MOTORING WORLD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 10 December 1936, Page 23

MOTORING WORLD

When ;i fan halt slips and the driver is unable to tighten it, removal of greaso from the inside surface of the holt with sandpaper will provide greater traction. This is only a. temporary remedy; the belt should be tightened as soon as possible 1 . There was a speed limit in built-up areas long before it was instituted for motor vehicles. In Winchester in the eighteenth century a by-law was in force which imposed a fine of 6s 8d upon any “horsier or othir persons who rodo at a gallop on ijny horse, gelding or mare in the j streets or lanes.” Duo notice of this . order was given by the town crier. j One reason for a motor performing better after it has been driven a few thousand miles in that the cylinder walls and pistons become glassed or case-hardened from friction if properly lubricated under normal driving conditions. Fast driving and the resultant overheating lesseii the chance of getting cylinders and pistons of a new car glazed as they slould be. When a car loses power) and begins to spit back through the/carburetter nnd backfire there are several possible, explanations. It may it the result of defective spark pludi, badly adjusted or jutted coitact-breaker points, or sticking of lAirnt valves. Another common cause ij the jtartial blocking of one of the fillers or jots in the carburetter, resulting in a fuel shortage. J ft is stated that 5|0,000 motor

vehicles in Great Britain must have new windscreens fitted before the end of the year. This is to comply with the Ministry of Transport regulation which makes safety-glass screens compulsory after January 1, 1937. “Although 99 people out of every 100 can be said to be capable of driving their car to its destination with a certain amount of certitude, there is not one person in every thousand drivers who really knows how to drive or can be said to approach remotely the skill necessary before becoming a successful road-racing professional. Professional drivers will tell you that the rarest man in the world is the one who can drive by instinct. Yet the pilot of a racing car in a road race must bo an instinctive driver. —The Into Sir Henry Segrave. CLEANING CAR INTERIORS. Owners should remember that by far the .beet way of cleaning car interiors is by the use of an ordinary household vacuum cleaner, using one of the implements sjrecially designed for cleaning furniture. This will removo dust fram ear interiors very thoroughly, and the; work is worth doing occasionally, because the abrasive qualities of the dirt shortens the life of upholstery and floor carpets. GRAVEL DANGER. Loose gravel thrown up by cars travelling even at a moderate sjieed often constitutes a danger to following traffic, and several windscreens have been damaged by flying stones. The trouble occurs mainly when a car

has passed another and is regaining its correct side of the road. Tyres in good condition pick up small stones and scatter them with sufficient force to break an ordinary glass windscreen and damage a car’s paintwork. Motorists should exercise care when travelling near other cars on gravel roads IGNITION TROUBLES. Ignition troubles are a common complaint among motorists. Wot weather, or even a heavy shower, will cause hundreds of calls by motorists who cannot start their cars, because water lias found its way under the bonnet Motorists themselves can do much to prevent this by parking their vehicles in sheltered places. WATER IN TYRES. INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT. An interesting development in connection with the uso of giant pneumatic tyres for * agricultural tractors is the use of a certain amount of water inside the air tubes to provide the necessary weight on the driving tyres to enable them to transmit the full engine power to the tractor drawbar. Experiments have proved that effective results are obtainable by filling pneumatic driving tyres of tractors three-quarters full of water, and inflating the remaining space in tym with the normal operating air jiressnre. The uso of water, instead of ex tra wheel weights, as is the custon with agricultural tractors, not onh improves the draw-bar pull, but als<

reduces bounce when travelling over rough roads. As long as the volume of water directed into the tube by means of a sjrecial valvo coupling does not exceed the quantity recommended, there is no ill-effect on the life of the pneumatic covers or tubes. SMOKING IN CARS. While many modern cars are fitted with ashtrays, there are some which do not possess these accessories, and others have one on the dashboard only. Sometimes the dashboard fitting is removed to make way for the controls when radio is fitted. Ashtrays specially designed for fitting to motor cars are inexpensive, and it may save some trouble and expense if two or three are installed. Holes often are burnt in the ujdiolstery and floor coverings by cigarettes. If cigarettes are thrown out of the windows a fire may follow. The owner should see that ashtrays are installed in his car, and that his jmssengers use them. MAKE AND BREAK SPRINGS. Mechanically-minded car owners with sufficient skill to tackle minor running repairs will find that a. very serviceable spring to replace one which has broken in the make and break mechanism, can be made out of a piece of the main sjrring of a discarded small clock. The difficulty, ol ■.•oursc, is'to drill the two small holes ti the ends, the sjrring being so hard that an ordina.ry twist drill is hope less for the task.

The work, however, can bo done in this way: —Take a small door binge with a good-fitting Lingo pin, and drill a one-eighth inch hole through the two fiajrs in the closed position. Slip the strip of spring in between the flajrs, grip tightly, and, with a good punch (the shank end of a one-eighth inch twist drill will do) punch a hole. This will give a. clean cut without cracking the spring. If an elongated hole is required, after punching one hole, move the spring up half ti hole’s distance, and punch again. Should a stronger spring bo required Ilian is given by the clock spring available, up to three laminations can be used, taking care to punch one at a time. REMARKABLE SPEED RECORD. Rudolph Carraciola, the foremost German racing driver, established a remarkable new world’s JO-mile speed record recently on one oJ the new German motor roads. At the wheel of a streamlined Mercedes Benz racing car, lie covered .10 miles in 2min. 53 sec., thqs being at tho rate of 208 m.p.h. The previous best sj>eed for this distance was the 167.1 m.ji.h. of Caj>ta.in George Eyston, achieved last year on a circular course at Bonneville Bii.lt Flats, Utah. Although Carraciola was undoubtedy licljicd by having a straight course over which to‘run, tho margin of his -peed over Evston’s is so great that it is apparent that he would have broken the record on almost any tyjie of course.