MOTORING

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18917, 4 February 1927, Page 3

MOTORING

"Roadster" invites articles and paragraphs of interest to motorists for this page. NOTES. Mr J. Uilmour, who supplied the plates required for attachment to motor vehicles to the City Council last year at a cost of 6d each, has again been successful in getting the order this year. Tho following are the quantities required :—SOO rectangular plates for heavy traffic, 6in by 3in; 175 circular plates for taxis, Gin diameter; 100 circular plates for motor vans, Cin diameter; 200 circular plates for horsa vans, Gin diameter; 30 circular plates for omnibuses, Gin diameter. In conversation with a motorist of Ashburton, who has just returned from a tour of Otago and Southland covering over 1000 miles, a representative of Tub Press was told yesterday that the Ashburton County was very fortunate in having good roads as compared with counties farther south. The main road was a little rough in some parts of the Waitaki County, but between Dunedin and Clinton, in the Bruce and Clutha counties, the road 3 were in a very bad state principally with potholes, and they were not in a good condition for travel from a motorist's point of view. The roads in the Southland and Wallace counties are particularly good.

When it becomes necessary to crawl underneath the car the provision of some kind of hat is important, as nothing is more offensive or difficult to remove from tho hair than gear oil and mud. Tho ordinary old hat is not much good, ns the brim catches in things and causes the hat to bo pulled off, while a cloth cap is not much better in this respect. The ideal covering is the crown of an old bowler hat. Get an old hat about one size too large, cut the brim off with a pair of scissors' and wear the crown pressed close down on tho head, pierrot style. This will give complete protection from both dirt and scratches, and cannot be pulled off accidentally or knocked over tho eyes.

Of especial interest is a car anti-theft device recently produced in the U.S.A. This consists of a numbered identification plate, arranged so as to be attached to the dashboard in such a way that removal is rendered very difficult and entails mutilation of the plate. By these means the identity of stolen cars can be established in many instates. Two or three manufacturers are installing these plates as standard. A method by which rubber can be produced from the latex of the African euphorbia tree has recently been discovered, according to despatches from Cape Town, South Africa. The rubber is said to be comparable with that produced in the Para rubber district of Brazil. As there are hugo forests of these trees in South Africa, the yield promises to bo very large.

An American highway authority has solved the problem of keeping the roads reasonably free from destructive metal fragments by using a magnetic device. A truck used in Nevada carries two 22-, inch electro-magnets suspended five inches from tho ground. A five kilowatt generator driven by the truck engine supplies the current. The truck merely makes a slow trip over the main roads and returns with loads of scrap metal. After working for three and alialf days in one locality, the truck had picked up 4850 pounds of scrap iron. The objects included tens of thousands of nails and tacks as well as* large quantities of metal splinters and bolts.

A garage proprietor at Norbury, England, has trained a number of pigeons to act as message carriers, and when called to a breakdown on the road he takes one of tho birds with him, and if ho finds he requires additional help he dispatches it to the garago with the necessary message.

A movement has been started in the United States to teach methods of safety to children in school. This, if successful, is expected to aid considerably the accident prevention campaign constantly carried on in that country.

A pucturc-proof tyre, with an inner tube, containing a chemical compound which instantly repairs any perforation, has been perfected, according to the United States Bureau of Standards. Tests'made have shown that ordinary small size punctures, such as are made from small and medium-size nails, are automatically repaired when occurring in this tyre. This is the first puncturepro uf tyre tested which promises to overcome annoying and troublesome tyre punctures.

An automobile burning wood as fuel was exhibited recently st tho Paris Automobile Show. A 14-seat 'bus of this type, a short time ago, ran 3280 miles at a cost of £3 2s 6d, according to the cable dispatch reporting it. Wood or charcoil heated to a high temperature forms gas which, when mixed with air, explodes in the motor-car cylinder just as does gas from gasolene. The cost is said to be 80 per cent, less than the cost of operating a car of the same size with gasolene. DIMMING HEADLIGHTS. Nothing that can be advanced in favour of the courtesy of dimming headlights from the point of view of drivers can outweigh the extreme danger of such a proceeding. Both motorists who adopt the practice ot once involve themselves in risks which aro too great to be taken In cases where the motorist has not availed himself of one of the devices for manipulating the headlights without dangerously restricting their illuminating power, they should be kept alight and the speed of the cars moderated. For two approaching cars tc cut out their lights suddenly, is sheer folly, and it is better to be temporarily inconvenienced, than run the risk of collision with pedestrians and other vehicles. CHOOSING A CAR. In choosing a car, one of the important items to bo considered is the question of upkeep. An intending buyer may have a fair bank balance, but he must also keep an eye op the probable running cost in relation to his income, and choose a car accordingly. Accurate figures as to running costs are not very easy to obtain, chiefly because so many motorists do not trouble to keep an exact account of their expenditure and really do not know just how much a car is costing them.

