Motor

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 6, 8 January 1936, Page 2

Motor

By “Radiator."

MARKETING PETROL PROM COAL IN BRITAIN Ail important uspect of tho defence problem—particularly in theso days when armies are becoming more and more mechanised —is Britain's dependence on foreign' supplies of oil and petrol. It' the progress of tho past two* or three years is continued that dangerous dependence may be abolished. It is just two years since the construction of tho first plant on a commercial scale for the production of petrol from coal was begun, yet already more than 6,000,000 gallons of iirstgrado motor .spirit mado from Bn. coal has been muni.ei.ua.

This quantity, of course, is still but a drop in tho ocean of Britain’s annual petrol consumption—ono two-hundredth part, to be exact, But more plants are being built, and there arc strong rumours of another process that may soon bo in active operation. Incidentally, tho expansion of home petrol production is likely to rehabilitate Britain’s coalfields. The decline in the demand for coal has provided one of the biggest post-war problems, and is largely responsible for the tragedy of the distressed areas.

DON’T THROW OLD OIL AWAY The old oil drained from the crankcase of the car can ou used for many purposes, and need not be thrown away. If some of the oil is placed in a wide tin or dish and allowed to stand for several days in a warm situation any petrol which is contaminating it wib tend to evaporate and the sludge will settle. The upper part of the oil will then be partially purified and may be used for lubricating lawn mowers and other implements, or as a. preservative for exposed woodwork. Discarded engino oil is also said to be effective as a weed-killer.

AMERICIAN INVENTION OF ELECTRICS Motor vehicles registrars in Massachusetts and Connecticut, alert to discover accident toll-cutters, arc watching with undenied interest the testing of a “speed demon catcher” that cannot be fooled, a.u “electric eye” whose baleful gleam clocks speeding drivers to tho last second of their macadam maraudings.

The “electric eye” is a portable timing device, easily carried in tho back of a sedan car to the required spot, as compact and readily assembled a speed trap as an imaginative traffic cop could perceive in his most halcyon moments. The apparatus consists of two instruments. On one side of the highway two lights 18 inches apart throw two concentrated beams into the recording instrument across the road. It is the machine’s ability to measure the speed of a motor-car as it passes through the IS inches between the two beams that does the trick.

When a car approaches the “trap" it cuts oil’ tho first light beam, and thir interruption, registered in tho photoelectric cells of the recording machine, sets up a circuit which begins the charging of a condenser. The interruption of the second beam by the passing car stops the charging process. The amount of charge in the condenser represents time, and is translated into miles au hour on the recording scale. So when the car has passed its speed record remains behind visible on the machine’s dial.

Official feeling is that this machine, built under the direction of Dr. Harry A. de Silva, head of tho Massachusetts State College, may come to be a powerful mechanism for damping tho ardour of highway speedsters.

WHEN OVERTAKEN BY THUNDERSTORM

Severe thunderstorms sometimes cause misgivings to nervous motorists wno have the misfortune to be caught in them, comments an overseas writer. Motorists are probably safer in their cars during a thunderstorm than they would bo at home indoors. No direct hit by lightning has ever been record-

ed on a motor-car.' Tho only damage caused to cars by lightning has been by tho “splash”'or side-stroke from a tree or house that has been struek. A few eases have been reported from Bouth Africa of the air current behind a fast-moving car acting as a conductor, but normally your car stands as little risk of being struck as tho ground it covers.

On the authority of Mr. Cf. C. Simpson, meteorological ollicer to tho Air Ministry in Britain, the metal body of a modern saloon forms an almost complete “Faraday cago” which an electrical discharge cannot penetrate. The only danger is damage to tho mechanism of the car which might cause it to become out of control at speed. His advico is: Drive slowly and don’t worry. There is no need to pull up..

BEWARE OF AMATEUR EXPERTS Although tho majority of motorists nowadays are content to loavo well alone, there are .sonic who delight in trying to effect improvement in the running pf their cars by what, considering thoir lack of specialised knowledge, can only be termed “tinkering” (states the Standard Car Review).

A component much favoured by those higher efficiency seekers Is the carburetter, an instrument to which they are prone to ascribe—wrongly more often thuu not—every shortcoming they may observe or imagine iurcspcct of power, fuel economy, starting, slow running or other factor of performance.

If the car is their own they alone will suffer tho “improvement for the worse” that so often results rrom their misapplied enthusiasm. But the point of this note is that theso well-inten-tioned though misguided folk are equally keen to “improve” by similar methods the cars belonging to their friends, among whom they may havo a reputation for being “clover with cars.”

So tho writer w T ould give a few words of warning anent these well-meaning amateur motor mechanics. If one of them should ask “How’s the new car going?” just say, “Very well indeed.” Say not a word about that occasional but slight trouble in starr'mr, the rather erratic idling, or any other real or imagined shortcoming. Do rot n: tiou petrol consumption, and if the ox pert (?) friend should ask what mileage per gallon is being obtained it wil be safer not to know. One word about any of theso things and there will In an offer to “improve” matters; nothing but a forcible and possibly rude rejection of .tho offer will prevent the bonnet being lifted there and then—and the carburetter adjustment upset from A to Z.

,Carburetter tinkering is the favourite pastime of such, people; but they have no real objection to dismantling other parts and “spoiling the setting.” In fact, when the carburetter has been put into a state tit to move tho real expert to tears (and the car owner to distraction) they will commence on the ignition timing, valvo clearances, or somo other point capable of being similarly upset. To the novice iu particular the writer would say: Beware of those well-mean-ing people. You may know less about cars in general than they do, but your ignorance will probably do less harm than their misguided hands should the latter be allowed to apply tools to you: car.