THE MOTOR WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18173, 19 August 1922, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE MOTOR WORLD.

BY FOCUS.

BEITEWCre OX^;;PXSTOJ3. When an old set of- pistons reaches the stage whe» replacement ia necessary, it - is sometimes-possible to avoid this ex- , i, pens© by having the worn set expanded , or awelled. The process used for this is 1 by heating the pistons in a bed of hot charcoal, which completely covers them. The charcoal is brought to a red hot heat j and IB then allowed to cool. When the ' piston is removed it is found to be con- ; siderably swelled, sometimes as much as '. .004 of an inch. Pistons so treated are not as good as ney ones, bat considerable axpense is saved, and the clearance I is returned pretty close to normal. CHEAPER ABB TSAVEIy With the assurance that at least 300,000 Americans are crossing to Europe this season, most of whom will want to have as much time sa possible in travelling across France, Belgium and Germany, airplaiae companies in France have cut rates in an unprecedented battle for clients. These reductions, it is- sa>a, will bring the cost of air travel across the English Channel to the level of that of first class railway and steamship accommodation, with a saving of at least five hours between London and Paris. Not only is this to apply 1o the regular schedules but the air station at Le Bourget is being equipped to accommodate at least ,200 planes, which will be ready to leave in any direction at any hour, with pilots <4:wtified by (he French Government. The machines will be big enough to take ten passengers each in the great rush, when trains are overcrowded. AU&-COOLEB ENGINES. I As an amusing instance of the prevalent J ignorance of the functioning and true . nature of the air-cooled engine, the fol- , lowing fact is worthy of record. Coming ( np Kingston Hill, near London, two ( lady drivers of an air-cooled oar mam- ] tered some difficulty which nghtly or ] wrongly they attributed to over-heating. . Probably it was not- over-heating at all, • but the driver and her passenger obvious- ■ Jv thought it was, for they stopped at the roadside and, removing nrst the bonnet of the car and then their own hats, they were soon busily engagedl in ; fanning the'" perspiring " engine. His- \ tory does not record the result of their i labours, but the example proves that i often many users of air-cooled cars are stilt a long way from a. full appreciation < ol their tree nature. SIJO?LE DIRECTION INDICATOR. < K novel device whicli cannot fail to , interest, not only the private and commer- , cial motorist, but also those concerned { with the control and direction of traffic, , haa recently been produced and folly pro- . tected in New Zealand by a young Auck- ) iand motor engineer, at present in business < in V ?*>uth. | This invention, .the out- , st.■■ jtiiv reafcureof which is its simplicity | of construction and operation,--consists of , an arrow, about ten inches, in length, to be attached to the right-band side ..of the wind screen, or to some other convenient and prominent part of the car, provided always that it is so placed that it. will ..show* both ahead and behind- The arrow 1 haa a metal frame, and, so that it shall grre clear - indication at night, it carries an inset of frosted glass, which ia illuminated by a small, bnt_j»jserful, >.electric light" .placed at th« ih-board end' of the * Itt" othef-wOrds by "day the metal arrow shows the projected line of movement of the car and by night- similar indication is given by the illuminated arrow. ' This new indicator also shows a small red light when the car is turning and a green light when it is proceeding straight ahead. The operation of the device is by hand, a small milled edge, or a lever, Sbeing attached to the base of the arrow, within easy reach of the driver. The weight of the alliance complete is considerably less than lib., and it would seem likely that the cost.will be small. - A MOTORING* CAXTSEBIE, ADJUSTABLE DRIVING POSITION. [ET OTJB BBTTISH OOEB«SF()»DENT.] A writer in the Motoring Press has just touched upon a matter of design which hias received far too little attention from HBanufacturers. I refer to the question of an adjustable driving position. Bome men are tall, soma short Others thin, others of great girth. To one and all the designer offers a standard machine, totally disregarding thecfaiit that an uncomfortable position is as likely a cause as any to render the owner dissatisfied and determined never again to invest In that make. Some years ago, it is true, some of the more .expensive vehicles were tamed outr with moveable front seats— bat this alone is not enough, for an adthe "steering wheel is quite as important. A combination oi both these) movements is essentia!," and'dwld be embodied without great expenses I am glad to note that at least one British firm has i|acid(*d to adopt this ideal plan. German Oars in Evidence. ;' The British motor trade the past eight years- has had : 'fo. r - meet every conceivable obstacle in.the'patb of'pro"- : gress. First, the war period, dnring which motor production was displaced* bv jnnnftions, andi since then, one. lirade wrangle after another. To fill domestic order* under these conditions has been difficult enough; to reopen overseas markets almost impossible. Efforts' in this direction are meetincf with' little success, , owing to the possessed by countries with depreciated currency, and, on the other hand, that of America on account of her hisblv-organisecl factory system. The New Zealand customs tariff, with its exchange provisos, will assist the Home manufacturer, and is an act of loyalty which is properly appreciated. But evan that may prove unavailing against the dnliberite policy of-Germany to reinstate herself on foreign markets." lierman cars and lorries at a fraction of the cost, of their British equivalent can be seen on our streets and advertised in our papers, Some of our nolitirians see se^v«T; ,n «">«*«*-"tKat it all Germany to nay her mJ«mmty : Pciblv it does, but only at expense of British foWry which the trying ye-,rs Sad h ° W lt Up OVCT A Great Racing Trad*,, who foretolf worn off the pnbfid would SSi£ such contests, and also those VhTd? clared that the motor bl no£„ . gain mechanically f ro m Kfe sSftnd hard work-at least nothing wSSh eorfd not be found out at the festinp-bSch As usual, howler, prophecy ste Ids confounded. Never was motor-racing mo?e in vogue. A great feature nowadays are the international events; Indian Sis & just concluded The Islo 0 f Man ca? races are about to start as I write'• Ptr?/ burg will witness the French GrandlM , n July, and apart from several contests on Brook lands track during the £££$■ } *<<\ thdTß will be the excitement in liiJ v abont Septembpr. when tbe M"nza Snpp'd' Pwav makes its dehnt. TMi. is onite , ; dissimilar from any other. Its form is peeuliuv comprising a lozenge-shaped track" looped up to an encirclinK « c i r v coat/ „•■ At the point of junction one : course passes under the other. The ad- .. this plan is to-present two «' straights to the grandstand. Monza • park is a" ideal site for a speedway. It 13 one of the Boya] parks, whicli the x-Kirtg ol I* a jy. banned mto the GorernVBtenti »P. d '♦" "u''-, acquired on lease Automobile Club of Milan, from ' is only seven miles distant

