MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 April 1932, Page 4

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

"Gearbox")

PAINTWORK RENOVATIONS I • =• ' ' ——■ ’ • Next’ tinie your car is laid up for , a . few. (lays the time’can profitably; be spent in. touching up the chassis and paintwork of the wheels and brake drums. These parts, and in particular the brake drums, rapidly show signs of rust. Before applying ?,hy paint hosej the parts and then \ash down with petrol -or turps. It' s not* really essential .to rub down these parts so long as all grease is .emoved. Then one or two coats of linck-drying or oil enamel will pro-1 duce <an amazing improvement in the j. general appearance. The wheels', brake drums, axles and various parts of the braking gear can be dealt with fa'ir.ly easily, but touching up the wings is a little, more difficult, as unless care is taken the repainted parts will show a strong contrast to the old" surface. Patience is heeded to make a good job. Rub dowii the just spots or damaged sections. until a bright metal surface is obtained. Then apply a filler, accordng to the type of paint to be used, and, when dry, rub down. Celluloid .acquer stopping pastes are applied with a knife, such as a putty knife, and each layer is allowed to dry and another added until the level of the patch is 1 slightly above that of the surface of the old. enamel.. When hard, rub down until level with the surrounding portion. Then dry off. It is advisable, if the'damage is bad, to give an undercoat before the final finishing-off coat. If the touched-up wing be cellulosefinished, gently polishing with a metal -relish will-help to make the patch alncst indistinguishable, but the best Hocedure with an enamelled wing is ,o give it’a coat of enamel over the entire surface after the blemishes nave been obliterated. IMPROVING FABRIC BODIES

A fabric body can be greatly improved in appearance after it has been in use foy two or three years by □ainting it with cellulose, but it is essential to use the fabric grade of material; this has a flexible base, which will “give” with" the material to which it is applied, so that cracks do not appear in a short time. To use ordinary paint or ordinary cellulose ‘ lacquers would be uiisatisfactoryc ...

It is essential to have a perfectly clean surface. z First wash the fabric with soap and water, which should be lukewarm. 'Wipe perfectly diy, and finally go over the body Ihoroughy with petrol or turpentine to remove any greasy deposits. Make nue the grain is free from d'usi, and the fabric is then ready to be oainted. The fabric cellulose should not be thinned down; this would have no bearing upon whether the material would eventually be brittle or .otherwise, owing to the fact that it has the safne base as that from which the fabric is manufactured. It is only possible, to obtain flexibility by the use of , certain‘ ingredients, and these are embodied,, in fabric cellulose. The lacquer is applied quickly and evenly to tho fabric surface, and in cases where a fabric body is to be finished in the same colour as that existing, one coat, should be sufficient. To change the colour, two coats at least of the new tint are advisable, but a marked alteration is not recommended.

'“BLIND” SPOTS FOR DRIVERS" As traffic increases on the roads it becomes more necessary than ever to ensure that a driver’s vision is unimpeded and the inistake of crowding non-essential equipment into the front compartment of a car becomes apparent.'.' Driving vjsipn is sometimes impaired by posting stickers and similar posters on the windscreen Some of these posters are often large and form a blind spot of dangerous proportions in the driver’s angle of vision. Almost, as ..foolish as the practice of posting stickers on the screen is that of-'posting (them on the rear light or rear, window in closed cars. The practice is very common. Misleading perspectives' of what is going on behind a car are likely'to be obtained even from the best rear-vision mirrors, and the difficulties of accurate observation with the aid of a mirroi’ are increased if the rear window is partly obscured. It is not often realised how much of the right-hand side of the road ahead of the driver may be cut off if a spotlight or rearvision mirror be fitted outside the car to the pillar of the windshield. The dangei’ of these and other fittings mounted in the same position lies in their tendency to obscure the view of side streets except when the car is a considerable distance away from them. Another bad policy is the fitting of very large mascots to the radiator cap. This applies particularly to the large dolls of various kinds sometimes carried on the radiator. Merely a slight inconvenience in the daytime, these mascots become very dangerous on ill-lighted roads at night, because they are in just the position to obscure the driver’s view of pedestrians or cyclists whom the car may be overtaking until it is too late to avoid an accident.

NOTES ON SERVICE. TAUGHT BY EXPERIENCE

The fabric top of many saloon cars rarely receives the attention it deserves. Whenever the car is washed a dressing of liquid polish not only enhances the appearance of the fabric, but assists in its preservation. When driving slowly in congested areas, the ignition should always be retarded, especially on battery ignited models. In very dense traffic the driver should change down rather than hold on top gear for an unduly protracted period. This not only assures better acceleration, but relieves bearings and cylinder walls from undue stresses. . > ' ,