Owners of cars with hydraulic brakes should learn how to care for the «»- tern and familiarise themselves with the adjustments, even if they do have their regular work done by a service stntion. They should also know whafc fluid is used, and if it is not obtainable everywhere they should carry a small can of it in the car.

BY "ROADSTER."

PIGEON BAY ROAD. MOTORIST COMES TO GRIEF. IS SIGNBOARD AMBIGUOUS ? A Christchurcli motorist (Mr F M. Collins) was the victim of misplaced confidence one duy last "week ns a result of which he is now confined to bed Buffering from two dislocated ankles. In company with his wife and son, Mr Collins was proceeding along tho Summit road from the hilltop to ligeon Bay. when he noticed two signs erected by the Canterbury Automobile Association at the intersection of two roads. One sign bore tho toliowing words: 'Road Dangerous to Motors," and the other, which adjoined it, was as follows: "Pigeon Bay Road. ' On looking ahead he noticed that tho first sign had reference to a grassy road which seemed to bring his destination within easier distance than tho other which, although metalled, appeared to lead away from Pigeon Bay. He decided to take the first road but had not proceeded more than about fifty yards over it before lie realised that it was in a rough condition. Accordingly he drove his car into a dip at the side of the road, got his passengers to alight, and went forward on foot to see whether it would be possible for him to go further without risk. He came to tho conclusion that it would not be and returned to the car with the intention of taking it back in reverse to the point at which he had left the main road. He found, however, that the car skidded in reverse, whereupon he decided to drive it forward on first gear bo as to get out of the_ dip. It was here that he camo to grief as the car immediately got beyond his control and started to go forward at an alarming speed owing to the slippery nature of the grassy surface. Seeing that it was impossible to avoid running into a bank if ho wanted to bring his car to a standstill, he prepared to jump clear at the moment of impact and was successful in doing so but unfortunately for him he injured himself as described when he landed on the road. Although in great pain, he managed to walk hack to where his wife and son were anxiously waiting for him and later reached a near-by farmhouse, where, after his injuries were attended to, he was taken to Little River. Mr Collins states that the notice first mentioned is ambiguous in that it is apt to convey the impression that the road might be negotiated if a driver were to exercise special care. He says that one is induced to take up such a view because other signs erected on the main road from Christchurcli to Akaroa are marked, "Dangerous. Slow. Keep to the Left." He considers that if the sign, the interpretation of which caused him to meet with his accident were marked "This Road is Closed to Motor Traffic," it would be more likely to serve its purpose. As proof of its ambiguity lie states that about a fortnight ago nnother motorist came to grief about the same part of the road and nlso suffered injuries as tho result of his experience.

SPEEDING IN U.S.A. CANADIAN GETS EYE-OPENER. A motorist of Manitoba gives in a Canadian paper an amusing account of the eye-opener ho got when lie made a trip into the United States. He had been accustomed when driving about his homo district to jogging along at about 30 miles an hour, and watching his speed pretty carefully when driving through towns, but when he got on to the fine concrete roads about Minnesota he found cars of the same brand as his own, passing him as though ho were standing still—in fact, nobody seemed to drive under forty-five miles an hour. Gradually ho took to following the local fashion and liked it, but when he reached Minneapolis, and the same speed seemed to be maintained as the city was entered, he began to get the wind up. Ho found himself locked in a double stream of cars on a main street leading into the city at a speed ho had never drivon at on a country road near home, and could sco no means of escape. If ho slowed down to what he considered a sonsible speed, tho driver behind let him know nbout it. There seemed no way of turning into side streets, ns there was a stream of cars on his right (the American rule of the road is the opposite of ours), while as for pulling out and letting tho procession of speed maniacs pass, that was equally impossible, because a double stream of cars was travelling in the other direction. A similar experience, only worse, was had in Chicago. Later, when he escaped into Canada, at Detroit, he had become as crazy about fast driving himself, and in Southern Ontario, where tho roads aro excellent, the ideas about speed, he found, were much the same as in tho States. The trip, however, did not provide much enjoyment; although he came to appreciate the speed, tho traveller got tired of looking at the fenr of the car in front of him, or on a clear road at the line of concrete ahead. On the return trap he avoided largo cities v roads that promised extra good conditions, and followed a route whero thcro was some chance of driving at a reasonable speed, and where ho and his wife, reduced by this time almost to a state of nervous prostration could see something of the country and enjoy themselves.

