MOTORING & MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 20375, 6 January 1930, Page 13

MOTORING & MOTORISTS

[BY RADIATOR.]

TIMES FOR LIGHTING UP. To-day i.. s..< ••• 9*o Tuesday 9.0 Wednesday ... ... 9.0 Thursday ••• 9.0 Friday ... ... ■-. ... 8.59 Saturday ... ••• '8.59 ' Sunday ... 8-^9. PUBLICATION ttECEIVED. The * Radiator ’ for December. EMERGENCY SCREWDRIVER. Some items of the electrical equipment of a car, such as horn buttons, are fitted with extremely small screws on which no ordinary screwdriver can be used. As the average owner seldom has occasion to touch these screws it is scarcely worth while buying a specially small screwdriver for the purpose, and it is well to bear in mind that a wire nail can be made to serve the purpose; the point can readily bo filed to form a miniature screwdriver blade, whilst if the nail is bent over at the right bugles a sufficiently good grip can be obtained to turn any of the. small screws on which this improvised screwdriver is .likely to be ■used. It may be argued that a wire nail is rather soft for use as a screwdriver, but this is an advantage rather than otherwise, as the screws on which it "will be used are usually of brass, and there is therefore less likelihood of damaging .them. ■ Justice on the road. All New Zealand motorists returning from tours in England concur in their admiration of the efficiency and courtesy of drivers in the use of their traffic signs. The driver on an English road, for example, is not content with merely putting out his hand to signify an intended change of course, but he is careful to make the gesture clearly indicate what he intends to do, and even to make sure, if possible, that the man behind will be able to respond • when the course is changed. When a driver, desires to let a man pass him from behind he waves him forward with a turn of the wrist and makes way for him to pass. Here, it is said, the signalling as a rule is more, perfunctory than polite. Suddenly deciding to turn, a driver will thrust out his arm and immediately swing across the road, leaving those behind to let him pass as best they can.. When -this crude manoeuvre results in a crash the offend,ing driver is quick; to justify himself with the exclamation, “ Well, I' put out my arm !” Exact compliance with a rule does not compensate for a crash that could'have been prevented if care had been '.taken to . see that those behind were able, at the moment, to obey the signal. CORRECT METHODS. With the advent of four-wheel brakes,abetter springing, and—it is re-, grettableitb have to mention—bumpers, the standard of driving on corners has not improved.. In fact, there is a growing tendency'" on “the part of some drivers to assume that the road is clear and verify it afterwards This way accidents happen. Going, uphill they endeavour to rush, and partly gut, the corner, frequently meeting another driver who has pulled. over to the off side so as to swing round more easily. The obviously safe method, when ascending, is to hug the nearside kerb or bank, change down (if necessary) about ten yards from the corner, sound the horn, and, when the front wheels are . almost abreast of, the corner itself, lock , over -hard, the speed of the car not exceeding ten miles an hour When descending hear rather towards the crown of the road—anticipating the appearance of _an ascending car by being ready to swing to the near side—sound the horn, keeping the left foot on the clutch and the right foot on the brake dal, and, when opposite the corner, c over hard. This disposition of the feet on the controls is important, as instant braking may bo necessary to avoid a reckless driver cutting the corner in the opposite direction. *; . OIL PIPES. Oil pipes, on engines require a certain amount of attention now and then in the matter of seeing that all unions and joints aro tight and no oil leakage is occurring. It is well to go over the oil piping at regular intervals and tighten the union nuts and the flanges. Oil leakage may mean considerable inefficiency in the engine, while it might, even lead to a bearing or big end being denuded of oil and seizing up. in which case a most expensive repair might be entailed. In the case of smallbore pipes which get into contact with hot parts of the engine, it sometimes happens that carbon incrustations are set up, and the bore of the pipe restricted,with consequent restriction of the flow of oil. This can bo avoided by running crinkled copper or iron wire through the pipe and pushing it backwards and forwards. A smoker’s pipe cleaner duplicated or' triplicated or bent over to get width .makes a good of obstructed oil pipes; . ~ ■ ' TO POLISH CHROMIUM. ! Chromium plating will not tarnish, but it does need a mild cleaning now and them A, quick, easy method is to rub it lightly' with a damp chamois and dry it with a piece of the same material. , ROAD COURTESY. A few days ago I read an article which went to show that we are, as a whole, more polite than we were two or three years ago. I felt as I read the article that there wai something in it, and sincerely hoped that motorists were also improving in this respect. A few days later I read, however, of a drivqr of a small two-seater who ran out, of petrol a few miles from anywhere, and who was passed by several cars, none of the drivers of which asked if -he could render any help. Finally, he took his petrol tin and set out along the road in'seaich of a garage. During his pilgrimage many more cars passed him, and he is positive that several drivers were smiling at his predicament. In that, however, he may have been jaundiced. He considers he walked eighteen miles before he found petrol, and then walked eighteen miles back to his car, to find that his passenger had eaten all the sandwiches, emptied the thermos flask, and smoked all the spare cigarettes. He was piqued about it, and said that had any car driver who passed possessed finer feelings he would have offered him at least a pint , or so of petrol. • I began to wonder whether the first article was not a trifle premature. Of course, in the earlier days _of motoring road courtesy was not noticeable for the very reason that it . was

