STOLEN CARS

Hawera Star, Volume LII, 3 September 1932, Page 12

STOLEN CARS

MEAN'S OF IDENTIFICATION

REPRODUCING ENGINE NUMBERS

Two stolen motor-cars were brought to tlie yard of, police -headquarters re • jeently (states the “Sydney Morning Herald”). The numbers had been filed I from tlie v metal parts of the chassis, I and. detectives had no hope that they would Over be, identified. Both these machines were identified by scientific means, which were m- ! vented by a Sydney metallurgist. The Inumbers, which had been filed off, beI came prominent, and the owners of ! the motor-cars were found within a few (hours. I During the past years detectives have been handicapped by the difficulty |of identifying motor-cars which they .knew were stolen. In most cases the 'number cut deeply into the metal by , the -manufacturers had been filed off. | There was no means of tracing the maj chine, and criminals went free. Many of the motor-ears were sold after being painted, but the .police could do nothing owing to lack of evidence. Mr. A. W. Dye, a Sydney metallurgist, who had assisted the police- by deciphering the numbers of a watch found in the ashes of a camp fire at 1 Bungendore, believed that it was impossible to destroy the numbers entirejiy without removing the whole of the metal, which would destroy the machine. - ' His theory was that the making of the figures of the identifying number would affect the metal through its whole depth, allowing for inertia and flow of the metal. This would make it impossible to remove the numbers. I Mr. Dye told Detective-Sergeant 'Bowie, of nis theory, and it was tested. The. metal from which the numbers had been filed was polished smooth and acid applied. The acid was sensitive to the difference in hardness of 'the metal and the numbers stood out , prominently in five minutes. The detectives were enabled to trace the | machines within a few Hours —a- job | they had previously thought hopeless.