MOTORING

"Roadster" invites articles and jjraffraphs of interest to motorists /or this pag<---NOTES

According to figures shown in thp April built tin of The Hague Statistical Gifice of the Internationa] Tin Research and Development Council, the world's output, of car.-; is on the increase. During the 12 months ended February, 1934. the output was approximately 2.930,000 units. For the 12 months ended February, 1933, the out-! put was 1.975,000. and for the 12 months ended February, 1032, it was 2 870,000 units. During the month of February. 1934. the output was approximately 305,000 units, as, compared with 163,500 units in February. 1933, end 167,800 units in February, 1932. Because the engine starts up first lime every clay, and seems to pull all right, do not leave the sparking plugs unexamined from one month's end to the other. They should;be taken out from time to time, all the hard carbon scraped from them, and cleaned finally with a still' toothbrush - dipped in petrol. The advice of the sparking plug manufacturers to renew the plugs every 10,000 miles should not be regarded as just sales talk:"it is sound advice, for nicfre miles to the gallon, better and smoother running, and improved general performance will be the result in many cases if new plugs ure fitted. To extinguish a petrol fire water is worse than useless. It will not extinguish the flames, and serves merely to spread the petrol and the fire. If the fire can be tackled in its early stages, the best' thing to do is to wrap a rug or thitk coat tightly round the part affected. A fire iu the carburettor nearly always win yield to this treatment if taken in hand immediacy. ■ 'bar radio is experiencing the greatest."iooin in the history of the radio ißjptry-' Figures show that last year's car «radio sales in America exceeded 700,000. ,This year, it is anticipated, they will-be more than a million. So jjreat has the demand become that even the cheapest cars arc being wired 4.the factory for radio. Yet the first car'radio set made its appearance only fqiir .years ago. It is now estimated tKat one" in every 17 cars is equipped ■with "musical rides." . "Wtxpre it is essential that a nut should be prevented from slacking off, jjftd a lock nut is not available, an effective substitute is to bind a length of fairly thin wire tightly around the projecting portion of the b.olt. The wire should be pulled taut, so as to bed down in the thread immediately next to the nut, its ends being twisted together, in the usual way. Copper wire, incidentally, has many uses for v/Bat may be termed makeshift repairs. and it. is a good plan always to. carry a few lengths of varying, gauge in the tool kit. A small quantity of. vaseline applied by rpeans of a match stick or feather between the brass cam and the small copper leaf spring will prevent direction indicators from sticking. It is easier to grease when the arm is extended. This spring, which is situated roar to the hinge, should receive attention approximately every 2000 iniL.-'.

o£ police employed in England; and Wales on traffic point duty i> ;>bout £1,000,000 a year, and of police employed on traffic patrol, about £350,000 a year, the cost of their vehicles being met from the Road Fund. These two items account for about one-sixteenth of the total net cost jof police. Brass nuts and threads should be tightened cautiously, or the thread will be stripped off. Jupt the right degree of tightness will suffice when screwing plugs into aluminium cylinder heads. Too much force results in stripped threads. A'temporary wooden stop, cut too big and shaved down to the right size, may- be fixed under the accelerator pedal when running in a new engine. This.. prevents accidental over revving of the engine. D<i not open the bonnet tor examine wording parts while the engine Is running 1 without securing loose clothing and scarves. They might catch in the fan or belt and lead to injury. When greasing the car the oil level in the gear box and differential, and the "electrolyte level in the battery should always be checked. Habit in this direction prevents negledt. " A' case in Vienna indicates that at least one authority is waking up tc the' Continental motorist's wildly excessive use of the horn. A motorcyclist who was alleged to have so "terrified" a woman pedestrian by his Joud hooting that she stepped back jnto his machine, was heavily fined and ordered to pay £4O damages. The South Downs Preservation Bill promoted by the East Sussex County Council, is now being contested in the committee room of the House of Lords fry lawyers representing 2t different local authorities, companies, and individuals. The bill is designed, among other things, to prevent the building of a racing circuit on the Downs. The total cost of the argument, it is said, may reach nearly •£7o,ooo—whicii will fall upon the People of Sussex. ROADS CEEAR The road to the West Coast has now teen cleared of slips and is passable cars, according to advice received by the Canterbury Automobile Association. The association has also been advised 'hat the inland route to Kaikoura i? liow clear, but that because of northWest weather yesterday the rivers fray ilooci. i. COMBATING RUST it is probable that eventually alt Petals used for bodywork in cars v 'ill be rust-proof, but at present, although some have this feature, the Majority of cars are made from metal w hjch acquires rust. Rusting usually appears on iron or steel when it is in contact with Moisture, either in the form of water or moist air. but other contributory causes may be the presence of carbolic or other acids, acid salts in solution, electric currents, or even a ""nil degree of rust itself, which 'bsorbs moisture and spreads over the surface. The prevention of this corrosion, Wth its attendant decay or disintegration of the metal, is one of the Principal reasons, aside from beauty, 'hat cars are painted. Because a 3 'lght break in the outer finish him lead to rusting underneath, it is V/e ll to see that the priming coat .is j * Uf M»hibitive or rust-proof in en- ( tirjty. _ | Sflme priiyiers are formulated with Principle of adhesion solely ih neglect of rust-proof quaill- - Hence, for a lasting i°b. it is well to have the word of the manufacturer that his primer is "®t*inhibitive. •

