As promised, David Greenlees sent us more photos to go along with last week’s pics documenting the installation of steam and turbine engines in experimental GM cars. This week, the focus of the photos is on the GM Proving Grounds and the devices they used to test cars. For example, the above photo depicts a 1924 or 1925 Oakland sedan (with a going-flat front tire?) and an early fifth wheel. The caption reads:
Geared to “fifth wheel” on the running board, this spark accelerometer measured distance against time. Electric sparks made pinholes in a paper tape at one- and ten-foot intervals. A clock ticked off half-second marks.
Looks to be the same two men here. The caption tells us they’re likely conducting a fuel consumption test:
A five-gallon can, two burettes, a bicycle pump, piping and tubing and a piece of twine tied to a front headlamp mounting – this was General Motors Proving Ground’s 1924 fuel measuring apparatus.
Finally, a bit of nighttime work.
This was how undesirable reflections of interior body hardware were spotted in the 1920s. A man with a Coleman lamp walked around the vehicle while a man inside noted objectionable glare. This is done today by placing the car in a 90-degree arc of electric lamps.