Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 May 1939 — Page 22

MONDAY, MAY 29, 1939

. AMAZINCLY HICH TEST GAS USED BY RACE PILOTS

But Some Day It May Lead To Better Fuel for Our Cars.

By Science Service America’s 33 fastest cars, as represented by the racers which begin the annual 500-mile Memorial Day Speedway classic tomorrow use, with only one exception, a seemingly freak collection of special high test fuels which may lead some day to better fuel for everyman’s automobile. Some use 100-octane aviation gas, so high test it is not in regular Air Corps use and has not been introduced to commercial aviation yet. But most go even further than

that and make mixtures of their own, whose formulas are jealously guarded secrets in the pits and garages. They achieve the almost unthinkable octane rating of 130. Compare that for a moment with the 75 rating of the “straight” gas you buy in the filling station; the 80-octane of auto ethyl; the 87 of transport plane engines and the 90 octane used in transport planes for taking off. Alcohol, pure and with special fuels such as benzol or oil added, and 100-octane gas similarly “doped | up” are the most popular concoctions for securing an even-burning mixture that delivers the maximum amount of power. Oil of the same grade as the heaviest summer lubricating oil for ordinary cars is often added to alcohol by the drivers and mechanics to lubricate pistons and cylinders. Besides benzol, acetone can be and is used for increasing the potency of gasoline. Extra large doses of tetraethyl lead, the same chemical which increases the antiknocking rating of] ordinary gasoline, are also tried. | The one exception to all the tricks| of the fuel doper’s and chemist’s art is the Miller Rear-Engine Special, unusual in other respects also. It uses standard automobile ethyl. But then it was paid for by a large gasoline company which wanted to make a point of making a good showing with ordinarily available fuel and was engineered with that end, among others, in view.

WINE DURING RACE HELPED GOUX WIN

For nonchalance there never seems to have been a driver who

could match Jules Goux, the smiling Frenchman, who always pulled his] cap down so far he bent his ears outward. Goux was bowling along in his | Peugeot in the 1913 race, well ahead] of the field, when he suddenly de- | cided he was thirsty and needed a | drink of wine. Into the pits he] came for the drink, and then rolled | out on the track and went on to win the race. Apparently things were a little | more free and easy in those days.| If a contestant now made such a| request, he probably would have to| answer a lot of questions by A. A. A. officials and probably would be barred from the track.

Guards at the Speedway help push Zeke Meyer's four-wheel-drive rear-motored Miller back onto the track after the veteran's car went into a spin and

\

—— et

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES ee

All's Well That Ends Well , Zeke!

wound up in the dirt apron. It happened just about noon last Saturday a few minutes before rain drove the pilots into the garages. =

Here's Why 1 ose Rear-Motored

Millers Have Been in Hard Luck

By LEONARD H. ENGEL

Science Service Staff Writer While 33 speed demons roar their way into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s annual 500-mile Memorjal Day classic tomorrow, one of the two potentially fastest racing autos in America will sit idly in its garage because its builder could not find anyone to drive it. It is No. 27, the Miller Rear-En-gine Special—with its twin sister, No. 17, which had George Bailey at the helm out on the brick and asphalt track—the first rear-engined racing car to show up on the scene of the toughest automobile race in the world. Once there was a third, but that

{one is junk and Johnny Seymour is

in the hospital because of a crash in the latest creation of Harry Miller, long famous racing car craftsman. Mr. Miller says that because of its superior balance, the rear-engined racer can take a curve 10 miles an hour faster than its conventional rivals. The drivers say he's right. But there's a catch to it. Race cars all have tachometers to measure the engines’ revolutions per minute and thus show speed. But most drivers pay little attention to them in judging how to take a curve. They drive by feel: the roar of the motors in front of them,

[the vibration transmitted through

their bodies and their hands on the wheels, and that slight slip of the driving wheels in the rear giving a warning of skids to come. That doesn’t work with the deli-cately-balanced, four-wheel drive Miller jobs. The vibration is less, the four wheels slip together and by that time it is too late to recover, and the engine seems quiet because it is behind the driver and the slipstream carries away the crash of its six cylinders. The driver must calculate his speed by keeping his eye

{on the r. p. m. clock. You have to

do a little instrument navigating on the ground on this job. Bailey has been driving No. 17 for about a year. Dean of racing engine designers —plenty of the cars entered in this classic are using engines he built

Robert M. Bowes adjusts Lou Meyer's helmet

and wishes hin luck ashegetsready to qualify

RR a

Speedway Day

Published as its Annual Tribute to the s00-Mile Memorial Day Race by

Bowes “Seal-Fast” Corporation, Indianapolis

Who cares what Hitler says today? Our eyes are on the Old Speedway! Bring out that band —it’s big enough — and let those bandsmen toot their stuff.

Dig through the crowd and find your seats — gee! watch that basket with the eats! Look over there, it’s Uncle Bill, he’s driven up from Shelbyville. But other folks, you bet your hat, have come from farther off than that.

You've heard the guy with pickle face — say “Not for me, I've seen a race!” But come the next race and you'll see him right back here like

you and me.

I’ve seen the Big Race every year—I’ll be on deck long as I'm here. I've seen the cars get big then small—not more than ten feet over-all. I've seen the two-man jobs give place to sin. gle seaters in this race. I've seen speed records set and fall — but never set for once and all!

Sun, oil and popcorn, Race day smell —nothin’ like it ain’t it swell?

