jA"U Aft Y 11TH, 1»08,
THEAUTOCAR B 3ournal publisbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbantcalll? propelleb roab carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 63 8. VoL. X.\. SATURDAY, JANUARY IITH, 1908. [PRICE 3D.
The Autocaro
(Publish ed W eekly. )
Reg ist~reci a~ r1. newspa9er for tr:insm ission in the Un ite d Kingdom.
Enter1.. d as second-ch.ss matter in the New York (N .Y . ) Post Office.
Editorial Office :
COVENTRY.
Publishing Offices :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., England.
CONTENTS.
PA GE
NOTILS .• USEFUL Hl~TS AND TIPS • • TH£ 25 H • . • • WEIGEL CAR (ILLUSTRATED) ON THn RoAn. Bv OWEN JOHN .• A TTEMPT ON RRCORDS AT BROOKLANDS (I LLUSTRATED) T1tE R.A.C. ASSOCIATE SCHEME-A BENEVOLENT FUND Tu£ RovAL A .C. Assoc1ATION SCHEME .• i\loTORS, ROADS, ANO TAXES THE MOTOR UNION ..
THE INSTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS..
, · 37-38
39 · • 40-44
45 , . 46-47
47 48 , , 49-50
SI
51
ON THE GRANO TRUNK ROAD (ILLUSTRATED) . .
· • 52 - 5 4
CoNTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS: THE POPULAR CAR-WHAT IS
REQUIRED-THE BRUSSELS SHOW-FRENCH MOTOR MtTRAILLEUSE IN MOROCCO To ABOLISH THE RADIATOR (ILLUSTRAT ED ) , , 55 - 56 56 MOTOR SCOUTS AND THE POLICE-FRENCH VOITURETTE TRIAL~ A EROPLANES IN r908-THE GRAND P RIX CoRRESPONDESCE .. THE HYDRA SPARKING PLUG (ILLUSTRATED) - THE LODGE DISTRI-
BUTER (ILLUSTRATED ) , .
THE MERVYN O'GoRMAN TROPHY-CLU B Donrns . .
FLASHES THE PATENTS AND DESIGNS ACT, 1907 . , StDELlGHT ON THE CHAUFFEUR D1P'FICULTV THE Ross GKNERATOR 50MB QUERIES AND REPLIES
65
66
. . 67- 68
69 - 71
7 I 71 72
Subscription Rates :
British Isles, 16s. Abroad (thin paper edition) 22s. 8d. per annum.
I Notes. The Cold Snap. The severe weather which commenced at Christmas, and which continued until a few days ago, has, we are afraid, t aught a good many motorists th e val ue of carefulness. There are very few people indeed who have had troubl e in the frost from sheer ignorance, and the way in wpich cylinders have been cracking, radiators bursting, carburetter jackets splitting, and pump spindles shearing is out of all proportion to the number of owners who are utter novices, and were really caught quite Wlprepared. One small manufa c turer alone told us before the frost was a week old that he had had orders to replace twenty cracked cylinde rs. So long as ordinary precautions are taken there is not the least likelihood of trouble at times of fr ost with a properly-designed car. It is only neces sa n · to run the water ou t of the coolin g system.
Most of the trouble which came about during the frost was due to the fact th at the vent taps were clogged with dirt, so that the cylinders or pump could not be properly drained. It is no good opening a tap unless one takes the trouble to see that it is running. It is a lmost as foolish to drain the radiator and not to trouble to open the tap at the bottom of the pump tube or at some other place which is really at the bottom of the circul atin g system. There are very few cars made without such a drain tap nowadays. If there is no such tap , it simpl y means th at unless an anti-freezing mixture is used--one th at is really effective-there is a lways a risk, not to say a strong probability, of trouble. After all, the most satisfactory remedy of a ll is to have the motor house properly and constantly warmed. There is nothing then to trouble about except when the car has to stand for any length of time out of doors on a frosty day. Any danger from this cause can be overcome by throwing a rug or two over the engine, and when the frost is very severe running the engine for a few minutes every hour or so.
There were also some unexpected delays through congelation of the lubricating oil, not so much in the pipes, which usually get warm after a little running, but generally from the fact that a good many cars have th e oil carried in a tank outside the frame. This appears to have congealed more or less, with the consequence th at the oil became so sluggish that it would not pass from the oi l tank to the lu bricators. foci dentally this shows one of the advantages of having a hand pump in the lubricating system, so that oil can be forced in any time when necessa ry .
However, troubles through freezing of the water and oil systems were not th e only surprises, as those motorists who were driving on Sunday or Monday last discovered. In many parts of the country when the frost broke there ,ms a fairly heavy shower of rain at the very commencement, so that the roads were to all intents and purposes like oiled glass, and it was only possible to keep a car on the road by driving at a crawl. The roads have not been like th is in most parts of the country for some years, though, of course, to the hardy dwellers in the North these conditions are not extraordinary. It is in the West and the South that they are unusual, and since the previous experience of the same kin d th·ousands of new motorists have come into existence . Some of them found out for the first time what a peculiar sensation it is to slide slowly backw rd down a hill, what time the engine is none the less riving the back wheels, which simply refuse to g r· the glazed surface.
Surplus Power. In most parts of the country the roads from the middle of October till Christmas Day had never been dry, and an experience in connection with this eight weeks of constant mud and heavy roads may not be without interest. L ast spring we bought a car of some 20 h.p., with four cylinders and four speeds, and, .of
