SUMMER TOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 1, 2 January 1934, Page 14

SUMMER TOURS.

PREPARATIONS TO MAKE. BREAKDOWN SAFEGUARDS. While the owner-driver is able easily to visualise tho perfect summer tour, and indeed often sets out to experience such a thing, he finds his vision to be nothing more, and the experience invariably far from perfection. At the same time the majority of the annoyances which he meets with on tour, he reluctantly admits, arc avoidable, and perhaps due more to his own lack of knowledge and experience than to the car. The following instructions will help intending tourists to make their holiday on the road more enjoyable.

Clean the car, oil and grease it, spray oil in between the leaves of the springs and replenish the gear box and rear axle. Change the oil in the engine. If you have neglected to do this at regular intervals have the sump flushed out. Clean oil and petrol filters.

Top up the battery and test it with a hydrometer. Remember that on a summer tour less use is made of the electric lights and etarter than usual. If the battery is nearly full run throughout the tour on "half" or "summer" charge. Where this is impossible, switch off the current two or three hours each day. On some American cars the charging rate can be altered by moving the third brush in the dynamo. Reducc this to just over half the maker's maximum recommended rate for winter driving. Examine the electric cables. Bind up any parhs where the insulation is chafed with insulation tape and tie the wire out of harm's way. Check on Plugs. Check tho valve clearances, distributor gap and sparking plug points. Clean the plugs, and, if the points are badly eroded, take a spare set of plugs with you. You may need them when you strike mountainous country. Check the water level in the radidator. If the water is dirty, drain it off; flush out the cooling system with clean water and refill. Examine the tyres; pick out all flints and small stone 6 that have become embedded in the treads. Badly worn tyres should be replaced. Check up the tyre pressures. If you are carrying a full complement of passengers and a great deal of luggage inflate tho tyres to two or three pounds more pressure than normal. It is important to check the tightness of the wheel nuts. On some cars the nuts at the base of the tyre valves also have a habit of slackening cfi\ Don't forget your driving license and your insurance certificate. Make sure that both are up to date. If either will require renewal before the end of the tour, attend to the necessary formalities some days before you are due to start. If you have a bad memory write the

engine and registration number of your car on an article you carry on your person; you may be asked for them. Make a note of the recommended grade of oil for the time of the year and the beat available alternative in case that particular grade cannot be procured when you require it.

If you do not wish to carry a large sum of money, arrange for your bank to supply you with travellers' cheques to the value that ie required. These can be cashed at any bank, and the majority of the large hotels. Urgent business correspondence can be forwarded to the chief post office of any town in the district through which you are passing. Here it will be held until you collect it.

Overhaul your tool kit and see that you have all of it with you. Although not usually included in the maker's kit, a pair of cutting pliers is useful. Clean rags are also worth carrying. Test the tyre pump and fill the grease gun, especially if your car has the type of water pump or clutch withdrawal mechanism that requires rather frequent lubrication. Make sure that you have the starting handle with you.