MOTORING

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 12869, 23 May 1936, Page 12

MOTORING

MODERN JACTING . SPEEDY REPAIRING RAISING HEAVY CARS When a motorist is negotiating the purchase of a new car he should without) fail ascertain what provision lias been made for jacking up the wheels in the event of a puncture. This device.is tendered because nearly every car made, now has both axles thoroughly inacccsihle, due to the generous use of streamline failings front and rear, an/1 the rather excessive hack overhang sometimes found, says the motoring writer of the Sydney Morning Herald. If it is not an impossibility to place a jack beneath the. axle of a 1936 model it is at least a matter of a considerable inconvenience, and only to 1)0 achieved by grovelling :n the dust, a performance nobody wants to go through. Some makers have realised the difficulty of jacking up in the old manner when a puncture occurs and have made provision for raising the affected wheel from the ground in some different manner. Tn many cases the bumper bar brackets have been made specially strong and rigid, and a jack designed for the purpose i' J , supplied which fits under any one ol the four brackets, and is easily operated in the very ascessiblo position which is thus provided. One particular car has; two permanent fitted jacks, one under each running board, each of vHiieh raises the two heels on its particular side. These jacks are operated by a detachable handle.

However, by far the best idea, which is to be found in several models of the 1936 English cars, is a permanent jacking system operated from 1 lei driver’s seat. Adjacent to each road wheel there is a. hydraulic ram connected by pipe 1 Lies to a hydraulic pump laced under the floor hoards. Projecting through the floor boards is a control -which can be set so that the front pair of wbec-D, the rear pair, or all four wheels, are lifted from the ground when the pump is operated by the detachable handle provided. Tn some instances, the pump is operated not by hand but by the engine. Tn either case the system is a particularly good one, even if only for the ease which which the car can be raised right off the ground to facilitate overhauling and greasing of the running gear and undercarriage. Whatever car is chosen the motorist should not fail to go into this jaolring question. Although tyre trouble, fortunately, is a. rare thing in these days, it still occu r s, and as likely as not- at the most inopportune rime, as for instance, at night, in a downpour, when the motorist is in ovenirrg dress on his way to some function. Tn stick riTseninstnnee-s it is essentia! that the car can b? jacked up with the least trouble and without getting one’s clothes d’rry.

CAR. WASHING Cleaning the car. a task shunned by the majority of owners, can be greatly simplified if a sponge is used instead of a cloth, for washing down. Although it costs several shillings, a fair-sided sponge of good quality is a. worthwhile, investment for the owner who wants to keep his car’s finish in showroom condition. When] about- to wash che car the owner should soak the sponge thoroughly in cold, clear water, and make ‘sure, before applying it, to any part of the car, that there is no grease or oil on tho vehicle, or this will probably spoil the sponge. A gentle'stream of water should he used in conjunction with the sponge, wlrrli requires to he kept thoroughly wet. It will be found that the whole can .can ba washed much more rapidly by this means, and that there is no dirt or grit left on the paint work to cause scratches when the leather is being used. After being used the sponge should h - washed, squeezed fairly dry. and lien left on :v shelf out of the sun.

HAND-READING Is there a man in this fair land Who claims that he can learn From looking ai a woman’s hand Which way her car will turn?