Opinions from Others.
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71,, Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of conimercial motors. Letters should be on ,.ne side of the paper only, and type-written by preference. The right of aboreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for the views expressed is accepted.
From the Argentine.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[873] Sir :-1 am enclosing a photo I took in Bahia Blanca, of a Scott-Stirling motorbus running on train lines. The roads in Bahia Blanca are either ;in. in sand, or paved with flat stones so badly laid that they found it impossible to run the buses. They, therefore, took off the read ‘vheels, and put on some flanged wheels adapted for train lines. I gathered from the driver that the buses came over from London, and they were running them on paraffin without any alteration whatever to the carburetter. They have several of them running in between the steam tramcar service, The disc above the radiator is a gong : the driver hits it with an old exhaust valve when he wants to clear the way.
I have come out with a Thornycroft commercial v:111, running it as an experiment, and hope to write you some of my experiences.—Yours faithfully, G. E. Ftrotol OYES. Port Madyrn, Arg-entina.
I We shall he pleased to hear again. There art seven Seott.StIrling buses s() Hanged in Bahia Blanca ; an illustrated account %S as given hi our issue Of the -21rd May, 1907,—ED. I What Does "Chassis Price" Include?
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
18741 Sir :—We note that one of our competitors,Messrs. Commercial Cars, Ltd., of Luton, are issuing an advertisement with the price of the chassis stated. These prices were brought to our notice by several clients of ours, and We find, on looking into these closely, that they do not include the cost of rubber tires. There is nothing, however, on this advertisement to show that it is so.
Now, Sir, we submit that the definition of " chassis " Is the complete motor vehicle with wheels and tires, but less the body : this definition is the one accepted by most motor-vehicle sellers. We think, therefore, that this advertisement is decidedly misleading to the average public, and we further think that some steps should be taken so that a standard definition should be worked to by all the members of the motorcar industry.
Trusting you will give this prominence in your next issue.—Yours faithfully,
Guildford. DENNIS BROTHERS, LIMITED. We should say there is a balance or custom in favour if the non Of tires. It. would be a good thing it the s.m.m.r. agreed a
Concerning Motorcabs.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
is4751 Sir :—May I request the hospitality of your columns to enter a short protest against some proposals, with regard to motorcabs, that I notice are made be Mr. S. F. Edge in a letter which you published two issues hack. Although I readily concede the point that Mr. I:(1.4-e. as usual, is actuated by the desire to extend the use of motor vehicles generally, including those from the Napier works, I beg leave to state that I disagree with most or Mr. Edge's suggestions. I will deal with them seriatim . I. If the suggestion for cheaper fares for single-cylinder and two-cylinder cabs implies a multiplicity of tariffs, such as that which now obtains in Paris, I pray that we may be spared such an " improvement." Let us have uniformity whatever happens. Would there be a special tariff for a six-cylinder cab I wonder?
2. The suggestion for indicating the number of cylinders by a large figure on the bonnet of course follows from suggestion number one. Surely, we have enough numbers on public-service vehicles now, without adding to them! Would the suggestion to have a complete
specification and set of working drawings carried on each cab commend itself to your correspondent?
3. Why on earth should every taxicab be painted the same colour? Is not the colour scheme the readiest method of enabling would-be passengers to distinguish he vehicles of the different companies? I fear Mr. Edge knows little about public-service requirements, or he certainly would not suggest Post-Office red. Has he seen any locomotives or railway carriages painted Post-Office red? Questions of wear and tear and upkeep are the primary consideration, and probably dark green would be found to stand exposure and knocking about best.
4. Distinguishing marks for each company's cabs are surely not necessary; nothing more, at any rate, than a small monogram or crest should be necessary. Has Mr. Edge seen the Manchester cabs with their tariffs on the panels of the doors? It would take very little more to make them look like ice-cream carts!
By the way, do we really need to do anything to " increase the popularity of the motorcar "?—Yours faith fully,
Amhurst Road, Hackney. WALTF.R WielenAm.
"Grip" and "Band" Tires : Which is the Better?
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[8761 Sir :—With reference to your journal of the 14th January, we see that your contributor " Homoc " states that the approximate mileage of a set of grip-section
tires varies from 2,000 to 6,000 miles, and, as he says the cost per set is £70, the cost approximately per mile is 3.36d. I wish to point out that there are " grip tires " and " grip tires," and that he must have been referring to other makes.
We make both the steel-banded and the " grip " tire, or in fact, any pattern of tire for motorcars, etc., but a set of Sirdar " grip tires " works out at about £50 per set only, and in most eases the user gets between io,000 and 30,000 miles out of them, according to the care taken of them; therefore, the cost of Sirdar " grip tires " is often less than td. per mile.
