7
MOBILE FIRES
SOUTH DAKOTA PEOPLE TRAVEL IN REAL HOUSE ON WHEELS.
BsjVT'ti1i' It
iMlfrttsil
CAUSED BY KEGLECT
Lean Mixture Most Frequent
Source of Motor Blaze.
VIGILANCE IS IMPORTANT
Announces the Opening of a
Electric and All Other Troubles
Declared Warning That Never
Should Be Overlooked.
Warehouse
M
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, MAY 21, 1923
m
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Distributing
Occasionally an automobile takes
tire through backfiring in the car
buretor and becomes a total loss be
fore the owner is able to discern the
cause. All he can say is that he heard
a pop back at the carburetor and
suddenly discovered his car on fire.
The most frequent cause is a lean
mixture. This means more air in the
mixture than usual. The carburetor
gets out of adjustment in some way
and the mischief is done. A lean mix
ture is slow burning. It burns all
during the power stroke, all during
the exhaust stroke, and it is still
burning when the inlet valve opens,
admitting the fresh mixtures. This
takes fire and the flames run back to
the carburetor. If there is any gaso
line dripping from the carburetor a
heavy vapor is formed, extending
under the engine, where it is held by
the mud pan. The flame spreads
under the engine and soon reaches
the tank, melting the connections
and releasing a flood of gasoline.
Lean Mixture Important.
Lean mixture may be due to de
rangement of the carburetor or a
leaky Inlet manifold. Spray nozzle
too far closed, auxiliary air valve
spring too weak or valve stuck open,
or clogged fuel line, are a few car
buretor causes. A leaky inlet mani
fold may be deteoted by running the
engine and injecting oil around the
Joints. Oil will be sucked in at the
leak where the bolts must be tight
ened or a new gasket installed in
place of the leaky one.
Now come troubles of the inlet
valve, which indeed are very rare.
The valve lifter may be out of ad
justment, leaving no clearance, or
actually pushing the valve off Its
seat. If there is little or no clearance
the valve will hold compression when
the engine is cold, but will leak when
the engine warms up, due to length
ening of valve stem, and, of course,
popping in the corburetor occurs lm
popping in the carburetor occurs lm
two thicknesses of newspaper. Oc
casionally this valve may become
stuck, so that it cannot close. This
may be seen from the outside, as
there will be an unusually large space
between the valve stem and the
lifter.
( Electric Troubles Considered.
Electric troubles now engage the
attention. With a single coil and dis
tributor system such as used on the
majority of cars, there would be
some distributor trouble or a short
circuit of the distributor wires. See
that all wires are properly Insulated
and wipe all dust from distributor
head. If you know how to open the
distributor you should wipe out the
inside occasionally, using & cloth
dipped in gasoline. This will remove
all accumulations of dust, which will
cause short circuit if allowed to re
main. - '
. On a well-known small car the
trouble is caused by short circuits on
the timer wires. These chafe against
each other and sometimes against
the sides of the engine, wearing
away the insulation and so causing
trouble. Close switch on using bat
tery, or run engine on magneto, and
advance and retard the spark, watch
ing the commutator and wires. If
sparks are seen a short circuit is
Indicated, which may easily be
stopped by tire tape.
Fires Not So Frequent.
Fortunately, cars do not burn as
frequently now as they used to,
probably because the flame is led
away from the carburetor by the hot
air pipe leading from the hot air
stove on the exhaust manifold. But
don't think your car is safe on that
account. There are leaks in these
pipes and there is an adjustment with
large hole to let in air when neces
sary.
So watch out for flopping in the
carburetor and determine its cause
Immediately. Here as elsewhere
"eternal vigilance is the price of
safety."
SERVICE STATIONS AID BUICK
Assistance of Standard Oil Valua
ble in Making Record Run.
Mrs. Kathleen Ayres is a great
Booster for gasoline service stations
Mrs. Ayres is the woman who re-
cently broke the San Francisco-Port-
iland reoord by piloting her four-cyl
inder Buick coup between these
cities In 22 hours and 43 minutes.
Her time cut down the best previous
motor car record by 3 hours and
minutes and bested) th Southern
Pacific's crack train, "The Shasta,"
by 5 hours audi 47 minutes.
-Mrs. Ayres in describing her rec
ord-beating run was particularly
generous in her praise of the Stand
ard OU company's service stations
along the road. Stops were made at
Corning and Roseburg for Red Crown
and ZeroLene, and the prompt atten
tion given by the service station
attendants cut many minutes off the
running time, she said. "And minutes
are valuable little things, especially
In establishing records. '
AtJTOISTS DRIVE FROM EAST
Party From "Wisconsin Arrives at
Canby, Or
CANBT, Or., May 20. (Special.)
