MODERN MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 108, 10 May 1927, Page 13

MODERN MOTORING.

PREPARING A USED CAR FOR SALS. First impressions po a very lonjr way, »nd a would-be vendor of a used ear who does his utmost to make it dazzle the ere of Hie beholder will have a far easier task to convince a prospective purchaser of its excellence than he would were the vehicle in a dirty and uncaredfor condition. So much do first impressions count that it is often worth while payinp a few pounds to pet the car revarnished or even repainted altogether; £C> or £8 spent in this way may add three times that amount to the' price obtained for the vehicle. Profitable Cleanliness. However, even if the important step of having a car repainted is not taken, no effort should be spared towards making the car look absolutely spotless. It 6houkl have a thoroughly good clean-up —a better cleaning, perhaps, than it has ever had before. The wheels ehould be removed and every nook and cranny of the chassis washed, dried and polished. The floorboards should be taken up end the gearbox and back axle washed externally with paraffin and wiped down. The engine should be similarly treated and the owner might even go so far as to polish the bright metal parts in order to make the power unit look as new as possible. A little eylinder pajnt or black-lead on the exhaust manifold and pipe will often do wonders, for nobody likes to see an engine coated with the dust of ages adhering to an oily surface, with rusty pipes or nuts here and there. Polish the Body. The bodywork should be treated with a first-class car polish, and the same treatment should be accorded leather upholstery and hoods. The latter, in fact, can, if in very bad condition, be painted ■with a flexible hood paint. Incidentally, grey tyre paint on tie tyres and running boards is a great aid to beauty 6o far as the car is concerned. Even if the appearance is perfect, however, the mechanical condition of the chassis should by no means be neglected. A good greasing up all round should be effected, so as to make sure that there are no squeaky shackle pins or parts of the brake gear when a prpspectjye customer is taken for a triaj. If the engine can be decarbonised withoyt much trouble this ehould be done, and the valves ground in, so that, so far as power output and performance go, everything will be as it should. Quietening the Engine. In any case, the tappets or valve rockers should be adjusted bo as to make them as silent as possible, while a few minutes spent adjusting the plug and magneto contact-breaker points to the correct clearances will tend to make the car run more smoothly at low speeds. By cleaning out the carburetter the possibility of an involuntary stop on the road through such an unimportant bolt' irritating thing as a choked jet will fee eliminated, while a turn or two giv,en to the brake adjustments will make all the difference when convincing a possible buyer that the brakes are in first-class order. Tyre Pressure! and Shock Absorbers. A great point is to see that the shock absorbers are tightened to just the right amount, and that the tyre pressures are inflated just sufficiently to give real comfort on the sort of trial run that jit is proposed to give the customer. For example, a sports car that i* habitually driven fast in the country, with the shock absorbers tightened and the tyres blown up hard, will be a very uncomfortable vehicle on a short demonstration run round the streets of a city. Therefore, the sensible owner will slacken off the shock absorbers and leave his tyres on the soft fide, so that the utmost comfort is afforded at modest speeds. | Having furnished up the car until Its appearance is as near perfect as can fee, the time comes to consider the beet methods of selling it. If you intend t<o trade it in a new car, you will not require to advertise it. But where, for one reason or another, it is desired to sell the car outright, the best tiling is to advertise it in pur used oar column. How to Write An Aiveztimumt. Tn drafting the advertisement, the make of car, its year of manufacture, and horse-power should invariably be mentioned, as should the type of body fitted. The more additional information that can be given the better, and those drafting advertisements should try to put in them! just the information which they would require were they buying instead of selling a car by these means. Unnecessary wording should be cut out, and no mis-statement made use of. A concise advertisement which is really to the point, and which gives the information which prospective purchasers require, is sure to attract replies from genuine buyers. SOME WOTft HWTS. While the majority of motorists buy distilled water for their accumulators from chemists, some use rainwater which they have collected in a rusty iron tank or an exposed barrel, and a great many j simply use tap water, because they have nothing else handy. A very easy way of obtaining distilled water quickly is to direct the steam from the spout of a kettle of boiling water against the side of a jug of cold water. The steam condenses oq the walls of the jug ami can be collected by standing the latter in a clean basin. The process ~caa he kept up indefinitely, provided that the kettle is replendished and the water in the jug replaced when it gets warm. The use of other waters is most injurious to the battery. When making adjustments to, or working over, an open gearbox or crankcase, it is as well to be careful not to drop in a nut or a washer, or even some small tool, for it is not easy, to hook such articles out with • piece of vire. Time, or even a complete dismantle, can be saved by packing, not merely covering, exposed part* witn pieces of clean cloth or rag. When decarbonising, care ehould be taken not to allow carbon to get into tapped stud or bolt holes, M this will cause the bolte to "bottom" prematurely, or even strip their threads, before thpy have pulled the cylinder head tight. This can be prevented by temporarily filling the holes with paper, or cured by turning an easy-fitting twist drjll, dipped in thick oil, in the hoi* to remove any carbon that may have got