THE MOTORIST.

Northern Advocate, 28 June 1924, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE MOTORIST.

DUAL 3GNITION

BECOMING MORE POPULAR.

Another chapter appears to be commencing in .the long history -if the battle between the two ignitioi? systems. The magneto, which, of course, has been exceedingly popular, still remains tfche favourite of the majorty of motorists, but more wnd more people are besoming aware of the very real advantages of the coil. Of its primary advantage is ease of starting, ■owing to the fact that the spark is independent of the engine ajeed. For this reason the engine need only be turned at sufficient speed to suck pet' rol '"rom the carburetter, while with the magneto at least 100 r.p.m. are ne- » <ces:;iry. to produce a sufficiently hot t spark. j Against,this the magneto enthusiast Tightly points put that his pet instruomenr. is much more compact than the coil system, and, therefore, perhaps, less liable to get out of order. ObviCfusiy. the solution consists in using -dual ignition, combining both the magneto and coil, and gaining > the additional advantage of firing che mixture ;witb two sparks.

The dual system is used on many large and expensive vehicles, but as "the battery and dynamo are invariably Included in the equipment of all cars, it is now practicable to add a coil to supplement the r.;ogneto at quite a moderate cost. There is no doubt that "by so doing starting is rendered easier and the load on the motor a_?d battery is thereby reduce,!. .

Furthermore, the top-gear performance will doubtless be improved, because the coil ignition enables the engino to pull with more steadiness at very low speeds en top gear. This •quality is one which appeals to the majority of drivers. As evidence of tire tendency tow« n .rds using dual ignition, it is interesting to mention that a, .maker who is offering this system " at a small extra cost is experiencing a very strong demand from purchasers. MOUNTING- TYRES. : Tjre experts of eveiy kin<i will agree that the average motor ear owner does not know how to mount a tyre. Much tyro 'trouble may be traced back to this lack of understanding of a simple iand' frequent operation, whi ;h every ' owner ought.to be able to earvy out.

The first step in the opei-ation is to spread open the casing and examine inside any break that inight pinch the tube or -my sharp poLit which will puncture the tube. Bun your hand carefully around the entire inside t .

iLock over the rim and if there is any rust, scrape it off and coat lightly with rim paint. Next deflate the tube a Jfitle and sprinkle the inside of the casing slightly with talc. Don't overdo vhis because excess tale forms in frails and is likely to cause take trouble.

Now the tube is inserted in the casing, care, being taken not to let it rest on the ground, because a few grains of sand will imbed themselves 'n the tube and in time cut through for r. puncture. 'A bead spreader makes the insertion of tiie tube easy.

After the tube is in the casing, insert the flap, spreading the bead, so that the-re is no danger of the flap doubling over. Be careful to have the flap lying flat. 5 .

The next difficulty comes in trying to \ get the bead in position after the cas- • 1115 is on the rim. First slip the tyre on the rim, which should be standing upright. Lay the rim on th<- ; flooT find foroe the easing down .vi+J: the tyre iron, which may be a piee? of spring loaf, in fact this is the very best sort ' of tyre iron. The hammer is used in conjunction with the iron 'n coercing the casing into place. If the head is very stiff, a long tyre iron is desirable. lA. few blows on the head may be needed to send it home. If two people are working on the tyre, each using n tyra iron, the chances ore that no hammer blows will be needed, a consummation devoutly to be wished. When one bead is on ths split rim, ike other may be started with the iron and then finished by humnioring the ibead. If the bcal does not readily <Io iiot hammer away thoughtlessly. TTse the tyre iron to help out the hammer. If an iron is used to help the second he'.i'i river, be sure that the iron rests on inctr.l and not on rubber. Pinches frequently result in mounting a soft bead clincher wire, such as IWis use, unless the operator is careful to keep the tyre iron close to the kaetal rim. It is easier in mounting jfchi.* type of tyre to use r.n ordinary ffcyrc iron and a screw-driver at the ffcime. POINTS TO REMEMBER. ( ' If lamp reflectors require cleaning, tlm should be most careful'.y done to j. ajroi'l any markings of the silver pkt- ;• ..xngV Only the softest of polishing )?'£ ekrtte and jewellers' rouge should be finally using a soft and W^*b3Mx : chamois leather. Owing to the construction of wellreflector will keep

bright for a long time, but an occasional very light rub with a very 30ft leather may be necessary to mainti-in tho mirror-like surface produced in the woWts, and every effort should be made to keep the reflector in new condition, the front glass of each lamp to be givnii a clean inside before replacing it.

When a bolt, to which a castellated nut and a split-pin are subsequently to be fitted, has becm placed in position, it is sometimes very difficult to find the <lrilled hole in the bolt and to bring a Mstir of nut costellatrons into line witL it. A correspondent of the "Autocar,, points out that time is saved in such cases if, as ri preliminary, a groove is made with a f.le across the end of the bolt, strictly parallel' with the .split-pin hole, to indicate the line of the latter. Failing a groove, a scratch madg with the tip of a file will often serve this purpose.

When washing a ear of which the panels bonnet and -wings f,till retain some of their original gloss, permanent scratches are far less liable to be ni'ide if -he sponge an-1 leather are applied in two directions only, i.e., in approximately straight lines at right angles. If a scratch should then be made it will be "worked out ,, during th-i course of writhing on subsequent occasions, but if, as is more usual, a circular motion is given to the sponge and leather, scratches, when they occur, will remain elearJy apparent- for a considerably longer period, if r.ot indefinitely.

Ft is always woll to carry a section of rubber tubing with which to make a temporary repair should a pipe break on the road. If the petrol pipe breaks off short at the anion a gas-tight repair can be made by filing the end of the pipe to a cone shtipe, so that it may be forced into the seating. Next slip over it a piece of rubber tubing, and when the union nut is tightened it expf.nds the rubber inside into a form of washer, which will make a perfectly tight temporary job. An additional precaution may be taken by applying a tou->. of soap around the j*nion at the place where the pipe enters md also on the thread.

A quick way to frost headlight glasses ami one that proves quite satisfactory, if the proeesa is repeated from tinu: to ti].xe, is as follows:— Dissolve several ounces of Epsom salts in .•'• cup of water. Apply the solution to the inside surface of the headlight β-lnss, am; let it ury on there. This method is, of course, useless if applied to the outside of the glass, but if carried out as described for frosting will last ior several months. For a permanent job, ground ?iass substitute should be i:sed. Thia substance is a compositior of resin dissolved in ether and can be cbtained from most photographic houses. In this cc.se, too, rare should be taken to applv the preparation to the inner surface of the glasses.

riio number of forms of vibration on a mctor car are legion. Bom.' of them can he eliminated; others can only be lessened; most of them are unpleasant, and some are destructive. K vibration coul-l be eliminate! entirely the car's life would be considerably lengthened. To 'ream of sucli a thing, however, wot]ld be like ch-ising rainbows —interesting,, perhaps, but with no chance of success. The object, then, of both the designer and the user is to keep unnecessary vibrati.ms on the Mack list.