BY " ROADSTER.'*

NEW DUTIES ON CAEs APPREHENSION IN THE TRADE difficulties of assembling IN NEW ZEALAND e^ec 't the new duties on cars will have on the motor importing business is viewed with apprehension m some sections of the trade. ArteDecember 31, 1934 there will be a dif_eience of 10 per cent, in both the British preferential tariff and in the general tariff on complete cars and on cars that are. unassembled or completely knocked down. It is held that mZciHi 'f J h iu CaSe c i f flnrus which have obta nL a K llitles ' the savin S in duly 'i by importing knocked down not pa y for the cost of assembling cars in New Zealand. In announcing the decision of th" Government, the Minister for Customs, the Rt Hon. J. G. Coates, said the wmiW - J I cars iu New Zealand S J rovide employment for a considerable number of workers. Mr L. Ireleaven, manager of Amuri Motors, ft ' told a reporter tnat although on the face of it this appeared an excellent scheme, ,in practice it might not work out as the Minister hoped. He claimed, moreover, tnat it would impose an undue hardship en many importing firms. To provide facilities for the assembly of cars would he said, siate ot the trade did not justify, and in any case no one was at present prepared to invest mqney in the motor business. The first problem to be faced b\- a firm wishing to assemble cars is "the provision of the necessary ground space. Mr® Treleaven though! that few, if any. of the importing firms had sufficient floor space in their garages for this work. The assembling of car bodies is a work of great precision, and to ensore the necessary degree of accuracy expensive plant is necessary. The parts have to be held in cxactiy the right position while the seams are welded. Different types and sizes of bodies, of course, require different machinery, and on completion all the seams have to be filled, and the whole car painted. The provision of the necessary equipment presented a major problem for the firms, said Mr Treleaven. The term "knocked down'' had not yet been finally defined. The assembling of chassis also presented difficulties, but these could be satisfactorily overcome. It would be an additional burden on the firms, however if it was held that engines also had to be imported in pieces. A Possible Solution One solution that Mr Treleaven saw was the establishment of central assembling plants in Wellington. This he said,' Would have to be done by the manufacturing firms, but their New Zealand trade represented such a small proportion of their total production that he doubted if they would consider it worth while to go to the expense of establishing assembling plants. If this were done it would certainly relieve the unemployment situation in Wellington, but would make, it worse in the other centres. Mr Treleaven also discussed the possibility .of some independent company establishing an assembly plant to do the assembling for all the firms in one centre. He thought, however, that this would not be possible. In the first place the importation of cars was seasonal, which would mean that the plant would be idle at some periods of the year. Then, during the importing season, cars arrived in ship loads. This would mean that when a boat came in all the firms, with prospective customers waiting, would be anxious to have their own cars assembled first, and no plant would be able to cope with the situation.

