The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, May 31, 1914, SECTION FOUR, Image 48

The Sunday Oregonian., May 31, 1914, SECTION FOUR, Page 4, Image 48

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Newspaper Page Texts THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, MAT 31, 1914. FAMOUS RACERS WHO HAVE MANY TIMES WON PRIZES OF ALL KINDS TAKE PART IN INDIANAPOLIS' GIGANTIC EVENTS -Foreigners Think American-Made Cars Are-I'arvToo Slow for International Tracks, Though They Have Eeason toFear Some of Them and the Men Behind the Wheels Eecords Made hy Drivers, Narrow Escapes. They Have Had, Features of Some Contests Entered Europe and Home Tracks Are AH parts of Kacing History. ' YOU FIGURE IT DIAMOND SQUEEGEE TREADS ARE CHEAPER Tread. Trad. Sli. PricM. 81m. Prior. T . S0x3 12.65 E4X4 H 35.00 v. NONE 30x3 H 17.00 SSx4i 86.05 ....... .vS2x3 18.10 S6x4W 87.10 BETTER 3x :5.!5 17x5 44 45 . 84x4 28.05 SSX3H 37.30 NON SKID ARCHER AND WIGGINS OAK STREET. CORNER SIXTH. All Roads Smooth Roads when equipped iviih Velvet Shock Absorbers See Our Demonstration rDALLOU & WRIGHT BROADWAY AT OAK By WALTER G1FPARD. IT Is futile to give a forecast of what already has taken place, besides be ing somewhat -of an anachronism, so that beyond saying we fully expect that the big Indianapolis 500. mile race this year has gone again to the other side of the pond, we will content our selves with giving some of the inner history of the cars and their drivers. By the time these lines are read, the race will have been won and . lost, of course, but that does not detract in the slightest from some of the details; it rather enhances them. There is one great difference between he foreigners and the natives. Ixn? before the race alt the European cars were ready to start except for a few mall trilling adjustments. No Ameri can car was ready at all three date before the race, each having adjust ments to make which are to be classi fied as of the major variety. That, nat urally, has some psychological effect on the drivers. v When you stand by the rails and watch one of the Frenchmen run round and beat your best record for the track by six seconds, his lirst time off the bat with a laconic remark that he can do still better, and when you know that this car has been doing such a rate all along and needs no adjust ment, it's bound to make you entertain an enormous feeling of self-respect for these drivers which almost amounts to the feeling a boxer has of being 1eaten before he has climbed Into the ring. All the foreigners are confident, with a world-wide experience behind them, and what Is more, they do not consider many of the American cars in the least degree fast! That's an awful blow to American hopes and beliefs, and of course It is the ardent desire of every man racing to show them that they are horribly mistaken, but it nevertheless is a fact that, outside of the BtuU, lha old Marmon, and possibly oire or two cars, they think the American cars far too slow! , These Frenchmen, during the trials, had just two expressions for cZiasify ing the cars of their American rivals. One was "bein." Vhe other was, "pas blen. which, being translated, mean 'good" and "no pood," and it is a shame to have to admit that by far the larger number of the cars theydis cussed came under the latter, and not the former, classification! y Of the information which follows much has been gleaned from various sources; for some interesting items we are indebted to Reed I Parker, the automobile expert on the Chicago Tri bune, who has been perched on the rails all through the trials. The Thirty Qualified Entrants. Ko. Car, Driver. - Nation. Cyl Driver. Dlsbrow, Cooper. OlJueid. Burman. Stut. AmefNcsa 4 American American 4. Gray Fox. WIK-ox. -America 4 3. B. BuHl Keene. American 4 n". Peujteot. Ooux. French, 4 T. Peugeot. Boillot French. 4 8. Maxwell. Tetzlaff. American 4 3. Exceleior. v Chrietlaeng. Belgian. "6 10. Delage. Ouyot. French. 4 12. Sunbeam. Chafcgaffne. English 0 13. Mason. Mason, French. 4 14. Peugeot. ' Duray. American ' 4 13. Kinff. Klein. French. ... 4 1)5. -Delage. ThumaA American 4 17. Burman. - Birrman. German - 15. Mercedes. D Palma. American 4 10. Mercer. "Wlshart. American 4 21. Mercer. Brags. - American 4 24. &tutz. - Anderson. American 4 2.1. Maxwell. Carlson. American 4 1'6. Marmon. Dawson. American 4 -7. Sunbeam. Grant English 31. Keeton. Knipper. American 4 33. M.-Peugeot. Mulford. Italian 4 i. Husattl. Friedrich. American 4 S&. Braender. Chandler. Ger.-French 4 42. Dueuenberff. Klchenbacher American 4 43. Duesenberg. Haupt American 4 48. Ray. Brock. American 4 I.ot,t Out in the Trials.. 