Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1938-06-16
THE SUNDAY TIMES-SIGNAL
FEATURES BEN ALNIENDINGER

(By John Durbin, in GAINESVILLE
Sunday Times-SignaD.
Grown up folks who live in the
beautiful little Muskingum river
city of Malta would scarcely vote
prize for the beauty of his home
made contraption in which he chugs
through the streets of his home
town. However this washing ma
chine motor propelled vehicle is the
envy of his pals.
The motor of Henry Ford's VEN
erable "Tin Lizzie" was converted
into every use Imaginable during it's
heydey, and who knows but that
Ben is ushering in an era during
which the washing machine motor
will enter into the mechanical
scheme of things.
Ben's speedster was originally
intended merely as a down hill
buggy for use on Maltas numerous
hills, but when he heard Of an aban~
doned washing machine motor,
which he decided could be attached
to his coaster, he schemed until he
acquired the motor, with little IL
nancial help from his dad.
This seeming indulgence on the
part of Mr.. Almendinger can be
more easily understood when it is
explained that Ben is the fifth child
and only boy in family of six. In
cidentally, his sisters think Ben is
'allright."
When interviewed at his home re-
Gently, Ben admitted that his car
lacked "few refinements." A
clutch, Ben pointed out, is really the
most important thing. Ben didn't
call it a clutch, but he seemed to
think that it would be nice to be
able to stop the speedster without
killing the motor, and to be able to
start without just throwing the belt
on the drive wheel and then max
ing a jump for the car before it got
away from him. In other words,
the "take- off, is very rapid, and the
term describes the process accur-
ately.
He has brake connected to the
other real wheel, which will slow
the speedster down all right, but
stopping is another story, and he
has to kill the motor to stop, he eX-
planned. at would even be nice it
l could have rubber tire on the
drive wheel, too" he said "That
wheel without the tire makes 'her'
ride awfully hard"
He has considered a chain drive
for his car, and even went so far as
to begin to rig it up, but he finally
decided that the fingers and toes OF
his playmates would not be safe
with that kind of drive, so he gave
up that idea.
Gasoline mileage? I don't
know" he said in answer to that
question. "The tank only holds
two quarts Of gas, but / only put in
one cause it runs out" He explain
that he was able to "borrow' the
gas from his dad most of the time.
When building his speedster, Ben
didn't bother to make things easy
for his motor, but belted it direct to
the drive wheel, and II the motor
can't pull it, Ben just doesn't go.
He has considered various improve
ments, and is always tinkering with
his driving arrangement, but the
next big improvement is to be the
clutch, SO he can stop without shut
ting the motor off.
'sHills? Not so good" replied
Ben to that question. ut will make
about ten miles an hour on the lev
ell, but the hills slow 1t down pretty
much" He didn't know just what
to say when asked II he would be
afraid to start the 27 mile trip to
GAINESVILLE in his speedster. He
thought 1t might be quite a jaunt
-"I'll show 'em when I get 1t all fixed
though" he said, and he will con.