MORE ROOM FOR | TRAFFIC OVERHEAD AND UNDERGROUND STREETS So congested is traffic becoming in the central areas of overseas cities, and in the main arteries leading out of such areas, that proposals are being put forward for overhead and underground streets to relieve the crush. America has for some time past had its advocates of overhead carriage -ways to-lead out of and into big cities, and recent reports from Paris state that serious consideration is now being given to suggestions made about six years ago to construct five great arteries,. mostly underground, leading into the country, and a great circular boulevard to run right round the city, at a radius of about 20 miles, to connect one area .with another. This scheme would put into effect underground something similar to the radial road arrangement on the surface from the Arc de Triomphe outwards, where broad . avenues radiate from the one-way circle in the middle. These avenues cater for an enormous traffic, but evidently it is necessary for their scope to be lengthened to meet modern conditions. Incidentally, it is .of interest that these original avenues were constructed by Napoleon for, it is said, strategic reasons, and they replaced a maze of small, curved streets by the long, wide, and perfectly straight avenues whose chestnut trees give Paris one of its characteristic features. Although they are said to have originated in oKler to facilitate the use of cannon in case of mob disorder, when stirring times were expected in the French capital, they have actually proved a boon from a traffic point of view that few European capitals can emulate. One of the proposed tunnels foi motor traffic would run from Porte Maillot to Le Bourget, the aerodrome. This suggestion is hailed _ by _ many travellers as esential, as it is said thai, more time is often spent an ground transport than actually m the air when flying between London and Paris.

To find which of the two electric wires is positive and. which is negative, a very simple indicator consists of a piece of "blue print" paper. If this is moistene J slightly, and the two wires pressed on the surface of lh<- paper fairly close together, but not touching, the paper under th 3 negative wire will be bleached whit* . Another method of checking polarity is to immerse the bared ends of the two wires in an eggcupful of ordinary battery efectrolite. when bubbles of gas will be given off freely from the negative wire. Further indication of polarity Is available from Hie lac* that with copper wires the negative will turn black, whilst the positive will remain bright. If working on house mains, water can be useel Quite effectively in place of elcctrolite, the wires beinf held about an inch apart, when the gassing of the negative will t>s seen quite clearly.

TRAFFIC NOISES ! t REDUCTION POSSIBLE : UNNECESSARY SOUNDING OF I HOKN "The interest that is being shown overseas in reducing traffic noises focuses attention on the subject here,"' I says the latest message of the Canter- 1 bury Automobile Association. "In London the authorities have adopted the rule of forbidding the sounding of horns within five miles of Charing Cross between the hours of 11.30 a.m. and 7 p.m. While it is not contended that our, streets are noisy enough to demand such a prohibition, it must be admitted that some drivers are not as discreet as they ought to be in sounding the warning device, There are instances of quite unnecessary' horn-sounding; there are instances of "a loudly sounded horn for unreasonable speed at intersections. If the | speed limits when approaching intersections are obeyed the use of warning devices in compliance with the by-law is of secondary importance to the possession of effective brakes. When the horn is sounded the volume of sound should not be of blasting, nerve-wracking character. Good drivers are known by the considerate, moderate use which they make of the warning device. "Between intersections drivers should show the utmost consideration for pedestrians. If a warning honk is needed it should be sensibly given. It not infrequently happens that a loud blast of a horn suddenly panics a pedestrian into acting dangerously, even causing a pedestrian to jump into , the track of the vehicle. When overtaking and passing other vehicle? motorists should not sound the horn unnecessarily loudly. Horn-sounding is a matter of common sense and courtesy. That applies particularly to the use of motor-vehicles, motor-horns, and motor-cycles near public or private hospitals, and in residential areas by day as well as by night." PETROL FIRES DANGERS DISCUSSED PACTS AND FALLACIES Discussing m a traffic bulletin the storage, use, and handling of petrol, some interesting points of direct motoring interest are mentioned by Captain S. W. Thorpe, M.8.E., Chief Officer of the Cape Town Fire Brigade. The popular idea is that liquid petrol is explosive. As a matter of j fact, he says, as long as petrol stays in the liquid state, there is no danger o£ an explosion. It is only when it is vapourised and the vapour mixed with air that it becomes explosive. The ordinary two gallon can contains so much vapour above the liquid level, with little or no air present, that fhc | mixture would probably be too rich ! to explode, but the supposed empty i can is a different proposition—it may contain a highly explosive mixture of ! petrol and air vapour. Likewise a tank from which the liquid has been removed and air admitted may still contain a small quantity of liquid which will give off sufficient vapour to form an explosive mixture ready to be ignited by any chance spark. Where petrol tanks are exposed to severe external heat, pressure is generated just as in a steam boiler, and they may explode just as a steam boiler sometimes explodes. This type of explosion is not a petrol explosion in the ordinary sense of the term, but a pressure rupture of the oontuin- | cr from internal pressure, which may occur witii water or any other liquid in a closed container subjected to heat. Persons ore sometimes encountered who will say that petrol cannot be Ignited by a cigarette and who will even endeavour to justify their smoking when handling petrol. It is true that under certain conditions petrol may not become ignited by a burning cigarette, but a thousand cigarettes may be smoked by a man handling the petrol hose at a filling station without meeting conditions favourable to cause a fire, but the thousandth and first may cost him his life. The "No smok- , ing" rule cannot bo too strictly cnj forced where petrol or other inflam- : mable liquids are handled.

