The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-31
MARK YOUR CAR FOR
IDENTIFICATION
Owners Should BE Much More
Careful of Their Valuable
Property.

HhoiiiNb lht
police of any of our larger cities would
disagree with him just as unqualifedly.
AS matter OF fact most car owners
depend for Identification on some scratch
on the body, some broken screw in the
chassis or some other equally Uncertain
factor. They do not stop to consider
that our big manufacturers are turning
out models in ten thousand lots that
diner from each other in not the slight
est dlscernible degree BY the time a
successful automobile thief has run a
stolen car through his Service station"
II will puzzle the most careful owner on
earth to identify his vehicle.
An instance in point is found in the
recent experience of a car owner in a
middle Western city who lost Ills car,
touring model of a popular make, and
after some three weeks of anxious wait
ing was summoned to police headquar-
tiers to sec whether lie could identify Il
vehicle answering TO his description of
his lost car
Arrived at the police station he found
small group of other owners, who had
assembled to try and identify the same
car to see which he had been sum
moned. The hopeful owner had num-
Der Of marks by which he felt confident
he could prove his ownership of the re-
stored vehicle. There was bent screw
In ono part of the chassis, a dent in one
fender scratch of peculiar shape on
the Dash. The car with which he was
Z confronted was undoubtedly of the same
vintage IS his lost boat, but unhappily
II was painted a rich ultra-marine blue
Instead of the dark green that had
I graced his vehicle. The most earnest
Coil 1I
4 distinguishing marks on which he had
relied. slight chipping of the new
coat OF enamel revealed the fact that
II had been put on over a previous coat
or the dark green that our friend had
y described. But two of the other assem-
bled owners had put in bids for dark
green cars. and eventually one of them
managed to identify the car by chip
in the Gearset housing The Identified
ton was not particularly convincing, but
IN the absence OF anything better it
served to give the car TO the owner who
had been able TO describe the imper-
lection.
As a matter of fact no car owner
ought to depend on any such casual
means of Identification as slight i'm
perfections that may have accrued dur
in6 the operation Of the vehicle When
tho professional automobile thief steals
tcally to rebuilding factory. In many
cases the entire mechanism is taken
down and the different parts are reds
trfouted with those fl ON other cars of
the same make and model to turn
out what amount to new vehicles Me-
chanical units are shuffled about so
that slight imperfection on one part
nothing except that that particular part
once had place on a certain car
The only safe method of placing .:,en-
tlncation marks on car is to pluce
them on all the ma jor parts Of the
mechanism. Perhaps the most satisflc-
tory method OF doing so is - place
punch marks on the various units All
su"h mark. should be ~: IN p!1ccS
where they will not be readily discern
ible. For instance on the inside Of
the a~les. on the fiywheel, on the up
FER side OF the gearset housing After
tbs marks have been made they should
be rubbed over with grease until they
are as nearly indistinguishable as DDS
slble. The car owner can have a prick
pprch made with his initials OIL 1t in
very fihe type and with this II is pos
sible TO place identification marks on
the various Parts that will generally
escape notice and yet remain perma-
nertly.
Ono owner whom I know has had
the upholstery Of his front and rear
seats lifted UP and has tackled his card
o. the wooden framework of the seat
This Is not az all bad because the
thief would seldom think to look in this
location for an Identification mark Of
any sort
Another clever idea is to bora a few
small holes mere fraction of an inch
into the framework at a given place
carefully measured from permanently
located landmarks. Then fill these holes
with lead and smear the spot We'll with
grease. VIZ there comes a time when
!, is necessary to identify the car II
4. simple matter to mea sure Off the
proper distance, scrape little of the
lead off and prove ownership of the
car
In some cases an owner has been able
TO identify his car by reason OF some
simple but ingenious mark 30 placed
that II is apparently part OF the rar
or equipment Not very long ago tho
Now York police recovered a Stolen
car and nabbed the thief at the same
time. The car corresponded In every
way to a description given by a certain
bereaved owner except that It had re-
Gently been reprinted in an entirely diff
ferent color scheme.
At any ratio The police summoned this
owner TO see II he could Identify the
reclaimed car the one he had lost.
He came to headquarters. looked the
vehicle over, paying considerable at
iention to the dash, and turning to the
detective in charge. said: This is my
boat all right, in spite OF the fresh
coat OF paint
"IIave you any marks to identify II
ty?' asked the officer.
Eyes. SIR" replied the owner my
Arame is ]. X Smith. as you know. Just
in AXE a look at the face OF that clock"
AZ The officer looked. On the dial OF
Z the clock was the Legend, Brown Clock
Company, Boston. Mass" In fine script
beneath this makers name was sold
by ]. X. Smith. Agent" The thief had
accepted this as a bona fide agent;
name instead OF a really clever identi-
fcation mark which II was.
In recent theft case In Boston
the owner ~ a stolen car was able to
prove his ownership OF a recovered car
by means Of hts initials. which were en-
graved in each of the hub caps.
Tile individual owner can probably
nnd dozen distinctive ways OF mark.
Ing his car for possible Identification,
but the point is that this should be done,
becauSe WIEN car has been stolen
the police demand something more than
say-so on the part of the owner before
they return II TO him. BE sure that
there are more ways than one by means
OF which you can prove that your car
actually is yours. In case you are ever