Motors and Motoring

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 91, 11 January 1929, Page 7

Motors and Motoring

BUYING THE PETROL INQUIRE THE PRICE FIRST Motorists purchasing petrol fretn pumps would be well advised to inquire the price of the quantity they intend to buy before it is put in the tanks of their cars or motor-cycles. In these days, when the prices of so many commodities are fixed, purchasers are liable to presume that the prices of all products, including petrol, are the . same throughout the country The price of petrol varies in different localities, as is well known to all who go touring, but not so many know that the price differs between garages in Wellington. Competition might be expected to keep prices the same for a given brand, and so it does on the whole, but the scales of charges fixed by various tradesmen are not all the same. Some service stations sell small quantities cheaply and large quantities at a higher price than their competitors, while others cater for the purchasers of large quantities. The prices are arranged to suit the class of customer patronising the station concerned.

The regular buyer of petrol may call at a pump to which he has never been before and discover the price to be different to his joy or disappointment, as the case may be. Thus to avoid annoyance and sometimes hard thoughts about petrol retailers, one should make it a rule to inquire the price of petrol before it is put in the tank (it cannot be taken out again and put back in the bowser) before one buys at a strange pump. MISUSE OF TOOLS • The prospective car owner who knows how to use ordinary tools as they should be used begins his motoring career with an asset of considerable value, says an English motorist. It is only too obvious to the observant eye that a great many cars in the hands of private owners have their appearance considerably marred and their second-hand value reduced by the frequent misuse of tools on various details. It is no exaggeration to say that the average tool outfit supplied with a car contains great possibilities for mischief in the hands of the entirely unskilled person. In these outfits one finds amongst the collection what might be termed “hefty” punches, course-cut files, several sizes of screwdriver, a heavy hammer, sometimes a pipe grip and chisels of various shapes. To the experienced eye it is not always clear as to when and where certain tools in au outfit may find legitimate use ou a car —some of them, indeed, might delight the heart of a plumber rather than appeal to a skilful motor mechanic. So far as the average owner is concerned, assuming that be is not intending to carry out actual repair work, there are a few simple tools, the proper use of which he should learn. These are the adjustable spanner, the screwdriver, hammer, pliers (comprising the wireman’s and the gasfitter’s types). These are the tools for which lie is likely to have immediate use, and he can leave the handling of chisels, files, and drills until he is more advanced. It is to be noted witli regret that even the ordinary tools referred to are by no means always used as they should be by experienced garage hands, particularly under rush-work conditions. Perhaps the best ndvice is that the prospective owner-driver should go to some little trouble and expense to get the help of a skilful tutor in the use of tools, as such trouble and expense will be doubly repaid by preserving his car from tlie ill-effects of misused tools.

LIMITED FUEL RACING CARS

RULES FOR WORLD’S RACING EVENTS The leading international events for 1929 will be held ' on a limited-fuel basis, according to a decision taken by the International Sporting Commission held in Paris (says the “Autocar”). The present rule, which gives full' liberty with the exception of a minimum and a maximum weight, has rarely been applied, while the earlier rule, fixing a piston displacement of 1500 c.c., has developed a type of car which is much too fast for safety. The International Sporting Commission considered that the best way to reduce speed, and at the same time favour, technical development, was to limit the amount of fuel. After mucl> discussion, this was agreed to, the limits being 301 b. of petrol and oil, the petrol having a density of .720 at 15 degrees centigrade, per 100 kilometres. The cars should weigh ITcwt. 801 b. empty, with one spare wheel; they should have a two-seater body with a width of 39 inches at a height of 10 inches, and no streamlining. A mechanic need not be carried iu the international races. On the request of the American delegates, it was decided to adhere to these general rules for 1929 and 1930. If they prove satisfactory it is understood that they will-be continued for a third year. Cars built under these rules ought to be capable of a speed of 80 or 90 miles an hour, according to tha nature of the circuit on which they run. While a limited-fuel rule is not ideal, for it tends towards the development of a freak type of cur, it will cause makers to give serious attention to fuel and oil economy, which is a feature that has been neglected during the last few years; it will appreciably reduce the speed of racing cars, and it will not entail much expense in car construction. Ordinary commercial fuels will have to be used next year, but as other fuels, at present prohibitive on account of their cost, .may later become commercialised, the Racing Board reserved the right to admit them at a later date. This limited-fuel rule was not adopted without considerable discussion. The British and the German delegates did not show much enthusiasm for it, while the Italian and the French delegates stated that the makers in their respective countries were generally favourable. American delegates adopted a more or less neutral attitude, maintaining that it was too late for the rule to. be applied in 1929, for the Indianapolis race has already been announced under the old 1500 c.c. rule. Italy asked to be allowed to organise the European Grand Prix in 1929, the date to be September 8 or 9, and Belgium expressed the desire to hold it in 1930. The distances of 200 kilometres and 200 miles were ofiicially accepted for-world’s records.