| Ignition by Static Electricity The sparks made by rubbing' a cat's back are called static sparks. Such sparks of static electricity are frequently sufficient to ignite the vapours of petrol or other inflammable liquids and explains some of the petrol fires and explosions that sometimes occur with no apparent reason or source of ignition. Static electricity may be generated by the rubbing or friction of almost any substance which is not a conductor of electricity, or by the flow of fluids. Pouring petrol from a pail into a tank sometimes causes a static spark that will ignite the petrol vapour. The only way to prevent sparks of this kind is to maintain metallic contact between the pail and the tank, so that electrical charges will have no opportunity to accumulate. For this reason the metal nozzle of the petrol hose used for filling a motor-car tank must be inserted in the filling opening to make metallic contact with the tank. Electrical grounding of all objects likely to accumulate static charges is essential for the prevention of static sparks. | PETROL TAXATION AMERICAN FIGURES Motorists iii America have to meet state taxes on petrol that vary according to the state in which they are travelling, and this has caused many to make detours to avoid territories where a little more is paid on fuel owing to a higher tax. The maximum slate petrol tax is imposed in Florida and Tennessee, where seven cents (3£d) a gallon is imposed by way of taxation, while the minimum cited is two cents (Id) a gallon. Seven different taxation rates are encountered in travelling .in America, including the 48 states and the district of Columbia. The state petrol taxes in effect for 1934, according to a compilation of the American Automobile Association, are as follows: — Two cents: Connecticut, district of Columbia, Missouri, Rhode Island. Three cents: California, Delaware, Illinois, lowa, Kansas, Massachusetts. Michigan. Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania. Four cents: Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin. Wyoming. Five cents: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho. Kentucky, Louisiana. Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, Virginia, Washing- j ton. Six cents: Alabama, Georgia. Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina. Six and a half cents: Arkansas. Seven cents: Florida, Tennessee. In addition to the state and federal I taxes, motorists may encounter city i and county taxes in parts of Alabama, | Florida, Louisiana. Mississippi, Mis-' ;.ouri, and New Mexico. j ] Sand spread in the home garage will prevent unsightly oil marks, which are slippery to tread on. The use of sand also makes it much easier to clean the garage out. Drips are likely to occur now and again from any car.