HILL-CLIMBING. PIONEER CLUB CONTEST. To-morrow week the Pioneer Sports Club will hold its most spectacular event of the year. This will be thean, nual hill-climbing contest a Ho»n Hay Mr Cracroft Wilson having kindly given the use of his P"^'" th *;ff"tari It is expected that as usual inc will be a large number o 'entrants, ««o have to climb up the b»» ;£| ° hill which, to the J . would seem impossible, m. >f«%,, frequently is to several rider*. contest will commence at 2.10p-in. No .vehicles of any description egceßj those of the contestants, wi» bejiHg »eu on the propertv because o: tw a of preventing the land from oe»"», up by them.

It Is a wise motorist who carries a

CAR TROUBLES. TRICKS IN DIAGNOSES. HOW EXPERTS WORK. Diagnosing automobile ailments—one of the high arts of modern motoring lias become such an important feature in car ownership, writes a correspondent in the "Asiatic Motor," that motorists themselves, oven though not mechanically inclined, are beginning to get on to the tricks of the art. It is not so much the amount of experience one has in looking for troubles and in finding them, as the way one goes about it. Watching tho expert at work diagnosing a knotty problem soon convinces one of the truth of this. Quite frequently he docs not rclv upon his experience at all. Instead"he attacks the problem from a new- angle, and looks first for a trick of reasonbg. Experts are doing more with ideas than with tools, and the average curowner will find that the plan is easily adapted to his own needs. Ke doe's not have to be a mechanic to get results, nor need he know the intimate details of the mechanism ho i 3 working with, lie may be far cleverer than tho man who can rip the car to pieces and put it together again without leaving out a few stray parts. Body Noises. Tracking down body noises makes an excellent practice field for the motorist who wants to learn the art of diagnosing troubles. With the body of the car, in particular, an idea in trouble finding is worth a dozen facts about body construction. This was clearly illustrated in the case of a motorist who was annoyed by a cracking sound that seemed to bo amplified by the windshield. No mechanic came within a milo of putting his finger on tho cause. The motorist felt discouraged, and had just about made up his mind to enduro tho anuoyanco until such time as he could afford a now car when—he noticed that tho noise ceased whenever anyono sat on the front seat beside him. Just an idea. But he decided to follow it up. He watched their feet, saw his passengers changing their positions, but without bringing back the noise—except when they got out and were not riding with him. A simple enough process told him that it was a case of weight stopping tho noise, and this weight very obviously was applied to the seat cushion.

But what was happening under the seat cushion t He lost no time in finding out. Of course, when he lifted out the cushion there was the cover of the tool compartment cracked from one end to the other. His own body supplied just enough weight to keep tho halves of the board cracking against each other, but the additional weight of another passenger silenced them by weighing them down and spreading their rough edges apart. Noises are not easily located when they are in the mechanical units under the front floorboards. Here, in a bell housing, aro located clutch, flywheel, throw-out mechanism, gears, speedometer drivo gear—and just behind all this tho hand-brake and the front universal joint. Plenty of opportunity for deception when it comes to tracing a stray noise to its source. A Bright Idea. A certain car developed a rattle and a whirring of bearings when not in gear, and while tho engine idled with the clutch engaged. Under such circumstances tho clutch shaft is revolving slowly along with the engine shaft. At tho rear end of tho clutch shaft is attached tho main driving gear of the transmission, usually called the clutch gear. It is in constant mesh with the drive gonr on the counter-shaft of the transmission just below it. The upper and main shaft of the transmission appears to be a continuation of tho clutch shaft, but it is separated by a roller bearing at the front end. It does not movo until tho car is in gear, or while the car is coasting. All this is mentioned,, not because it is necossary for a clover owner to understand the details of transmission operation in order to catch the troublo that was discovered in this instance, but simply bo that the reader will sco the thing from all angles and better appreciate how important it is for tho car-owner to have a bright idea now and again when mechanics have given up trying to hit tho nail on tho head. Severnl mechanics listened to tho noise this car was making, and were not suro whether tho trouble was in tlij clutch or in tho transmission. It would mnko quite a difference in tho cost to the owner if tho troublo was in the clutch. All of them noticed that when he pressed out the clutch the noise stopped. v This action stopped tho clutch shaft from spinning and at tho samo timo stopped the main driving and countershaft transmission gears from revolving. Tho question was whether declutching proved tiioro was troublo in the clutch or the transmission. Declutching meant putting pressure on tho throw-out bearing so ono mechanic jumped at tho conclusion that this was the sourco of tho trouble. He wanted to operate. The others said the trouble was looseness in tho bearing betweon tho end of the clutch shaft and the front end of the main transmission shaft—these two sort of floating together as explained before. Trouble In Transmission. Meanwhile the owner himself was looking around for detours, a logical idea when the main highway is blocked. In particular, he was exploring that brake at the roar of the transmission. It was perfectly obvious to him, as it would be to anyone with normal sense, that tho drum of this brake was a part of the main transmission shaft— • that is, joined to it. Also it was obvious that when the brake was applied at this point the band as well as tho shaft would tend to be moved or pressed one way or another. While tho mechanics were scratching their heads he pulled up the handle of this brnke a notch or two until tho band of the brake was pressing on tho drum. Instantly the tono of tho whirring noise changed. Then he pulled up the handle another notch. Tho whirring ceased, but there was a rough rattling noise. He could even feel it. "I don't know one gear from another, gentlemen," he announced. "But changing the pressure on this brake must tip this main driving shaft of tho transmissing, causing greater or lesser pressure on its bearing at the front end. You'll find your trouble in the transmission.

