Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-25
NEWS OF INTEREST
TO AUTOMOBILES

pleted In few days. will be on the ground
aoor OF the Grand Central Palace building.
~
The ordinary method of testing the brake
horse power of an automobile motor Is by
means of prony brake. That. briefly, is
clamp with scale beam and scales. The
clamp is frightened upon the fly wheel OF
the motor being tested, and. with the engine
running at certain speeds. a reading is
taken on the scales Automatically from
this reading the actual brake horse power is
determined. On account of the friction be-
tween the fywheel and the wooden brake
blocks considerable heat is developed, and
1t Is, or course, impractical to run the en-
CINE Tor long periods of time against this
braking resistance. In order to not only
test the engines under their own power by
running them on the block for two three
days, then testing them for developed horse
power by the usual prony brake method.
but to be able to run each engine for a day
or more under full and constant load,
equal to Its brake horse power. motor car
companies are installing hydraulic brakes
The resistance in these is water under
greater or less pressure regulated To
these machines an engine may be coupled
by its shaft and run continually for as
long time as desired, at all speeds and I'M
der any load. In this manner the actual
brake horse power developed by seach en-
CINE for period of whole day of steady
running may be determined. 1t is thought
that eventually the system will entirely SUI
persede the testing of motors by the prony
brake.
A very hot crank box indicates a leakage
OF burning gas past the piston and that the
piston rings need immediate attention.
X
II ball In a bearing must be replaced
because of breakage it should be replaced
with one identical in size. Should there be
any doubt regarding the size the best plan
Is to put in complete set of new balls.
His refusal to discuss the matter, Il Is
stated makes It seem quite possible that
VIM. X. Vanderbilt jr., may race his Mer-
cedes on the Florida beach.
Bearings and other working parts of a
| car. or any machine, do not care how rich
| Is their owner They must have personal
| attention and will not run unless they are
properly fabricated Neither will they ac-
cept the f1guratve lubricant of commerce.
high finance and politics. They want COM
| mon grease.
Because he was SO generally known, es-
| teemed and liked, the sudden death of Tom
Cooper, former bicycle champion was a
shock to thousands. He was a careful
driver. but was killed while speeding
| through the park at midnight. His end it
| is said, brought 1t home to New York dem
onstrators and chauffeurs that death sits
beside all speeders through the city 1t is
the most effective warning received lin a
long time fi....
All OF those who represent the automo-
bile Industry on the directorate of the Long
Island motor parkway said to be en-
thusiastic over the scheme and the rapidity
with which 1t is progressing toward real
fzation. s. T. Davis, jr., who represents the
National Association of Automobile Manu-
facturers on the board of directors, says
that II Is sure to the building of
many special automobile highways In va
rious parts of the country.
Notable efforts to centralize the manufac-
ture of high-cass motor cars upon one
model of chassis which will suit different
patterns of bodies have been made by sew
eral Of the great automobile manufacturing
houses. This model, it is stated may be
had with several different body equipments
which are interchangeable, for instance
touring car, with or without folding tops
of various kinds, as a landaulet, as II
mousine and as canopy top car. -.
The same, with slight changes, as In
wheel base, is furnished as a runabout.
That this policy is not only acceptable, but
becoming rapidly more popular is shown by
the large demand this year among purchas-
ers for chassis with two or more body COM
binatons.
Look to your brakes. See that they are
properly adjusted and In good working or
der. ut will prevent accident" says an au-
thority, when you are called upon to use
them in emergency"