Who needs a Land Rover?

[V8Ian]

Northern Safari (1956) clip 1 on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online (https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/northern-safari/clip1/)
Northern Safari (1956) clip 2 on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online (https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/northern-safari/clip2/)
Northern Safari (1956) clip 3 on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online (https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/northern-safari/clip3/)

Or any more than two wheel drive.
That trip would have been epic in 1956.

[JDNSW]

Or consider that two wheel drive vehicles drove over much of Australia before four wheel drives were available to most people. An example that comes to mind is the planning team (including Hudson Fysh, later head of Qantas), that drove from Brisbane to Darwin and back in 1918 in preparation for the first flight to Australia in a 2wd Ford - most of the distance had no formed roads. There are many other examples.

But having four wheel drive reduces the amount of shovelling!

[3toes]

Also the ground clearance of those older vehicles was a tad more than a Porsche

[Discosux]

Also the ground clearance of those older vehicles was a tad more than a Porsche

There's something about 40 inch wheels with 4 inch wide tyres on them that just screams go anywhere.
i've watched a few old time vids of old A model fords going to places that would shame a modern 4X4

[gromit]

Francis Birtles did quite a few outback trips on push bikes, a Brush, a Model T and later a Bean.
Brush 1912 Perth to Sydney.
Model T 1914 Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide and back to Melbourne.
The Bean did many trips across Australia and in 1927 London to Melbourne (First Overland !).

Francis Birtles - www.dirtroaddiaries.com.au (https://dirtroaddiaries.com.au/historic-motoring/francis-birtles/)


Colin

[goingbush]

I can not think of any modern 4x4 that would be able to follow this Dodge


https://youtu.be/nq2jY1trxqg

[spudfan]

People then accepted the vehicle as a working tool. Now people will not accept the compromises inherent in a road going vehicle that would let it do something like that. To do that now and accomodate people's expectations for comfort and gadgets necessitates complicated systems to try to do everything. That is a vehicle built by the engineering department, not the accountancy department.

[Graeme]

I suspect that its diff was permanently locked which would mean that it couldn't be driven on today's sealed roads.

[loanrangie]

I have driven my dads old 1924 Dodge with its 24" spoke wheels on some very muddy ground and it never lost traction, even with their large diff centers they still have lots of ground clearance.

[JDNSW]

I think you touch on a key point - ground clearance is totally inadequate for this sort of driving on any "road intended" car today. (And many so-called offroad vehicles)

And the other point is weight. The Ford T, for example had a kerb weight of 540-750kg, depending on body and accessories. The Dodge in the film clip probably weighed only a little over 1,000kg.

A further point is that all cars of that era had a weight bias heavily towards the rear (driving) wheels, necessary as there was no braking on the front wheels and to ensure light and fast acting steering.

[gromit]

Francis Birtles unfortunately lost most of the films he'd made crossing Australia to an unscrupulous 'investor'.
There are some stills in the video below, I like the one with chains on brake drums (wheels removed), I think this was crossing the Naga Hills on the India Burmah border. I read that he flipped the axle at one point to get 3 reverse and one forward gear.

The Sundowner (Bean) is in the Museum in Canberra.

National Museum of Australia - Welcoming back Francis Birtles? Bean 14 car, the ?Sundowner? (https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofaustralia/videos/welcoming-back-francis-birtles-bean-14-car-the-sundowner/2201643850163522/)

https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/556329/MA47193099-sundowner-bean-car-1200w.jpg

There's a good book on him written by Warren Brown.


Colin