Exit CA Enter CF - October 1969

Commercial Motor - 31st October 1969

Exit CA Enter CF

TODAY is the official birthday of a new range of Bedford light commercial vehicles, every one of which can operate fully laden within 3.5 tons g.v.w. and therefore does not require an operator's licence. The introduction also signals the demise of that very famous Bedford light van, the CA.
After 17 years of production during which 370,045 units were produced, the CA van was finally phased out during August of this year.
The new range of vans, designated CF, features five basic models with wheelbases of 106in. for the three lighter chassis and 126in. for the two heavier as opposed to the CAS and CAL at 90in. and 102in. respectively. At the lower end of the range the lightest 106in. model has a capacity of 14cwt while the higher capacity vehicles will early 18cwt and 22cwt. The 126in. wheelbase models are produced with payload capacities Of 25cwt and 35cwt respectively. On all but the 35cwt vehicles single wheel and tyre equipment is used on the rear axle. Twin formation equipment is fitted to the 35cwt. There are 25 variations of the four basic models.
The body capacity of the 106in. vans is 185 cu.ft. and on the 126in. wheelbase models it is 252 cu.ft. In both cases an additional 16 cu.ft. is available in the space beside the driver when the passenger seat is not fitted. The respective floor areas for the two vehicles are 41.5 sq.ft. and 50.5 sq.ft.
The floor loading height of the models varies only by 1.6in., the lightest being 20.7in. unladen while the heavier are 22.3in. unladen. With the rear doors open through 90dag the usable space for loading is almost square with 48in. in width and 48.5in. in height available. The side loading door when fitted, measures 36.8in. wide by 48in. high.
There are four engine options included in the range, these being the Bedford 97.5 cu.in. and 120.5 cu.in. petrol engines and the Perkins 4.108 and 4.154 diesel engines. The 97.5 cu.in. petrol engine is fitted to the 14cwt and 18cwt models only, while the Perkins 4.108 diesel is available in the 14cwt, 18cwt and 22cwt versions. The 120.5 cu.in. petrol engine can be fitted in the 22cwt, 106in. wheelbase van or the two 126in. wheelbase models. Finally, the new Perkins 4.154 diesel can be supplied in the two largest versions, the 25cwt and 35cwt, 126in. wheelbase models.
Transmission
Borg and Beck single plate diaphragmspring clutches are used throughout the range. The diameters vary by only 0.5in, between the smallest and largest models. The smaller vehicle with the 97.5 cu.in.
• petrol engine or the 108 cu.in, diesel, and the 22cwt model fitted with the 120.5in. petrol engine (108 diesel) are all equipped with an 8in. clutch. All the 126in. wheelbase vehicles are equipped with an 8.5in. diameter clutch.
Three different types of gearboxes are fitted, the 14cwt and 18cwt being available with a three-speed box as standard or a four-speed box as an optional extra. On the 22cwt model the four-speed box is fitted as standard. This box has two alternative sets of ratios the lower of which is used when the box is fitted in the 14cwt and 18cwt vans, and in the 22cwt van with 108 cu.in, diesel engine. The two sets of ratios are 4.06, 2.64, 1.68 and 1 to 1 with a reverse of 3.77 to 1, and 4.54, 2.94, 1.87 and 1 to 1 with a 4.2 to 1 reverse. The three-speed box available on the 14cwt and 18cwt vehicle has ratios of 3.94. 1.84 and 1 to 1, the reverse ratio being 3.77 to 1.
A heavy-duty four-speed synchromesh gearbox is used on the 25cwt and 35cwt, this having ratios of 5.143, 2.263, 1.265 and 1 to 1 with a reverse ratio of 5.143 to 1. This gearbox has provision for a power take-off which drives at 0.725 times engine speed. All the gearboxes have centremounted gear levers direct into the top of the gearbox.
Power is transmitted from the output shaft of the gearbox via, on the short wheelbase models, a single propeller shaft of 61.99in. in length, while on the long-wheelbase versions two drive shafts of 22.47in. and 63.44in. length are used.
The same universal joints. KR 1500 and 1700 Series, are used on all models.
Steering gear
