Chaindrive

A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to find another old chassis (the first being my Fiat 18BLR). The make was easy to identify with its brass wheel grease caps 'Lacre Motor Car Co of London and Letchworth' This is how the Lacre looked after getting it home. It had been converted into a hay trailer in the 1940's and had spent much of its 100 years out in the sun and rain.

I am always fascinated looking at a chassis as old as this and imagining what history it may have seen in its working life. I like to look for clues also which may tell a little about that past. The spockets for instance show very little wear indicating that they were probably replaced late in the Fiats working life. The engine mounts tell a different story. The one intact mount remaining is badly worn down due to movement of the engine mounts and vibration from the motor The other front mount has broken out The rear engine mounts are completely broken away Just going by this series of pictures the chassis had a long working life,probably coming to end when the engine catastrophically separated from the chassis due to neglect and wear of the engine mounts. After that it may have been cast aside and its running gear stripped out for use in other vehicles. It may have never been a hay trailer as it still has a few parts left where the small differential sprockets were.

Thanks very much Rod Some very interesting reading and lots of new information I had not known. Especially about the fuel tank being pressurised and the three types of braking used.

Correction . I should have said that the pictures were on the Landships site. My apologies .

Hello Jack i probably should have mentioned it earlier. The link with the walkaround of the Fiat on this site was the first and best pictures I have came across showing very good detail of a lot of the parts. In fact the pictures at the bottom of the link with the chassis recovered from the river helped me to identify my chassis as being a fiat 18BL. Great set of pictures

My theories as to the axle being low we're in response to the question asked by David at the beginning of this thread. I agree it is about average height for this type of truck. It is the same height as the rear axle of my similar age Lacre as well.

The back wheels look similar however the cabin front wheels lights and rear wheel grease caps are different. Also I don't think the chassis would be strong enough to carry a tank. This must be a very heavy duty version to carry that sort of weight whatever model of truck it is. A very interesting picture though.

A picture of the sliding spring on a 1910/11 Lacre 5 tonne truck chassis. When the chassis was stripped out years ago,one inch square bar was welded to the chassis on the insides of the rear spring slides to stop the axle and springs sliding completely out of the cast slides. Originally a heavy torsion bar attached to the back of the brake drum and at the other end around the chain drive differential providing both tension on the chain as well as anchoring the axle in position.

Here's a couple of photos. Firstly a close up of the rear axle with the two mounting holes on the lower part of the axle for the sprag. Obviously the springs are mounted higher than the wheel centres so the reason for the low axle position is more likely to have more to do with the sprag 'brake' . If anyone has any other theories why the axle is set low i would be happy to receive any comments. This drawing below shows the top view and position of the sprag attached in the up position underneath the fuel tank at the rear of the truck. It does not show how it was deployed as there are no visible linkages in the diagram.

Unfortunately no. All I have is what you can see in the first two pictures of this post. I will have quite a few years of parts searching ahead of me. It was rescued by me from a scrap yard. Before that it came from a deceased estate so I'm not sure of where the previous owner found this vehicle (he was a collector) . From what I gather the Fiat is a very rare truck in Australia compared to some other pre WW1 makes so finding the parts may be a lengthy ordeal. I know of only 1 other restored 18BL in Australia but I would assume there are others here.

I have been doing a bit more reading. It's hard to know how accurate information posted online is but the Fiat 18BLR might have started production in 1915. As for why the axle is set lower than the wheel centres it may be to facilitate the use of the sprag brake. There are two holes through the axle through which the sprag brake is attached. The lower axle position may be to allow for the correct angle for the sprag to be deployed. I have a diagram of the sprag assembly which I will post along with a close up of the rear axle in the next few days.

Hi Roy Thanks for the information. I have heard of the 18BLR. It was an upgraded version of the BL built later with upgraded springs and smaller wheels and lower top speed. Is this correct? So the correct age for this chassis may be around 1918? i hope someone can give me some more details on the 18BLR.

Hi David i know a little about the Fiat 18 BL. The Italian army approached Fiat to design and build a military truck. The result was the 18BL. As for why the axle is lower than the wheel centres I can only speculate that it had something to do with the very heavy springs giving a lower overall chassis height. It was designed to carry 3.5 tonnes. I was surprised at the condition of the chassis also. Much drier climate here is much kinder to steel. I have located a 1910 Lacre chassis recently and it also is in good condition considering it has spent much of the last 100 years sitting neglected in a field exposed to the elements. I will start a new thread about that chassis soon.

Hello all I am new to the forum and am seeking some information about a Fiat 18BL chassis that i have. The question relates to the rear wheels. Most pictures of the 18BL that i have seen the rear wheel spokes are round however the wheels on the chassis that i have are quite different. I thought that the wheels may have been changed from original until i stumbled across a picture of a 18 BL gun carrier with the same wheels. Any thoughts or information would be welcome.

Hello everyone My name is Dale and I live in Australian near a small town called Laidley in the state of Queensland. I have had an interest in the equipment used in both world wars and I am hoping to further my knowledge here. I work from home as a nurseryman growing trees. I have a fascination with vintage trucks in particular chain drive models. I recently came across two examples as bare chassis that I would like to source parts for and restore. Both were stripped and made into hay trailers many years ago. The first is a British 1910 Lacre 5 tonne and the other is a 1914 Fiat 18BL. I will post pictures of both in other threads . I have questions which I hope members here will be able to answer for me. It's nice to be welcomed into this forum and I hope to contribute regularly.