The point is: He arrived at this conclusion without knowing anything about how the transmission gears work. It was just a bright idea in a dark moment, just one of the ideas that make men good diagnosticians even if they are not engineers. Just one more case in the praise of idea?. Everyone had concluded the vibration in this car came from the engine. A queer rattling from under the hood had several good men fooled and the owner was ns much at sea as the reSt - •• , I L They made the famous pencil te3t to prove that the engine vibrated badly. This they did by standing a pencil upside down on end, and watching it tumble over again. They thought this settled it

Then the owner of the car had an idea. Would the pencil stand up on the cowl! Ho tried it there. It didn't fall over.

"Doesn't that provo tho hood is loose t" he asked. "If tho engine is vibrating the pencil should fall over one place ns well as another." But it stayed put for moderate engine speeds. Upon investigating it was found that the hood was loose. The tie bar between radiator and dash was not drawn up tight enough. The owner was a good diagnostician, not because he knew so much about cars, but because he knew enough to try tho pencil test different ways. LATE LORD NORTH CLIFFE. HIS MOTORING ACTIVITIES. The mention of the name of Lord Northcliffe (says a writer in the Sydney "Mail") at once conjures ap in the mind of the reader a suggestion of publishing successes and the systematic achievements which went to make up a brilliant career. But the motorist will bo equally interested to lenrn some; thing, of the automobile activities or the late newspaper magnate. It was in 1893 that Lord Northcliffe purchased his first motor-car, an obscure 4-h.p. type, in which he used to venture forth along the streets of Paris. Writing in 1906, he speaks as fellows concerning his recollections as a "foundation member" of the motor fraternity:— "It has been amusing to a veteran to observe tho various phases through which public opinion has passed on the subject of tho automobile. We had first enthusiasm and curiosity, causing cheering crowds to assemble when we arrived in a town; then when it began to be seen that horßes were frightened (and in those days every horse was frightened) the populace became most wrathful. Most people regarded the thing ns a passing croro, like roller skating or ping pong. Then camo the period of sarcasm, duo to the fact that we rarely returned to the place we started from, and that we were often drawn up hills by horses. When the motor-car was officially introduced into England in 1896 public opinion went through almost exactly the same changes as in France. Thousands of enthusinstio onlookers assembled to watch the start for Brighton from Westminster Bridge. Everyone was as keen in England as they had been two or three years previously in France, and tho prospect of a horseless carriage for £6O seemed to fascinate all." Anti-Motorists. Notwithstanding the interest taken by the general public, as soon as motorists were officially allowed to travel on the public roads of Great Britain, it was to take many years for the prejudice of narrow-minded and interested parties to be worn down, fo r> even at the time at which these reminscences were penned Lord Northcliffe observes that the anti-motorists seemed to develop in proportion to the increase in motor-cars, and that at the time of writing the country appeared to be divided into two camps, comprising respectively a comparatively small number of motorists and a great army of anti-motorists. But he observes that within ten years all this should have passed away, and that the automobile will then arouse as little prejudice as the railway, against which, he notes, violent dislikes existed even until the late 'fifties. He lived not only to soo the fulfilment of this prophecy, but also an expansion which' even his most sanguine dreams could never hare conceived. That he took motoring as a sport rather than a convenience and a potentially luxurious method of travelling is suggested by the concluding paragraph of his observations, in which he states.—"l am not quite certain whether tho modern automatic sixcylinder, non-skidding car which almost drives itself is quite as amusing ns tore the clumsy contrivances of tho early days." It was in 1906 that his lordship wrote that, and if the model of those days appeared to him in such a favourable light, then, indeed, the recent type* which he lived to see and to ride in must indeed rum teemed the acme of perfection, and possibly a trifle boring and mtesertiiig.