Items of Interest

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LX, Issue 17, 3 March 1939, Page 2

Items of Interest

In driving a car on tow great care should be exercised to avoid any snatching at the tow rope. In this both the drivers are concerned. Also care must be taken to avoid running over the tow rope, or the steering may be jammed and damaged, also possibly the stub axle and wheel. The driver of the towed car should, therefore, constantly watch the tow rope and endeavour to keep it just taut, using the brakes when necessary, but, of course, avoiding using them as much as possible. On a sharp bend extra care must be exercised. Naturally the driver of the towing car will proceed at a very moderate pace and will keep an eye on the car behind, and the tow rope, as far as he can. He will also signal his intentions very clearly and in good time.

When manual ignition control is available, run the engine with the ignition advanced as far as possible without making it pink excessively. A slight pink at low speed, pulling hard, is normal and will indicate that the timing is about correct. Retard part way to eliminate pinking or knocking on hills, and when starting the engine.

A sensible idea is being adopted gradually in America of using public address loud-speakers at sports stadia, with the object of appealing to motorists just before the conclu-

sion of games, to exercise care on

their way home by driving with caution and consideration. The plan is proving effective as a contribution to safety on the - ; road. The following is a sample of the messages being broadcast by public address system at some of the sports gatherings attended largely by motorists: "Your attention, please. We want to make i a suggestion. Most of us will soon • > be motoring home. Let us take it easy. Let us avoid accidents. Drive carefully! Give the other fellow a break. Take no chances —Safety First." Unnecessary idling should be avoided. Owing to the 'need for the carburetter to be so adjusted as to provide a mixture comparatively rich in petrol for slow-running, the engine consumes petrol at a proportionately higher rate when idling than when pulling normally. Lengthy idling on this rich mixture tends to encourage the sopting-up of the sparking plugs and the misfiring that is brought about by soot on the interior insulation. If an engine /must be kept idling for a time, as in a traffic block, it is advisable after each half minute to accelerate it for a few seconds. This will cause the oil to circulate more freely for the time being and tend to counteract its impoverishment on the cylinder walls. i Spark plugs are constructed so as to resist great heat without damage, so long as the heat is applied uniformly and not too abruptly, and tl provides a very simple method of cleaning them, whether they are of the detachable or one-piece type. Fix a length of wire to the plug to serve as a handle, and heat it in the fire or over a gas flame until it is hot enough to burn off the deposit of oil or carbon. Hold it at this temperature for a few minutes, and allow it to cool off. All oil will be evaporated from the inside, and the carbon converted to a dry powder easily scraped away. Remove the copper gasket first, as the gradual cooling would harden it, spoiling its elasticity. . '" ":."'■:;. X" When headlamp bulbs stick in their sockets, there is a risk of crushing them when attempting removal. A good type of holder which will grip without exerting dangerous pressure is a piece of I^-inch radiator hose,, about an inch long. Slit it length ways, and cut a few longitudinal grooves in its inside surface. It is slipped over the bulb, and then gripped with the fingers. . Many a motorist who prefers to do his own adjustments on his car wili||j probably find it difficult to believe that it is possible to dismantle and re-assemble a Ford V 8 engine in the remarkably short time of 20 minutes. That this operation is possible was publicly demonstrated at the recent Melbourne Royal Agricultural Show, - where mechanics dismantled a Ford V 8 engine in eight minutes, and reassembled it again in 12 minutes.