MOTORING NOTES

Grey River Argus, 29 August 1939, Page 5

MOTORING NOTES

3 HINTS FOR DRIVERS r : Motor Car Improvements According to the president of one of • the world’s largest automobile eorpor- • ations, economy of operation, safety and comiorl rather than speed are the ' factors which motor ear designers should now direct most of their at1 ient ion to. Wlmst good progress has been made . along Inese tines, there is yet ample ’’scope lor further improvement. The 1 .development of accessories and the' [over-all cost of tilting them to a car, 1 m ms opinion aid now out of all proportion to the cost of the car itsell. As regards engine output, this jauthority cites the fact that, whereas, aero power units have reached a stage ol development where they give off a I ’horse-power lor every 151 b weight, of the engine, about one horse-power, [tor every bib of engine weight rep--resents present-day practice in the' motor industry. Obviously, there is j room for improvement in this direc- . tion. 11 In regard to the rear-engined car,', the motor industry seems, for theL time being, to have reached an im- , passe. I ] As to performance, it is probably|j correct to assume that the modern car has speed beyond actual needs, and certainty ahead of tho safe speed carrying capacity of most highways.

STOCK CAR SPEEDS. A closed body standard stock 4500 c.c. Bentley recently recorded a speed of 114.62 m.p.h. on Brooklands, England—the fastest speed yet achieved on that tr.ack by a touring car fully equipped for the road. Captain George Eyston was at the wheel. A few weeks back a similar make and powered car was driven 107.42 miles in the hour by a private motorist on the Montlhery track, Paris.J These achievements demonstrate the great advance made in recent years in the power output of high-powered saloon cars, many of which are now capable of travelling at a speed that only specially prepared racing machines could attain a tew sears back. ELIMINATING OIL FUMES.

On cars fitted with an oil filler pipe which is attached to the side of the crankcase, and have an air cleaner of the cylindrical type fitted to the carburetter, it is a simple matter to eliminate oil fumes which may arise through wear in the following manner:-— The materials required are a length of flexible metal tubing, such as the inexpensive gas type, and -<i rubber stopper the size of the oil filler pipe. Drill out the rubber stopper and insert one end of the tube to make a really tight .joint. Next take the original oil filler cap and drill this at the top to take the other end of the tube, and solder the joint. It will be found that, the oil filler cap which previously acted as a breather can be inserted in the hole at the end of the air filter. Push it in for half its length so that the induct’on of air to the carburetter takes place through the breather holes in the cap. This will not upset the running of the engine, and will induce the oil fumes into the combustion chamber, thus supplying automatic upper cylinder lubrication and oil vapour to the inlet valves. DRIVERS’ SCHOOL.

A training school has been opened for Great Western Railway road-mot-or drivers in England. The school comprises a classroom messroom, garage, and a system of roadways. The latter includes a skidding paten, various types of road junctions for practice in turning and reversing, gradients and a variety of road signs. The lectures to be given will include the subjects of road sense, avoidance of accidents, the care of vehicles, and the Highway Code. Instruction will be given in the use of the principal types of commercial vehicles. Training will exlend from a week to a fortnight, and it. is expected that 150 to 200 drivers, recruited from the company’s staff, will pass through lhe school anil ually. AIR. As motoring grows in popularity it seems to become more expensive.l Quite apart from next year’s increase! in horse-power tax, the last month or| so has seen a gradual disappearance of "free air,” says the Autocar. This is particularly noticeable on Sundays 1 when I have seen boards hung by the I air pump with the words. "Air 6d.”| printed on it. It was not so very lon-j ago that garages gave free distilled water for topping up the battery, but that went out of fashion too, a few years ago. j "Free air” must be a nuisance to some garages where customers will buy a gallon of petrol and clutter up the space around the pumps for an unconscionable time.

High pressure air pumps cost quite a lot of money, and have to be Government stamped. When one thinks of it, we have no reason to expect to get lhe use of them for nothing.