We hope Lou Meyer wins —but we're strong forthe winner whoever he'll be. The reason we're for Lou Meyer is that he's driving the |

ADD,

PRISIDENT

They’ve got those buggies row on row, not long before it’s time to go. Wonder what this race will bring=—no two alike in anything; which of those thirty-three will get the Checkered Flag—1I'd hate to bet. Well,anyway, as sure as sin, one of those guys is bound to win.

Look at those colors in the stand — from women’s clothes, give them a hand. The Press Pagoda groans and bends with Workers of the Press— and friends.

We're ready now to start, I'd say—Pacemaking car will lead

the way. Boom goes the bomb— |

and they're away to one more roaring Speedway Day!

Bowes "Seal-Fast” entry, equipped with Bowes "Seal-Fast™ spark plugs. They're great plugs, and we hope you'll try them some time in your car.

|

in 1928 or slightly modified from aj|special transmission saves power by

design of his that goes back to 1918| lubricating gears with a mist of oil |

—Mr. Miller, now with the Gulf Research Station near Pittsburgh, has incorporated dozens of other comment-arousing features into his newest works of automotive engineering.

Their six-cylinder engines turn over at 7200-7400 revolutions a minute, by more than a thousand r. p. m.’s the highest of any racing cars in competition in America, and can be driven at 8000 r. p. m.’s, This is accomplished by using a very short piston stroke combined with a large diameter cylinder. Mounted on the side of the car is magnesium cooling unit, to cool the gasoline so that the difference between the lowest and highest temperatures of the cylinder contents will be as large as possible—an iportant way to make an engine more efficient. A

|

instead of filling the gearbox with oil. This may have important everyday applications. The only other line of rear-en-gined racers in the world are the German Auto Unions. Their excellent record is attributed by their designers to the location of their powerplants. So watch the Miller Specials: they may ride away with the honors in years to come.

POP’S SECRETARY KNOWS ALL PILOTS

Assuming her duties as secretary to T. E. (Pop) Myers, Speedway general manager, in 1912, Miss

Eloise S. Dallenbach probably knows | Speedway.

more about the 500-mile races than any other woman in the world.

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| |

OLD ZEKE MEYER IS UPN AT 'EM

Veteran Always Comes Back, Despite Skull Fractures and Stitches.

Speed continues at 48 for “Zeke” Meyer, oldest race driver who is back for another siege in the “500.” Although he is not in the starting lineup, considerable work in relief roles tomorrow. Zeke was scheduled to drive one of the Miller rear-engined jobs but he made no attempt to qualify it after a spin Saturday. “Zeke” is 48 years young. He has had enough mishaps during his 30 years in racing to finish an average person, yet he is still up and at ’em. Meyer has had just about all the

thrills any man could hope for. He is a member of the select group which makes up the Champion 100-mile-an-hour club. In order to become a member of the latter organization one must drive through a 500-mile race, without relief, at an average speed of better than 100 miles per hour. “Zeke” turned the trick in 1936 when he averaged 101.331 miles per hour for the 500 miles and finished ninth in a semistock car. His son Charles was his mechanic in that race, the only father-and-son combination ever to compete in a 500mile race at Indianapolis. Meyer's experiences have been many since joining the racing fraternity. He can’t remember how many races he's been in. Wouldn't even venture a rough guess because he’s certain he'd be away off. He has suffered skull fractures, broken arms, ribs and has lost track of the stitches the medicos have used to keep the Meyer body together. Yet, if he had it to do all over again he'd be a race pilot. Zeke says so himself. He was born in Providence, R. I, just a quarter of a mile away from the Narragansett

trouble deciding what profession he was going to follow.

Zeke undoubtedly will get |

Meyer didn’t have any

Race Delayed Only Twice in Past 24 Years

Only twice in 24 years has the 500-mile race failed to start promptly at 10 a. m. In 1930 rain threatened to post- | pone the race altogether, but the sky cleared and the Memorial Day classic began an hour late. | A drivers’ strike was called in 1933 | when the pilots learned that Young | |Howdy Wilcox had been barred | from the track by the Speedway doctors. Capt. Rickenbacker finally persuaded the men to start.

STEEL-RUBBER AUTO SPRING DEVELOPED

By Science Service NEW YORK, May 29.—Development of a new type of auto spring which uses three pounds of rubber and seven pounds of steel in place of the all-steel construction, was announced here by the B. F. Goodrich Co. of Akron. The new spring, it was said, requires no lubrication and reduces rattles and squeaks. It has been installed in the Goodrich exhibit at the N. Y. World's Fair by A. S. Krotz, development engineer. Rubber springs have been invent- | ed and patented many times, but none has ever come into general use. | The new Goodrich spring gets | around the difficulties of most of its | predecessors through the fact that | the rubber is under compression and | twisting or torsion pressure instead of being under stretch or tension. When under tension, cracks develop in the surface of the rubber and it

soon deteriorates. NAY V rv a] —— “4

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RACE SHORTENED TO 300 MILES IN 1916

Only once in the last 26 runnings of the 500-mile race has the contest been shortened “by agreement.” That was back in 1916, the pre-war

. PAGE 21 year when the United States was operating on a conservation plan because of the World War. Officials decided they'd save gas, oil, rubber and the many other things that go toward making a race, by cutting the distance to 300 miles. The race wasn't held in ’17 and ’'18 because most of the drivers were in France,

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