Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], December 13, 1908, Image 31

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
Part IV
RAMBLER CAR
BREAKS RECORD
NEW MARK TO SAN DIEGO AND
, RETURN IS SET ,
SPEED OF OVER 31 MILES AN
HOUR IS AVERAGED
L. B. Harvey Drives Roadster to
Southern City and Back to Los
Angeles, Setting Fast
est Pace
At a rate of speed that averaged bet
ter than thirty-one miles per hour, L.
tt. Harvey drove a' Rambler roadster to
San Diego and return yesterday ln 10
hours and 32 minutes. He beat the rec
ord made by Ralph Hamlin October 10
by forty-five minutes, reaching Pomoni;
two minutes behind the time that It
took the Franklin to reach Los Angeles,
thereby beating the air-cooled car by
thirty miles at least.
Starting from Los Angeles yesterday
morning at 6 o'clock before the light
had come in the sky sufficiently to
make fast driving safe, Harvey care
fully got out of town, but it was not
until he had passed Bell Station that
it grew light enough to open up tne
throttle for any speed.
As soon as it was safe he bega"n to
hit the high places only, and when
Santa Ana was reached it was just one
hour after the start was made.
Rushing through that town in the
dim morning light a pace that beat
fifty miles an hour was reached on the
fine stretch of road through the Irvine
ranch and also beyond Capistrano.
When the road was good Harvey held
the throttle wide open and the speedy
roadster seemed to sail through the air
at times, so fast was the pace and so
rough the road.
Nothing delayed the car until Ocean
side was reached, and there a short
stop was made to take on gasoline and
see that the water was not too low.
Harvey had taken the fan off before^
starting tho run so as to get a higher
temperature In the water and so get
better combustion and consequently
better speed.
. ,„.. "To Oceanside
It took just three hours and nine
minutes to get to Oceanside, where four
minutes were spent. Oceanside is al
most an even 100 miles from Los An
geles, and a part of the road is not of
the best.
From Oceanside to San Diego Harvey
kept up the same grueling grind and
rolled into the bay city in 4 hours ann
28 minutes after leaving here. He
equaled the time of the Franklin ror
the run down. "Do you know that I
would have taken over a minute and
maybe two off of the Franklin's time,"
said Harvey, "if it had not been for one
thing, and that was the same thing
that made the dog fail to catch the
rabbit."
' At San Diego the crew sat in the car
while the gasoline tank was replenished
and a few quarts of water were poured
in the radiator, and once more they
were off. San Diego won Harvey's ad
miration by the way that they re
ceived him there. For three or four
miles out of the city mounted police
kept traffic and pedestrians off the
streets over which the car rushed.
Crowds lined the thoroughfare down
town and waved enthusiastically as the
Rambler sped on its way and tore
huge chunks Out of the atmosphere and
the speed ordinance. Little did the San
Dlegans care if it was a matter of
sport, and they have come to look on
the record runs as one of the best
sports that can be had.
With eight minutes' stop to check at
the office of the Union Harvey once
more let in. the clutch and out the
main street toward the hospital grade
the car whirled, cheered by another
crowd that seemed endless. Over the
mesa near Miramar and down the
Scripps' grade the car made flne time.
The best of luck was played in, and for
tune seemed to favor car and crew,
as there w4s not a team but that gave
up the whole of the road, and only
one car • delayed the progress of the
record breakers to any extent, and that
was doubtless to the pride the man
had in his automobile, as he tried to
keep ahead of the racer. It was use
less to try, for when the road broad
ened a little of the reserve power un
der the hood of the Rambler was let
out, and like a flash the mud-smeared
roadster slid past the ambitious motor
ist and left him only a trail of dust
and a smell of gasoline to remember
that he had had' a race.