2?. Mercer. Puilen. American 4 25. Stafford. Callahan. American 4 2!). Metropol. Horan. American 4 S'J. Maxwell. American 4 Hit. Texas. Clarlt. American 4 35. Gt. Western. Jenkins. American 4 35. Gt. Western. Price. American, 4 ST. Gt. Western. Radlna. American 4 39. Pope Bullet. Robert. American 4 41. 'Washington. Stringer. mericaq 4 4-). Tatter. Maszucco. American 4 4tt. Raytield. Hughes. American 0 47. Titze. ' Melaun. American 4 49. Isotta. Gt:hooley. American 4 51. Shambaugh. ' Shambaugh. American 4 Pour Teama From States " Four teams will represent the United States, Other domestic champions are representatives of individual owners. Tha teams are the Mercers, Stuts, Bur mans and Maxwells. The Mercers have a piston displacement of 445 cubic Inches, with a bore and stroke of 4.Sx S.2. Tha cars are not new, but have been modified In design by E. H. Dell lng. the engineer who succeeded Find ley R. Porter as designer for the Tren, ton N. J.) factory. Delling, It will be remembered, designed the' Delta! car. which, driven by Joe Dawson, gave Ralph De Palma such a fight for firsi position- In the Cobe trophy race at El gin lrot summer. Maxwells eat la Appearance. Ray Harrcuri's Maxwells art the most sightly cars entered in the rac. Built after the best foreign practico, they present an artistic appearance in body design that one has been wont to associate with creations of the Sun beam. Vauxhall and Talbot factories of England. They are fast, remarkably so. They are built -on a 104-Inch wheel base, which Is the same as the stock "2a" of the Maxwell factory. They have a bore and stroke of 4.2x8. The piston displacement is 445 cubic inches. , The motor produces' 140 horsepower at 2400 - revolutions per minute. The motor is easily the feature of the cars. although the remarkable refinement of detail and careful attention to every constructional ieature is noticeable With clutch and accessories, the com plete motor weighs about 6o0 pounds and perhaps the most unusual feature is the entire absence of fly wheel. The total weight t the car-is 2100 pounds. They carry 32 gallons of gasoline and 13 gallons of oil. . . V. Burmans Have Special Features). Bob Burman constructed his own cars 'in the workshop- of liis backer at Battle Creek. Mich. Like all of Bur man'Sy creations, they are remarkably fast. Their staying powers alone are questioned. "Burman Is to drive one of them, and he expects much from any car. They have a piston displacement of 449.9 cubic inches, which is press ing the limit closely. The valves are in the head of the cylinders and are operated by an overhead cam Bhaft. According to Burman the - engine shows ISO -horsepower at 2400 revolu tions a minute, which will give the car a speed of 120 miles an hour on the speedway. At 1600 revolutions per min ute the cars will travel 102 miles an hour, which engine speed Burman ex pects to maintain this year. They car ry a graceful stream line, body, upon which the colors of the Chicago Auto mobile Club 'hava been painted, y - Sratz Cars Strea Contenders. If Harry Stutz had 'not surrounded his cars,, with the usual mase of mystery as to their engineering feature I should not have believed he designed them. About all that the layman knows about the 'Stutz cars this year is that they are painted white, and that Oil Ander son, Barney Oldneld and Earl Cooper will drive them. Of course they will have "Wisconsin motors in them special Wisconsin motors with all the power and zip to them to make the cars among the most feared aa In former years. The Stutz cars resemble bull dogs with their square blunt radiators, short wheel bases, and stocks'- under slung appearance America has three great challengers In these cars. Always in the running and manned by three of the best driv ers in America, one a road racing cham pion, another a dirt track star and former speedway king, and the third a consistent pounder who has a han fought, Elgin road race trophy to his credit, they wlll be feared until the end. Th Frenchman, Goux, last year said during a phtlippia directed againBt all the other American cars entered in the 1913 race that the Stutz was the only car he feared. Both Boillot and Goux have held to this opinion. Im Oldtlsaera In. Howard "Wilcox's Gray Fox and Knip per's Keeton have been through one 500-mile race, both having been driven the route in 1913. No changes have been mad a in their design. Both have big motors near the limit In piston displacement- The Beaver Bullet Is a spe cial creation "with front wheels having a wider tread than the rear. Ralph Mulford built the Braender Bulldog. It has been showing speed In practice, but its staying . qualities are unknown. The Duesenbergs and Mason are fne workmanship of Fred Duesen berg1, reckoned as one of .the most suc cessful of our engineers; - y Marmon Good as Ever. Joe Dawson's Marmon was built for the 1911 race.