Word: motoring
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Knocking is caused by premature explosion of gasoline vapors before the piston has returned to the cylinder head. These out-of-rhythm explosions can ruin a motor, perhaps break its crankshaft. High octane materials-octane, lead, alkylates-prevent these premature explosions by slowing down the rate of explosion. Though all gasoline explosions are a matter of split seconds, some are "slow," others "fast." Each kind of hydrocarbon in gasoline ignites at a slightly different temperature and compression. Igniting slowly and in order, they give the piston a firm, continued push instead of a brief, wrenching, power-wasting punch. So high...
...Rating is determined by feeding the gasoline to be tested to a test motor, whose spark is advanced until knocking appears. An identical motor is then run on various mixtures of 1) heptane (a bad knocker) and 2) isooctane (once thought to be the perfect knockless fuel) until its knocking corresponds to that of the other. If the unrated gasoline knocks at the same point as a mixture of 30% heptane and 70% isooctane, it is rated as "70 octane...
...grain-elevator salesman. Victor Ramberg bought two lengths of hose pipe. Next day, after dissuading his wife from wanting to die with the baby, he attached the hose to the exhaust of his 1935 Hudson, put the other end in the child's crib, started the motor...
...Department, by a dispute at Spicer Manufacturing Corp., makers of truck transmissions. Reason: squabble between A.F. of L. Montagues & C.I.O. Capulets. Because transmissions are the guts of any shaft-driven car, production of combat cars was threatened at the American Car & Foundry plant in Berwick, Pa., at Ford, White Motor Co., Willys-Overland...
They found their man in Harry P. Edwards, a short-line specialist who had invented a gasoline-burning bus-on-rails, established the money-making Edwards Co. (motor railway cars). Edwards agreed to lease the A. & N.C. for $60,500 a year, began operating it under a new company called Atlantic & East Carolina Railway. North Carolinians still wonder whether he knew what a bad bargain he made. A. & N.C. stock was selling for $5 a share-only $1.63 more than the per-share amount of the annual rental he agreed to pay. In the first go days of his lease...