Watches Weather Signs
Everything was going fine, but Har
vey kept an eye cocked on weather
signs and played not for rain, but a
delay of it, until he could get to Los
Angeles. His prayer was answered
and the weather kept clear. Into El
slnore the time was 7 hours and 52
minutes. Here another stop was made
to replenish the gasoline supply, and
.out through the long canyon the car
rushed toward ' Corona, which place
was reached without an j accident or
special Incident.
ft The car seemed to have settled down
to a steady grind that would not al
low of any suggestion of trouble, but
hardly had the town of Corona been
passed until one of the tires began to
go flat from some small puncture. j A
stop was made and a new tube placed
in the same casing and away once more
. with little time lost and the record in
plain sight. Things had been so easy
so far that when trouble did come it
was strongly felt. A gasoline feed
pipe was shaken loose by the incessant
vibration of the purring motor and
Anally gave way altogether.,
Fortunately an extra piece of piping!
DIAMOND TIRES WIN AGAIN psjsrsr
eIE Los Angeles-San Diego Round Trip Record a^Sg-Sa, 1--; -______-__ *--
Was Lowered Forty-five Minutes Yesterday with which the cr mad, .t. p.ev.ou. run and had FranKlin Oct.lo, 11:17*
vvaswowerea ror.y-I.ve .unities^«"«""y been used for nearly 5000 milea, .large percentage p_ m M., n.f l_i lfl^«
by L.B. Harvey, Driving a Rambler Roadster Rambler Dec. 12,10.32
Equipped with DIAMOND TIRES _.----. ■^/;12___^S_ie
■ «t rr DIAMOND TIRES
DIAMOND RUBBER COMPANY 1207-9 South Mam Street jl
LOS ANGELES SUNDAY HERALD
was fitted to the tank, but for a little
time there was consternation in the
crew, as the machine • began to slow
down and the throttle had no effeot.
It was then that the crew had a few
bad moments, as the trouble might
have come from several causes, some
of which would have been fatal. Luck
perched on Harvey's shoulder and re
fused to be dislodged, and In less than
ten minutes the car was hitting up the
same high , speed and acting in the
same thoroughbred manner that had
characterized Its actions for the pre
ceding part of the run.
When Pomona was reached another
crowd was seen along the road, and
it looked as if everyone was out to
see the semi-annual circus. On a big
motor car was a sign "All Is well," and
the enthusiastic crowds waved the i
crew on to top speed and assured them |
of free passage with no limits imposed
for speed other than those set by Har
vey himself.
It was from Pomona to Los Angeles
that the crew got the ride of their
lives. The road is over thirty miles
long, has many curves and corners, and
Is full of ruts and holes. Mud added
to the other troubles, and traffic j did
its share unintentionally in making the
speed less, but with all of the handi
caps the time was only 47 minutes.
Highly Pleased
Naturally Harvey and W. Cowan,
the distributor of Ramblers for this
section, are highly pleased with the
performance of the car, and both give
a goodly meed of praise to the tires
with which the car was equipped. Soon
after the car got in Cowan drove to
the Diamond Rubber company's to
share the honors with F. O. Nelson.
The tire record was really remarka
ble, as the same set of casings has
been used for several months on the
car and they have been put to some
grueling tests. The car was driven
from San Francisco down here in an
attempt to get the Nelson trophy, and
the car made the run in a trifle over
nineteen hours, being held up near
Paso Robles by a constable, who mulct
ed the driver of a few dollars for speed-
ing. — ,
After the San Francisco trip, several
trial trips were made to San Diego,
and at least two round trips were
made at top speed. On one of the
trips Harvey won the Chanslor & Lyon
trophy from the Great Smith. The
tires had probably had as much as
5000 miles' travel before the run was
made yesterday, and the greater part
of the work done has been at high
speed. Harvey was inclined to change
the tubes for the run, but was dis
suaded, and with the exception of the
one puncture there was not the slight
est trouble.
In taking off the fan it was to get
higher temperature and better com
bustion. In doing this the lubrication
problem had to bo dealt with, but
by using Panhard cylinder oil Vil trou
ble from that source was prevented.
