The sun., 1908-01-31
AMONG TIE AUTOMOBILBTS
BRIARCLIFF TROPHY RACE rs
LIMITED TO EIGHT HOURS.

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At a meeting last night Of the executive
board and rules committee OF the RriarcliH
1 trophy stock car contest which is TO be run In
Westchester county on April "a II was de-
! cided 70 limit the race to eight hours. The
exact distance was not settled upon last night
| but will be determined by the rules com
mittee when the members have ridden over the
! course together.
As II is expected that the race will be
started at daybreak some OF the committee
men wished to limit the contest to six hours
so that IL would be over by noon. II was de-
cided that any size fuel tank might be used.
as well as a larger steering wheel than the
regular equipment. and that muffers may be
removed II the entrants wish.
The following addition to the rules OF the
race was adopted: The term stock chassis
as used In rule is further defined as consist
Ing OF the motor including CarbuTeter. izni-
tion cooling system, method OF oiling. ar
rangement and method Of suspension: the
transmission. including rahio and number Of
gears, method OF suspension, system OF OPP
GRAFTON. clutch and differential, and system
OF drive, excluding size Of sprockets OF ratio
OF driving pinions on shaft driven cars. the
frame. including aXles, springs and their
relative. positions, brakes and the method Of
steering. Wheels must be OF stock pattern.
but any rims or tires may he used, without re-
strictions regarding the tire dimensions"
The New York State Engineer received 227
bids last week for the Improvement Of 2Ol
miles of highways, The bids were asked for
forty-One stretches OF roads. located in the
following countless: Nassau. Suffolk, Wash
inGton, Oneida. Jefferson, Orange, Madison.
Broome. Steuben. Fulton. OnOndaga Erie.
Greene. Chenango. Schenectady. OtsegO.
ROckland. Warren st. Lawrence. Chautauqua.
| Franklin. CattaTagus and Sullivan.
ha bar rf fnr 20 rnaHa haa
increased steadily recently. Records at the
State Engineers Ofice show that previous to
the present, administration the lettings
amOu nted to only 90 or 70 per cent Of the roads
advertised, while during the present adminis-
| trattOn every road advertise has been bid for
| and by reputable contractors.
| 1t is reported that the Milwaukee Automo-
| bile Trade Association Is planning to hold
| three days reliability run in the near future
u Is suggested that the first days run be from
| milwaukee 70 Madison. the second days from
| Madison to Oshkosh and n, third days from
Oshkosh back TO Milwaukee.
SOW 40 general 9 use Sor1b % RSs SgaetS E1tSa 6
one or two things over which the public
have gone astray. says an English motOrist.
mysteries OF the coil and sccumuiator and
| seem inclined to treat the latter device in
much the same way. For instance most
| motorists are not happy unless they are
provided with an ignition control lever to
Teg1late the timing, as Is done with the older
| a magnetic, as its action is in a sense auto
matte. the period OF lag" in sparkling being
shortened IN proportion to the engines speed.
| This was discovered so long ago as the days
! OF the old motor tncycles and bicycles.
| though with the modern high tension mag
netos il is more pronounced still In some
! cases too the advance though slight Ia
governed directly by the engine. without
so that no error can be made in the timing
, But Just because they do not understand
have
out lengthy series of tests and found that
in four cases only. one needed some slight
hand control on fairly level ground between
engine worked Sedly before hand Control
meshing OF the ignition timing wheels. In
all other cases the engine could be started
hrc. Most manufacturers realize his property
OF the magnetO ana admit privately that for
the best and the hand control is only supplied
in Difference TO their customers wishes.
indianapolis and Chicago have followed
the lead Of New York In Experimenting with
automobile patrol wagons. The Indianapolis
Black Maria went into commission recently,
while the Chicago vehicle began its public
career last week. There was keen Competi-
tiOn in providing the patrol wagon in Indian
apOlis as there are a number OF motor vehicle
factories In the city and several wanted the
honor Of placing a machine in commission.
The contract was finally awarded 20 the firm
that bid 81 800. and il is said that it cost more
than $500 TO build the car.
Taken as a class, modern cars steer very
nicely and handle readily, says the HOrseLess
| ige. But there is still room for Improvement
| In this respect, even in some of the latest
models Where semi-elptic springs are
used in front II they are not properly hung
their action may make the forward wheels
| wabble whenever the car passes over q
rough piece Of road. This motion is partlcu-
larry noticeable when the springs are com
| paratively short. have considerable Gambler
and are used in conjunction with a rather
| short connection TO the steering gear lever.
| A. such springs are usually applied they are
| hin Eed TO the frame in front and have shackles
! at the rear. so when the spring IL compressed
the axle moves upward approximately In the
| spring a. its centre, Since this point Is usu-
| ally. higher than the axle the latter moves
backward with relation TO the frame.
| As a result of this movement. the ball on
| the knuCkle lever. to which the steering gear
y Connected' mus must move back back with the ale S,i
since II is connected to the irTeversible steer
ing gear bv rigid tube, whose front end
! sW ings in different arc, the front wheels are
| turned from side to side bv every movement
| OF the springs. This action does not greatly
| interfere with the steering. unless the wheels
swing more than in most cars hut II must
cause the front tires to wear considerably
faster than they, otherwise would.
| overcome. but the displacement can be made
so small as to be harmless. and there are
| several wsvS Of accomplishing this. Perhaps
the most obvious met hod lis to hinge the springs
| at the rear and shaCkle them at the front.
| By doing thls ana making the lore and art
| connection correspond clOsely In length and
| angle with the rear part Of the springs. the
| movement OF It's forward end will be prac-
| ticallv the same that of the axle
| The more common method has been to max @
| the front springs rather Hat. so that the fore
| and aft displacement OF the axle is slight and
| has little effect on the wheels. In a few cars
| the fore and aft connection has been placed
| on an angle and. more by accident than de-
| sign this placing has proved "a happy solu-
| tion. II n layout of the side elevation OF any
| car be considered II will be evident that by
| making the rear end OF the connection lower
| than the front its movements will harmonic
| very closely with that Of the axle. and there
| will be Verv little shake to the front wheels
| IL is attention to such trihes which marks
| the difference between the car which is u
| success and the car which Is a failure,
Automobiles played a prominent part
! during the recent floods in Texas The
| santa Fe Railroad lost several bridges and
| was left without an engine at PeCOs where
! upOn W. W. Pitts, local automobiles. visit ed
/ the manager Of the railroad and prOiTered
| his aid. Pitts went to work on four cylinder
| double chain drive Acme and converted
| il into railroad motor car. He secured
| A pair n pushCar wheels and aXles and by
| babbittinR each end Of two inch pipe and
! bOltinR II 10 the aNles in place OF the regular
| axies he had his machine ready for business.
| He fitted eighteen tooth sprc cckets by using
| two pieces OF well casing inches in diameter