Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1922-01-08 | Page 14 | Motor Thieves May be Balked

MOTOR MIS MAY BE BALKED Engineers Are Devising Plan to Prevent Change of Number. The first step which the automobile thief generally takes In changing the Identity of a stolen automobile Is to change the engine number so that tho engine cannot be Identified. Realizing the need for a method of numbering engines hich would make it extremely difficult for thieves to ! change engine numbers, the engine manufacturers standards committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers Engin-eers has recommended adopting tho following method of numbering the engines as being the simplest, most effective ef-fective and practical system for numbering num-bering entrlnes which has been dev Is-ed Is-ed for protecting automobiles against I theft. Tho engine Identification or number shall be placed near the top of the right hand side of the crank case proper In a position In which It can be read easily It ahull be between two vertical ribs or beads, ono-fourth Inch wide, one-eighth Inch high, three Inches apart. Tho surface of the casting cast-ing between the ribs shall be left rough as cast and unpointed even on the finished car. The numbers shall be evenly stamp- I ed In the casting 1-3H InchgS deep and shall be one-QUarter Inch blgb nnd of script form. The first digit shall be stamped close to the left-hand rib and tho last digit shnll bo followed by a large star or other character to prevent pre-vent adding digits A star or other character shall be stamped Immedl- mgmggmggjm ately above nnd below each number to prevent iddlng another number. The numbers shall bo stamped twice on sac h easting to prevent correcting any errors made in sta...plng either number. num-ber. At 7 1-2 per cent reduction In theft insurance premiums will result If this method of numbering engines Is approved ap-proved for future passenger car models. mod-els. Among several suggestions which u ( ire re, eived as a means for preventing prevent-ing engine numbers from being changed were casting a pad of special alloy steel in the engine crankcaso on which the engine numbers might be Stamped, casting numbers of an opaque matellar In a cylinder block in such a vvu " thai X-ray photographs would show tin numbers, and casting on a small, thin brass plate, with and , knurlod so as to anchor the edges securely se-curely In the crankenso. tho number being stamped on the brass plate In I the usal way. The recommendation will be voted on by the engineers of practically all the engine and automobile manufacturers manufactu-rers at the annual standards meeting of the Sooiet of Automobile Engineers Engin-eers In New York nt the Engineers' bulldln- on Thlrty-nlntq street west of Fifth avenue, on January 10.