Harvey received the cup last night
from Hamlin, who turned it over with
congratulations tb the winner. "You
certainly had to go some to make that
time," said Hamlin wljen he gave Har
vey the cup, "and you deserve all the
credit that can be given. I have just
about completed the sale of the 'Grey
hound' or I would try to get it back
again: but I will have another six
cylinder Franklin roadster here soon,
and then we will have another try for
It." Hamlin feels confident that with
a little better luck than he had last
time he can trim several minutes off
of the present record, and Harvey Is
positive that he can take one of the
'09 45 horsepower roadsters and set
the record as low as ten hours. ,
ENDURANCE RUN HARD
TEST ON DIAMONDS
No Tire Trouble Other Than Four
Punctures Encountered in an Ag
gregate of 22.600 Miles In
Chalmers-Detroit Run
About as thorough a test as possible
of the uniform quality of a tire, which
is essential to its general success, was
made recently when on 108 Chalmers-
Detroit cars on election day each made
200 miles on Diamond tires and Marsh
rims, rolling up an aggregate of 22,600
miles with a total tire trouble for the
108 cars of only four punctures, when
the varied conditions, climates and sur
faces are considered, the testing out
of 108 sets with absolutely no tire trou
ble that can be attributed to the tiro
itself is found, it is an unusual test, and
the Diamond Rubber company Is par
ticularly proud of the showing of the
new Mountain Tread. tire, which was
the type used on the cars that day.
SAWDUST ECONOMICAL SOURCE
FOR ALCOHOL PRODUCTION
A well equipped technical laboratory
| will be erected in a new building that
I Is ' being added to the Tarrytown fac
tory of the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor
I company. Though the laboratory will
I serve various ends, Its principal pur
pose is the carrying on, of fuel tests,
lt is known that the Maxwell people
have been experimenting with alcohol
as a motor fuel for some time, but the
difficulty of finding a substance that
can be produced cheap enough to make
the substitution of alcohol commer
cially profitable has been the chief ob
stacle ln the way of an adoption of
alcohol for use in internal combustion
engines. The Maxwell people after a
series of experiments extending over
two years are said to have succeeded in
producing alcohol from sawdust at a
manufacturing cost of 4 cents per gal
lon. This news certainly opens up un
limited possibilities and if the testa
turn out as well as it is hoped the
success of the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor
company will be hailed with delight.
SUNDAY MOtlJNli'N'G, DECEMBER 13, 1908.
New California Made Automobile
in Which New Ideas Are Incorporated
<lll§
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THE COYOTE "SPECIAL"
BUICK TRIUMPH
IS SPEED WONDER
MECHANICIAN RISKS LIFE TO
SAVE GASOLINE TANK
Fastest American Auto Among Savan
nah Light Cars Shows Its
Heels to Italian ,
Machine '
—* ~
Official figures of the 196-mile light
car race at Savannah, Ga., November
25, prove conclusively that the Buick
Is the fastest American car nominated
in that contest. Since that memorable
day when Robert Burman drove his lit
tle car made in Lansing, Mich, across
the tape second to the Italian car which
won, beaten by a scant six seconds in
the greatest international small car
event ever held ln this country, none
have been more keen to accord credit to
the little Buick than the big contingent
of foreign experts attracted., to the
Georgia city by the grand prize event.
The fastest three laps in the race
were made by Burman's Buick. Sev
enteen of the twenty laps were trav
ersed by the Buick in less than eleven
minutes each. What the result might
have been if the Buick had not. been
crippled during the last sixty-three
miles of the race, not even the most
enthusiastic of the 436 owners of Buick
cars who traveled to Savannah with
their rigs to see the work of the little
Buick may venture to say. «
The springs suddenly went out of
commission. Burman stopped long
enough to tighten up a nut. The pre
cious seconds lost in that operation
were more than enough to have en
abled the plucky driver to finish ahead
of the Italian machine and win the
race. Not only was Burman handi
capped by the accident to the car
springs, but he came near having to
quit the race entirely. Something
thrown up from the roadway struck
the Buick's gasoline tank, loosening it.