Brief accounts of boSSay trips, roads, and places of Merest are invited for tlxis column.

universal. 1 have seen, as many as fourteen drive s, with their vehicles parked by the roadside, unitedly seeking for the cause of some ignition trouble in a woman’s two-seater car. No; you’re wrong. It was merely because the driver was of the fair sex—it was just road custom. In just the same waj I 'orce saw. a Rolls Royce, two Sunbeams and a Vauxhall, looking somewhat like a herd of friendly elephants, helping a Ford driver to get Ins car out of a ditch. Thfe freemasonry of the road was a wonderful thing. I suppose that it was the nearest approach to , real chivalry that this country has known since the Middle Ages. There was a Brotherhood of the Road which I fear many newer motorists will never be able to visualise, much less to emulate.? I wonder whether we can restore the original state of affairs. There seems no reason why we should not. Many of the oldei motorists are still on the road. We have, each of us,; only to make a resolve that we will 'do what we can to bring it about and the restoration will be a fact.—“ 8.8, ” in “The Autocar.” * WHEK FIRE BREAKS OUT. HOW TO SAVE THE CAR. Many owners are under the impression that a blowback through ■ the carburettor is the _ greatest potential source of fire. This is true only if the fire has something to feed upon in the shape; saj, of fflel leaking from the petrol tap or a flooding carburettor and becoming vaporised by the heat under the bonnet. Given a peifectly leak-proof system a blow-b'acl, is not so dangerous as might he imagined. Assuming that it takes place when the engine is running the danger is very, remote. If, however, the engine stops at the same time that the blow back takes place, a tiny flame feeding on a. small quantity of liquid fuel, which may be deposited in the air intake as the result of the blow-back, may appear. If it is not extinguished at once, , the flame may easily spread to the float chamber. Two certain ways of extinguishing the conflagration are by the use of a fire extinguisher or by turning off the petrol, starting up the engine, and revving it without mercy until the fuel in, the float chamber is exhausted and the fire automatically goes out. The resJt of a conflagration of this kind might,-however, be far more seri,ous if the petrol tap leaked, or the carburettor tended to flood when the car was standing, and for this reason the pipe line from the tank to the carburettor should be examined periodically and cured of any leak which may have developed, whilst any tendency on the part of the carburettor to flood should be stepped. There is no excuse for a petrol leak at the pipe unions. The ordinary nut and cone union, if cleaned when assembled and screwed up tight, is leakproof, whilst any intermediate fitting at ’the _ 'carburettor end between the pipe union., and the body of the instrument is usually -provided with a fibre washer. Should a leak develop at the joint, try tightening first,, and if this fails obtain; a new washer from the nearest depot. If the tap leaks buy a new one I EXHAUST DAGGERS. , The exhaust system comes next in importance in the , inquiry as to how fires _ cap b : guarded against—for the possibility of “ loose ” petrol at some time or other must be accepted. Some people fail to appreciate the fact that immediately an exhaust valve opens the charge which escapes from the cylindei takes the form of a very hot spurt of flame. If, then, the exhaust manifold gasket or the exhaust pipe gasket arb faulty, it i.s possible for a thin pencil of flame to, .‘‘ pierce ” the space under’ the bonnet with every half, revolution (if the engine is a fourcylinder job) of the crankshaft. This means that, at speed, there would be an almost continuous point of flame ready to ignite any petrol , vapour which might bo present. ’ A sooty deposit on any metal parts adjacent to the manifold or exhaust pipe joint is a sure indication that there is an exhaust leak. The fact, however, can often be,verified by running the engine in darkness and with the car stationary, and watching for the tell-tale flame.

