MOTORING WORLD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 110, 5 April 1930, Page 14

MOTORING WORLD.

Mr Olynes, the British Home Secretary, states that 24,643 tvarning letters in" place of prosecution have been issued to motorists since the scheme was adopted on July 28, 1928. Over 300 different motor-cycles ranging from 147 c.c. two-strokes, costing about . £2O, to 1000 c.c. machines,priced up to £l7O are obtainable in England to-day. Actually, motorcycles are cheaper to-day than prewar, but in specification, design and manufacture the modern machine is incomparably Motor-cycles, the front wheels of whicli are replaced by skis, are ousting huskies as a means of transport for mails; furs and supplies to isolated outposts in frozen Alaska. The skis are sufficiently wide to support the weight of the machine and to pack down the loose'snow to a hard surface for the rear wheel of the machine to grip. The motor-cycles make in two days trips which formerly took three or four weeks by dog sledge. * * * * Slipping clutches invariably cause unnecessary wear practically to all moving parts of a chassis. It is frequently found that grease or oil, works its way from the spigot shaft bearing down on to the clutch cone, eventually causing the clutch to slip. , This trouble is usually experienced when a spigot shaft bearing has become worn and the lubricant naturally finds its way on to the cone. In this case a renewal of beaming cures the trouble, but there is, of course, a certain amount of grease or oil on the cone, which should be wire brushed, or burnt off. BRIDE’S SILVER CAR. INDIAN GRANDMOTHER’S NOVEL WEDDING GIFT. A remarkable silver and Ivory 30 h.p. six-cylinder limousine is an Indian bride’s wedding gift from her grandmother, Bai Rahematbai, one of the richest women in India. The car, which has been specially built in England, cost over £2OOO and is painted silver and upholstered in silver leather with silver brocade lace trimmings. The windows are tinted blue and covered with silver brocade blinds. Two small ivory lockers have been fitted in the rear compartment containing a cut glass powder box, two cut glass scent bottles, an engagement book, ash tray and match box. The ivory fascias are delicately lined in pale blue and a mirror, lit with a diffused light, is fitted in the centre, together with a silver flower vase and silver clock. In the two rear, corners of the interiordiffused wall lights have been installed and hidden lights to illuminate the silver step are automatically switched on when the doors are opened. The car has a self-changing four-speed gearbox with ivory controls as well as an ivory steering wheel and fascia board. An illuminated crescent moon and a star mascot are attached to the radiator cap. PREPARING FOR RAIN. WINDSCREEN WIPERS. Although the rainy season is not yet with us, one can always think about doing things which have hiterto been left undone, and maintaining a windscreen

wiper is one piece of work which is al- 1 ways well directed. The average owner is‘content if tho j wiper does its work fairly well, but he,: seems quite oblivious of the fact that lubrication is necessary sometimes; in. < fact, it is quite often recommended that j - this should be done about eveTy three | months. One type can be lubricated through a small hole, normally sealed with a screw, in the top of the cylind- ■ rical body; on a touring car access is quite easily obtained to this point, so that a few drops of lubricant can be injected, but in a saloon car, where tho wiper body fits very close to the roof, it is not only impossible to get at the screw but it is equally difficult to inject oil. Therefore, the following method, which can be used for practically any standard windscreen wiper, should- be adopted. Remove the air line from -the wiper and fit in its place a short length of rubber hose (about 6in.). Place m a small receptacle, such as a saucer or tin lid, one or two teaspoonfuls of any light oil. Next open the valve and then swing the wiper arm to the extreme right position. Turn the arm hack through about three-quarters of its normal travel to the left, being careful not to move ■ it all the way. If the three-quarters position be over-stepped start all over again. Submerge the end of the hose in the oil and- make a quick movement halfway back to .the right coming to the central position, and withdraw the hose from the oil. Complete the travel to the right. ' .Then repeat the operation, starting from the left. If the wiper appears to have no power, or operates slowly, it is not necessarily the fitment itself which is wrong. Examine the fitting to. make sure that the shaft is not .binding in the hole drilled in the windscreen frame. Also check the hose making ; the connection to the induction' pipe; ‘ and if this be old renew it, using a, copper, pipe which does not perish., ■ One should never endeavour to force ; \ the wiper against its natural direction , of travel. There is another point which j is worth remembering: if the wiper has not been used for some weeks, as, for instance, in the summer, it is advisable just to allow it to operate for one or two sweeps, or move it by hand when the valve is open, in order to ensure that the leather faces are'oiled.* j . ■ ( USE GF ALCOHOL.- - j I REPLACES PETROL IN FRANCE. ' i . The extent to which petrol is being \ replaced by alcohol in France is probably not fully appreciated elsewhere, j and it will be news to many to learn |