The mechanician was ordered to seize
the wabbly. tank and hold on for dear
life. Obeying, the daring fellow clung
to that tank for seven laps, on all of
which the Buick averaged more than
fifty-five miles an hour.
Burman had supreme confidence In
the car of lowest priced American con
struction, as exemplified by the Buick
in that race. He felt the speed of the
machine right from the jump and be
fore the first lap was two minutes old
had a lead. Reeling oft. the circuits of
nearly ten miles in less than eleven
minutes, Burman kept ahead of the
Italian car. For more than half the
race the foreigner took his dust.
Those who were at Savannah say
that even in finishing second—
all the other American cars in the field
—the Buick achieved a triumph never
before accorded an American car.
"Buicks ahead of us, Buicks behind us,
I.nicks all around us," was the refrain
of the hundreds of owners of the Buick
cars in the stands. They had gathered
to see a Buick victory, and for twenty
minutes after the official result was an
nounced these loyal Buick owners and
drivers permitted free rein to their
jubilation. "_'•'_,' j
The ovation that greeted Burman
was unparalleled. Even the Italian
contingent, forgetting for the time the
victory of the imported car, Joined in
the demonstration for the Michigan
made machine. The Joy of the shout
ing, enthusiastic owners of Buicks was
contagious. There was nothing of
"treason" about the demonstrations of
the Italians— were eye witnesses
of the most wonderful performance
ever made by a low priced car. .
, "Automoblltzation" is the term now
applied to the scheme brought forward
in England for the rapid assembling of
all large motor cars in case of war for
the purpose of placing men | on the
coast. ''„'.■.' ■■- ,
- The duke of Northumberland believes
that the penalty for misuse of the
roads by motorists should; be confisca
tion of the cars for certain periods, de
pending upon-the degree of violation
and the numßer of the offense. '
EIGHT-CYLINDER MOTOR AND TR ANSMISSION OF COYOTE SPECIAL
SCOUT CAR TESTS
SPEED OF ANIMALS
JACKRABBIT PACES AUTO FOR
ELEVEN MILES .
Studebaker Driver Times Speed of
Animals Met with on Scouting
Trip and Incidentally
Bags a Few '
Testing the comparative speeds of
various animals by speedometer has
been one of tho pet diversions of Don
ald Mcintosh, driver of the Studebaker
Scout car, now ferreting out a pros
pective Glidden tour for next summer
through the west.
Animals both wild and tame are
plentiful along Missouri, Kansas and
Nebraska roads, according to Mcin
tosh, who declares incidentally that the
major part of the tremendous prosper
ity of the western farmer Is due to the
fact that he utilizes the public high
way for a feeding ground and prome
nade de luxe for his domestic animals
and poultry.
Incidental to his story of compara
tive speed of animals, Mcintosh says
that an average day's hunting with a
thirty horse power Studebaker, taking
roads as one ndfls them in Kansas and
Missouri, nets him six chickens, one
turkey, two guinea hen., a suckling pig
and a couple of squirrels. Last week
he bagged but one goat to every three
sheep, due to the fact that the goat
tribe seems to have less curiosity to
study the workings of a gasoline en
gine, judging by the observations up
to date. " ■ > '.. *1-
Reverting to the relative speed qual
ities of different animals Mcintosh de
clares that he was paced for eleven
miles by a jackrabbit over a fine piece
of Kansas road near Leavenworth,
and the . speedometer fluctuated from
thirty-seven to forty-two miles. Near
the town the road improved and the
speed of the "scout" was increased to
forty-seven miles and the Jackrabbit
sulkily jumped a hedge and gave up
the road to the Studebaker. .
