Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-06
STANLEY CARS
SWEEP BOARD
STEAMERS WIN ALL EVENTS IN
WHICH THEY ENTER
FAST TIME MADE IN RIVERSIDE
HILL CLIMB
Considerable Protest Is offered to
Stripped Stoddard-only One
Motorcycle Event
Pulled Off

doubtedly have won in the ffee-Ior-ail
class. As it was. it made an eXhlDluoh
run which. though seconds slower than
its best time, was faster than all other
entries in that event
The real contest Of the day centered
around Bert Dingley with a Chalmers
Detroit Blue Bird and Frank Seifert
in a Stoddard- Dayton 40-horse power
stripped roadster.
They came together in the twelfth
event for roadsters of $1,000 and over
when the Blue Bird beat the Stoddard
by 2 2-5 seconds for the mile grade
which started at about per cent ana
finished near the very top at Is per
cent.
Dingley drove the Chalmers up the
hill in 20 1-5, which time he cut down
one second in the next event, but on
account of a claim of a false start he
ran it over. When the Stoddard started
in the free-for-all the timers failed to
get the time of leaving, and it ran once
more.
On the second trial Dingley did not
negotiate the turn about a quarter of
a mile from the finish and lost little,
making it in 1:20 3-5. The best that
Seifert could get out of the Stoddard
car was 1:22 2-5.
Drivers Risk Lives
1t was fine sight to stand at the top
of the grade and watch haze of blue
smoke develop into a roaring, sputter-
ing motor car with two human beings
clinging desperately on and risking
their necks as the car swung wide on
the curve where the dust was trifie
too deep for safety.
AS they came bounding up the hill
they seemed to be gaining momentum
with every rod until they flashed
across the finish line with rush that
drove the thin line of spectators on
either side of the course hurrying back
to safety.
The course was little more than a
trail up the hill and very little work
had been done to put it in shape.
Slight hummocks along the whole
course rocked the cars like ships in a
heavy sea.
The fastest time of the day was
made in the eleventh event for $1,000 to
$1,000 roadsters. when the Stanley
steamer beat the Rambler and the
Turist.
Like a bird the little steam car came
rushing at the hill, getting away from
the starting line with much more speed
than the gasoline cars, which had to
change gears. Near the finish it did
not run so fast as did the gasoline
cars, but there was such fast flying
over the first part of the course that
it did not need the spectacular speed
at the end to win.
When the watches were compared it
was found that the time was 1:12 for
the mile.
In the finals 1:1S was the time the
six seconds being lost on account of
the fastenings of the hood getting
loose and the whole hood flying up and
back until it rested against the steer
ing wheel In that position it caused
a great deal of resistance and ma
terially 1essened the speed.
Exhibition Test Fails
An exhibition was attempted with a
thirty horse power Stanley, but a gas
ket on a fange blew out at the start
and the car could not run. 1t is
claimed that the go" had made the
hill in one minute fiat and with 200
pounds of steam pressure in excess for
yesterdays exhibition it was expected
that the minute could be clipped until
the time went as low as 81 seconds.
In the small car races the Stanley
seemed TO leave the ground entirely
when it struck small distractions on
the course and would doubtless have
made better time with more weight or
on a smoother road.
Quite a little discussion was caused
at the hill climb by the Stoddard peo-
pie entering a car from which they
had stripped the rear part of the body,
replacing it with a circular gasoline
tank.
It had the appearance of being a tenn
porary rnakeshift lob, but nevertheless
it was entered as stock. though no cat
alogue was supplied for the commit
tee.
Evidently anticipating a protest, the
entrants had reinforced themselves
with telegram from the factory say
ing that the circular tank on the rear
was optional Considerable exception
was taken because the telegram was
deemed insufficient to establish that
the model was stock, and was one of at
least ten of that design already built
by the company.
On the same grounds exception was
taken to the Blue Bird, but it is well
known that the Blue Bird has been
duplicated in sufficient quantities to
make it stock. and, more than that, has
been accepted in numerous events pre-
viously as a stock model
Notwithstanding that Dingley had
everything in his favor, he sent to Los
Angeles and had rumble seats eX-
pressed to Riverside to put on, but
when the Stoddard was allowed to
compete in its stripped condition he
refused to load his car with the rum
BILE seat. Strictly speaking, the two
Rambler roadsters were the only other
cars in the thirteenth event that were
unuuestionably stock models
The Stanley and Tourist entries were
stock models and were not protested
officially or otherwise.
Few Events Run
Unfortunately, there were so few en-
tries and so many scratches that only a
few of the events could be run. Six
out of fourteen were pulled off OF the
three motorcycle events only one was
run, and that in the slow time of 80.
II was won by G. Kohl on a special
machine of his own building.
Not a single touring car event beside
the fifth was run, and the Oldsmoblle,
which had no other entries in the
class. was allowed to run an exhibition
that was done in the very creditable
time of 1929. The car was stock fully
equipped and carried a load of -four
persons averaging at least $50 pounds
each.
The results were as follows:
Motorcycles. single cylinder, stock ma
chinese. Kohl first, 1889.
Fifth event. for touring cars $1,000 to
s2O00-Stanley first, 1924 10; Tourist sec
ond, 1:sSd-5.
Eleventh event. for roadsters. $1,000 to
s20d0-Stanley first. 1:12; Tourist sec
ond. 1:42: Rambler third, 1850
Thirteenth event. free-fOr-all-Cha1-
iners Blue Bird first, 1870 3-5; Stoddard
second, 1922 2-5; Rambler As horse pow
er third, 1888; Rambler 80 horse power
fourth, 1:46
Final. for four fastest cars, in which