MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 22527, 21 December 1936, Page 6

MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

LIGHTING-UP TIMES To-day 8.5 S Tuesday . ... 8.59 Wednesday 8.59 Thursday 8.59 Friday 9.0 .Saturday 9.0 Sunday 9.0

TAR SPOTS

Tar spots dissolve when soaked with cocoanut oil. They may then be scraped off with a blunt knife, taking care to avoid scratching or digging into the duco, which is finally washed and polished.

FOR INEFFICIENT BUMPERS

' The necessity of having bumper bars on a car, with, the congested _ traffic conditions of to-day, is too obvious to need any elaboration, but there is a point about them on which some comment is necessary. Their height from the ground differs with various cars, with the result that when a careless motorist is backing into a parking space Ins rear bumper bars may override the front, bar of the car ; behind and flatten or otherwise damage its radiator grille and head lamps. Modern cars with damaged radiator grilles are a very common sight, and it is considered that this is the most frequent cause. Realising the lack of standardisation in bumper bar height, many car distributors market what they call bumper bar guards, short, vertical pieces which bolt on to the front of the bumper bar. This purpose is to stop bumper bars of other cars which are lower or higher from overriding in the manner described, and appear to be fitments which should be standardised pending some agreement among manufacturers on bumper bar height. In the meantime motorists who have regard for the finish of their cars should make a point of fitting them.

BENDIX STARTERS

The Bendix starter mechanism requires no lubrication. Oil or grease on the thread will prevent the inertia pinion screwing into mesh with the flywheel ring gear. The indication is a rumbling or spinning noise when the starter pedal or button is depressed. Wash the thread with petrol or kerosene if exposed, otherwise have the removed for this attention at a service station. Another cause of this whizzing noise is a worn ring gear ox broken starter bracket or spindle.

DIRECTION SIGNALS

Electrically operated direction indicators are standard fittings nowadays on a large < number- of call, and, in general,, they require , practically no maintenance attention other than the occasional application of a spot of thin oil to the pivot on which the arm rocks. When the signals are fitted- in the door pillars of the body space is somewhat cramped and the arms are required to swing outwards through very narrow slits. In the ordinary way they have ample working clearance, hut if an arm be slightly distorted it may foul the side of the casing. This probably will not prevent it being raised, because the pull of the solenoid is fairly powerful. When the current is shut on, however, the arm returns to the closed position by gravity, and, as it is of very light construction, it may jam if it touches the casing. A signal_ arm partially erected may be misleading to other drivers, whilst, furthermore, it is in a position to be damaged beyond repair. For these reasons the • arms should have perfectly free movement. A brief examination will show whether or not they are clear of their casings, and if they tend to foul, it will probably be sufficient to centralise them by gentle bending. In a bad case it may perhaps be necessary to file the lip of the casing.

FULL ADJUSTMENT

In Great Britain recently a census was taken of the heights of a large number of men and women, and it was revealed that out of every 1,000 men the majority were more than sft 6in in height, with about 33 per cent, of more than sft lOin. The majority of women are less than sft Bin in height. These figures show how difficult it is to build a car with the steering wheel placed in the position to suit all motorists, and illustrates the need there is for cars in which the rake and length of steering column and the position of the front seat are fully adjustable. Only in recent years has the adjustable front seat became universal, and it will not be surprising to And the same feature of adjustability becoming common for the steering column. Some cars already possess this feature.

SPEEDS DF NEWi CAR

Opinions differ upon the question of maximum safe speeds on top gear for a new car. The following is considered to bo a sensible schedule:- —Up to 500 miles do not exceed 30 miles per hour for any considerable time, up to 1,000 miles 33 m.p.h., and up to 2,000 miles <ls m.p.h. The most critical period of a car’s life is the running-in period, and moderate speed is essential to ensure that the minute roughnesses that are present on newly-machined surfaces are gradually lapped to a condition of smoothness.

HYDRAULIC BRAKES

Excessive consumption of hydraulic brake fluid suggests a leak somewhere. By pressing hard upon the foot pedal a leak will be more readily detected. Watch. for drips coming from inside the brake flanges, indicating wheel cylinder leakage. And while oa the subject of brakes, it is inadvisable to line one brake shoe pair with one lining, and its opposite pair with another brand and type of lining. The brakes should be adjusted by an expert whenever you note that the pedal goes down too far or the pedal needs a couple of strokes to obtain the best results.

TYRE WEAR

Wheel slippage resulting from fierce acceleration is a prolific cause of rapid tyre wear. Similarly the owner who “ drives on big brakes” cannot expect the treads and covers to stand up nearly so Jong as the one who uses his brakes sparingly. Unevenly adjusted brakes, oily linings, and uneven tyre, pressures must be rectified to obtain real tyro economy.