Steering is by a Cam Gears rack and pinion Type 6 unit which is bolted to the front suspension cross-member and linked to the steering column by a natural-rubber coupling with iron inserts. Linkage from the rack and pinion to the steering arms is through four non-adjustable joints. Turning circles from the 106in. chassis are 34ft 7in. with a swept circle of 36ft 3in., and for the 126in. models 40ft and 41ft 10in. A 17in. diameter steering wheel is used which requires 4.3 turns to move the steering from lock to lock.
Axles, suspension and brakes
Throughout the range independent front suspension is used, this being of the long and short parallel-link and coil spring type. The links are steel pressings and all pivot points are bushed with rubber to eliminate the need for lubrication.Telescopic dampers positioned through the centre of the suspension coils are fitted on all models.
Rear suspension is by 55in.-long semi-elliptic single taper leaf springs of constant width throughout their length. These are mounted via rubber-bushed shackle pins to a fixed hanger at the front end and a shackle at the rear end. Telescopic dampers situated on the outside of the chassis frames on all the single-tyred vehicles are moved to a position inside the chassis frame on those models with twin-tyre equipment.
Brakes on the front axles are of the two-leading-shoe variety being of 91n. diameter and 2.7051n. width on the 106in. wheelbase versions, while on the 126in. wheelbase they have dimensions of 10in. diameter by 2.75in, width. These dimensions coupled with shoe lengths of 8.63in. and 9.6in. respectively give the 106in. vehicles a total front lining area of 93.37 sq. in. and the 126in. a total area of 105.6 sq. in.
Leading and trailing shoes are used on the rear axles of the 106in. wheelbase versions, these being of the same diameter as the front brakes on those models but only 1.75in. in width giving a lining area of 60.41 in. The grand total frictional area for these models is 153.78sq. in. On the long-wheelbase versions duo-servo shoes are used on the rear axle. Again they are of the same diameter, 10in., but of 2.25in, width on the 25cwt models and 2.75in. width on the 35cwt models. These give lining areas of 92.29 sq. in. for the rear axle of the former and 112.8 sq. in. for the rear axle of the latter, the total lining areas being 197.89 and 218.4 sq. in. respectively.
Braking effort on the 106in. versions is proportioned to give 60 per cent front and 40 per cent rear: on the 126in. wheelbase models the division is 59 and 41 per cent.
The parking brake is a single-pull mechanical unit linked to the rear wheels only, the ratchet being controlled by a press button in the end of the lever.
Footbrake actuation is by a hydraulic system from a master cylinder with a piston diameter of 0.75in. on all models serving two single-acting wheel cylinders on the .front axles and one double-acting cylinder on the rear axle. A servo-assisted tandemmaster-cylinder is an option on all models.
The rear axle fitted to the 106in. wheelbase and the 25cwt, 126in. wheelbase models is of the semi-floating type while that used on the 35cwt, 126in. wheelbase version employs fully-floating half shafts. Hypoidbevel final drives are used throughout with two-pinion differentials. Two ratios are available in the 14cwt and 18cwt models, these being 5.29 to 1 (standard) and 4.63 to 1, but the 22cwt model is provided with only one-axle ratio option, 4.63 to 1. The petrolengined 126in. wheelbase, 25cwt model is again served by two ratios, 4.45 to 1 and 5.22 to 1 (standard), as is the 35cwt unit. The 25cwt and 35cwt models have only one ratio available when powered by the Perkins 154 diesel engine, this being 4.45 to 1.
Electrics
The 12V electrical system is fed from a Lucas Type 15ACR alternator serving three different battery sizes, 39Ah where the smallest petrol engine is used, 55Ah with the larger petrol engine and 95Ah when either of the diesel engines is fitted. The vehicle employs negative earth: a printed circuit is used in the dash panel which is housed in an injection-moulded polypropylene nacelle and connected into the circuit by detachable plugs.
Lucas sealed-beam headlamps are used and all light controls are from a single multiposition switch mounted on the dashboard. Flashing indicators are controlled from a self-cancelling lever mounted to the nearside of the steering column beneath the steering wheel.


Source: Commercial Motor Archive