A small conflagration qujckly spreads unless it is dealt with instantly and effectively. In the absence of a fire extinguisher, and assuming in the event of a carburettor fire that the flames cannot be extinguished by shutting off the fuel and revving up the engine, tho best thing to do is to endeavour to beat out the flames, and in this connection it mighty be cheap in tho long run to use a ‘rug or oven one’s brand-new overcoat! ,r>

It is well known that water is absolutely useless as a fire fighter when the flames are feeding on petrol. All that happens is that the petrol floats on the,surface hf the water, and continues, to burn, Moreover, water may easily spread a conflagration, for it will carry the flames wherever it runs. Sand is a far better fire fighter, but for obvious reasons a careful owner would hesitate to shoot handfuls of sand over his engine in an endeavour to quell a small outbreak of fire.

CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

Undoubtedly the best and the most practical thing to do is to carry an approved car fire fcxtinguisher. The principles employed are simple. The cylinder contains a chemical—absolutely harmless to clothes or tho naked skin—which is forced out through a fine nozzle either by means of a self-con-tained pump or by internal pressure. Another type of instrument employs a special poiyder. A small conflagration can bo put out with the acid with as little as a tablespoonful of the contents, and the extinguisher can be returned to its clip ready for any other emergency. , The contents of tho extinguisher last almost indefinitely. It is a good plan, however, periodically to test the efficacy of an extinguisher; it may not be altogether necessary, but it is reassuring. , The vessel containing the fuel should, of course, be placed well out in the open. Some ..folk do not Avorry about fire: “The bar is insured!” they say. The argument is terribly fallacious, for the effects of a fire do not concern the car alone: a sudden conflagration may lead to serious personal injury.—The ‘ Light Car.’

RADIATOR AND JACKET. In sonic parts of the country the water supply is of such a nature that it leaves a deposit on the inner Avails of. the Avater jackets and in the water spaces of radiators. .When this hap-

pens the radiating efficiency of the system is seriously affected. The heat cannot get quickly to the water in the Jacket, and it cannot get to the cooling outer surfaces of the radiator, and the engine gets unduly hot. Loss of water by steaming—it passes down the one-flow pipe in the radiator, and may be unnoticed—is a sure sign of this state of things existing. The remedy is to drain the water system and .refill with a strong solution of soda. Run the engine for some little time with this solution in the system, and then drain off and swill out with a hose and clean water. The result will be. a return to normal cool operation of the engine. MOTOR GARAGES AND MEN. HUMOUR "AND PATHOS. Garages are the little oiyscs set in the nail-strewn and gate-infested wilderness of motordom. As the wanderer over the sun-bleached desert heaves a sigh of relief when the green palm trees of the oasis give promise of water to slake his thirst or bathe his wounds, so the motorist heaves just as thankful a sigh when the red pumps outside the garage give promise of a refill of petrol to slake the neverending thirst of six cylinders, or the blue overall of a mechanic promises a speedy euro, for /the strange ailment that has taken its seat somewhere under the bonnet of your car. The desert wanderer may meet with friendly and generous Arabs at the oasis, or he may meet with a band of marauding Touaregs; just as the motorist may meet with a garage proprietor who is willing, amiable, and generous, or. on the other hand, with one whose sole aim and object in life seems to be to fleece innocent and credulous-looking motorists like myself (states a writer iln the ‘Cape Times’). But enough. Comparisons aro notoriously odious. Let it suffice to say that there are garages and garages, and that I have been unfortunate in having dealings with only those of the latter type. Sometimes,.of course, a little bunion, creeps in, but the laugh always seems to go against me somehow. 1 remember once drawing up at a roadside garage and looking for the owner. The only person to be seen was a native “ boy ” with a face as blank as that of a stray sheep. I approached him and tried to explain; “You tellum boss car he gettum sick. No run nice. • You tell boss he nftikeum well.” That, I thought, was lucid enough. The “ boy ” looked at me with his vacant stare, then lifted the bonnet and started the engine. A few minutes later ho straightened up and remarked casually: “Ah! nothing serious. Just your tappets that need adjusting, sir.” He was a Mission School product. “SOME TYPES.” There are some garage mechanics 1 loathe with a deep and lasting loathing. There is, for instance, the chap who, when I have _ brought nfy car in for repairs, and with an authoritative air say: “Now, my, man, I want you to tell mo just what is wrong with , this car,” says after a casual look under the bonnet, “Aw! your carburettor is all up a gum tre£.” Now that is not at all a satisfying sort of answer to get. What I moan is, 1 should likv, the fellow to immediately lapse into technical phraseology and talk for a quarter of an hour about ratings, ratios, and revolutions, or something like that. I really don’t mind what he talks dbout, because 1 shall not understand a word of what ho is saying, but as long as he is technical 1 shall be satisfied. You see, I shall feel no cud bucked to think that lie thinks I know what ho is talking about. You get me? Butj no! the fellow just takes one appraising look at me and immediately starts using words of not more than two syllables, and helps the conversation along by making signs with his hands. Now, is this encouraging? _ Is it a compliment to my mechanical abilities and general intelligence? Sometimes, after a few minutes with a mechanic like that. I feel as if I would need to stand on a packing case to crank up a baby Austin. Another irritating type is the mechanic who undertakes most faithfully to overhaul your car, or repair it, os tho case may bo, within a certain period, anti then fails to dp so. Ho hauls your car to his den—garage, I mean—and promises you by all he ever held holy that you can call for it on 'Thursday afternoon. You ask him: “Are you sure?” and he gives' you the reproachful look of,a 1 king for a favourite that had fallen from grace. Yon feel that you havo been wrong in doubting him, very wrong. Reassured that he will not fail you though the heavens fall, you ring up Mabel and tell her that everything is all right and that you will take her for the promised spin on Thursday evening. On Thursday afternoon you call for the ear, and Mr Mechanic looks at you with pained surprise and tells you that you could not* have heard him , aright, and that what ho said was, “ Friday afternoon.” Of course you swear at him in six languages, but ho is used to that and stares thoughtfully and philosophically at the point of your nose while you rave and roar, until once more you realise that he has the upper hand and that you are merely making an ass of yourself. In the end you depart with another faithful promise, and have to' hire a car to take Mabel for her spin.