- In it Dawson took fifth place in the race of hat year. It has been campaigned extensively since, be sides being1 a pleasure car". Burman handled it at Santa Monica and in the Vanderbilt. At Elgin last year Dawson was unable to finish with it. This year, however, the car has been reconstruct ed and looks as good as new, A number of changes have been made in the bqdy and motor. New parts have been fitted, and, according to Dawson, the car is in as good shape as it was when it started in 1911. It has four cylinders .with - a bore and stroke of 4.5x7. The piston displacement is 44? cubio inches. Delaare Europe's Road Champion. The Delage cars hold the European records for lo'ng-distance road racing. They set a mark of 76.8 miles an hour in the Grand Prix de France last Au gust. The length of the race -was 360 miles. Delage cars finished first, sec ond and fifth. The best lap average was 82.5 miles an hour. Peugeot -Cract . Track . CarC Two of the Peug-eots were driven in the French Grand Prix last July'. Boil, lot finished first in one and Goux sec ond. - - ' : No important mechanical changes have been made in them for this race. They have a piston displacement -.of 338 cubic inches. They are remark ably fast faster. In fact, than any car previously turned out by the company, notwithstanding they are smaller than those which Goux and Zucarrelli drove here last year. .They have a wheel base 106 inches in length, which is thought to be nearly perfect for the Indianapolis speedway. . Both cars have been campaigned a good deal, but have been maintained in perfect condition. The French practice of renewing wearing parts after every contest prevents the cars gettlngln bad shape like the Fiats, which Hew lett has campaigned to death on the Paclfio coast. Du ray's car is one of the babies of the race. The motor develops v92 horsepower at 2800 revolutions per mjnute. The piston displacement is 183 cubic inches. The --car is extremely light. It has a low gasoline consump tion, and it Is believed it will stand tire wear better than the jLwo larger machines of the same ma'.ye. Buffattl ew in America. The Bugatti is the creation of Ettore Bugatti, said to be one of the most clever automobile engineers of Eu rope. The machine that was sent from the factory at Monheim in Aleace Ixr raine for the Indianapolis race has a four-cylinder monbloc motor of 100 by ISO millimeters, bore and stroke . (3.9 by 7.1 inches), having a piston dis placement of 345.08 cubic Inches. It has the same general design as .the stanaara xJugatti cars, with 12 over head valves, operated by an inclosed valve gear. By the use of exceedingly fine and tough materials the weight of the car has been reduced to exceed ingly low limits. Belgian Car Is J. lent. The six-cylinder Excelsior which had Its baptism in the French Grand Prix at Amiens last year, where it finished eighth, is one of the lightest cars in the race, weighing only 1980 pounds. It has a bore and stroke of 3.8 by 6.2. The piston displacement is 446.6 cubio inches. The. car Itself presents rather of a . ramshackle appearance with its rounded radiator and abbreviated cowl dash, offering no protection to the driver. Kngltsh Sunbeams Speedy. The two English Sunbeams are as different in many respects as night and day. Both have the stream -line car ried out to the limit, and both, have the same purring sound when running that distinguished Guyot's mount last year. Chassagne's car was built especially for the race by Louis Coatlen, the Sunbeam designer. Grant's car is the same ma chine that Marquis wrecked at Santa Monica this Spring. Chassagne's car has a wheel base of only 83 inches, which is exceedingly short. The motor Is the one with which the present driver set the 12-hour record at Brooklands of 89.85 miles per hour. The motor has a bore and stroke of 3.14 by 5.90. The piston displacement is 245 cubic inches. Grant's car has a piston displacement of 273 cubic inches. ' v Ralph's Mercedes la Six. No introduction of De Palma'a Mer cedes is necessary, excepting the an nouncement that it is a six-cylinder car Instead of a four. The bore and stroke is 4.1 by 5.5. The piston displacement Is 445 cubic Inches. - The car harall the sterling attributes of the old four cylinder car