Motors and Motoring

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 196, 16 May 1930, Page 15

Motors and Motoring

(By

“SPARE WHEEL.”)

A missing spark plug will feel cool to the touch, even though the engine is thoroughly warm.

A tire cover not only protects the spare but keeps it clean.

The sight of a far-away car or any vehicle across your road will show that caution is essential.

Always check the oil supply daily before taking the new ear out of the garage. Only when the crank-ease is full is there assurance of the safety of adequate lubrication.

All car owners should know where adjustable wrenches cun be used. Always try the assortment of solid ones first. If none will tit, then use the monkey wrench.

Become accustomed to driving with the hand throttle instead of the accelerator pedal. It will be found restful to switch from one to the other ou long trips. A weak battery increases fuel consumption. It takes a good, hot spark of considerable intensity to fire effectively the “wet” mixture that gets into the combustion chamber under some conditions of cold weather operation. A weak battery will not provide such a spark.

The bayonet gauge that measures the oil supply in the crankcase should be put back absolutely clean. Especially should the car owner guard against letting lint from the rag with which the gauge was cleaned get into the crankcase when the device is replaced.

A little (glycerine, mixed with some kerosene is a good preparation to keep wintry rains from congealing on the windscreen. Newspaper is a serviceable makeshift. There seems to be something in the printing-ink which helps in an emergency.

Although the carburettor is comparatively simple in its mechanism, the car owner is warned against trying to adjust it unless he knows precisely what he is doing, and why. Many ills of the engine laid to the carburettor are caused by something else. « * *

Because springs are constantly subject to heavy strains, due to the constant motion when the car is being used, spring bolts and clips occasionally need tightening. Too much looseness of nuts on both clips and U-bolts may mean leaf breakage.

Inspect spark plug cables when the ignition system appears to be functioning inefficiently. Cracks in the insulation, caused by high temperatures involved, and escaping oil, which affect the rubber, permit the spark to escape before it reaches the cylinder or, at least, to diminish in intensity.

Although Filipinos are. inveterate jaywalkers, an operator of a motor vehicle in the Philippines who injures a pedestrian is arrested and sent to prison until he can prove without question that he is not to blakic. For this reason most of the automobile owners do not drive their own cars. They hire a £6 to £7 a month chauffeur to take the prison risk.

NUMBER PLATES TOWNS’ ALLOTMENTS The numbers allocated to Wellington for cars and commercial vehicles lire those between and including 89,001 and 108,900. The motor-cycle numbers run from 10,101 to 19,700. For the benefit of those who take an interest in number plates and like to know where a vehicle comes from, the following list of numbers will be of use: —

New Government Plate. A new type of number plate will make its tippearanee on Government cars this year. It will consist of a number with the letters “Govt.” prefixed. The introduction of this type of plate will reduce the number of "E” class plates that has hitherto been issued. MOTOR REGISTRATION REMINDERS FOR OWNERS. The new number plates for motor vehicles are now available at the General Post Office, but must not be used before May 25. From May 20 to June 2 number plates may be obtained, and vehicles registered at the Town Hall, where there will be a large staff. After the latter date registrations must be made at the Post Office. Motorists must remember that there will be no day’s grace given for those who fail to register by the end of the mouth. Registration Fees. At the end of the month motorists will have to pay either £3/2/6 or £3 12/6, according to whether their vehicle Is used privately or for business purposes. This amount is made up as follows:—License fee, £2; number plates, 2/6; insurance premium, £1 (for private cars) or £l/10/- (for ears used for business purposes). Change of Ownership. Motorists must remember that.change of ownership of a motor vehicle must bo notified within seven days. Failure to comply with this regulation inevitably is followed by a court action and most likely a fine. DRIVERS’ LICENSES Motor drivers’ licenses must be renewed by May. 31. The wise driver will apply early and avoid the inevitable, rush and crush at the end of the month.

From 5000 to 10,000 extra miles may be to the useful life of tires if a few minutes’ time is spent in their inspection after every long trip. It is not unusual Io find stray pieces of glass, sharp rock or nails imbedded in the rubber treads.

STAINLESS STEEL USE QN MOTOR-CARS Tn these progressive times invention follows invention with such rapidity that no sooner lias the public become acquainted with one novelty and its advantages than another springs up hi competition (states “The Motor”). Rather a striking example of this is found in the finish and materials employed for the bright parts of motorcars.

For many years the majority of motorists were content with nickel plating, while a few were willing to pay for the luxury of silver or gold. Nickel plating. if carried out properly with a deposit of reasonable thickness, proves durable and has an attractive colour, but, of course, nickel is a relatively soft metal which tarnishes fairly rapidly, and so must be cleaned at frequent intervals in order to retain the lustre.

It was this need for regular attention which sealed the doom of nickel plating .for, at any rate, all ears selling at moderate prices, because owner-drivers are naturally disinclined to spend half an hour every couple of days with polishing cloths. Tlie successor to nickel was chromium, which, after an experimental period, came into its own. It is applied by special electro-plating methods, the evolution of which would make a story of its own. owing to the very great technical difficulties which had to lie overcome. These problems certainly appear to have been satisfactorily solved, the result being a plated surface of extreme hardness, which is unturnishable to all practical purposes, and from which gritty mild can be wiped with a wet cloth without fear of producing scratches. A large number of elaborate and costly chromiuni-plating plants has been laid down at the principal car factories to cope with the demand. The Metallurgists. During the years that plating experts were working on the problem of applying chromium by electro-deposi-tion, metallurgists in .Sheffield and elsewhere were equally busy in research work upon chromium steels.