SAVING BATTERY. Drivers who have strictly conformed with the new regulation regarding the dipping of the headlights on their cars have probably noticed that the practice conserves the power in the battery. There are many stretches of I roadway from the city to the suburbs where it is not at all necessary to use the full lights, with a consequent reduction in the drain on the battery. The saving is noticed when it comes to whirring the motor over in an icy cold start, and in a dozen other directions.! BATTERY CORROSION. A simple method of removing corrosion from the positive post of a battery and its cable lug is to take a small tin, fill it with water and heat I up. Then throw in a small quantity of soap powder, or even a piece of soap itself. Dip the cable lug into the solution for a few moments; the corrosion can then be wiped off, and at the same [time all traces of the acid adjacent will be neutralised. The battery post | can be cleaned by soaking the corrosion with soap solution. If the post

and lug are then wiped dry and sweated with vaseline, further trouble of this nature will bo avoided. TIGHTEN U-BOLTS. A clatter from the axles can often be traced to slack U-bolts.' which hold them to (he springs. These come in for a terriftic amount of buffeting as | the car rides over irregularities in theroad. Loose U-bolts, hence loosely 'secured axles, are often the cause ol erratic steering, a tendency io wheel [wobble, faulty braking, and so on.( Whenever you make a periodic ini.spection of the underside of the chasis,l at the same time check over the U- 1 bolts on the springs. j | On new cars it is particularly advisable to tighten up such bolts; indeed. 1 exposed nuts and bolts of a sirni-, [lar nature should receive attention.' The mere fact of the springs bedding , down with constant flexing is suffic- ; ienl to produce slackness in these ‘ bolts, particularly in the early stages of the life of the car. ,

STOP FROST ON WINDSCREEN. 'j If no defroster equipment is fitted [Io your car, a simple means for ob'j tabling similar benefits, although not quite so efficient, is that of propping lopen the rear end of the bonnet. A wedge about i’in thick would probably be sufficient; warm air streams out of this opening as the car travels along and the current is deflected over the screen the heat being sufficient Io I prevent frost formation, also to help in preventing interior condensation. PROTECTING CHROMIUM PLATING. A simple method of maintaining th? the finish of chromium plating during the winter is to coast all parts with vaseline. First thoughly clean the surfaces so that al! mud and tarInish is removed, using, if necessary [one of the many chromium-cleaning ■preparations that are on the market. Then melt the contents of a small tin' of vaseline and, with a soft cloth, smear the chromium parts with the liquid vaseline. A thin, even coating all over results. The parts can be left until the fine weather returns, when the vaseline can he removed with any 1 good-quality cleaner. ;

SPARKS. "I should like a diagnosis,” remarked a motorist to a youthful mechanic at a. garage, pointing at the same time to his car engine. The youth gaped and then went inside the garage to consult Wisdom in the shape of another youth, not much older. Then he returned, explaining apologetically: "We-re out of stock al 'the moment.” I New York has passed laws raising the speed limit to 50 miles an hour by day and 40 by nigh! in an effort to decrease congestion. The police think it will not increase accidents. Others think it will. I Japanese markets have been closed to imported cars owing to the petrol restrictions caused by their war. Dur-f ing a recent month petrol allotments were 12 gallons for each car of 30 horse power and above. I A special newspaper for children, 1 the Green Light, the object, of which is to stress the importance of safety first, is now published by the National “Safety First” Association, London. It is edited by Mi' C. E. Hodges "The Mayor of Toytown.” Attractively produced it attempts to make safety teaching impressive by giving it interest without using negative injunctions. i

The tiie department in New Jersey answered an urgent telephone call asking them to send someone right away. A few minutes later lhe fire engine dashed up and was met by a woman who said: "Oh, dear, it’s you. 1 wanted a taxi!” New York police have decided that motorists who have only recently obtained their driving licence must carry an L plate.