Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-20
AIR COOLED CAR
PROVES WORTH
CLIMBS MOUNTAINS; GOES
THROUGH DEEP SAND
PLUNGEs ALONG ROADS WHERE
WATER is PLENTIFUL
Despite All These Experiences En-
gine of Franklin Automobile
Fails to Run
Hot

Hot
All of the difficulties which, even
when encountered separately, are ac-
cepted as rigorous tests of the cooling
ability of an automobile engine were
punched by r. II. Proske when he re-
Gently took a trip in his air-cooled
seven passenger FRANKLIN touring car.
To mountain climbing was added deep
sand and mud and deep water fol-
lowed.
Mr.. Proske lives at Denver, and he
proposed a trip to ConejOs. which just
escapes being in New Mexico, and
back. on the first days journey the
motor car, a 1907 type Of 42-horse-
power, took Mr.. Proske and party
from Denver to Palmer lake, which is
1000 feet higher, and then down for
1900 feet into Colorado Springs. After
another days run through rough coun-
try they rested the next night in La
Veta at an altitude of 1000 feet From
there to La Veta pass, with an altitude
of over 10000 feet, is twelve miles.
Here we expected our trouble in
overheating of the engine" Mr.. Proske
says, because water-cooled agents had
said you cannot climb long mountain
grade without oyerheating your en-
twelve miles we made on the high
gear without any trouble at all. Then
we reached an altitude where the air
was so light and the grade became so
steep that we were compelled to go into
the intermediate gear.
I'VE made the last eight miles of
this climb up an elevation of about
$500 feet on the intermediate gear.
Eight miles up hill on this gear caused
mo I
much surprised to reach. the top with
the ease we did. My first thought was
to examine my engine, and so l pulled
up the hood only to find that the en-
CINE was in the finest fettle, no evil
dence of being too hot only hot enough
to give the greatest energy"
TraVersed Sandy Roasd
Dropping into the San Luis valley,
which Is 5000 feet above sea level they
went to Fort Garland and Alamosa
over the sandiest roads of the trip,
26-mile stretch.
"Only those who have Travelled this
road know what sand is" declares Mr..
Proske. There Is one stretch of about
one mile that is different from any
thing else ever seen anywhere by me.
1t is of fine powderlike quality and
seemed to have no bottom. We were
compelled to go into the low gear and
then 1t was all that could be done to
get through it,
at was so dry and tractionless that
at times the wheels would sink almost
to the axles. The first mile was a
severe test on the engine. 1t was a
hot day and dry only as it is dry In
this famous valley.
After this mile was covered without
stop Gas we did not dare to stop,
fearing we would sink) we found about
eight miles of much better road. Then
we struck about twelve miles of more
sand not so bad as the first mile, but
still bad enough to compel going into
the intermediate gear
Twelve miles of intermediate gear
on a hot day in the dryest air proved
a good test for air cooling. At the
end of this twelve miles we FOUND the
sand not SO deep and jumped into the
high and fairly sailed through 1t with
out stop for the rest of the way to
Alamosa"
PIunges Through Water
Conejos reached, the return to Ala
mosa was made by way of San Luis.
This eliminated the sand, but water
took it's place, the country being over
irrigated. Every rancher," says Mr..
Proske, had let his bitches overrun
the road, and we went sailing through
lakes in the road varying from fifty
feet to 300 feet across. Some of these
were so deep that the hood would
throw water over the top of the car,
and we received several shower baths,
all of which we enjoyed in the ecstasy
of seeing the car apparently swim
ming these lakes without a Itch cf
any kind to mar the pleasure.
1--WE sailed along nicely until we
were leaving Walsenburg," he con-
tinues. Here a heavy shower had
Just taken place. The soil, being what
is known as 'dobie,' was wet about
two inches deep, and if the whole
country had been covered with that
depth of grease it could not have been
more slippery.
eve slipped and slid along for about
three miles without chains or ropes.
Then we came upon a fiat creek bed
that was a raging torrent about. 300
yards across. We could see another
car on the other side stuck fast in the
mud. It's owner, in rubber boots was
negotiating the torrent, and we
watched him and from him learned
that the water was only above the
knees. So we got out our ropes and
wrapped the hind wheels. These we
used instead of chains and sailed into
the torrent.
Here is WneTe the HlSu CledIdHCt VI
the Franklin car stood us well. We
had a shower bath of mud and water
all the way over, but not once did the
car show any signs of distress or
stopping. When through this torrent
we came up to the other car. The
owner, who had come across to where
we were before we started, followed us
across and frankly said no man could
ever make him believe that the Frank
lin air-cooled engine would not pull.
"Well. we got in behind his car
and tied n rope to it that we fastened
to our rear axle Our footing was not
better than theirs was where they
were stuck fast, but we pulled his
heavy six-cylinder car out of the mire
onto hGh ground. The satisfaction of
being able to do this was worth more
to me than the price of the car"
ONE ON "GlL"
Tt is not often that Gil Monohan gets the
sharp end of a Joke This IS what happened