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As the long trip by boat from his native Cape Town came to an end at Southampton in the damp spring of 1961, one of Grand Prix racing's most celebrated…
A Positive Change for Pre-selective gear boxes.
Some time ago, in an interview with a member of MOTOR SPORT staff, the Hon. Brian Lewis expressed the need for some form of positive gear change lever for the pre-selective gear box if it were used in a racing car. Such a change is already in use on the M.G. Magnettes, and we have recently received particulars of a suggested device from Mr. H. H. Lewis, of 21, Princes Avenue, Watford. Mr. Lewis’s idea is to retain the lever beneath the steering wheel as in normal practise, but to do away with any selecting of notches, so that to change ‘ up’ the lever is moved in an anti-clockwise direction, after which it returns automatically to the centre. To change down, the reverse movement on the lever is required, when it once again
returns to the centre position, and so on for each gear, up or down as the case may be. This method of operation can be , carried out by a spring loaded cam to hold the change lever in a central position, while a similar lever, operating the gear box, can be placed at the foot of the steering column, and can be held in each gear position by a spring loaded plunger.