MOTORING WORLD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 210, 4 August 1934, Page 10

MOTORING WORLD

NOTES

A small Italian car, with engine sealed, has completed a journey of 1600 miles from Rome to Budapest and back on charcoal gas made in producers carried on board. As an example of the cost of wasted time in tlie rush of present being experienced in the motor industry, it is stated that if, in a certain department in the works of an English company (where there aro 40 miles of belting) there were a 10-minute hold-up of production every day, £50,000 per annum would be lost.

So much damage may be caused by the thoughtless use of the wrong cleaning materials that it is important to realise how easily chromium plating may be spoiled. No one would use a gritty cleansing paste on silver, but not even silver polish should be used for chromium-plated parts. The easiest and quickest method of cleaning such fittings is to rub them with a damp chamois-leather cloth, and then to polish them with a dry piece of material. No metal polish is needed.

CARE OF THE CAR

MAINTAINING EFFICIENCY

I lie resolves made by practically every motorist when he takes delivery of a new car, to keep it in perfect mechanical order, and to preserve the show-room” appearance, seldom last more than three months, by which time the tasks of cleaning and routine inspection and adjustment, which were so gladly undertaken shortly before, receive scant attention. It is probably the loss of interest of most owners in their cars after using them for a few thousand miles, and the consequent lack of attention, that result in many machines of good design and construetion being traded in or sold for comparatively low figures after being driven tor a year or two. If a car is neglected it is almost impossible tor the average owner-driver to restore it to efficiency, but frequent attention from the time when delivery is taken will do much to prevent a modern motor from deteriorating, and ar the same time will amply repay the owner when the time arrives for a sale or trade m to be arranged. There are many tasks requiring neither expert knowledge nor special equipment that can be performed at home, although generally it is wise to leave to a qualined mechanic major repairs or adjustments calling for a high degree of accuracv.

Adjustment of brakes and headlights are uvo important duties that are frequently neglected by owners. Both are simple, although they call for care, and may prevent accidents. In adjusting the brakes it is well to jack all four wheels irom the ground, if the adjustment is an individual one for eacli wheel, but m some cases there is a master control that takes up the four brakes evenly. Brakes should be tightened until a very slight movement of the pedal or fever is sufficient to bring them into operaB 0 "> , . at the same time making sure tnat there is no tendency to bind. Tappets also require periodic attention, correct adjustment preventing an annoying clatter, and also ensuring better performance. A novice should not ?® a ™ le interfere with the distributor, although a keen owner, with the proper feeler and Planners, can adjust the points after cleaning them with a rag dipped m clean petrol. . Inspection of tlie oil and petrol filters is essential at regular intervals, while’ gieasing should not be delayed over ong. Although a modern external finish will withstand considerable abuse riequent washing and occasional polishing both keep it in good order and acid greatly to a car’s appearance.

BUILDING UP WORN PARTS. In view of the recent research work winch has shown jeorroskm to be an important factor in cylinder troubles, experiments have been made in EngThe ajjplication of a- clover building-up process to cylinder bores, pistons and valve seatings. In the first ca . s ®> The bore is machined to a slightly greater diameter over the up)>er part, is provided with a nickel coating, and is then finally ground and honed to the required size. Consequently, the surface exposed to the flame and to the acidic products of combustion is of an' anti-corrosive nature. Pistons can be entirely covered with nickel by the same process or, alternatively, the coating can bo applied simply to the ring grooves, in which wear is usually localised. Prolonged experiments are now being made to show the effect of nickel deposited in this way upon cylinder troubles in general, and already, in tlie case of valve seatings, some excellent results have been obtained.

LONDON-LAND’S END TRIAL

Of the 465 competitors who entered for the Motor-Cycling Club’s London to Land’s End reliability trial, more than 90 per cent, qualified for premier awards. This result of one of tlie most remarkable motoring events ever held is in striking contrast to the fact that not 10 per cent, of the competitors in the London-Exeter trial a few months back were successful. For seven hours all sorts and conditions of motor-cycles and cars climbed the one-time dreaded “Beggar’s Roost,” which extends on a one-in-threo gradient to the top of the Lynton Hills. Only one out of 50 motor-cyclists failed, and this was due to an unlucky fall while he was going up at speed. The few cars which failed to climb tlie “Roost” were over-geared. The rest of the journey to Land’s End was no more than a holiday tour, so perfect were the conditions, and though many of the competitors had to climb the Cornish Ascent, Blue Hills Mine, in the dark, this proved no greater obstacle than the humbled “Roost.” A few drivers failed in the stopping and restarting test, but never before in a motor trial have so many competitors successfully emerged from the tests.

FOR ROAD OFFENDERS. In theory, at' any rate (says the Birmingham Post), suspension of license ought to be about the most effective weapon possible against dangerous driving. It actually keeps off the road the proved offender; it is a very serious deterrent indeed to tlie potential offender. But most weapons grow rusty and blunt if they are rarely used. Is it that courts, both in trying cases and in giving their sentences, feci that suspension is so drastic a punishment that it ought to be reserved for peculiarly bad offenders ? Is it that, because suspension falls with very different weight on the pleasure driver and the commercial driver, courts are disposed to order it only when they absolutely must? Having been lenient with A., whoso whole livelihood is at stake, does a court feel compelled to bo as lenient next day with 8., a “luxury” offender?