SPARKS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXXII, Issue 2804, 23 November 1931, Page 6

SPARKS.

FROM MANY MAGS. The good old days were those when people did their day-dreaming vnder the lawn trees instead of at the steering wheel! * * * In purchasing rubber goods it would be well to remember that there is not a rubber expert in the world who would undertake, simply by looking at it, to say whether or not an article of rubber manufacture was of good quality. The reason for this is that the shoddiest kind of rubber product can be made to look just like a high grade article. A tyre that would blow to pieces in ten miles can be made to look as one that will stand up for twenty thousand miles. With all this opportunity for fraud, the only safe course for a buyer is to patronise a reliable dealer or to buy goods which bear the trade mark of a responsible manufacturer. * ♦ * It is often found that through corrosion, battery terminals are in bad condition and difficult to remove. Boiling water poured over them will ’ free them, however, in a few seconds, and they can be easily unscrewed. On replacing, clean the terminals and coat them with vaseline; this will prevent further attacks of the acid. When the car has been cleaned down, the wash leathers employed should be cleaned well and placed under an inverted jam jar. This will keep the leather moist and always ready for use, so that a considerable time is saved when it is next required, nr, it is not necessary to soak it for a long time before it becomes pliable. Protecting the leather under the jar '•Iso prevents the leather collecting dust and grit, which would scratch the body finish. Is your car hard to start in the morning? Leave it in top gear over night, but before doing so, work the foot pedal backwards and forwards a few times. This forces the oil out of the clutch plates. In the morning, it is only necessary to put the car in neutral, switch on the starter, give a turn and she will start up, easily. If this is not done the oil on the clutch plates gets cold and sticky with the result that it is hard to work to crank up. ♦ 0 ♦ Should the blades of the fan loosen they should l>e re-rivetted. Remove the fan and place it in a vice. With a small punch the ol,d loose rivets can be easily dislodged and new ones substituted. x Most accessories are useful, but others are not worth buying. Do not load your dash up with instruments and gadgets that are not of practical use. They only amount to more parts to be watched and taken care of. * • ♦ Bees’ wax and turpentine will preserve and brighten shabby upholstery. Melt some bees’ wax in a tin, add just enough turpentine to make a mixture the consistency of vaseline, and apply with a piece of rag or a brush. 0 0 0 Garages arc still modern conveniences often produced by builders with little specialised experience, and for this reason many garages are built only just big enough to hold the car for which they are intended. This being so, great care is called for when the car is garaged to see that the front wings do not foul the back wall of the garage. If, however, a fairly thick block of wood is nailed to the floor of such a height that the wheels cannot run over it, and in a position to stop the car with the front wings just clear of the wall, the car may then be driven slowly into the garage without any risk of damaging the wings.