A NEW ZEALAND j INVENTION PERMANENT JACK FOR * CARS BRITISH PATENT RIGHTS SOLD [ iFfl'i-M. GDi COF.iiE.Sr LONDON, July 26. Mr Howard Nattrass, of Napier, lias been in England since last September with the object of placing on the English market a new type of permanently fitted jack for motor-cars. He himself is the inventor of what is known as the "Autojack," which is owned by the Auto-Electric Hydraulic Jack Company, Ltd., of Napier. Inventors generally have a very unsatisfactory time in this country, especially if their invention entails any radical alteration or addition in factory plants. Most great firms want | to know first if there is a.public demand for a new type of machine. ; Mr Nattrass appears to have been j unusually fortunate in getting his business almost completed in this j country in so short a time. The Briti ish patent rights of the Autojack have | been purchased by a syndicate and a firm has been found to manufacture the machine. The responsibility for the manufacture and distribution of the. device in this country now rests with the London syndicate, and already. it is reported that certain motor manufacturing firms have decided to fit all their cars with the device. The very large manufacturers will doubtless refrain I from incorporating the device in their cars as long as possible, and so long . a;; there is .not a.general public demand for the device, but the syndicate seems to have the courage of its convictions, _ and_ it evidently anticipates a good demand. The four jacks are operated under water pressure from a small pump j driven by the starting motor. Mr I Nattrass brought a car over from New j Zealand fitted with the device, and | he has been visiting a large number , of works demonstrating its action. It seems 1o have been well received I everywhere, and its success depends •. O.i whether the public will be ready j to pay the extra six guineas for the attachment. Without moving from j the driver's seat it is possible to Jift j one or all of the wheels off the ground | simply by turning the correct knobs and Pressing the starter button. ! 1 _ Nattrass s business here is now practically complcle, but lie will rein, 1 am in London for a little longer. I Ihe pale of the patent rights in the iLnitcd States and Canada will next have to be negotiated.

THE C'A KB U ItETTER j AUTOMATIC CONTROL ! | ISE OF THERMOSTATS j For some time there has been a i tendency to make the driving of a car j as automatic as possible. For example, I transmission systems have been devised to operate automatically, clutches ! also have been operated automatically, and so have radiator shutters, the ignition control, and even shock absorbers, the cicgrce of automaticity varying somewhat according to the noturo of the mechanism, and the means adopted, tor operating it. For 1935 it is obvious that some degree oi: automatic control is to be introduced into carburettors. During the last few years the R.A.G. carburettor has become firmly established by reason ot the smooth running, rapid acceleration, and high power output which it makes available, and two new models have recently been introduced to give exceptionally easy starting, with, at the same time, no danger that a thoughtless driver may run with a closed choke and so Hood the engine with liquid petrol, thus causing crank case dilution and accelerating bearing and cylinder wear. One model is known as the R.A.G. Thermostart de luxe, and it follows Ine well-known principles of the R.A.G. carburettor, but has. in addition, a choke placed on the engine side of the main jet, whereas the ordinary hand-operated choke of the standard carburettor is on the external side of the main jet. Moreover, this choke, which is very simple in form, consisting merely of a vertical slide, is arranged to be operated by a very neat and compact thermostat giving a very definite action. At each end of the top edge of this Vertical slide there is a small projection with which the sliding throttle plunger of the carburettor comes in contact, the result being' that when the engine is cold the slide, being in its uppermost position. holds the throttle plunger slightly open and constricts the path of the mixture issuing from the main jet. In fact, the mixture has to pass up and over the choke slide, and in so doing it becomes highly vaporised, ensuring easy stai-ting. Water Temperature As the engine warms up, and, therefore, the cooling water also becomes warm, the thermostat comes into action and first of all withdraws a sliding plunger which allows tlie choke to descend sufficiently to close the throttle to the normal idling position. Further rise of-the water temperature results in the continued action of the thermostat causing the sliding choke plate to descend until it is completely withdrawn. Should the car be left unattended for a short time there is very little loss of heat of the cooling water, and, therefore, the variable choke is not brought into action, so that on starting again the carburettor does not provide a needlessly rich mixture. This is an important point, for should the temperature of the exhaust system be utilised to control the action of the carburettor. the reverse is the case, for the exhaust system rapidly cools down, and, therefore, the carburettor would give a rich mixture until the exhaust system becomes heated again. The action of this automatically controlled instrument is very definite, and it undoubtedly results in the carburettor delivering a mixture which is suited to the temperature conditions of the engine, while a careless driver cannot over-choke the egine. A very similar model, known as the Leverstart de luxe, but without the automatic control on the sliding choke plate, is also being produced for those owners who do not care to have the automatic control, or who may find it difficult to adapt the automatic control to an existing engine, owing to the lack of space for housing the bulb of the thermostat. With this mod'el a whistling noise reminds the driver to open the choke. After driving through a stream brakes become slippery. This disappears after driving a mile or two, or more quickly if the brake is partly depressed for a short distance. Care should be exercised after driving through water, as the brakes may not immediately respond as they should. Washing sometimes has the same effect if the hose is allowed to play on the brake drums. Scratches on body finish will result from wiping a car dry when it is dusty. Plenty of water should be used to get rid oi the dust and grit before polishing.