belonging to E. J. Schroeder- with which Do Palma has twice captured the Vanderbilt cup race. It has been campaigned in Europe, but the amount of service it has seen has been comparatively little. The Mercedes-Peugeot Is a Franco German combination made necessary by the entry cf three Peugeots in the race before Mr. Schroeder could enter the Peugeot. Mulford, the driver, thought of the plan of shifting the Peugeot motor into the Mercedes chassis. This plan has been carried out, and it remains , to be seen with what results. According to Ralph De Palma, who knows the car like a book, the Mercedes is a better chassis than the Peugeot for the Indianapolis track. He believes the scheme will work out well and that hta old foe will be a worthy contender in his hybrid ere- BOWSER DIAMOND TIRES Viilraniyino RpfriaHin it. F RLnnnFTT ,48-3 l- "th. r Couol, NORTHWEST AUTO CO. - Factory Distributors of Cole, Lozier, Reo Cars BROADWAY AT COUCH STREET Main 8887 A 4959 ation. The motor is the same that car ried Goux to victory last year. Exploits of the foreign drivers, their achievements and records: Georgres T. Bqillot (Peugeot) No body contest Georges Boillot the title of the world' champion driver. There are too many facts for any possible ar gument. First he won the French Grand Prix of 1912. after a heroin struggle with the late David Bruce Brown, the greatest driver America ever sent across the Atlantic and then repeated the following year, on the Amiens course, after a fine fight with Delage and Sunbeam. In 1913 Boillot captured every race in which he was entered. Hejs now at the sunrmlt of his career. There are reasons for. Bolllot's suc cess. Eight or nine years ago he was sitting behind single-cylinder motors which every year grew higher and higher, as their stroke was lengthened, until it becsrnTe a difficult matter for him to see over the top of the bonnet. The sporting world in general did -not pay much attention "to these aljuost freak cars. But Boillot was learning lessons. He was studying race driving as a fine art, and after a gradual rise from singles to twins, and from twins to small four-cylinder motors, he made his debut In the two-day big-car Grand Prix in 1912. He won, and his repu tation was made. Boillot is an antist just as much an artist in his specialty as are Paderew- By . right of conquest the Forcl is king of cars. . it matter where you go you'll find the Ford the ruling favorite. It has a well earned, world-wide reputation for dependable and economical service. 'It's the Universal Car. Five hundred dollars is the price of the Pord runabout; the touring car is five fifty; the town car 6even fifty f. o. b. Detroit, com plete with equipment. Get catalog' and par ticulars from Ford Motor Company, Elev enth, and Division Sts., Portland. , Phones: Sellwood 2323, A 2341 " - ' x BUY A FORD TODAY v . $300 Down Balance Six Monthly on Deferred Payments Ford Motor- Co.'s Guarantee With Each Car. . Our Service Work Is the Best BEN J. E. BOONE & CO. ' - FORD AGENTS 514 Alder Street Portland, Oregon GASOLINE and OIL TANKS STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR Pi ni.IO AND PHI. VATB GAHAGES. S. II. Stoddard. Krpmcnll tlvc, 413 Corbet Hid. Mala 1478. Main 700S ski ,i or Xijinski In their, respective fields. He is not a brute driver who hurls his car over the winning line by sheer strength and determination, but studies every problem connected with his machine and every inch of the road ' before he starts. He knows how every bnd should be taken and every hill tackled, and never varies In his meth ods from the beginning to the end of a race. Unlike most race drivers, Bolllof" is responsible for the design of the ma chine he pilots. As head of the Peu geot racing department he supervises the work of the draftsmen, and of the machine and assembly shops, without overlooking a single one of the thou sand details which go toward the pro duction of a successful racing car. The 1914 500-mile race marks not only his first appearance in America, but also his first Important contest ; on any track. j. Jules Goux Peugeotl, winner of the 1913 speedway race, though not born in the Peugeot factoryT was brought up in it. schooled in It, and met his first success there. Goux has a kind of family interest in Peugeot. His father, his uncles, his cousins and his cousines are all connected in some way or other with the famous establish ment. To begin with they gave Jules small cars to race with the Lion-Peu-geots, as they called them at that time. Forming a team with Boillot (Coiifluried on Page 8.) Payments - 17a Interest