pipe from the exhaust system. Again, in many instances the timing of the ignition will be entirely controlled by a robot system comprising a governor susceptible to speed and a diaphragm operated by engine suction. Of all chassis developments the most important are those connected with the transmission system. Here the 1934 models will show a continuance of the 1933 trend towards easier control and quieter operation. Thus, where silent top and third gears were formerly considered adequate, a silent second speed will In many cases be added. Once again many makers will be using the self-changing box —a mechanism which has enjoyed greatly increased popularity during 1933—and here a feature of this system is, of course, quiet running on the indirect ratios. Free Wheels More Popular A third mechanism which is gaining in popularity for British cars and which has been employed for some time on American models is the free wheel. This enables changes of gear to be made without declutching because, upon releasing the accelerator, the car coasts forward with the engine idling and the free wheel overrunning. After allowing a slight pause, during which the engine slows to idling speed, the gear lever can be moved into any required position without protest from the slowly revolving gear wheels. After Ibe change is made the throttle is opened and, so soon as the engine speed is sufficient to catch up with the car, as it were, the drive is resumed. As the clutch need not be employed for gear changing when a tree wheel is fitted, there is much to be said for Ibe use of an automatic clutch mechanism which will engage progressively (in response to the accelerator) when starting from a standstill. The driver is then entirely relieved of the work of clutch actuation. Turning to engine design, an outstanding feature of 1934 programmes will be the continued advance in popularity of the four-cylinder type for cars of modest price. The six-cylinder engine remains unchallenged as a refined vibration-free unit, but for the less expensive cars four-cylinder models present the advantages of simplicity and reduced running costs. At one lime the high-frequency vibrations which a four-cylinder engine is apt to produce gave rise to troublesome drumming in saloon bodies, but the development of rubberized engine mountings has provided so effective a means of insulation that the fourcylinder saloon can almost vie with the “six” in point of quietness. Of course, the latter type still scores as regards flexibility and general refinement. About Springing. No big changes iu springing systems are likely to materialise yet awhile, although there will, at any rate, be one new and important example of Independent springing for each wheel at Olympia. In conventional systems the springs are becoming more and more flexible to meet the demand for easy riding; in order to cope with this trend, the control of the shock absorbers from the dash is likely to extend to further models. Unfortunately, there seems* to be no general move towards providing greater stability and steadier steering at high speeds. In these respects the low-priced car is not wholly satisfactory nowadays, as the speed of which it is capable has increased materially, while the chassis is sprung for comfort rather than road holding. Certainly, the stiffer frames which many cars will employ for 1934 should prove of assistance, as will also the use of springs which are flat under normal load and which have a reverse camber when deflected ; nevertheless, more radical changes will probably be needed in the not far distant future. Tires and Kims. The majority of 1934 models will be fitted with tiros of much the same section as at present. In many casoe rim afcses will

reduced, mainly as a means of lowering the general level of the chassis. Naturally, this leads to a wheel of smaller overall diameter, and the front wings must then be dropped to suit. This trend, accompanied by tlie higher and longer bonnet used for the sake of a good appearance, unfortunately results in the near-side wing becoming quite invisible from tlie driver’s seat in many instances. The most popular braking system for 1934 will be of the four-wheel type, with the hand lever interconnected so as to operate the same shoes as the pedal. This system has proved to give a sufficient margin of safety, and is, of course, now accepted by law. A fully independent, hand-con-trolled brake will be seen only on very few of the more expensive types of chassis. Hydraulic braking will continue to be very popular, in which case the hand lever is connected by cables to the rear shoes so as to give a mechanical alternative to the hydraulic layout