MOTORING & MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 18333, 21 July 1923, Page 11

MOTORING & MOTORISTS

[By RADIATOR.]

Brief accounts of holiday trips, roads, and places of Interest are invited for this column.

HINTS AND TIPS,

Lubricating Overland ■ Springs.—On the current model Overland car the quarterelliptic springs are set at an angle to one another, so that their extremities practically touch in the middle of the chassis cross-members to which they are attached. By filling the gap between the spring ends with a pad of waste 01 felt soaked in a mixture of paraffin and engine oil, an effective oil feed is provided which allows lubricant to pass constantly between the leaves of the springs. Tracing Worn Floaty Needles—After a car has seen some considerable service the seating on tho needle in the float chamber becomes worn, when tho feed to tho jet becomes erratic and the running of the engine uneven. r lbe noodle should be removed from the float-chamber cover plate and fitted into the jaws of a small breast drilling machine, with tho worn taper point facing outwards. The needle si era should be supported as near as possible to tho point on lire jaws of tho vice, wliich should bo opened slightly to form a groove, but not enough to allow (he needle to fall through. Tho needle should then bo turned by revolving tiro drill, ami someone could bo requisitioned to file the worn taper with a smooth file until the worn portion can no longer bo observed, hire needle, should bo at about 45 degrees fo the level of the vice. After tracing in (bis manner, the needle, should be given a few rubs with a fine abrasive on its seating.

SMALLER CARS,

WILL BRITISH TYPE PREVAIL? What will be (lie ultimate type of motor cur for the man of moderate moans ? Will it be the large family model at present' favored by American and Canadian manufacturers, or w'ill the British conception of the small car become more popular in world markets? (writes Captain lie Normanville in the ‘ Daily Chronicle ’)■ ’Die majority of people would answer in favor of tho large car, considering its smaller reproduction i'hlolly suited to British tastes. But thev may prove wrong. At any rate that is the opinion of one of the leading American manufacturers, Mr F. J. Haynes, the president of Dodge Brothers, the third largest motor-car builders in the United States. This remarkable Detroit factory produces nearly 600 cars a day. .Mr Haynes was entertained to a banquet of welcome at wliich most of the leading British manufacturers were present. Ills speech was particularly instructive to those interested in British motoring matters. In diffcrent'.ating between American and British principles, he said that we sold “ motor carriages ” whilst they sold “ mechanical transport.” It is a clever description of the facts. But it was more interesting when Mr Haynes endeavored to pierce the development of motor-car types in tho future. 11 I am already wondering,” he said, “ whether tho large, powerful ears that wo now build in' the Stales will be the type of tho future. I am sometimes inclined to think that the British conception of a smaller car may ultimately prove more generally suitable.

“ Motorists in tho United States have big distances to cover, so that large, powerful cars are often necessary. Bui wo see a good deal of Jive, or seven passenger capacity with only one or two people in the car. If, therefore, you look at it ns ‘ transportation,’ that is not an economical way of giving it, and it may be that in the future a smaller ear may bo found desirable. In fact it may bo nearer to soma of your British typos.” Such views from a leading American manufacturer arc very instructive. And they raise a possibility which once again concentrates attention on tho need of revising our existing unfair taxation system. It appears to mo probable! that if the future holds such a possibility in store as the change indicated, what will actually happen will be a combination of American chassis practice and British small car coach work types. If tho Americans start building smaller cars, are they likely to change to smallbore engines at the same -time? The answer is a decided no. They would continue to use the design of engine they know, and would not start experimenting with tho small bore, high efficiency typos we are forced to produce by our absurd taxation system. It was apparently the belief of Mr Haynes that tho more motoring develops the more it will he “ transportation ” that must be sold, which is turn would demand economy in operating costs. Looking at it in that way, there is every reason why future development should centre round small cars. And if Britain is to share in this future world market our manufacturers must be allowed to build the engines they want, and not be bound to,size by a grossly unfair and equally stupid taxation system.

PARKING NEAR CORNERS.

