MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 23452, 18 December 1939, Page 11

MOTORING AND MOTORISTS

LIGHTING-UP TIMES

To-day ••• 8.57 ■ Tuesday 8.57 Wednesday 8.58 Thursday ... ... ... ... 8.58 • Friday ... 8.59 Saturday ... ... ... ... 8.59 . Sunday ... ... ... .... 8.57 PUBLICATION RECEIVED . ‘ißedford Transport ’ magazine. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT “ Buick Six.” There are many causes of overheating, such as slipped timing, broken valve spring, sticking valves, clogged muffler, water impeller not working, even brakes being lett on. Your trouble, as you say, appears to be ignition, but first of all make sure that the water impeller or pump is working correctly. If this is right try advaricing or retarding the spark, and if this , does not cure the trouble test the valves for correct timing. Unless you are mechanically minded this is a job for an expert. Try flushing out tie radiator, as scale deposit stops full water circulation and sometimes causes overheating. : for correct timing of valves see that the inlet valve opens a little, before .the. piston reaches top centre and that the exhaust valve opens between lOdeg and 35deg before bottom dead centre. Soft, or worn valve springs, are often the • cause of bad timing. See that these ' are of correct tension and not broken. VALUE OF CAR RADIO The value of car radio was demonstrated to a marked degree in Great Britain during the early days of the present war, and will continue to do so ’ for its duration. Motorists all over the • United Kingdom were able to keep in , constant touch with official announce* ments which were broadcast hour, by hour. Thus were many tens of thousands of business people, commercial representatives, and others,; able to go about their ordinary avocations and ’at . the same time be au fait with Government pronouncements, which were given at regular intervals. As these are , likely to continue during hostilities, ' • many motorists in the Old Country who . have not radio-equipped vehicles are Haying them installed or providing ’ themselves with a portable set. It is now appreciated in Great Britain that during the war Government :. announcements per medium of radio are •'likely to, to' ’ ibemberS' of ' the fighting forces, defence, .nursing, and other _ services; conse- . quently many motorists who have to ■ travel by motor vehicle in the course of ' their business are equipping their auto- . .mobile with a radio installation. GEARS ON HILLS AVOIDING WEAR ON BRAKES ■Recently a car was followed down ai long hill, 1 and at the foot it pulled into a roadside garage with so much smoke coming from the brake drums that the linings must have been very badly burned indeed. So bad were they ... that the garage attendant considered it wise to throw water over each drum. As it was obvious that the brakes had , been in -use during the whole of the long descent, the driver was asked why he nad treated them so unmercifully. He replied with an air of surprise that he had to hold the car in cheek. A few days later two cars , were • noticed on the same hill with the brakes smoking almost as badly. Ap- . parently there are many drivers who ■ are quite unfamiliar with one of the elementary rules of car driving, which is to save the brakes as far as passible on: a Jong descent by using the lower gear ratios. : , i: Obviously the drivers .iu the: cases quoted descended'the hill, ' which is about two miles long, without changing from top gear, and tiie whole work of retarding the cars, preventing them from running away, was borne hy the brakes. FRICTION AND HEAT. The braking system retards the car hy the application of, shoes to t|ie inside surfaces qf rotating drums fastened to the tvheeis, the shoes being faced with a woven friction, material containing a good deal of asbestos, which, as is well known, has a high resistance to heat. Obviousy, as the brakes depend on friction for their efficiency, quite a lot of heat is generated when they are applied, heat which, is resisted successfully in normal braking h.V the asbestos content of the linings. Rut on very long hills, the heat, generated reaches a pitch where the brake linings . cannot . resist "it, and the linings smoulder, causing the smoke described. The obvious remedy is to use the brakes as infrequently as possible, and this is only possible by aiding them with some other retarding force.; The time-honoured method, a method that is as old as motor cars themselves, is to employ one of the lower gear ratios iu conjunction with the engine, the compression, of the engine itself being the retarding medium multiplied by the gear ratio in use.