TAPPET CLEARANCE

The. importance of correst tappet clearance,, especially on some of the newer, cars, cannot be overstressed. At one time any engine could be given three or four thousandths for the intake, one or two more for the exhaust, and. you could say that the tappets were correctly adjusted. But nowadays one must he sure that full specified clearance is adhered to, since the figure can be anything from three to forty thousandths. When adjustment is too close, hard starting, unsatisfactory performance, burnt valves, and cam scoring, are some of the results. A slightly excessive clearance is common with a new car during the first 500 or. 1,000 miles, whereafter accurate and uniform adjustment should be made to maker’s specifications.

BODY SQUEAKS

Annoying rattles, difficult to locate, will develop around the floor-board, door hinges, and body holding-down bolts. The best way to control these is by regular tightening, especially with the new car. Hard-to-locate squeaks or creaks are often got rid of by spraying with an oil and kerosene solution.

RICHNESS DF FUEL

Over-richness of the mixture produces extravagance of fuel, reduces power, and the exhaust is blackened. The motor will run irregularly and roll or stop at idle throttle position. The remedy is -to cut down the mixture strength by reducing the fuel or increasing the air ratio. Some carburettors have a fuel adjustment, in others the jet or needle is changed. Some cases of richness are due to excess fuel pump supply, high float level, or an excessive strong air valve spring.

REAR HUB BEARINGS

Do not over-grease front or rear huh bearings. The surplus will find its way into the brake drums and reduce the braking efficiency very noticeably. Furthermore, the linings will rot, and grease will eventually escape from the revolving drums and throw over wheels, mudguards, and tyres. A special type of grease is necessary for hub bearings. Ordinary grease melts readily and escapes, as outlined above.

CDDL MOTORING

Most saloon cars of modern vintage are provided with cunning schemes of ventilation. They have little glass screens in the windows which may be set at an angle so that a cool current of air circulates through the car, carrying out at the rear the hot and vitiated atmosphere within, without causing a draught for the rear-seat occupants. in those cars which lack this modern convenience it is often a good plan in really torrid conditions to raise the rear windows until there is a slit at the top, out of which the air is sucked from within by extractor action from without. Naturally, a little draught is not only tolerable, but pleasant under such conditions, and all four windows wide open is probably the coolest thing to do. A sliding roof slightly open will usually have the same effect, but is liable to create a draught for those sitting behind. Many motorists are against wide open windscreens under these conditions. At first it feels fine to have the cool gale blowing against one’s face. After an hour, however, one finds one’s face badly burnt and wind-seared, besides being covered with dust and flies. One emerges from the car feeling extremely hot, tired, and dishevelled, with ears drumming from the wind. The best thing is a slightly opened screen which sends a stream of coo] air into the car. Remember to park in the shade—and not in a patch of shade which will obviously have “ moved on ” a quarter of an hour after you have set the handbrake.

by **R adl at o r**

LOW-SPEED JERKING

When the car jerks at low sjjeed it is usually due to the engine misfiring from several causes. The points of the spark plug may be set too close, the plug may be dirty, there may be loss of compression through faulty valves or leaking piston rings, the carburettor may bo incorrectly adjusted or contain foreign matter or water, or the ignition may he advanced too far. The remedy is a general overhaul at these points.

A SUGGESTION

Many owner-drivers have difficulty, for a time, anyway, in backing out of long, narrow; entrance drives. This may be overcome, suggests Dudley Clark, in the ‘ Vauxhall Motorist,’ by procuring a number of old-fashioned shop-bells and hanging them on posts, or the hedge, on each side of the drive, so that the ear keeps jangling them if you are an inch off the straight. This gradually maddens all the residents in your road, who proceed to summon you in turn. This solves your little difficulty, because either you soon learn to back the car without ringing the hells or else you are ruined by law costs and have to give up running a car.

WATER HOSE

In cases where the suction water hose tends to suck inward at high motor speed, the insertion of a coiled spring will strengthen the hose and overcome the trouble. Much more efficient cooling of the motor is assured when the hose resists this collapsing, since in a eemi-closed position it acts as a thermostat and restricts water flow.

ACCIDENT-PRONE PEOPLE

ELIMINATION ESSENTIAL In practically all motorised countries, different methods are being tried or adopted to educate the people to traffic conditions. The schemes are almost as varied as the organisations tackling the problem. The outstanding feature is that almost all authorities agree on one point —that only by education and gradual elimination of the accident-prone individual will definite and sustained progress be made. The fatalistic attitude of many persons is responsible for the present situation. Any plan to. interest the public depends for success upon two thingc; it must be attractive and desirable to those affected by it, and it must be administered in an accurate and open, public manner. Discipine and enforcement can only be generally effected by such means.

STALLING ENGINE

Nothing is more annoying than an engine that has the habit of stalling in traffic. Possibly the throttle stop screw has altered its position slightly, due to wear or vibration, thus allowing the throttle to close right, off. Or the ignition may be too far advanced. Retard halfway, where manual control is provided. Air leakages through loose manifold or carburettor flanges, at worn valve guides, throttle spindle, or screenwiper connections or faulty carburettor idling adjustment might also be suspected.

TOLD AT THE WHEEL

" The motoring beginner _ must use his imagination to a certain extent,” we read. Only the other day wo heard of one who told the breakdown gang from the garage that a lamp-post had deliberately backed into him.