THE “ LOOK-OVER.”

Ancl once a mechanic of this sort gets hold of your car, it is no casy_ matter to get it out of his dutches again. You may perhaps, take tho car to a service station o have a ucav hooter fitted. Vaguely you suggest that tho mechanic might just give tho car a general look-over as avcll. Two days later you return, to find that the mechanic has repaired the old hooter, but has practically fitted a ucav car to it, and the sum you have to pay adds quite a few figures to your overdraft. Bitter experience has brought mo to the conclusion that it is little short of insanity to invest in a car if you know nothing about its engine, for you are then at the mechanic’s mercy, and his mercy is at times none too tender. There have been occasions Avlien, leaving the garage alter footing some particularly heaiw bill, I have been convinced that the mechanic, as ho eyed my retreating figure, murmured softly : “Of such is the kingdom of heaven 1” Motor mechanics arc not mentioned amongst tho Ten Plagues. 1 Avoncler \vhether this was an oversight? I dare not sign this tirade. Truth is seldom appreciated, and mechanics arc uncommonly handy Avith a spanpar, and have many uses for it. Also, my Aveary Avay home Jies along a dark and lonely 1 road. Anonymity must therefore cloak my person.

IF LAMPS FAIL.

SIMPLE TESTS ANYONE CAN MAKE.

When the lamps of a car fail to light and short circuits, open circuits, or grounding aro suspected, and fuses keep on blowing, or, in a car having no fuse, the circuit-breaker keeps vibrating, before disconnecting any ol the wiring examine the different lamps in the system to make sure these are in order. They can be tested on the car battery, if single contact, by connecting a piece of wire round the socket and making a connection on one battery terminal -by means of the single centre contact and touching the other battery terminal with the wire. _lf double contact lamps, test by using two pieces of wire and touching both terminals of battery and lamp contacts. The lamps being in order, the next procedure is to test the grounding. In the single-wire system the circuit is completed by earthing the bulb throtigli the reflector and mudguard, or sometimes the bracket attached to the chassis. These parts often become rusty, loose, or dirty, causing poor electrical contact. By scratching a piece of paint off the underside of lamp and mudguard and connecting a piece of wire on the cleaned surfaces (the switch being on), the lamp should light. If it does not light look further for your trouble. The lamp sockets may have become loose, dirty, or rusty in their holders, with the sarae_ result, or the plungers operated by springs in the sockets may have stuck. There may be a break or short circuit in the wirings. Use the best quality armoured wiring when replacing, and do not draw tight or allow the wiring to become pinched between metal surfaces or to lie in oil.

