"Raphael Orlove" (orlove)
04/08/2014 at 10:40 • Filed to: Chain Drive Tuesday, Frazer Nash, Car Culture
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"Raphael Orlove" (orlove)
04/08/2014 at 10:40 • Filed to: Chain Drive Tuesday, Frazer Nash, Car Culture | 8
| 10 |
Frazer-Nashes were something like the British BMW back in the '20s and '30s, so much so that when BMW started whipping them in competition with their original 328, Frazer-Nash started selling those cars under license. But I'm getting away from the point.
The point is that the classic Frazer-Nashes, the cars you could buy stock and race around the country or enter in hillclimb competition, were chain-driven. Here's a picture of the setup.
Photo Credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
And another, because it's just so rad.
Photo Credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
The car were supposedly fantastic to drive, if very much in the classic rough, British mold. More than that, the cars were cheap speed. They might have been crude in their tech, but they had the performance of much more expensive cars. They also looked fantastic, though you wouldn't exactly call them styled. In any case, the Frazer-Nash fanboys we known as the "Chain Gang," and were seriously devoted to their brand.
Eventually Frazer-Nash joined the rest of the modern world and gave up on chain drive, pretty much crushing the souls of their fan base.
Sounds more and more like BMW doesn't it?
Top Photo Credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
CalzoneGolem
> Raphael Orlove
04/08/2014 at 10:45 |
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I'm confused. Do all 4 of those chains work at the same time or is it like a 4 speed gear box?
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> CalzoneGolem
04/08/2014 at 10:49 |
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Like a four-speed gearbox.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Raphael Orlove
04/08/2014 at 10:52 |
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"
Nash and Godfrey hated cogs,Built a car with chains and dogs.And it worked, but would it ifThey had built it with a diff?
"
Thanks for that, Wikipedia! Borrowed from the article on the GN racer, built by Archie Frazer-Nash and H.R. Godfrey:
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CalzoneGolem
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/08/2014 at 10:53 |
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Neat!
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> CalzoneGolem
04/08/2014 at 10:56 |
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In the second pic, the chains are 4, 3, 2, 1, with reverse under first and second (that little gear/second chain mechanism).
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CalzoneGolem
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/08/2014 at 10:58 |
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I love the oil spatter on that back wall.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> CalzoneGolem
04/08/2014 at 11:01 |
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Notice, though, that this setup as Nash and Godfrey developed it doesn't allow for a diff, unless they were to design a concentric output shaft version with axles running through the sprocket gang. This is referred to in the rhyme I found on Wikipedia quoted in my reply to Raph.
Weather and Darkness
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/08/2014 at 22:53 |
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That's Spider II
It also has a sister car called Spider and there's a spitting cousin called GNAT. In fact there's a whole slew of GN-based hillclimb specials. One's even mid-rear engined and has a huge difference on front and rear track.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Weather and Darkness
04/09/2014 at 09:06 |
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I love what GNs I've seen pictures of over the years, but don't have a good link to a comprehensive guide. My favorites are the cyclops-headlighted ones - barring the J.A.P. V8 one.
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Weather and Darkness
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/09/2014 at 22:42 |
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Thunderbug comes to mind. https://www.flickr.com/photos/2534948…
Here's a pretty sizable cross section http://euclidsbridge.wordpress.com/tag/cycle-car/