MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 18045, 12 August 1922, Page 13

MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

fßy Radiator.]

Brief accounts of holiday fripj, roads, and placet oj interest are invited for true column. The hand that holds the wheel rules the car. HINTS AND TIPS. —Excess Lubrication.If an engine carbons up quickly, and earticulariy if:Uie sparking, jhuss in any .it the cylinders oil up rapidly, Hie excess supply of lubrication can he kept down in a very simple manner by bevelling the lower edge of the bottom p.'ston ring slot. The piston ring then acts as a scraper, and it will be found that the . oil has less tendency to get above the piston head, —To Test Sparking Plugs.— A simple method of testing suspicions spark plugs is used by a garage man who claims that tjie test is infallible. A strip of glass in width by several indies long is inserted between the points of tliii plug, which is. then laid on the cyl i nder block. If the plug : porcelai n is good a spark will pass around the edge of the glass, but with al defective porcelain the current will ground through the core, due to the resistance of the '"grass between the points. • —Those Dirty Nails.--Before starting to do any work about flic mechanical part of the car a gvod plan is to go into the washhouse and find it bar of soap. Lay this flat, and scrape your linger nails along it. .This will till tht; under part of the nails with scap, and after your work on the car is finished it can easily be washed out, leaving the nails quite clean. FORD’S JAPANESE FACTORY. The Ford plant at Negishi, Japan, is now assembling fifteen chassis a day. It i.i estimated that there are now 10,500 motor cars in Japan, 4,500 of which are the übiquitous Ford. A BUSINESS TOUR THBOUGH OIAGoTsOUTHLAND AND' CENTRAL. Mr W. H. Matthews, who is handling the “Flatlito” agency throughout Otago and Southland, has just • eturned from a business trip through North ( tago, Otago Central, and'Southland. He tells .ne that the road to Oama.ru is in fair order, considering the time of the year, and from Oamaru to Kurow is in good conditionT but a bit patchy in places. Mr Matthews returned to Oamaru, and came on to-Dunback, which road is in excellent order. He bad no trouble with the crocks between Dunback and Eyeburn, and the roads were very good. From Eyeburn he set out for St. Batbans in torrents of rain and snow. On reaching Becks, he learnt next day that all the bridges over the road he had just traversed were washed -out. Ophir was the next place visited, and the roads were found to be perfect, being made of gravel—an excellent roadmaker. The traveller arrived ah, Ophir in snow and rain. Owing to the thaw above Naseby, the water in the . crossing at Black’s Flat through the Manuherikia River had risen from the normal depth of loin to 20ft. He was held up at Ophir on account of the weather for two days, and then proceeded to Cromwell and Clydethence to Alexandra. The roads were all very good, considering the amount of rain. Prom Alexandra to Roxburgh Mr Matthews had a trying time, owing to the treacherous roads. He states that only two cars crossed over this : road for .two days—a mail car (a Ford) , and his own—but had he known, the conditions he would have stayed at Alexandra. From Roxburgh to Miiier’s Flat the road was very good, but at Rae’s'Junction the highway was very muddy, with plenty of potholes. Rae’s Junction to Beaumont was good going, but from there to Lawrence there were . stretches . of From .Lawrence- i. to the Manuka Gorge was found to be a spring-breaker, but from Round Hill on to Milton, was fairly good. The detour of two- and a-half miles owing to the bridge at Milton being closed for motor traffic adds to the travelling time, and is a nuisance to motorists. The only trouble he had on the road down was meeting a horse and cart and a traction engine 9 at night, both without lights. ’ Continuing his tour after reaching Dunedin, Mr Matthews went to Balelutha, the road being very fair. From there he proceeded to Clinton and on to Waipahi and Arthurton. From the latter place to Gore the roads were all deep in/places, and had to be carefully negotiated. He advises motorists not to take the road from Gore to M‘Nabs,. but to take the alternative one out of Gore. The road- from Mataura to Edendale was not of the best, and from there ■to Dacra was the worst of the whole trip, 1 On the way back from Invercargill: ho. smashed, a spring, broke a universal joint and ,a boll race, and damaged the brown wheel owing to the bad state of the highway. ; From there on to Invercargill the roads, were, not too good either, but the trip to Bluff via Awarua was well worth while. The roads around the Invejxargiil district were found to be excellent.'

On the return trip Mr Matthews had the experiences already- stated, and had to spend two days at Gore, effecting repairs. He advises any motorist who is contemplating a tour over the above route to wait till tho rummer.; Mr Matthews is well pleated with'his trip from a business point of view, as ho returned to town with a full order book. HERE AND THERE. A local motorist who was in -tho Central recently, informs me that he has it on good authority that Becks Bridge over the Manuherikia River wil be finished by Christmas time. ' The monthly meeting of the Otago Motor Club, which normally should have been held last Tuesday, was postponed, and a special meeting will bo called towards the end of the month, when the new rules, as drawn up by the special committee, will be presented and considered.

The- letter-heading paper of an Irish motor company has printed) round the margins: “Support direct .trade with Franco,” Is tlni an indication of a future boycott pf British goods!