We give the following examples :— Messrs. Dibben and Sons—over 30,000 miles on delivery vans.
Messrs. The Cambridge Motor Co.—from 12,000 to 15,000 miles on an extra heavy double-decked bus. Messrs. The Sussex Road Car Co.—frorn 14,000 to 18,000 miles on motorbuses.
The Great Western Railway---fmm in,000 to 27,000 on motorbuses.
Mce,srs. Shoolbred's—over 14,000 miles, and " still running," on delivery vans.
Messrs. Tylor-12,000 miles on delivery vans, and still not worn out.
Messrs. The Patent Steam Carpet Beating Co.. 20,000. miles on delivery vans.
Messrs. Allen and Hanburys-25,000 miles on delivery vans (still running), and many others.
These ate only a few examples ; many thousands of our Sirdar " grip tires " are doing equally well. We agree that other " grip tires " are failures. • We think, therefore, that you ought to state to your readers that Royal Sirdars are the exception, and that the • article excepted them. We shall be pleased to show you or your readers the letters from the users giving the mileages referred to.---Yours truly,
THE SMOAK RUBBER Co.. LTD, J. M. MAcLta.icit, Managing Director. 2 1 , Crawford Street, W.
• [Mr. MacLu]ich sets out his case in terms which can well stand by themselves. Weishall be pleased to have other experiences. —En.
"Polack Never Tires."
The Editor, 66 THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[8771 Sir notice an advertisement on the back cover
of your current issue which reads as follows :—" Polack never tires." I wonder whether I shall be considered impertinent if I enquire for what purpose, then, the Polack Tyre Company is in business?—Yours truly,
" DIRECTOR OF Bus COMPANY."
London.
The Editor," THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[s78] Sir :--Allow me to express the view that no more striking advertisement has ever been on the back page of your cover than that which appeared last week, that is, so far as the spacing goes. It is, however, not quite clear to me what the three words " Polack Never Tires " are meant to convey. Has the Polack Tyre Company entered into some working arrangement with the De Neyers Company? If so, does it mean that the pioneer company to introduce and perfect the band type of tire is, for some reason, to sell other types, and will it be of the clinched variety with a notched tread? Should it read " Polack-Never?"—Yours truly, Manchester. " VANOWNF.R."
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[879] Sir :—What does it mean that " Polack never, tires ''? Can tires get tired, or do they not actually wear out? It is a curious way to advertise, and I suppose it means that the quality of Polack tires is so good that fatigue or stress does not affect them as others are affected? Will its writer explain what he means? It is one of the smartest advertisements I have seen it says little, but can mean much.--Yours faithfully,
R. J. Wieumus.
The Long Life of Chains.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
18801 Sir :—We were interested to read -the paragraph concerning " Long life of chains " in your issue of February 4th, and we are quite in accord with your correspondent E.G." as to the tremendous saving which can be effected by the careful cleaning and lubricating of this form of drive. In fact, it is our opinion that, if chain cases had been fitted from the commencement, there would have been very few live-axle drives at present on the market. The 14,000 miles with one set mentioned by your correspondent is, however, not greatly above the average, and we enclose you copy of letter we received front the Ashbv-de-la-Zouch Motor Garage Company, by which you will see that a pair of our chains reached 5o,000 miles, and we still have these chains in our possession. Of course, this distance is abnormal, but it only st-ows what can be done.—Yours truly, THE CON:ENTRY CHAIN COMPANY 0907), LTD., NORMAN HILL.
[The enclosure we note, refers to a private oar, but we see:no
reason why 30,00d or more miles should not he the life of suitable riming on a-2.811,p. Si-ton chassis, such as the type mentioned by " E. G.," were
proper casings used—ED.] A Point Regarding Compression.
The Editor," THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
18S1] Sir :—The question is often asked : Are new pistons necessary after worn cylinders have been trued up by grinding?" The query, no doubt, is due to the fact that it is becoming known how little metal need be removed by the process mentioned. Still, granted that it is possible to take only just sufficient out of the bore to equalise it throughout, we think you will agree with us that both new rings and a new piston are a sine qua non if it sound job is to be ensured. ‘Vould you kindly allow us to remind those of your readers who are concerned, that quite small pistons should only have a clearance of .004 inch, and larger ones in a proportion as their diameter increases? Now, as there is always more clearance than this when cylinders are sent to be ground, it is obvious that, after this operation, there must be more clearance than is advisable. It is distinctly bad practice to rely solely on a new set of rings ; the pistons as well shbuid be 'a proper working fit, To bolster up a sloppy piston with a set of extra stiff rings is but a makeshift, and causes loss of power by the unnecessary friction.—Yours faithfully,
For ACER, LTD., • A. E. S. CRAIG, General Manager. Grosvenor Road, Hanwell, W.