MOTOR CAR BONNET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 June 1938, Page 9

MOTOR CAR BONNET

PEEP INTO THE PAST. l An early motoring paper provides the following article, which today sounds almost humorous: — “A distinct improvement is seen in the shape of the bonnet fitted to many of the 1905 models. In numerous cases they are of the square type, which accords with the present fashion and in some cases very much like the ones seen on the small cars of 1904. Slight changes have been made, however, which tend to improve the naturally ungraceful lines of this type of bonnet, and to give it a neater and less bulky appearance. The square bonnet came into existence with the honeycomb radiator, and it is largely through the continued use of this type of cooler or its equivalent that the shape has been retained. The chief mechanical reason for its use is that it affords a position for the radiator in which this part is protected to a large extent from dust and dirt, and yet subjected to a good natural draught. The arrangement also provides easier access to the forward end of the crankshaft than when the radiator hung below the frame, and reduces the length of piping in the cooling system to a' minimum. So far as the accessibility of the motor is concerned, it would seem that something is lost, for the radiator in front, the mudguards over the wheels on either side, and the dashboard at the rear enclose it in a fenced-in space, as it were, and considerable reaching must be done to get at the lower parts.”

One wonders if the writer of these lines is alive today and what he thinks of "the modern bonnet and the fence or case that it makes around the modern engine.”