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The Africar
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I remember it well. I recorded the CH4 series on VHS tape, bought the book, and nearly invested some money, when they were trying to raise funds. Probably just as well I had second thoughts! The “in house” engine & gearbox was also intended to provide 4 wheel drive & low ratio, and it’s a tribute to to lowly Citroen GS engine that all 3 cars made it across pretty severe terrain with only 2 wheel drive and no diff locks. One particular hill was too steep, but they made it up by zig-zagging from side to side which effectively reduced the gradient. The reason for a wide track and flat underside was to avoid the usual Land Rover ~ Land Cruiser problem of having one side fall into the ubiquitous ruts made by trucks. The Africar wheels were the same distance apart as those ruts, and with long travel suspension it could find grip even with the floor dragging along the ground. The crucial ingredient of this was Dr Alex Moulton’s interconnected Hydragas suspension, used on many BL group cars including the Maxi, which I ran two examples of. When new units were no longer available, I spent a lot of time developing a way of re-pressurising the displacers (using Citroen valves!) despite them being “Factory Sealed”…
I remember it well. I recorded the CH4 series on VHS tape, bought the book, and nearly invested some money, when they were trying to raise funds. Probably just as well I had second thoughts! The “in house” engine & gearbox was also intended to provide 4 wheel drive & low ratio, and it’s a tribute to to lowly Citroen GS engine that all 3 cars made it across pretty severe terrain with only 2 wheel drive and no diff locks. One particular hill was too steep, but they made it up by zig-zagging from side to side which effectively reduced the gradient. The reason for a wide track and flat underside was to avoid the usual Land Rover ~ Land Cruiser problem of having one side fall into the ubiquitous ruts made by trucks. The Africar wheels were the same distance apart as those ruts, and with long travel suspension it could find grip even with the floor dragging along the ground. The crucial ingredient of this was Dr Alex Moulton’s interconnected Hydragas suspension, used on many BL group cars including the Maxi, which I ran two examples of. When new units were no longer available, I spent a lot of time developing a way of re-pressurising the displacers (using Citroen valves!) despite them being “Factory Sealed”…
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JH: There ya go.