Air. and Mrs. J. K. Browne and son,
LeRoy, accompanied by H. L. Hume
of Portage, Wis., arrived in Canby to
night, after a most enjoyable motor
ing trip in the first automobile that
has come over the Blue mountains un
cer its own power this season. In
several places there were from three
to four feei of snow, but the auto, In
which the party made the trip, plowed
through, and stalled only for about
two hours. It was "up to" Browne
and his companion, H. L. Hume, to dig
away the snow.
Although 3000 miles were covered
since leaving Wisconsin, only one
blow out occurred, this being at
Jewelsburg, Col., and one puncture.
which occurred in Oregon, and was
caused from a small pebble.
The party has been on the road for
three weeks, but visited many inter
esting places while en route.
Repairing .Water Pipes.
A satisfactory temporary repair of
a leaking water pipe may be made
by binding around several layers of
string well soaked m thick on.
Always keep to the right of the
center of the street and near the
UNUSUAL MOTORING EQUIPMENT BUILT ONT G. M. C. TRUCK CHASSIS IN
PORTLAND LAST V JS1SIV.
W. E. Tittle of Rapid City. S. D.. believes that after three years of steady
both are in need of a vacation. That explains why, when the three-year period was up last summer Mr. Tittle took
the body off hl truck and put on a regular house and set out with his- wife and little daughter to see the country.
The family visited Wyoming, Nevada and Utah, traveling im leisurely fashion, and reached California la lat fall,
where they wintered. This spring they came up through California to Oregon, reaching .Portland, a lew days
ago. They expect to visit other parts of the northwest and then to return to North Dakota over the northern
route. The house on the G. M. Cy truck
from a presto tank, a built-in kitchenette, disappearing beds and other conveniences. After a leisurely return to
the home town in North Dakota Mr. Tittle expects to' take, the house off the G. M. C. truck, put on the old lumber
rolls and put the truck back to work at its former task, that of hauling lumber from a lumber mill over some
18 miles of rough road to the railroad.
son BIG IT i
THIS SUMMER IS EXPECTED TO
BE BEST YET.
G. C. Dickens, Assistant Manager
of Park Company, Visits City
and Tells Plans.
Rainier national park will be in
better position to care for visitors
this summer than ever before in the
history of the park, and the greatest
season which that beautiful region
has ever enjoyed Is expected, accord
ing to G. C. Dickens, assistant to the
general manager of the Rainier Na
tional Park company, who was a
Portla"nd visitor last week. Mr.
Dickens visited this city in connec
tion with the proposed sportsmen s
and tourists' exhibit to be held here
during the Rose Festival, and to ar
range for the participation of the
Rainier organization in that event.
Roads this year to the park win be
considerably better than ever before,
Mr. Dickens said. The road will be
found paved from Tacoma as far as
La Grande, while from that point to
the park entrance the grading nas
been completed and most of the road
will be in good shape with macadam
or rock surface. Additional roaa
work will be done this year, but it is
not expected to interfere with traffic,
he said. By the end of 1923 It is ex
pected the road will be paved the en
tire distance from Tacoma to the park
entrance, and Longmire springs will
then become an all-year Instead o
merely a summer resort.
Work is also progressing rapidly
on improvement of the road inside the
national park, he said. The new road
from Nisqually glacier to Narada falls,
known as the Ricksecker cut-off, was
completed late last year and this will ,
give two-way traffic all the way to
Narada, cars going one way over the I
new route and the other way over
the old road around Ricksecker point.
Work of widening the road from Na
rada falls up to Paradise Inn will be
carried forward this summer and
within another year it is expected a
road wide enough for two-way traf
fic will be completed between these
two points. This will mean, Dickens
said, the entire elimination of the
traffic blocks by which the travel on
the narrow road has been handled.
An indication of the growth ot
travel to the park was given by Mr.
Dickens in the figures for last year
as compared with 1915. During 1915
12,000 people visited the park, he
said, while last year there were 65,
371. A total of 12,271 motor vehicles
entered the park, In addition to the
mptor busses of the company. Of the
total number, of visitors ouo were
from states east of the Mississippi
river, he said.
Washington was of .course well in
the lead In the number of cars and
people at the park, but Oregon was
second with a representative number,
he said. Oregon's record was 600 cars
and 3158 people, while California was
a close third with 491 cars and 2718
people.
Longmire springs will open its sea
son this year on June 15, sWhile Para
dise Inn will open on July 1. Five
feet less snow is reported in Paradise
valley this year than at this time last
OLD-TIME AUTO SALESMAN JOINS
BRALY STAFF.
33221
(P.J?- Jzz?c?Jz
Appointment of G. R. Murch on
the sales force of the Braly Auto com
pany, Franklin distributors, was an
nounced last week by L. Therkelsen,
sales manager. Mr. Murch is well
qualified to rank among the- old
timers in the business in Portland,-s
he has been in the automobile retail
field for more than 14 years. H
erved his apprenticeship in automo
bile selling in Los Angeles, where he
was employed for three and one-half
years, and then spent three years in
Spokane. For the last eight years he
has been in this city, during which
time he has been sales manager for
the Moon car, territory man and used
car sales manager for the Portland
Motor Car company and manager of
the used car department tor the vvil-
,liam L. Hughson company.
