Lanchester LD10 Preselector Gearbox Training at The Classic Motor Hub

[@brianmac1]

I grew up close to our local small (10 bus) bus company. They had mainly Bedfords but they also had a 1950 Daimler which I drove several times. Once you've driven a preselect, you always have a soft spot for them.

[@AlexGrayTheCarCollector]

Nice. I have a Lanchester 1937 road rider I am restoring, so was a useful lesson for when it can be driven

[@andrewpill4602]

Very much like a London bus c. 1945!

[@alecc3094]

Pre-war Riley cars often used this Wilson Pre-Select Gearbox in conjuction with a centrifugal clutch which only engaged drive a little above idle speed. Moving off after engaging first gear and then depressing and releasing the gear change pedal prepared the car to start only after raising the engine speed. Subsequent gear changes could be made with both hands on the wheel even in a corner. The system was especially attractive to drivers who were not skilled to deal with non-synchromesh gearboxes common in other cars and they were not likely to stall the engine.

[@rosewood1]

The preselector is great to drive. But deceptively simple is a good description. Because there are aspects of them that you don't want to get wrong. Like making sure you stop in neutral. Otherwise next time you start it will be in gear. And matching rpm especially on overdrive versions with a fluid flywheel. Change is fast but if your engine speed is badly wrong you can twist the mainshaft!

[@beegee22]

Interesting video and the handling of this type of gearbox is very nicely and simply explained. In a way simpler than a straight manual, but at the same time the driver needs to plan ahead for the next gear - not as immediate as with a straight manual for a spontaneous gear change which might be required as in a racing situation.

[@alexgreen1559]

Does the Lanchester utilise a centrifugal clutch? My Riley Lynx with a preselector has one, and it makes it marvellous in traffic.

[@elistickband]

No it uses a fluid flywheel, which is essentially the same but operates by hydraulics

[@batlin]

@@elistickband is that similar to a torque converter used in automatics today?

[@elistickband]

@@batlin Yes pretty much the same, the TC is slightly more efficient, being more modern than the FF. I have one of these cars, a 1951, and they are lovely to drive, just not at all fast. Some buses still use the pre-select gearbox, at least in the UK, they are extremely robust.

[@timcarpenter2441]

If the pedal is the trigger, I have wondered why not have this trigger occur when moving the lever into a new gear? Perhaps the pedal provided sufficient manual thrust to perform the action. A lever may have needed an additional set of hydraulic actuators?

[@YorkshireMidge]

Interesting video - but at the risk of asking a daft question, how do you handle junctions? I assume you have to coast up to the junction in neutral (in case you have to stop) and pre-select 1st if it's looking like you'll need to stop, or another gear if you think you can keep going?

[@theclassicmotorhub239]

Yup, that's pretty much it. Thinking ahead is crucial to driving a pre-selector!

[@its_me_dave]

No. At any point with your foot on the clutch you can select neutral. No need to panic or think five moves ahead all the time. It’s really not too different from a manual gearshift. Plus, like an automatic it won’t stall when you pull away...👍

[@orbitty1354]

The 48 tucker brought me here. How is this not in most cars.

[@gustavochinchilla4324]

1948 Tucker, what a beautiful car ❤️

[@orbitty1354]

I wanna try.

[@batlin]

So is the pedal just a binary switch to trigger the gear shift, or do you need to let it out gently like a manual clutch? When the instructor said to "dip" it, I couldn't tell if that means "shove it in and release it" or "gingerly press and release it".

[@elistickband]

You simply push the pedal right to the floor, pause for a second, and let it out. No need to feed it in like a clutch. If you don't push it in far enough you end up with a false neutral, which means it goes into neutral but the mechanism inside the box is in the in gear position. All you do is re-press the pedal and try again, but the pedal will be very stiff because you're pushing against some heavy springs, but this doesn't damage anything and is quite normal.

[@andrewrobinson452]

It needs to be fed out gently in first and reverse gear while revs build like a manual but just straight in and out for all other gears

[@artemkatelnytskyi]

Remarkable!

[@carlranns6658]

So if you take your driving test in it and pass, will you then be licensed to drive a manual?

[@scooteringblackpool8249]

yes, because technically it's the clutch which is automatic (fluid flywheel hydraulic coupling instead of a conventional clutch) and not the gearbox, you still change gear manually. My mum passed in my dad's 1953 Daimler Conquest in the 60's, she'd had lessons in a Triumph Herald manual prior.. they were popular to learn in due to the tight turning circle!

[@bri961]

Can you stall it like on manual transmission?

[@theclassicmotorhub239]

I certainly didn't manage to stall it, because you can't just dump the "clutch" like a manual car.

[@GEOFF0906]

They will stall if you give them too much work to do!

[@jamesfrench7299]

A bus gearbox in a car.

[@kholwanindlovu559]

Now they call it dsg noothing new😅😅😅