That the live-? of pedestrians are endangered by the act of motorists in stopping their care close up to the corners of streets was, emphasised by Mr John "Watson at a Tiro am Borough Council meeting. Mr Watson refen ed w> Urn narrow escape a little boy had had, he having stepped -off the footpath, just as a car was starting from the corner. He missed the car, but straightway ran into another coming from another direction. The act of placing the car right up to the comer pat the person going along that side of llio road “ off-side ” Car drivers should be/mado to pull up some yards back froni the corners, Uio same as was done in Christchurch. Tim approach would thus be left clear. Mr Watson said the council should amend its by-laws to meet the oaso.

THROUGH NEW SOUTH WALES,

MTt FOOD'S TRIP. Mr A. L. Fogo continues the account of bis motoring tour, and fully describe? the country and towns through wliich he passed. Tho motor car? wliich carry the mails and passengers through. New South Wales are very powerful one?, and pull a trailer, which generally carries ihe mails and luggage. These trailers are fitted with motor tyres. “Wo arrived in Sydney,” concludes tho narrative, “at night, after being thirty-seven days on tho trip, dining which we covered a little over 3,000 miles. No punctures or stops of any kind ; and we oniy tightened up the back wheel brake band ami put some air in tho (vies! We started out with new tyros. We struck one thunderstorm near Mussulhrook, which lasted twenty minutes and almost blew the car off the road. Me saw hundreds of miles of the back country at its very worst owing to the drought.. In the writer’s opinion the average Australian takts the droughts as a matter of course. No provision, except in rare cases, seems to bo made to store water when the latter is plentiful. To a New Zealander many of the rivers arc a joke. We would call them creeks. However, the climate must compensate, for a lot. of the unpleasantness of tho droughts. There is something which grips out west. To any reader of these notes contemplating a run over Sydney way and having a week to spare, my advice is to take n. run through the northern rivers of New South Wales.”

ORIGIN OF AUTOMOBILE TERMS.

Tho origin of many of the automobile terras we use is most interesting. As it was in France that tho industry was cradled, naturally most of our terms come from that language. Tho term “ limousine ” was first applied to a Preach army waggon which hid a hooded covering. The womenfolk of Limoges, tho old capita.! of Limousine, wore a hood with caps attached; this headdress was ; ailed a limousine, and from this covering the army waggon took its name. The “ sedan ” was so calk’d from the fact that when people travelled in chairs, before the era of carriages came, the finest and most comfortable were manufactured at .Sedan, a village in North-east Franco; and, as those model; were copied by every manufacturer, the name “sedan chair” came into universal use, and now tho terra is used for one of the most popular types of closed-iu motor car bodies

HERE AND THERE.

The- membership of the Southland Aloto; Association is steadily increasing, but. ilu executive is anxious to obtain still further members. Considering the amount of good work which such an organisation portorms for the bonefu of motoring generally, it is only right, that the motorist; in their turn should Jink up with the association. With tho constitution of the Highways Hoard and the taxes uiuen arc to bo levied on the industry and the individual motorist, it is even more necessarj now that formerly that there /Mould be some responsible body to represent an. protect the interests of the car or cycJt owner. Thus it is to bo hoped genermi! r.apport will be accorded the association by everv motor car and cycle owt cr. It is nit-cresting to learn that tho Wellington Olympia Motor Exhibition attracted big crowds of people nightly, ami that as tho result orders were booked by the enterprising agents in charge of the various exhibits. Automobile tourists a.re now able to enter nearly every country' in Europe except the Balkan States and Russia. Tritpyques, obtained by motorists, are a form ol bond, the posting of which in ono country will allow' passing all frontiers without- additional bonding of cars. Too long have the grown-ups monopolised the automobile. Now the babies are to have their innings, according to a- report recently received from London. The newest thing in baby carriages is called “autolet,” being an ckctric-ally-driven perambulator. Surry simply stands behind on a sort of raised platform controlling the levers. “Radiator” has received fl'om the Auckland representatives of the, ‘’Star” car a booklet containing air account of n speed record between Auckland and Wellington made by an eleven horse-power stock model, driven by Messrs W. fx Miller and 0. Smith, on April 17. The account is interesting and well illustrated. Tho Star ”is the only British-made carlo attack tho record, and it put up a splendid performance, doing tho 457 mile; in 14h 15min. The booklet also contain; illustrations of tho various models and specifications.