The cottontail rabbit, Mcintosh de
clares, does well for about two to
three miles at about twenty-three to
twenty-six miles an hour, but cannot
exceed twenty-eight miles an hour.
He is a sprinter, pure and simple, and
never attempts to "go the route" in
competition with lin automobile. .
Of the bovine tribe' observations
show that the two-year*old steer is
most agile. He is capable of about
three miles at an eighteen-mile pace
and hates to he conquered. In this
characteristic he differs from the
horse, which Invariably seeks a side |
road when chased by an auto. The
OVERLAND AN D GREAT SMITH CARS
RENTON MOTOR CAR COMPANY 1150-1132 South Main Street,
steer, however, continues , straight
along the road until exhausted.
In studying the moods of domestic
fowl, Mcintosh, who has toured In
thirty or more states, declares the
goose belies its reputation for lack of
wisdom. Invariably the goose steps
from the road on approach of an au
tomobile, while the chicken loses its
mental equilibrium . and cannot decide
whether to race the • car or select one
side of the road or the other.
The turkey will stand on its dignity
as long as possible—sometimes a trifle
too longbut it Is not as cautious as
the goose. '; .:
The comparative receipts of last
week's "hunting trip" seem to bear
out Mcintosh's theories. Not a single
goose was bagged during his travels
in Kansas. This week's researches
will be through Missouri, where the
Studebaker party hopes to obtain sta
tistics on the relative speed of the
mule and other animals native to that
commonwealth. i
The director of public safety of
Philadelphia has asked for twenty au
.tomobile patrol wagons. . '■ ._ ,'■.,. v.'."-
All Models gbafrfjjfijtffi Shown at
Will Be C* yW\Zf the Show
____________•____■_■■__»■_.—_—_-___—
Demonstrator on the Way—Arrive Before Christmas
Touring Car, Model X $3000.00 Roadster, Model XI $2900,00
Baby Tonneau, Model X 2 $3000.00 Roadster Artillery Style, Model X 3. .$3000.00
Hiker Type, Model X 4 $2900.00 All Prices f. o. b. Factory.
The Haynes this year is 45 H. P., 114-inch wheel base and rides like a cradle (all springs guar
anteed). The car is equipped with five lamps, Presto light gas tank, tire carriers, robe rail, foot
rest, trunk rack and of course a Bosch magneto.
WAIT— The Best Value on the Market—
Woodill Auto Co. _________*_
SUB AGENTS WANTED SIXTH AND LOS ANGELES STREETS,
COYOTE SOON
TO TRY SPEED
LOCALLY BUILT CAR IS NOW
NEARLY READY
Air-Cooled Motor Develops Eighty.Six
Horse Power, According to Read
ing Taken in Recognized
Manner
Within a day or two the Coyote "Spe
cial" will be out on the streets, and as
soon as the . motor can be turned to
high pitch it will be put through some
hill climbing and speed stunts on the
road that will demonstrate what the
makers have in the car.
Several radical departures have been
made in the construction of the eight
cylinder air cooled car and the trials
of the machine are being awaited with
interest by those who have seen the
motor and had the new ideas ex
plained.
The transmission is through a mul
tiple disc clutch and the difference In
speed on starting and in climbing hills
will' be taken up by the slip of the
clutch without slowing down the mo
tor.
The clutch is made up of a series of
discs that greatly exceed the usual
number used on other ty_fes of cars.
The motor is very Interesting and
is made up of two rows of four cylin
ders, each set at an angle of 90 de
grees to each other. .
The reverse motion is attained by
a friction disc -such as Is used as a
transmission in several makes of well
known cars, only that It Is on a some
what smaller scale and Is adjusted
for only one ratio.
The car that is now being completed
Is of the roadster type and will be used
as a demonstrator. As soon as the
factory is completed at Redondo work
will be started on regular models. Con
struction of the factory began last
week and will be rushed to comple
tion.