Mr. Murch's activity in the automo.
one neio was oniy oroKen Into during
tne time wmie he was in the service
during the war, being a sergeant fn
- ' ' )'if $ 1
W U"'A, &
If tf it
chassis was built by Mr. Tittle himself and Is one of the most complete
year, and this is taken to mean that
the road will be open much earlier
than last, year to Paradise Inn, and
will probably be open early in July.
ROAD OVERLOOKS FRISCO
Private Interests Constructing
Highway Up Mount Tamalpais.
SAN FRANCISCO. May 20. Private
Interests arenow building a road to
the summit of Mount Tamalpais, in I
Marin county, wnicn promises to oe
one of the most scenic roads in the
west.
This road will provide easy grades
to the summit of the famous peak.
The new road starts at Fairfax and
winds through the hills, using the
Alpine dam, up Ridgecrest and West
peak clear to the summit of Mount
Tamalpais.
The road goes along the ridge of
BolinaB range and the motorists can
see both sides of the valley from the
top. i
There will be a wonderful view of
mountain, valley and sea from the
road, it is said. From the summit the
ocean can be1 seen at the west. In
the foreground is Mill Valley, and
the whole country spreads out like a
relief map before the eyes. , To the
south can be seen the eastbay cities
and on the other side Is San Fran
cisco and the peninsular cities.
BETTER NUMBERING DESIRED
Insurance Companies Would Re
duce Rates if Method Is Found.
NEW YORK, May 20. Upon the
recommendation of the insurance
committee of the National Automobile
Chamber of Commerce, the directors
have urged the Society of Automotive
Engineers to further its effort in de
veloping a method of numbering en
gines and frames so that thieves will
find it difficult to change the num
bers without detection.
Insurance underwriters have held
open for some time an offer of 7
per cent reduction in theft rates on
cars with engines numbered in this
way, 7 per cent for frames and 20
per cent if both engines and frames
bear approved number. The under
writers conference now has voted to
renew this offer until January 1,
1923, but If something is not de
veloped and agreed upon by that
time the offer will be withdrawn.
AH suggestions made thus far have
been proved unsatisfactory by the
underwriters' laboratories, which has
succeeded in changing the numbers
in a way that defies detection.
i
4
The New Triple-Life Eliminates the Old Annoy
r ances and Frequent Replacement
. The new Triple-Life Timer is a mechanical masterpiece i wonderful
improvement over other timers. It is as efficient and dependable as
the distributor of a high-priced car, yet it costs only $3.75. r
Ask your garageman or dealer about the Triple-Life. EE knows
what a great improvement it is I HE knows that it will make your
. Ford engine run far smoother and with more power!
I
' 0a
' And
WHICH TRAVELERS REACHED
j
-work for himself and his track
RADIO RECEIVED BY AUTD
PASSENGERS EN JOT CONCERTS
WHILE MAKING TOUR. .
Seattle Service Enjoyed
as . Far
- South as Del Monte, Cal., and
- Station Easily Heard.
DEL MONTE, cal Mar 20. For
the first time In the history of this
city a radio phone broadcast from Se
attle has been picked up by a wire
less receiving set rigged on an auto
mobile in this section while the car
was In motion.
The machine, driven by David
Keith, prominent in business ahd so
cial circles of Salt Lake City, Utah,
rolled along the scenic 17-miledrive
along the beach, and at the same time
kept continuous contact wth radio
phone messages from San Fraisc,
"s o irom as tar north
as Portland and Seattle.
Though the noise of the engine
and the breakers along the beach had
been expected to drown out th mat
and news messages, the Seattle broad
cast was neard with surprising dis
tinctness. The Keith party stated that they
had dispelled the monotony of travel
across the desert and along the Cali
fornia highways by listening to radio
concerts and messages picked up en
route.
To receive ether concerts and mes
sages in a motor car under way was
an innovation to Del Monte residents,
and it is only a question of time be
fore other cars in this city will be
similarly equipped.
SERVICE WILL BE EXTENDED
Republic Truck Co. Prepares to
Care for Owners Everywhere.
ALMA, Mich., May 20. In keeping
with the policy of maintaining Re
public motor trucks in an uninter
rupted performance, Is the statement
made today by Colonel Frank E.
