NOVF.MBER 25T H, 1905.
THE AUTOCAR B Journal publisbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicallr propelleb roab carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 527. VoL. XV.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, r 905. [PRICE 6D.
THE AUTOCAR.
(Published Weekly.)
Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom.
Entered as second-class matter at the New York (N,Y.) Post Office.
EDITORIAL OFFICE :
COVENTRY.
PUBLISHING OFFICES :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E .C., ENGLAND.
CONTENTS.
NOTES: INSTRUCTION BooKS-1!'\TELLIGEN'T ROAD MENDING
SOME COSTS OF RUNNING ...
GENERALITIES. By Rutulan MOTORS IN THE NAVY {illustrated) A" TYRESOME "TRrP (illustrated}
O L YMPIA Sttow REPORT: PETROL CARS (illustra ted)
STEAM AND ELECTRIC CARS (illustrated) ... CARRIAGE WORK, FRAMES, AND WHEELS (illustrated) . TYRES AN D NON-SKIDS ... E NGINES, PARTS, AND F ITTINGS (illustrated) ELECTRICAL (illustrated) ACCESSORIES CLOTHING-LUBRICANTS L AMPS MISCELLANEOUS ... MACHINE TOOLS AND WORKSHOP APPLIANCES T HE INAUGURAL LUNCHEON .. .
USEFUL HINTS ANI > T1Ps. By LiEut. \Vindham, R.I\· . HUNTING Mi!N AND T HE MOTOR ..
T H E GUILDFORD BENCH-FOUR V . SIX-CYLINOl!R ENGINES
PAGE 6+5-646 647-64
649 ... 650 ... 65[ 653-6~7 687-688 689·69I 691-692 692-693 693-694 694-696 .. . 696 696·697 . .. 697 ... 698 698·699 . .. 700 701-702
702
CORRESPONDENCE; THE NEW TOURIST TROPHY REGULATION S- SPRING
WHEELS-ALL-BRITISH CARS-SPECIAL ROADS FOR MOTOR CARSCHEAP FUEL FOR STEAM CARS-MOTORIST5 AND ROAD MAINTENANCE-MOTORISTS AND THI! PUBLIC: HOAD DAMAGE-TOP GEAR RUNS-NUMBER OF CYLINDERS- CONSIDERATE DRIVING-SPEED INDICATOR TRIALS-THE HALLE S PRING WHEEL TRIAL-CHANG~SPEED GEARS-STEAM CARS ...
FLASHES
SOME Q UERIES AND REPLI&S
4,000 MILES TYRE: T R1ALS-DUTY OF PEDESTRIANS . .. MOTOR CARS AT THE SrANLEY SHow (illustrated)
Z03-706 707-709 .•. 710 . .. 7II 712-714
" THE AUTOCAR " SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
British Isles, I6s. Abroad (thin paper edition), 22s. 8d. per annum.
( Notes.
Instruction Books. If there is one thing appreciated more than another by the owner of a car. it is a good instruction book. Quite a number of makers llOw issue these hooks. and some of them are very good, but the re is a tendenc) to make t hem too general in characte r. and instructions are giYen which might well be part of a book dealing 11·ith cars generally, and not with one car in particular. In the majority of case . these 0: eneral in tructions micrht well be omitted and the reader referred to some su~h book as " Hints and Tips " or the "Dictionary of Motoring." What the owner of a car wants is the fullest possible detail of the mechanism of his car and instructions as to how the particular part should be deait with if it is necessary to take it down. and the exact way to proceed about it. For instance. if it should be necessary to take down the carburetter, with the inte ri or of whi ch the 01rner is not acquainted . it is of the greatest possible assistance to him to have \·ery plain drawings of its interior parts and equally plain instructions as to h01r to get at the m.
Some makers argue that the re is no need for these instruction books, because the average owner is quite incapable of making anY intricate adjustment or locating any fault which is at all difficult to find. and that. therefore. it is unnecessary to ha\·e carefu lly prepared drawings of the car, which, sooner or later, will require adjustment or other attention. It is argued that th ese matters 1\·ill be dealt with by the repaire r. It is forgotte n, however, that there are plenty of competent repai rers who would appreciate the instruction book as much as the owner. because the most skilled repairer ,rho has not minutely studied the details of any particular car cannot see what is inside eve ry part of it by merely examining the exterior. and he would often be g reatly assisted with a good drawing or tw o, and any sa \·ing of his time means a saving for the owner.
It is also 1r el l to recollect that harm is often done in taking cars to pieces through not knowing exactly how ther are constructe I. This is frequently the case with \·er)· carefu I repairers. As to the carel ess ones. nothing 11·ill stop them from doing harm, for the simple reaso n that they are clum sy and are not interested in their work . and they probably will not take the trouble to master th e intricacies of a repair job before starting upon it. Such people ought never to have been engagea in any mechanical pursuit. There are, however. people with mechanical instinct among both owners and repai rs, and it is to these that welldefined instructions as to repairs and management especial] y app al.
Intelligent oad Mending. We have heard a good deal about the alleged damage done to roads by motor cars. We would be the last to deny that cars do some damage to the roads. ~ -ear and tear damage everything, and although a motor car doe far less harm to a road than does a horsed carriage it still causes some wear, and the 1rna r that it causes is of a different sort from that caused bY a hor ed carriage or cart. Fu1 ther than that, it is onh· the very largest and fastest cars whid1 make any no.ticeabl e impression upon the roads. The real ca use· of the damage which people from time to time allege i done by the motor car is clue to another cause entirely- that is to say, to the bad system of road repair which is prevalent in so man~· districts. Quite recently the surveyor of a certain road over which a more than aYerage number of large fa5r ca rs pa secl daily shrrn-ed us what he 1rns pleased
