THE MOTOR.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 97, 24 April 1912, Page 4

THE MOTOR.

(By "Autos.") The season qf comparative rest in autoniobilism is approaching, and; motorists will do well to employ a little of their enforced leisure, consequent upon bad roads and wet weather, in overhauling their machines or getting them overhauled. The advantage of doing the overhauling oneself is that every part receive* individual attention, and one knows exactly the condition of each detail, which gives one a comfortable feeling of security aiterwards; besides, one has the pleasure of knowing one could take the whole car to pieces by the roadside if there were need. There will probab|y be a few things to be done that will be beyond the mechanical skill of the average amateur; but a friendly mechanic can usually be found to come in and do them — or, if not too large, the parts may be sent away to some big firm making a specialty of repair work. "The Motor" (London) makes the following suggestions :— A good firm bench and a good vice are indispensable, and a good light to work in, too. The bench should not be much less than 6ft by 3ft, the vice not less than 4in jaws opening 3£in, and larger if the car is a very old type with large and heavy parts. Such a vice costs from 16s to 18s. If the worker has a lathe, so much the better; if not, any turning required canbe sent out. The ihand tools will include large and small shifting spanners (two of the latter), two or three pairs of pljers, gas pliers, two or three screwdrivers, and hammers of different siaes, I'hiscls, punches, lOin files (smooth and second cut), a few 4in files, a soldering outfit, and either a hand or breast drill. Though the list seems a long one, most of the tools will already be in the possession of a, man who likes "tinkering about," and the rest need not be bought until they are wanted. The next point is the room available. For comfort three or- four times the floor space the complete car occupies is desirable, in addition to working room at the bench; but by careful stowing of small parts in odd corners about th© house (if the powers that be permit !) one cam do with less, and many of the more cumbersome things, such as wings, running boards, covers, tubes, wheels, steering column, etc., can be stored under or on the body. Tyres, and the work on them, by the way, 6hould be attended to first or last, separately from the overhaul of the mechanical parts. A correspondent sends me the following "Ignition Sparks" (I cannot vouch for their originality) :—: — So near and yet — chauffeur ! For ye the Book -of the .Law beginneth with Revelation and endeth with Judges and Lamentations. ' Many who think' they're .off remain to stay. If thine auto offend the*, take it out and cast it from thee, last speedily thbu be cast " from it. ' k Gabriel's horn is already becoming the horn of plenty. It is wiser to hitch your wagon to a star than to hitch your car to a wagon. Give not thine ' aufco^a name, they neighbours will name it for thee. Say not "We shall return at five" — ye may return at sixes and sevens. All that glitters does not go. ' ' It is a snort ride that hath no mending- . v A fool and his tonneau are soon cart- ! cd. ' ' A vace of autos doth breed disaster. Predictions concerning the cars of 1913 have already appeared in. the American Press. They are not so vague as th'e prophecies of Old Moore, but they are in no way startling. Here are some features— long 6troke, four-cylinder motors, pump circulation, cone clutch, dual ignition, and three-speed ' gear. Horse-power will show an upward trend, and the plan would be to give greater value for money rather than to reduce

prices. Evidently the hasty prophecies uttered in Europe with regard to £100 American cara will not bo fulfilled yet awhile, judging by present indications. Apropos of the prices of American cars, | some interesting figures have been com- [ piled with regard to the new season's vehicles. Out of 381 models the prices have been computed as follows :— £2oo ears, 65 ; £300 cars, 122 ; £500 cars, 82; £800 cars, 112. Taking all the American cars listed for 1912, the average price works out at £501, which certainly shows that prices are not dropping. Of course, the most important point, comments "The Motor, is that the American industry is getting further away from the cheap and email-powered vehicle, and is working more on European lines. This is iui-ther borne out by an analysis of the seating capacity :— Two-passenger bodies, 255; four-passen-ger bodies, 272 ; five-passenger bodies, 288. Whilst there are 108 limousines listed and 48 landauleta, there are only two of the buggy type, which at one time was bo popular in America. From all accounts the Post and Telegraph Department ie getting very satistactory result* from it« motor outfit. This is very up-to-date. In addition to the motor collecting vans and the big parcels wagon, there are a large number of motor cycles used in the different branches of the department. The motor cycle with the side-car basket for carrying mails, has proved highly satisfactory. The latest venture is a Girling tri-car collecting van." In appearance it is not very impressive, and its solid tired driving wheel at the back is more like the style of thing they once used on motor sledges for Polar and other expeditions over snow and ice. It is certainly a novelty with its rubber stud 6 for use over city streets. The motor cycle has proved immensely useful for the telegraph engineers, and linesmen and inspectors in the department. They are able to do a tremendous amount of work in tho way of covering country at a very moderate cost— something far less than hoi*se-and-buggy work would entail. The department has been pretty catholic in its selection of motor cycles. It has amongst the various makes the P. and M., the Douglas, the N.S.U., and the Ariel. Others I cannot just recollect at the present moment, but the motor cycle is so good all round nowadays that there is a great variety of choice to be made among sterling machines. The poor motor cycle is the exception to-day. The Auto-Cycle Union movement for the North Island haa maintained good progress. The secretary of the N.Z.M.C.C. (Mr. C. Dare Bridge) is engaged with Mr. Lindegreen, recently appointed organiser for the Opposition, in drawing up rules to be sumbitted to a general North Island conference to bo held later in the year. The date of this has not yet been fixed. The control of motor cycling in this island will thus pass into the hands of a strong body with interests solely in motor cycling.