TYPES OF DRIVERS

THE DANGEROUS LOITERER Opinions differ as to which is the best type of driver. The man who habitually takes his car over the road at a breakneck pace IS - often referred to as a daring and clever motorist (remarks a writer in the “Autocar”). On the other hand, men who never drive fast and surround themselves with a multitude of precautions are sometimes held up as models-of what should be. One of the most nerve-destroying drivers I ever sat beside was a slow driver. He never exceeded 25 m.p.h.; his wife ruled him from the back seat, and wheneyer a decision had to be taken, he changed his mind two or three times before finally deciding what he would do. It sometimes happened that the final decision was token too late for safety. On the other hand, one of the best men I ever rode with was an ex-race driver of twenty-five years’ experience, who had retained all his freshness of youth. On one occasion we had to make an emergency dash through traffic, and the quickness of decision of that man was equivalent to that of Tilden in an international tennis match. He knew when he could pass and when he could not; he never accelerated and decided a second later that it -was a case for brakes. He knew in advance what he had to do, and he did it without the fraction of a second's hesitation. With him at the wheel one felt perfectly safe, all the time. Probably the best driver is the one who gets over the ground at the highest speed with the least apparent effort, either muscular or mechanical. This implies impeccable gear changes; the handling of the engine in such a way that it neither races nor is allowed to knock; the correct speed for every bend, so that the passengers do not feel that they are being catapulted around the corners; and firm but gentle use of the brakes. Such a method of driving is the best from the standpoint of the mechanism and of the tires. While the man who is intoxicated with speed is a nuisance to everybody on the road, the loitering driver can be a real danger. Car driving calls for a certain amount of concentration, and unless this factor is present it is Impossible for driving to be of high quality. Personally, I have 4 committed faults when loitering, when just sauntering along with thoughts directed to the scenery or to some object far removed from the car—faults which I would never have perpetrated in normal moments, and still less when trying to get over the ground quickly. The man who habitually loiters, who never fixes his mind upon the car and the handling of it, who has never felt real enthusiasm for driving, is always a menace, for he is constantly being taken by surprise and plunged into situations from which it is difficult for him to extricate himself.

A DIRT-TRACK HOSPITAL

The increase in the popularity of dirt-track racing has brought forward a quaintly-worded announcement of a “Hospital for the Dirt Track,” says a motoring journal. It seemed rather startling to learn from this that “thirty-five nurses work continuously by day and night tending the bruises, fractures, and abrasions sustained by their patients on the speedways. . . . Motor ambulances attend all dirt-track meetings at Harringay, Wimbledon, and the White City in London, and fresh eases are being hurried Off continuously to tlie hospital, which is open by night and dQy.” , It sounds rather alarming until you reach the point that the patients are the machines and not the drivers.

.VETERAN MOTOR-CARS’ RACE

OLD CROCKS SHOW THEIR PACES r On the thirty-second anniversary of the abolition of the “man with the red flag” who had to walk forty yards in advance of any mechanically-propelled vehicle, some “Old Contemptibles among motor-cars recently started on a race from London to Brighton (states the' “Dominion’s” special London correspondent). The weather was vastly different from that which prevailed on the awful day in 189(5 when the first vanguard of the motor industry started from the Hotel Metropole, and when the judges ami officials wisely took the precaution to

go down in four-horse coaches. A bright morning brought crowds of spectators to Hyde Bark and to Westminster Bridge. There the times were taken. When a French Clement of 1894 clattered up amid the cheers of the spectators, the contrast with the huge and powerful modern car was just us great as that between,, the Rocket and one of the Great Western Railway’s huge six-wheelers. But the little "bus” kept bravely on with its one cylinder, the whole machine rattling. A Benz car of 1895 followed, and then an 189(5 Daimler, in which King Edward VII had his first motor ride. A Panhard Levasseur of 1897,. which was the first four-cylinder car built, had been third in the ParisAmsterdam race of 1898. No. 28 was a quaint production, a Sunbeam-Mad-ley, built in 1901. It had four wheels, one in front, one behind, and two at the side. It was greeted with laughter

and cheers, but these it calmly ignored and went on its way at a good pace. In all, there were forty-three entries for the race. Near Crawley, an interested spectator on a “penny-farth-ing” bicycle, pedalled alongside one of the entrants for some distance. Arriving at Brighton, the cars paraded through the estreets, and along the seafront. Despite their age, most of the cars completed the run from London well within the time limit of six and a half hours. Some of the faster entrants averaged twenty miles an hour. Medals will be awarded to drivers of cars that arrived at Brighton within the time-limit.

LOSS OF COMPRESSION

HOW-TO REMEDY IT. Loss of compression will cause the 'engine to lose power or will make it difficult to start, but will not cause sudden stopping. However, it should be immediately attended to. To locate defective cylinders, open all pet cocks or remove all spark plugs. Test the compression of each cylinder in turn by closing its pet cock or inserting the spark plug and cranking throughout by hand. 1. Valve tappets set too close: See that the tappets are free when valves are closed. Adjust clearance when hot to clearance laid down in maker’s instruction book. 2. Valves may be carbonised or pitted: Grind the valves, and if they are warped, replace them. 3. Valve stems gummed or stuck: Free with denatured alcohol or kerosene. If a valve stem is bent when removing, replace with a new valve. 4. Valve spring weak or broken: Look for flattened or broken coils. Fit new springs. 5. Spark plug or valve covers leaking: Listen for hiss or cover with oil and watch for bubbles. Tighten or replace, using new gasket. 6. Lubricating oil badly diluted or of incorrect grade: See if the engine cranks stiffly when' hot or lacks compression on all cylinders. Drain and refill with the correct grade of oil, 7. Piston-rings and cylinders worn: Engine smokes badly at breather or oil filler opening. Compression leaks can be heard when the engine is run slowly under load or when cranked by hand. 8. Cylinder head gasket leaking or blown out: Look for water on spark plug points and for leaks around the head. Fit a new gasket, and tightening the head bolts. evenly.