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Carrier farm conversion
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He moved the driving position behind the engine, and used the front compartment as a well for cargo and seed bags.
From the text, this is how he rearranged the controls: How the Bren carrier's pitching motion was damped for work on the land. The rear springs of the track wheels have been fixed by welding channel iron over them, while the front springs (right) remain as before. This ex-carrier was an exception. Us 30-horsepower Ford V8 engine hummed at the touch of the starter. I rode for some time in the front well. Progress was smooth and far more silent than on most tractors. The driver had a high seat now, with a commanding view of the drill ' whečlmark. And the pitching motion (previously provocative of a farm version of mal de mer) was entirely overcome. Most noticeable change at first glance was that the armoured super- structure had all been removed. A tough job this, and virtually impos- sible without an oxy-acetylene cut- ter. ...... Transferring the controls from forward to aft positions was the trickiest job. First thing was to simplify the steering. Originally, the Bren carrier was steered by a wheel. It acted first by bowing both of the tracks slightly in the required direction. Then, when turned further, it braked the track on the inside of the curve, while the other still drove. Close-up of the controls of the con- verted carrier. The levers ore, from left to right, hand clutch, left track brake, gear, and right track brake. Between the two high levers is the hand throttle control, with foot accelerator low on the right. It was the sudden change from bowing and braking that some- times made Bren carriers spin iike a top on hard road surfaces when trying to negotiate a corner at speed. Mr. White's two sons, George and Robert, who did all the conversion between them, cut out the bowing idea. It was useless for land work. They replaced the wheel with a couple of levers similar to those with which all crawler users are familiar. All steering is now accom- plished by braking on one or other of the tracks. The foot clutch remains, but is now supplemented by a hand con- trol which gives smoother and safer take-off. This is necessary because the driver is in an admirable posi- tion for being jerked off his seat and thrown under the implement following behind. Throttle control is as on old time motor bikes, before twist grips became the fashion. There is a foot accelerater for road work. The instrument panel has been transplanted bodily so as to be right under the driver's eye. This rearrangement of the con- trols required considerable thought and ingenuity. But it was simpli- fied by the fact that from the point of view of position of the engine, etc., it was a change from remote control in the old forward position, to more or less direct control for the present layout. |
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