MOTORS and MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 171, 15 April 1932, Page 15

MOTORS and MOTORING

(By

"Spare Wheel.”)

A woman motorist was driving along a country road, when she saw two repair men climbing a telegraph pole. “Fools!” she exclaimed angnly to her companion, “they must think I’ve never driven a car before.” « * * Signs of an improvement in the motor industry arc reported from the United States, and workers arc being re-en-gaged at several factories in Detroit. <r « * Imports of motor spirit into England for 10 months last year were G7,10J,i2S gallons less than in 1930: In addition, 316,678,415 gallons of crude petroleum for refining in the country were imported. Frequent lubrication of the steering connections with good grease or even gear oil (which will last longer) will keep the steering of flic ear light and free and obviate any tendency for tho car to "wander." * ♦ * Very few car owners who do their own tube repairs trouble to sprinkle French chalk between the tube and lire after mending a puncture. The result —especially in hot weather —is tube adhesion to the cover, aiid later punturcs caused by chafing and patch lifting. V » » A miniature speed model, faithfully replete in every detail, has recently been built for the eleven-year-old son of the Maharajah of Jodhpur by an English linn. It has a special gearbox which permits of a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour and a four-cylinder engine, and it will be used in the grounds of the Maharajah’s palace in India. SIGNS OF TROUBLE Don’t Jump to Conclusions An instance is known of a ear which developed a very fierce clutch, although in the hands of a competent driver, it was thought that grease must have got on to the clutch plates and ruined their surfaces, but on examination the clutch discs proved to be in perfect condition. Eventually it was discovered that the bolts holding the engine to the chassis had worked loose, so that immediately upon engagement of the clutch the engine, because of the torque, would vibrate and shudder, causing what seemed to be a fierce clutch. Again, a frequent cough back when travelling fairly fast is not necessarily

a sign of water in the fuel or a weak mixture, but is probably a warning that the contact breakers’ points are set too close. Rattling doors and body squeaks do not necessarily mean that the hinges are worn, and that the body has looseness. The suspension of the ear may require attention and adjustment. Spray tlie springs with graphite penetrating o_il, and check the shock absorbCI A faulty horn does not always mean that the horn motor is worn out or requires adjustment; the horn button contact points may be dirty and corroded. Front-wheel wobble, a rare thing nowadays, docs not always show that rhe wheels are out of alignment or have too little caster action. Nine times out of ten it will bo found that the front springs hare their leaves excessively lubricated. Similarly, a car that persistently steers to the left or the right may have the steering gear in perfect order. The trouble will be found to be in the front shock absorbers in that the shock absorber on tiie side to which the car steers has probably stuck or seized, even a spring shackle may be too tight. “DRIVER’S THIGH” An affection, which is stated to be fairly generally recognised, by both medical and non-medical motor drivers, and to which the convenient and descriptive name of. “driver's thigh” lias been applied, is discussed in the current issue of the ‘‘Medical Journal of Australia.” The complaint is described as a neuralgia or neuritis of the sciatic nerve, observed in those who spend a fairly large part of their time driving a meter car, ami the symptoms vary from an ill-defined feeling of fatigue of the thigh muscles to those of a classical sciatica. lu directing attention to the affection, Dr. John Hoets pointed out that the cause was a long-continued pressure ou the sciatic nerve just befo’-e its division in the lower third of ibe thigh. This pressure was produced by the use of the accelerator pedal, which | required the foot to be held in the one i position, often for long periods. Treatment which he suggested was the adjustment of the sent. He explained that it would apjiear that the seat without the usual tilt was the best kind for the driver. The trouble, lie pointed out, occurred only when tlie driver sat in a bad position or the springs of lie sea had given way. EARLY PETROL PUMPS It will surprise motorists to learn I bat the use of the petrol pump dates back to .1885, it having originated in America before the days of tlie motor car. It was not until .10 years Inter that this piston petrol pump was improved to a stage of accuracy, and eventually as motoring grew iu popularity tlie type was introduced in many parts of tlie world. Tlie visible-measure type of petrol pump, now in almost universal use. only dates back, it is claimed, to 1019. when Frank Hammond, a young Australian inventor, patented the first visible volumetric pump. He developed its manufacture in Australia for five years, and then proceeded to England, where, a company was formed to exploit tltc invention. QUICK WORK Several latest inode! American cars have a combined starter and ignition switch, I lie separate starter button being discarded. As soon as tho ignition is switclif'd on the. motor starts. Should the engine lie stalled in traffic it is automatically started again, since the ignition starter switch is on. A few cars have a two-way switch, which enables the driver to cut out the automatic starter. The correct operating temperature of Hie engine is between 160 and DO degrees, and if Hie hanpcraiure is below that the condition should be corrected,

HEADLIGHT INVENTION For Easier Night Driving At the ivitatiou of the inventor a new device designed to make night driving safer and easier, especially on sinuous country roads, was tested (states the Sydney ".Morning Herald"). The idea of causing the rays of the headlamps to swing in correspondence with the movement of the front wheels is not a novel one, but the two interesting features of the invention under notice are that the traverse of tlie beams of light is restricted within suitable limits, even when Hie steering is locked hard over, and that at all times a proportion of tlie light from the headlamps is projected straight ahead as in tlie case of ordinary lamps. A practical test conducted on rough and winding roads in French's Forest indicated that tlie device does all that is claimed for it. The .operation of the mechanism is as follows:—immediately below the steering wheel is a grooved pulley affixed concentrically with the stccr-

ing column, and which moves with the steering wheel. Running in the grooves of this pulley is a flexible steel cable whose ends pass down a conduit pipe clamped to the steering pillar and then over other small guide pulleys till they reach the main operating pulley, which is affixed to a baseboard attached to the engine side of the dashboard, and on which tho actuating mechanism is mounted. The flexible cable is p:fecd round this pulley so that any movement of the steering wheel causes it to revolve in oue direction or the other. Mounted ou the baseboard above this pulley is a moving horizontal beam, which is connected with two “Bowden” wire controls. each leading to one of the headlight reflectors. Tripping pieces on the pulley engage with this bar and cause it to move in conformity with the motion of the steering wheel, and consequently with that of the front wheels, but after a certain adjustable limit has been reached this action ceases. The ordinary headlamps arc modified by the substitution of a special reflector, of which the rear, parabolic portion is separated from the front part, and is so pivoted that the movement of the “Bowden” wire controls already referred to deflects the movable section of each reflector downwards and in the direction in which the car is turning, but tlie forward. stationary portion of the reflector continues to project the light ahead. ORIGIN OF SAFETY GLASS The invention of safety glass is said to have seen its origin in the dropping of a bottle by Edouard Benedictus. a Franco-Dutch chemist. The bottle had contained a mixture of various chemicals, which had left a hard transparent film inside; this film prevented the glass from shattering. UNUSUAL ELECTRIC SHOCK A motorist whose newly-painted car had been left standing out of doors during a sandstorm in Egypt, was surprised to find that when he placed his hand on the door he received a severe electric shock. Tlie friction of the sand particles with the varnish had built up a charge of electricity which was prevented from leaking away because of the insulation provided by the dry rubber tyres, while his own body offered it an easy but startling avenue of escape. MOTORS IN PAWN People in Paris are rushing to pledge their cars in such numbers that the garage at the official pawnshop cannot accommodate them. A larger garage to hold 2000 cars is to be built.