Smith, president and general man
ager of the Republio Truck Sales cor
poration. "The organization of many ne Re
publio service stations throughout the
country, is one'bf the most important
steps we have taken to insure the
continuously profitable employment
Ford Owners
. Why Put Up with a
Troublesome Ti
The Triple-life Makes
turn of the band crank and "she kicks ver" with will in
even the coldest weatbec
Reversible Brushes and Rotor
Can't Short or Arc
No Oiling Perfect Timing
AU First Oats Garages and Dealer
Sell and Recommend
TIMER
FOR FORDS
It's Backed by a Real
MAPSON MFG. CO., Los
:1
3
of Republic trucks in the hands of I
our operators, said Smith. I
'IWe recognize that service prompt!
enough and adequate
riiugh and adequate enough fori
every user's needs, is the most vital
factor in the successful operation of
truck equipment.
"We are, therefore, extending the
scope of Republic service by spot
ting the country with service dealers,
in addition to our already established
factory branch houses, distributors
and associate dealers.
Oir aim is to so thoroughly cover
the country that Republio trucks In
every section can be serviced in the
shortest time and at the lowest cost
to the user.
AUTO CAMP VALUABLE ASSET
Chambers of Commerce Report
Camps Have Paid Real Return.
WATERLOO, la.. May 80. One of
the moot questions jn- many cities and
Easy Starting
i
AND FORDSONS
GUARANTEE
Angeles, CaL
tner?
J7
In Portland
Of special interest to our agency trade in this
territory is the announcement of the opening
of a FEDERAL Distributing Warehouse in
Portland, Oregon.
The phenomenal increase of FEDERAL tire
business in the territory covered by our San
Francisco Warehouse has made necessary the
establishment of this additional distributing
center to provide for the greater convenience
and better service to our trade in this district.
Located at 428 Flanders Street, the Portland
Warehouse will carry a complete stock of
FEDERAL Casings, Tubes, Accessories, etc.,
for the accommodation of our wholesale trade.
We feel sure that our trade will appreciate the
decided advantage of this important extension
of FEDERAL facilities which makes possible
more prompt and satisfactory service.
The Federal Rubber Company
OF ILLINOIS
' FACTORIES: PORTLAND WAREHOUSE
Cudahy, Wisconsin 428 Flanders Street
towns is, do camping grounds for
automobile tourists benefit the city
and is money expended in providing
comforts for tourists well expended
The United States touring informa
tion bureau, Waterloo, la., set out to
find the answer, and the following
extracts from letters received from
chambers of commerce and motoring
publication tell the story:
The chamber of commerce of North
Platte, Neb., says: "Last year 49S5
cars night-parked at the camping
ground and in addition many parked
for a few hours during the day. No
charge is made, except in event the 1
tourists want to stay six days or I
High gravity indicates small molecular mAO
construction of the oil, insuring less . - j
liquid friction, more rapid moving oil j
and instant lubrication of all surfaces as . .'
soon as the motor starts to turn over. " -35
High gravity of itself is not. an assurance ZgisX'. ""
of lubricating value, but high gravity lW I
combined with high viscosity (under heat) IS MW I I
is the mark of the quality lubricant. lfj
n nnum IJIbFI
, is a high gravity, high viscosity, f I f.: 7jip; j I
, motor oil. It feeds freely and- --j I
J quickly at low temperatures, f . I jSSgg
to the innermost bearing points f r SMil i
and it holds its lubrication ff ' '-TzSf I
body (viscosity) under intense jff I
heat thereby providing a ja rgjf
better oil seal between the jff llji5iriBii$i I
piston rings and cylinder walls I jSS-'g j
and reducing friction wear, jff baume ) I
rV HYDROMETEB FOB liiff 1
' 'y DTERMININC on I
(M JU WIGGINS COMPANY, INC. SJ
Refinery Distributors lr i
V4 A PortlaBd. Oregon IM I
-- - - ;
loniger, wheo a small fee is collected.
The camp is located within a few
blocks of stores, bathing beach and
shows. It is a valuable asset to the
town and- the money is well Invested.
It Is considered by merchants as a
real business-getter. Eighty per cent
of the tourists using th North Platte
grounds are of good class."
From Clinton, la., cornea the follow
ing: "Free public camping ground
catered to 10-0 campers in a few
weeks. Butiness men of the town
consider campers expended from 5000
to 6000 in grocery stores, ice cream
parlors, moving picture houses, tele
graph offices, oil stations, fruit stores,
1
"
$4
H
1
- - -
drygoods houses and garages. The
community in general feels that, the
grounds are a valuable asset to the
city and that without the grounds few
tourists would stop overnight."
A letter from Denver, Colo., reads:
"Systematic cultivation of the tourist
crop began In Denver six years ago,
when the newly organized tourist bu
reau engaged H. N. Burhans to nurse
the stand and increase the yieid. As
a result of these efforts the number
of visitors grew from 85,000 In 1915
to 265,008 in 1821, a greater number
In the aggregate than all visitors in
Yosemite, Tellowstone and Glacier na
tional parks during the same year."
curb.
to tuus corps.