M. C. Tunnlson is the designer of ths
Coyote .and has carried out a number
of his own original ideas as well as
using the best accepted Ideas that pre
vail at present in up-to-date automo
bile construction.
A card was taken from the motor a
few days ago 'to get a reading of tha
horse power and to the surprise of
those who witnessed the test It fig
ured up as 86, which will be far more
than the car will require for any or
dinary purpose, but will make it pos
sible for the car to slow down and
pull a hill with ease on its unchange
able direct gear.
The constant tarque of the eight
cylinder motor is expected to make the
car practically vibrationless and easy
of control.
Lightness is another feature that the
car will have In conjunction with Its
high power. Mr. Tunnison easily lifted
a front wheel clear of the floor in
demonstrating that the car was not
heavy./
The car is nearly ready for its final
tuning up. The body is ready to place
and then it will be taken out on the
road and its paces tried out.
The company is well financed and
will riot be handicapped in getting out
its product for lack of capital, and
from the optimistic tone of the backers
and the machinists who are engaged
in building the car, it will be a record
breaker and a decidedly practical and
popular machine. -. ■■"- '..-
Dramatic and
Automobile Section
TIMING MACHINE
GREAT SUCCESS
GIVES SPEED AND POSITION OF
CARS AT A GLANCE
Chart Shows Complete Record ' for
Whole Race and Photographic Re. -
productions Make Dissemina
tion of Result Easy
H. F. Cuntz, M. E., of the Associa
tion of icensed Automobile Manufac
turers, donated the use of a specially
devised chart to the Automobile Club
of America for recording on Thanks
giving day the results of the first grand
prize race of America. . Direct tele
graphic communication from the tim
ing stand at Savannah, Ga., gave the
results of the race at the banquet hall
of the club on West Fifty-fourth street,
New York, a few minutes after each
car had passed the grandstand.
By an ingenious arrangement of
speed curves, one for each lap of the
race, a marker bearing the number of
the racing car was immediately pasted
on the chart, indicating at a glance the
point on the respective lap curve which
represented the 'speed of that car. In'
this way no figuring at all was neces
sary. As the race progressed the order
or standing of the different racers as
they finished each lap could be seen at
a glance. Also at a glance the • speed
in miles per hour or in kilometers per
hour could be read from the chart. jj It
showed when two or more cars' were
very closely bunched.
When the last lap was completed the
leading car at the ■ head of that lap
curve was Indicated by a large pointer
and the national flag of the maker of;
the car indicated the country whose
car had won. ..■-..■
. A number of the members and guests
of the club witnessed the returns an
entered on the chart, and the novel rec
ord proved to be of great Interest. :
Stars Used to Indicate Accidents
In the case of cars which had met*
with accident or dropped out of the
race for any reason, a star ; appears
opposite their number in | the last lap'
in which, they were recorded, i and |a.
subnote explains the cause of the acci
dent. • " ■■■•. r- ■;•;.. V.
The chart is designed on the basis of
horizontal distances representing time,
which is noted in minutes and frac
tions of a minute, and vertical dis- '
tances Indicating the speed In | miles
per hour or in kilometers per hour. - In;
this way the position of the racers from
first to last is read on each lap curve
from top to bottom, the highest having
the highest average speed, and so on.
As a record of the race, the chart
contains all the information in the way
of time and speed and standing on
the one sheet. Photographic reproduc
tions of this show on a small sheet the
complete history of the race, the aver
age speed of all the drivers each lap,
and in fact all that data which in the
past it has been attempted to show In
three or fourMlsconnected tabulations.
Any number of tabulations, however,
do not bring the information together
In such a way that the results could
be compared in any such manner as
is apparent in a glance at the single.
sheet of this novel record chart. .
Mr. Cuntz states he has no doubt
that as soon as the racing committee
here, as well as abroad, become aware
of this chart, it will be used univer
sally for recording automobile races of
this character. - ■