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The 1908 Peerless Motors and Trans Mission


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Although the Peerless Motor Car Com-' pany has brought out a new 6-cylinder ; model for 1908, this has not been done altogether because the officers believe the 6-cylinder to be superior to the usual 4-cylinder. Mr. Charles Schmit, engineer and designer of the Peerless Company, spent some six months abroad visiting the different factories, before he designed and manufactured his first 6-cylinder car. He has been engaged during the past year in perfecting this car, and the company is now ready to place it upon the market. The trial car of this type will be seen illustrated on page 323. The new 6-cylinder motor does not differ from the 4-cylinder motor essentially, the only difference being that there are . three pairs of cylinders instead of two. Our illustration gives a very good idea of the appearance of the 1908 30-horse-power 4-cylinder motor. This engine has cylinders of 4 % inches bore by 5%, inches stroke. With this - bore and stroke, one can readily see that the rating of 30 horse-power is merely nominal. Imported material is used largely in the construction of this motor. The cylinders and pistons are imported castings, and much of the steel, such as the valves, etc., is made of silico-mannese alloy. The crank case is a single aluminium casting made in the factory, and designed espe-cially for strength and non-leakage of oil. There are special pans at the bottom of the crank case for the collection of dirt and sediment, and this can readily be removed by taking out a plug. The connecting rod and crankshaft bearings can readily be adjusted by removing these plates on the bottom of the crankcase compartment. Splash lubrication is employed, the level in the crank case being maintained by special feed pipes from the mechanical oiler, which also supplies lubricant to all of the cylinders. The crankshaft is a solid drop forging, specially treated, hardened, and ground accurately to size. The front bearing is a ball bearing of the annular non-adjustable type, and it is fitted with a stuffing box to prevent leakage of oil. This type of bearing has been used in this place in order to shorten up the motor. All of the other bearings are plain. The two-to-one gears and other gears which drive the magneto, timer, etc., are completely housed and run in oil. In accordance with the usual practice now, the fan is positively driven by bevel gears. Great care is exercised in balancing perfectly all the working parts of the motor, and in order to do this ail these parts 'are accurately weighed before they are assembled. Instead of being located in the casing with the two-to-one gears as heretofore, the governor is now placed on the shaft which drives the gear water pump, and which is located on the left-hand side of the motor. The neat manner in which this governor is incased can be seen by a glance at the illustration. The rounded enlargement at the forward end of the aluminium casting which forms the crank case contains the two balls of the governor. These balls are rather small and light, but they have weight enough to operate the piston valve of the carbureter by means of suitable lever connections extending to the other side of the motor, where the carbureter is located between the two middle cylinders at the side of the crank case. The carbureter is of the usual type, with an automatic air valve, and the throttle is controlled by a hand lever on the steering wheel, by an accelerator pedal, and by the governor. The governor maintains the speed of the motor at the point which corresponds to the setting of the throttle lever on the steering wheel. The motor is fitted with two separate ignition systems and two separate sets of plugs. There is the usual battery and coil system, and there is also an Eisemann high-tension magneto. The two systems are entirely independent, and can be used separately or together, as desired. The lead of the magneto armature can be changed by a special shifting collar that moves a sleeve with a spiral slot which surrounds the end of the armature shaft. The shifting collar and lever for operating the same can be plainly seen in the front view of the motor. All the wires are neatly incased in fiber tubing, and are made as short as possible. There are no thumb nuts to loosen in removing the wires, as they are all attached by means of spring clips. The commutator is located upon a vertical shaft brought up between the two pairs of cylinders. The commutator is built exactly like the commutator of a dynamo, it being made of eight copper segments, four of which are dumy segments, and the segments being insulated by mica. Great care Is used in grounding the current, this being done by means of a special brush wired to the contact brush, and which bears upon the vertical shaft. Instead of moving the commutator when it is desired to advance the spark, there is a very convenient arrangement which advances the shaft carrying the roller contact brush. This shaft is in two parts, the lower of which is driven by spiral gears from the cam shaft and is connected to the upper half through a movable sleeve with a spiral slot, which can be moved by means of a sliding collar and which thus causes the upper half to turn with relation to the lower. The flywheel contains the usual internal expanding ring clutch, which is very light, consisting, as it does, of a leather-lined steel band mounted upon an aluminium core. This clutch has given very good satisfaction during the last few years, and it is a type that can be readily adjusted with a screw-driver or a pair of pliers. The transmission used in conjunction with the motor is of the 4-speed selective type. An illustration of this transmission appears on page 325. An improvement worthy of notice is the meshing of the reverse pinion face on with the other gears, and a special cam, which positively locks this pinion out of mesh when it is not in use. The operating rods which slide the gears are now made round instead of square, and are notched so that the gears can be locked in place by means of a suitable latch. Two universal joints are fitted between the engine and transmission as well as in the propeller shaft. Cardan joints are also placed in the rear axle driving shaft on each side of the differential. This ar-rangement makes it possible to give a slight camber to the rear wheels as well as to the front ones. The Peerless Company makes a touring car, roadster, limousine, and landau-let with a 30 and a 45-horse-power engine, and the first two models with a 6-cylinder engine of 57 horse-power as well.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 97 Issue 19This article was published with the title “The 1908 Peerless Motors and Trans Mission” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 97 No. 19 (), p. 347
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican11091907-347

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