that the omnibus service of Paris, to give an example, is run entirely on what is known as “carhurant national,” or national fuel, which is composed of equal quantities of alcohol and benzol. This is made possible by the active co-operation of the French Government, with the aim of reducing, so far* as . possible, the dependence upon imported petroleum products, which constituted so grave a danger during the war. Alcohol, as is wellknown, can be produced from vegetable matter, and very large quantities are now being obtained from by-pro-ducts of the wood-pulp industry, principally in Sweden and Norway. A large factory for the extraction of alcohol from sawdust is in course of erection in France. A carburettor is in use in that country by which a - fuel mixture containing only 10 per cent, of benzol and 90 per cent, of alcohol gives results similar to those obtained with ordinary petrol. The successful production and use of power alcohol in France brings home the fact that Australia, which undoubtedly has vast possibilities in this direction, has so far made no determined effort to produce power alcohol for automobile use in that country on a.commercial scale. It has been pointed out by Mr A. do Bavay, one of the most eminent industrial 'chemists in the Commonwealth, that efficient sugar cane could bo grown in Queensland to produce huge quantities of power alcohol that could be used on a 50-60 basis with benzol or benzine. ' There are, he states, millions of acres in the north of Queensland where sugar cane can be grown, and there are experienced farmers who can grow it. At present,Queensland produces more sugar than Australia can use, and a Federal edict prevents more acreage being sown with cane. Mr de Bavay is_ confident, if this restriction is lifted' and properly directed efforts made to establish a power alcohoL industry in Australia, that not only would many millions of pounds be kept- in that country, but that employment wotild be forthcoming, for many thousands of Australian workmen. - - France has succeeded in establishing her power alcohol industry and there appears to be no insurmountable reasons why Australia could not do the same.

AS OTHERS SEE US. According to the Autocar the automobile industry here has much to thank the fair sex for. “The number of girls,it. states “who drive their own cars is said to be responsible for much of the phenomenal sales increase in New Zealand in 1929. It is fashionable to go shopping, or to tennis, golf, or bathing.by car. Father wants his car for business, hence there are two cars per family, generally including a smaller car for the women.” REMOVING RUSTED COACH BOLTS. Sidecar-makers are very fond of attaching the body of the sidecar by means of coach bolts. Exposed to mud and water, the nuts rapidly, rust, and often become almost immovable. The wood yields round the squared parts of the bolt-heads, and' when it is desired to remove the body, or even to

[tighten up the huts, the bolts turn I and the difficulty is apparently insuperable. Many mechanics attempt to cut a slot in the bolt-head with a hacksaw, and to hold the bolt, with a screwdriver, but this is not very /satisfactory. Cutting the bolt ,i off with a -chisel is an equally thankless task. If, however, an Jin. hole be drilled through the round head as near its edge as possible and' parallel to the bolt,'.and if a piece of stout spoke or a wire-nail be driven through into the wood, the increased resistance offered against turning will enable the nut to be unscrewed. OIL TEMPERATURE. Those motorists who have taken the precaution of having an oil temperature gauge fitted to the dashboard of their curs/ in order to keep in touch with what is going on; inside the crankcase, notice the relative rise and fall of temperature according to the work done by the motor. The cooler, oil is kept, tli© more it retains its lubricating properties, and naturally it is a very great advantage to have an oil radiator at the base of the water radiator to keep the temperature down. ■ . 'Hie mechanical side of the modern automobile is undet the influence, to a certain extent, of the design in aeroplane‘engines. Revolution indicators were not considered necessary for the car five years ago, and yet with the advent of the owner-pilot aeroplane they have made a very definite appearance in the world of motoring in order to give, .the driver of a car as much indication of the condition of his engine as the pilot has up in the air. Temperature indicators are also verv important, and here is a rule one can .safely go by concerning the maximum temperature: Provided the correct grade of oil is in use and there is sufficient quantity in the sump, the temperature should never exceed 140 degrees F. Should this temperature be exceeded, one can be quite certain that something is about to happen, and immediate steps should be taken to find out what is wrong. .