Rear, wheels occasionally need to be tightened on the tapered ends of the axle. If. a sharp snap or .click is heard in starting the car, particularly when changing from forward to reverse motion or' vice versa, »it is often an indication that this attention is required: Remove the hub cap and the axle nut cotterpin, tighten the nut strongly with a large wrench, and do not forget to lock it with a new cotterpin, well bent over. It is injurious to th.e transmission to engage the brakes in a rapid or viplent manner, and it increases wear on'the tyres, On wet or greasy roads sudden application of the brakes may cause a mishap through skidding, and the car can very easily get out of control. Pressure should he gradually applied so as to bring the ear to a gentle stop or reduce the speed without a jerk. On no account should acid be added to the battery by the owner. Should this at any time become necessary, ic should be done at the battery service depot, as important tests are necessary when adjusting the specific gravity of the electrolyte by adding acid The state of .charge of a battery can best be tested by a battery hydrometer, When fully charged the electrolyte will register a specific gravity of 1.280, or thereabouts; and less in proportion as it is discharged. No attempt should be made to take a dynamo to pieces or to interfere with any off the connections; these are matters to which an; electrical service depot should attend. Altering the output of the , dynamo is not as a rule advisable, unless done at a service depot, although some car owners are competent so to do. An important point to keep in mind is that on many cars the ignition distributor is attached to the dynamo; consequently if this be removed the ignition timing will be upset. When topping batteries with distilled water care should be taken to see that the air-vents in the filler caps are clear. Blockage of the vents may cause the'gas generated during the charging of the battery to force a passage out of hny point and cause leakage of acid. Drumming in enclosed coachwork can sometimes be cleared by extending the exhaust tail pipe until it projects clear of the body at the rear of the car. In some cases it has been found that a fish-tail effects, a considerable improvement. An irritating rattle emanating from under the body can often be traced to brake rods shaking about inside the supports designed to prevent unnecessary flexing. The rattle can be cured by inserting leather pads soaked in oil, which will last longer' than the felt pads often used. .•; . ' ■

Sometimes, in patching inner tubes, one has to take off the old patch, because of a leak under or close to it. In trying to take off the patch one is Ijkely to tear the tube, and, in addition, it is a slow job. Strike a match, hold it under the patch for a few seconds* and the patch will come off easily. ' . , • When driving after dark it is often difficult to observe signals given by the'man ahead, a fact .which is no doubt responsible for many of the collisions which occpr in badly lit streets. A red reflector attached to the back of the right-hand glove is easily picked out by the light of following cars, and is one way of making reasonably certain that one’s signals have been seen.

Country motorists, in particular, are well advised to use rainwater whenever it is available for refilling the radiator. It often happens that the local town supply or -river or creek water is mineralised* and its persistent use will conduce to heavy scale formations, which it will be difficult to remove, and which will interfere with the efficiency of the cooling system. ,' ,

A good deal of attention has been paid lately to automatic control of the spark, and the arrangement for 1932 of a leading British factory consists of a centrifugally operated governor in which moving weights change the angular relation of the driving and the driven shafts. This requires no attention, a retarded spark for slow driving, and adjusts itself automatically to engine speed. On cars, that have not been used very much or have been left standing for some time, the fuel pump will often not function properly. The pump will force an excessive amount of petrol into the carburetter and flood the engine. To remedy the trouble, ,take off the fuel pump and wash both fibre valves in clean petrol, assemble the valves in the pump and replace the pump. Next drain all the petrol fi om the tank and put in fresh petrol. Then see that the carburettor float is not stuck and that all fuel pump connections are tight. This will cure the trouble in many cases. The choke is a helpful and timesaving fitting when used properly, but there are some drivers who seem to think that it is a cure-all for difficult starting. Over “choking” of the engine tends to fill the cylinders with far too rich a mixture, so that starting becomes more difficult instead of easier. It also may introduce so much petrol into the cylinders that it may interfere with the oil film on the cvljnder walls. Do not rely on the choke, but flood the float chamber of the carburettor and let the engine turn over a few times with the ignition switched off before attempting to start. '

Not many car owners know it but tjie tone of the horn can be changed by a simple adjustment of a small screw. However, the horn, while is a device which should not

be tampered with, and changes of its “voice” might well be turned over to the deft fingers of the expert in this particular field. In the interest of better traffic poise, it is suggested that a rasping, angry note be made smoother, more coaxing, rather than a vibrant demand.

The advisability of running one s motor slowly for a minute or two before speeding up' from “cold” was strikingly illustrated during recent experiments conducted in England. A modern type of engine, with pressure lubrication to all bearings, was equipped with a special crankcase fitted with glass windows, so that the lubrication flow could be watched closely. It was disclosed that upwards of revolutions of the crank-, shaft took place on starting from cold before oil began to exude from the ends of the connecting rod big ends. Loose U-bolts are a prolific cause of spring breakage. If the modern car’s springs are kept in the condition they are found upon delivery to the owner, and served occasionally by correct lubrication, they ,will refuse to snap under almost any over-load. But, at that, it is best for any car not to be overloaded except in ease of an emergency. If the windshield cleaner is electrically operated it often pays to call attention to that point when the car is put on the washstand. In spite the fact that this type of wiper has

been in service for some time, there are car-washers who still do not know that movement of the blade by hand breaks the pinion and gear that'operates the device.