Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-22


struction the action OF the springs is
so controlled as to absolutely prohibit
undue strain, though nothing Of COM
fort or safety for the occupant OF the
car is sacrificed thereby. This is made .
possible by a rubber bumper on the .
axle which takes the shock Of contact 4
and prevents the further bowling Of the |
spring or rebound which, as has been |
indisputably demonstrated, is the sole |
cause of spring breakage. The weight 4
OF the car is always carried by the full |
spring in our construction. Never Is
It possible for the weight TO be carried |
on one or two leaves. The excessive
bowling TO be found in overhung con-
structiOn makes this possible and soon
er or later results in an accident
Though the whole weight of the
American undressing is on the springs
below the frame, there is no POSSIBLE
ity Of disaster in case a spring should
be broken. This we have proved by
scores Of experiments. Should any
one spring fail TO do its duty the
weight Of car is carried by the other
three without materially decreasing
the amount Of road clearance or plac-
| ing undue strain on any one part. Even
with one front and the opposite rear
spring broken the American under
slung frame will sag only about two
and one-haf inches. Should both for
ward springs be broken the upcurved
frame would slide along the ground
while the front axle would move back
| against the radiator and the driver
would still have control Of his car.
Should both rear springs be eliminat-
ed the frame would drop until the lin
It clips rested on the rear axle, where
it would be firmly and safely support
ed Since the torsion tube is held at
its front end in q ball socket the axle
could not move away from the car and
perfect safety for the passengers is
assured
Another advantage OF undressing
construction is the straight line drive
which every designer strives to incor
porate in his product. Our drive is
perfectly straight without the sacri-
fees found in overhung cars. This al
lows for a transmission Of 90 per cent
actual power TO the rear wheels, where
as in overhung construction the loss
in transmission is as high as Is to 20
per cent This economy gives US great
er mileage per gallon of gasoline and
oil, less wear and tear on the chassis,
and therefore less cost of upkeep and
longer life.
The American undressing actually
has greater road clearances than the
average attained by IS per cent Of the
cars in use today. These figures are
based on a compilation recently made
by a well known trade paper. The
average for the cars given proved to
be 1914 while In the American Trav-
eler it is 1914 inches. And this is &C
tual road clearance of the frame. not
the lowest point Of the fywheel or
transmission or some other vital part,
on which Uverhung clearance is based.
In other words, should the American
encounter an unusually large road OBJ
struction the shock of contact would
= he borne by the frame and not the fly
wheel, transmission case or direren-
tial housing, as in the same case with
an overhung car.
BY the use of undressing construc
I ton we are enabled to take advantage
; of another important item of the cal
r owner-large wheels. The benefits OF
large wheels are manifold and univer
4 sally recognized. Not only is a greater
I degree OF comfort assured the passen
i gers. because the large wheel passes
d undisturbed over indentatiOns ana ir
$ regularities in the road that would be
e instantly felt in a smaller wheel, but
there is a great economy Of tires. The
D average tire has a contact surface Of
+ about four inches as against six inches
: for the large tires in use on the Amer
! lean. 1t is we'll known that brakinl
l. and driving strains are borne by thu
surface In contact with the GROUND
i and a larger contact therefore reduces
l. wear Then, too, the larger contac
i surface tends 70 reduce the danger o
d skidding, as there Is better opportunit!
l. for gripping. This also allows fol
n larger brakes, for the limit Of brak,
e efficiency is at the point where the
4 wheels lock. The larger gripping sur
u face Of the tires allows for a NOR
powerful application of the brakes, of
/ fering additional smoothness and safe
ty Of operation.
II Last, but by no means least, the low