Small percentages of nickel and chromium are present in what are known as alloy steels, as these constituents are found to have a very beneficial effect upon the strength and toughness of the material; such alloy steels have been generally employed for a long time for motor-cur Crankshafts and similar highly stressed parts. More recently lb was discovered that a' high proportion of chromium (ranging up to 15 per cent.), together with a small quantity of nickel, will, if added to steel, confer upon it a high degree of resistance to. corrosion of all kinds. “Stainless steel,” as it is called, has become widely used for cutlery, and is being employed in general engineering to an ever-increasing extent for parts such as pump shafts, which are exposed to the action of water or dilute acids. It bus also been used with success for the valves of motor-ear engines.

The properties of this metal are therefore such as will render it, when polished, practically unturnishable, and, furthermore, as it is "the same all through,” there is no question of using a skin which may or may not continue to adhere to the base as time goes on. Two difficulties appear to have retarded the use of this metal in the past for motor-car bright parts. One of these is the cost of the material and the other is its somewhat intractable nature. Parts such as radiator shells 'and headlamps, for example, are usually made quite cheaply by means of presses, which stamp them out of sheets of brass, this being an easily worked metal. However, chromium steel can now also be obtained in sheet form, and, although, of course, it is much stronger than brass, research work has revealed methods of manufacture whereby the steel sheets can be made almost as easy to press out as brass. Maker Changing to Steel. That these problems seem to be well on the way to a complete solution may be judged by the announcement that an American car manufacturer with a very large output is changing over to stainless steel. It is understood also, that the makers of a well-known British car are likely to follow suit, and that the motor-car industry in general has taken a great interest in this development. As regards the matter of cost, it is true that the price of stainless steel iu sheet form is somewhat higher than that of sheet brass, but, on the other baud, when pressed to the required shape the steel only requlries polishing, plating operations being unnecessary. Apart, from radiators, lamps and windscreen frames, all of which are obviously suitable applications for stainless steel, there are other bright parts (such its door handles and interior fittings) to make, which, in steel, would prove a difficult and expensive proposition. It would be absurd to suggest that chromium steel will rapidly oust chromium plating from popularity; there is room for both these developments to proceed si.de by side and competition should accelerate progress. CLEAR VISION • FOR SAFETY ON ROADS. Safe motoring calls for good eyesight. The distant view ahead should be clear; particularly on country roads when going at fair speed. In town traffic, a shorter range of vision is usually called for. In cases of defective eyesight, suitable glasses are vitally essential for road safety.

It is well worth while for all motorists whose sight is doubtful to have their eyes tested. Short-sighted motorists endanger themselves and other road users through lack of a long view ahead. Suitable glasses remove this danger, and relieve the eyes of undue strain, which may be very serious during a long journey. Most motorists find it difficult and sometimes dangerous to drive against the setting sun. Suitable colour screens for (lie windscreen, or special spectacles, tire available which will minimise this difficulty.

The clement of risk will will never be wholly eliminated from motoring, but remembering the millions of miles covered annually and safely by motorists, the percentage of accidents against mileage is very small. A small bare spot or scratch on a fender,, where the paint has been scratched off, should be touched up without delay. Rust quickly affects the metal and will spread over the entire surface-

It is important to wake frequent inspections of wheels to sec that they are getting an ample amount of lubrication t that the hub bolts are tight and tie locking devices in place, so that t here is no danger of wheels coming off,,

PRIVATE MOTOR CAR OFFICIAL DEFINITION The following is the official definition of a private motor-car under the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risk) Act, 1928:— A private motor-car is one used exclusively for one or more of the following purposes:— (a) If used by the owner or by any oilier person for the carriage of (lie owner, his family, relatives or friends, for the purposes of pleasure or for private or domestic purposes, but not directly for business purposes. A motorcar shall not be deemed to be used for business purposes within the meaning of this paragraph merely by reason of its being used for the carriage of any person to and from his place of business or the place whore he exercises bis profession or calling:

(b) If used by the owner for the purposes of making personal calls in relation to his profession, business, or calling: (c) If used by religious or social workers in the course of their religious or social work:

(d) If used by medical practitioners for tlie purpose of their profession: (e) If used by farmers in connection with their farming operations:

(f) If used in connection with the work of any public or private hospital or charitable institution, by or on account of the board or other authority controlling such hospital or institution : (g) If used as an ambulance for the carriage of sick or injured persons.

THE MOTOR & THE HORSE Always give way to (lie horse. He has no brakes and restarting is hard ou him. Never pass or overtake any horse at speed. If you meet a restive horse, stop the car and wait until he has passed. If you see a runaway horse ahead, or head it astern, stop your car on the side of the road, and get out. You never know’.

When using narrow’ country lanes [ unable to carry two lines of traffic, > always be prepared to meet cattle, - farm-carts and other vehicles. A horse-driven vehicle must not be I releid upon to reduce speed at uncon- ■ trolled road junctions or cross-roads. If the driver hears a motorist’s sig- > nal he cannot answer, for he hasn’t got > a horn ou his vehicle. Therefore, no 1 answering horn does not always mean 1 “nothing round the corner.” 1 Old inner tubes may be cut into • strips and'uscd for insulating the floor board from the frame. It cuts down many of the annoying noises about the car. i * . ■' l "" :

From To Auckland . 1 29,400 Thames 29,401 34,400 Hamilton .. 34401 47,900 Gisborne ........ 47.901 52.700 Napier 52,701 62,300 New Plymouth .. 62.301 71,900 Wanganui 71,901 79.000 Palmerston North 79,001 80,600 Weliingtou 89,601 108,900 Blenheim 108,901 111,200 Nelson 111,201. 114,800 Westport 114,801 115,600 Greymouth 115,601 117,400 Christchurch ... 117,401 139,500 Timaru . 139,501 145,900 Oamarii 145,901 148,500 Dunedin 148;501 160,600 Invercargill 160,601 170,000