Tall claim

by Les Vowles

(This is from the Brisbane Telegraph. The date I don't know.)

Little car lives up to tall claim

Taylor, discussing his Darwin to Alice Springs 1,000 miles record drive with Mr. P. M. Redman recently, claimed that he could do practically anything with a small car that he could do with a big model.

Mr. Redman then offered him the use of a "500" saloon to prove his claims and the record breaker went about showing what he could do with the little car.

A complete pictorial record was first. The Fiat was taken to the Beerwah district, where on logging tracks, hikers’ paths, over creek beds, rocks, gullies and heavily timbered country, the "500" was put through its paces.

Taylor negotiated seemingly impassable sections with ease, driving over areas that had not been motored over before by car.

The car then was taken to Gordon’s Crossing, near Strathpine, and here it was driven at 25 to 30 m.p.h. over the bank into the South Pine River many times, creating, as seen in the picture, immense clouds of spray.

Each time the Fiat continued on, even though some-times almost under water, under its own power to the opposite bank.

Stopping deliberately in fairly deep water, well over floor level, the only well-over into the car was via the control pedals and handbrake slots.

After this severe treatment, the car still was capable of high speeds and was timed at over 70 M.P.H.

Then came the final mistreatment. This was a 25 foot ramp approached at nearly 60 m.p.h. onto another ramp.

This occurred early this week, and, although the front wheels both hit extremely hard on the edge of the second ramp, causing a frightening series of bounds before Taylor brought the car to rest, the only damage was a buckled front wheel rim.

The car finally landed on the roadway so heavily that all the tyres were compressed so that the rims practically met the road surface. The damage to the front rim was done in hitting the edge of the ramp.

After the final test, the car seemed to have suffered little damage from its rough usage
The doors opened and shut normally and the bodywork was undamaged, apart from the driver’s seat, to which Taylor had been strapped for the jump.

The terrific strain imposed on landing and subsequent bouncing caused the seat mounting to give way with Taylor’s weight, and the driver was winded from being thrown against the steering wheel.

In a preliminary jump direct onto the roadway, with no landing ramp, the car sat down so hard that the sump scraped the road. In this try-out the car traveled 48 feet before landing.

During the series of tests the car covered nearly 500 miles - surely one of the most severe trials to which any light car has been put. Les Taylor had substantiated his claim.

After the final test the car was driven back to the city performing normally.