Front hub on a Series I question

[artpeck]

attached is a photo of the front hub on a 57 SI. Note the almost parallel bronze colored parts. these are hinged at one end and pivot upward. Probably a stupid question so as always mea culpa. What are they? Is this some early version of a free wheel hub? Some other function? Logic has so far failed me by looking at the design and curious if someone can chime in. Thanks

[UnfrozenCaveman]

Lift each lever give it a half turn and put it back in the slot. It should say "locked" on the other side of the levers.

Look here... http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/index.php?topic=4253.0

[stomper]

Those are dualmatic hubs. I believe Ike (pangolin4x4.com) has a great article on his site that shows all of the hubs that were fitted to old rovers, and has some info on each of them.

[artpeck]

Great. Thanks much. I will look at Ike's site. Learn something new every day.

[artpeck]

I examined them closely. One had one lever free and the other locked. The other had both set at free. Any idea if driving it that way could have caused damage? I havent put any miles on it but who knows how long the PO drove it that way.