In some cars the dash and tail lamps are in series, the dash acting as a telltale and not burning without the other. For these two use ti-4-volt lamps, and not the 6-8-volt, if your system is the 6-volt.

. Head lamp reflectors should be polished with jewellers’ rouge and chamois leather to pi-event scratching, and finger marks wiped off bulbs and glass to obtain best results. Should the head lamp bulbs bo of the two-fila-ment type, see that they are put in in the correct way, the tilt switch controlling the upper filament. _ All connections must be clean and tight, and any necessary joins well soldered and taped. Always carry spare fuses of the correct amperage, and keep the battery fully charged.—'Auto. Engineer.’ MOTOR CYCLING t , FIXTURES. February B.—-Dirt track races. February 22.—Beach races. March B.—Dirt track races, HOME OVERHAULS. Motor cyclists who do their repairs at home will find of some value the following points to remember if they wish to keep their machines in good running order:— The driving chains are among the apparently insignificant but really important parts to be examined regularly. Exposed as they ■ are to road grit and water, their service life is indeed remarkable, but there is no reason, why it should not be further extended by washing all traces of foreign matter from the roller bearings. Then, after heating gently over a gas fire, plunge the whole chain into a tin of graphite and oil. This will not only lubricate the inner bearing surface, but will also prevent the entry of water and dust 'or some considerable time.

Turning now to the bicycle part of the outfit, there is always something to be'done in order to improve efficiency and' to increase reliability. Firstly, the road wheels. After dropping the stand spin them to test if they run truly. A wheel out of true is a bad asset, for not only does it make riding more difficult under wet conditions, but tyre wear is increased enormously. As a general rule, the wheel can be lined up by careful adjustment of the spokes, for unless the rim has received a severe blow, slack or broken spokes are at the bottom of the trouble. DETAILS THAT COUNT. While on this job make sure no broken spokes are passed over, for it will only mean doing the truing work over again in a very short time, and in addition a loosh spoke head is liable to cause punctures. Before leaving the wheel, test the axle, cones for play, and if necessary pack the holes with good graphite adjust them, and when reassembling lubricant. By the way, the exterior of these hubs are. perhaps, the most difficult part of the machine to keep clean, for it needs a trained snake to wangle the cloth between the spokes. A simple trick to save all this bother is to cut a strip of leather about onequarter of an inch wide and long enough to make a circle twice the hub diameter. Thread it round the hub and fasten the pnds together, and for ever afterward the metal will keep clean and bright. DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

With regard to the steering head ball race, as the weight of the machine tends to keep pressure on this assembly, many motor cyclists take its adjustment for granted without examination.

A badly-adjusted steering head is not a safe proposition, and it tends to make riding more difficult than it should hp. Place a block of wood under the crank case in such a position that the front wheel is clear of the ground. Stand astride this wheel, facing the tank, and, grasping tho forks firmly, heave slowly, but firmly, with an up-and-down motion to test for play in the bearing. Finally, it is a wise plan, in order to secure best tyre economy, to change front to rear occasionally, and so distribute the driving evenly. . RIDE A, MOTOR CYCLE. FINE EDUCATION FOR CAR DRIVERS. Kay Down, tho English racing motorist, and one of the leading car drivers in the world j who was not so very long ago a keen motor cyclist and a very successful motor cycle competitor at Brooklands (England), states that driving a motor cycle is tho finest piece of road education a man or woman can have, since it calls for tho application of all the simple exercises in driving which will equip them for tho more difficult task of controlling a motor car. Driving a motor cycle, lie claims, teaches a mah to have regard for his own safety; it provides the potential motor car driver with the*knowledge that a car, by reason of its size and weight, can inflict a greater amount of damage to “ the other fellow ” than to its owner. For this reason alone the motorist with motor cycle experience is inclined to be a safer and more considerate driven than the man who has never ridden on two wheels.

There are plenty of oar drivers today who know nothing whatever of motor cycles or of their behaviour on the road, and who, prior to buying a car, had never oven piloted a bicycle on

the highways* If every driver had been a cyclist or a motor cyclist before ho became a motorist there would be a far more tolerant spirit on the roads, apart altogether from the fact that accidents would be fewer. The ideal, of course, is one which could not be brought about, but recognition of it should be far more widespread than it is.