MOTOR-CYCLING PIONEER SPORTS CLUB FIXTURES September 8— Flexibility Trials. September—Beach races. October 13—Speed trials. October 21—Opening run pioneer Sports and affiliated clubs to Waihora Park. November 4—T.T. race meeting at Hare wood. November 17—Hill climbing competitions. December I—Scott scramble. December 16— T.T. race meeting at Harewood. The opening sports day of the Pioner Sports Club, which was announced for last Sunday, was not held owing to the weather. This was.the second postponement, and it has now been decided to hold the event later in the season, as the Harewood property on which the events were to be held is not available during the months of September and October, owing to the lambing season. The first sporting event of the new season will be the flexibility trials set down for Saturday afternoon, September 8. These will be held at Halswell, and consist of the following classes: 250 c.c., 350 c.c., 500 c.c., and unlimited c.c. The conditions to govern these trials are:—(l) Each competitor will be required to make two runs over the course, the first at as slow a speed as possible, the second as fast as possible. (2) The winners of each class will be those competitors recording the greatest difference between the times of the two runs. (3) Each competitor must nominate which gear ratio he intends to use, and will be required to complete both runs in the gear so nominated. (4) Each competitor will start his run from a point approximately 20 feet before the starting line, and after passing the starting line, no use of clutch or gear levers will be permitted. (5) The time of each competitor will be taken from the moment his front wheel crosses the starting line. (6) Competitors must steer a reasonable straight course, no zig-zagging or footing being permitted on the slow run. (7) No freak or special gear ratios will be permitted, and silencers must not be removed. (8) Competitors must submit their machines to an official examination before the start. Clutches must be adjusted so that they are not slipping. (9) Each competitor will be allowed two fast runs in each class, but only one slow run will be permitted. (10) Any competitor practising on the hill before the event will render himself liable to disqualification. All competitors will be allowed one trial run before the running of the event. Post entries will be accepted on the ground. CORSAIR MOTOR CLUB FIXTURES September i!— Opening run to Springston. September 11—Corsair at home. September 16—Social motor run. September 22—Motor gymkhana at Show Grounds. September 30—Sports meeting. October 21—Excursion to Dunedin. The Corsairs opening run has been set down for next Sunday, when a sports meeting of gymkhana events will be held at Springston Domain. Points for these events begin the contests for the various club trophies, with the exception of the Pirate Cup, the points for which continue from the last half-year. The programme of events is not available yet, but the sports selector, Mr J. Morris, has promised that something unusual is to be expected in new competitions, so that, given a fine day

next Sunday, a most successful outing is assured. Competitors will leave the railway yards at 9.30 a.m. CANTERBURY AITO-CY CLE CLUB The first beach event of this season will be open to Canterbury AutoCycle Club members only. The following two events will be open to all comers, and the prize money is the biggest that has been offered for many years in beach events. At the Canterbury Auto-Cycle Club's beach races, to be held on September 15, the first event will be held over a two miles course, and the open events over four mile laps. Entries for the beach races close on September 8. Entry forms are obtainable from Velvin and Henderson, Bell Cycle and Motor Company. British Motor-Cycle Agencies, and Russell Motor Company. The club makes a special appeal to spectators to keep behind the ropes provided. The riders are hinderetf badly by having insufficient turning room, and will greatly appreciate assistance from the spectators in this way. The handicapper for the beach events, Mr Easterbrook-Smith, will have the assistance of Mr W. Marsh, who has, in the past, proved a good handicapper. A welcome was extended to Mr C. Hayward, the newly-appointed secretary, at the last meeting of the club's executive committee. Mr Hayward is very well known among motor-cyclists, and in the position of secretary will [be of great assistance to the club.