Actually the engine exerts a certain braking force in top gear, when the throttle is closed, that being one of the reasons why free-wheeling quickly went out of favour, because cars fitted with the free wheel ran into corners disconcertingly fast, a trait which resulted in quite a number of accidents, USE OF SECOND GEAR. " •■•However, the braking force in top gear is comparatively mild and is not nearlv powerful enough to hold, a car on a" bill of any Steepness. The usual thing is to drop into second gear, which, having a ratio of, say, 8 to 1, in comparison with the top gear ratio of about 4 to 1, approximately doubles - the braking force exerted by the compression of the cylinders. Even so. on many hills it will be necessary to use the brakes considerably, but' only intermittently, which gives them some chance of keeping cool, nor is the same pressure required on the pedal as would be the case if they were called upon to do all the work. Very occasionally a hill of exceptional steepness may bo encountered, when it is wise to use first gear, whose very low ratio gives the engine compression even more- powerful retarding qualities; In hilly country the cardinal rule is to use the brakes as little as possible bv using the engine compression and the lower gears. REMOVING BODY SQUEAKS - if ft ,■',..... When a car has covered a few thousand miles, it is common for annoying squeaks and rattles to develop in the coachwork, and if the trouble is taken to search for them, it usually is found that they emanate from the doors, which are not closing firmly because some wear has occurred in the vee blocks on the door pillars which fit into recesses ip the doors themselves. In most cars with steel bodies, these blocks can be, ad justed, a fsjet not generally known. AU that is necessary to do is' to loosen the screws holding the blocks in place and slide them outwards slightly, then tightening the -screws. When the correct position for them hss been found 1 by. experiment, the; dobi’s will elpse'firmly and be free of, rattles. Indldef types of cars with composite bodies, these, blocks are not adjustable, but as they cost only a few. pence each, it may be worth while replacing theib with new ones. ; CAR COLOURS MANY NEW TINTS ~. More,- than .ever before -is attention being given to colour as a safety factor in motor vehicles. Even in the earlier period of motoring, \vhen the highest speeds were little more than the equivalent of normal touring speeds of to-day, it was recognised that light colouring afforded cars a greater measure of safety at night, and that at any time a brightly-coloured vehicle, being more .easily discernible than those of ■dull,.appearance,; was less liable to become Wolved in collisions.

Nowadays, with traffic moving _at high speed oyer smooth roads, the importance of colour as a safety factor is much more pronounced. It may have been on this account that red has become popular as colouring for automobiles in recent years. In New York and some other American cities decrees prohibiting “ fire department red ” as an overall colouring of motor vehicles other than those of fire brigades, have been issued recently, to take effect next year. It is estimated that more than 45,000 commercial motor vehicles and many cars will be affected by the colour ban in New York. In the current issue of the ‘ Motor Digest ’ is published an announcement by Mrs Elizabeth French, director of the Duco Colour Advisory Service, of a new technique in colour development which has made possible the release of 1,500 graduated colours. The change, according to Mrs French," was broughtabout by the company’s dissatisfaction with the prevailing methods of creating hew colours for ,-use ,on motor cars. Throughout the industry it had long been the practice to use textiles, works of art, and reference books as inspiration for new colours. Accordingly, with the use only of pigments of known durability,. thousands of new colours were developed in an orderly, barely perceptible graduation of hue, value, and brightness Due to the scientific, orderly manner of development, these colours are so clear and brilliant that ; even familiar shades seem new. “ Consequently,” Mrs French added, “ cars will inaugurate a new era of chromatic splendour in the automotive industry, for many manufacturers have taken advantage of this opportunity to enhance the beauty of their motor car designs.:” Among the new colours developed are the metallic blues. Also new are the new, Brewster-like greens, which have the undertones like woods. Spice tones, soft tints such as sand, and ruddy bieges are representatives of the brown family. SHOCK ABSORBERS The position of hydraulic .shock absorbers is often inaccessible for toppingup when garage jacks or lifts are not available. A cheap and effective syringe for this purpose can be made from an old bulb _ horn equipment. The horn trumpet is cut through about 2in from the bulb and a length of rubber tubing is slipped , over the . sleeve projecting from the bulb. To fill the shock absorbers the bulb is detached and filled with the, correct fluid, reconnected, and the end ,of the tube inserted in the filler hole of the shock absorber. WHEEL BEARIN6S OH TRAILERS Many trailer outfits are built up on old car axles, and in most cases the axles are taken from fairly old vehicles. It is not unnatural, therefore, to find that there are many outfits running about the roads with poor and worn wheel bearings. Again, the trailer axle is frequently asked to carry a, greater

by "Radiator”

weight than it did when it was a car axle. Body weights and camping gear soon total up and the strain may, be too much for the bearings. All trailer owners should, therefore, make absolutely sure that the bearings of the towed axle are in perfect order,. The collapse of the ’wheel bearing 'of a trailer may lead to much damage. Cases hare been'■-•known of a collapsed trailer wheel bearing dragging car and all right:-'off' the road,- and causiflg a,. general , smash up. ' Don’t- take !a. chance,-see to; your wheel bearings.

MOTOR CYCLING fixtures ; ) -■’■■■' - i To-night.—Monthly meeting. TOLD AT THE WHEEL GIVING THE GAME AWAY. The Browns were entertaining friends. “ I think I shall get a car this year,” said Mr Brown. “ I haven’t decided what make, but it’s no use getting a cheap one. I suppose I could- get a serviceable affair for 500 or so? ” While the company was gasping at the careless mention of such a sum, the host’s youngest son remarked: “ And will that funny little, man with the black whiskers call every week, like he did when you bought my bike, dad?”