KCWBS. 1 The, -weekly report reoeiye4 by the Auckland Automobile Association on the Pokeno-Paeroa Road states that three cars went through daring the week. The Surrey Flat, however, is much cut up owing to the driving of cattle over the road. It is expected that New Brunswick will have 16,000 motor vehicles licensed in 1922. There were 12,585 automobiles and 875 motor 'tracks in the province m «*"» and the Minister of Public Works expects to see 2,000 more cars added to the provincial list- this year. It is also e*P ec .«~ that motor vehicle license fees tor tne year will reach the £60,000 mark.

After driving a motor charabanc containing 50 pilgrims down «LJri PampeW Spain, at considerable speed the chauffeur failed to slow down aa sharp turn, with the result that 48 ofthe passengers were thrown on to the road The chauffeur did not not ice.that anything was wrong and *»*«•£&, TO on for some distance at high speed. Of the pLTngers thrown out, one was killed and 12 were seriously injured.

Fast passenger aeroplanes between Paris and Cherbourg will now run in oonfanctkm with the ocean services, .It tas been arranged with the Messagenes Aeriennes Franchise for an aeroplane service to connect with the arrival and de-, parture of the express g the French port. By X**£gm service passengers will save at least five hours lAthe journey to., and .from the French capital Passengers will be allowed to take a certain amount of baggage with them.

It has, at last, beer> deßnitely decided that there iuU be no Oommercial VehiUo Show in London this year. I* w that an improvement in wasting «««»* stances is not likely to occur by the autumn and, therefore, that, an erinbition would not he a sound business proposition. Considerable nurprise is experienced at the decision of tb<> Trade Society fqr the show has always been a useful meeting place for manufacturers and their agents both' within and without the Battsh Isles. The British motor lorry holds this lead in most of the overseas markets.

What will the instrument board of ten ve*rs hence be like! Will yet more instilments be devised, or will the existing fittings be simplified and combined so that two or -three dials suffice to give the driver all the information he requires? The speedometer and tachometer can easily be combined on one dial in a simple form, scales fcem-P-b----on the various gears being added to the tachometer, or scales for the various gears being added to the speedometer. In a more elaborate form the two instruments can be combined so that a change gear indicator is produced which will also give readings of the engine speed and the road speed. Lightrag, starting and ignition v can also be controlled by one simple combined switch, and it is not at all impossible to combine a dimming switch for the head lights with such a control.;, MOTOS-OYCUKO. At present there are &7.6U »<**• vehicles in Switzerland, against 20.409 in 1920.',, :.-■-- •' - . -■ j Motor-cyclists, -whose machinea aro not fitted with compwsskm tapo, will be interested in the now combined tap and Sarking ping, which bao a hollow central sctrode and a cup above the lhsulator; in the central eleeirode there is screwed a cone pattern valve. The plug is selfcleaning by simply owning the valve, and is being manufactured in'..Bagland. The gloomy prophete wlo pretend to foretell the proximity of til© time when the sidecar combinatioe will be driven off the road through the capture of its market by the low-priced cyci«-car will, we think, have/to reconsider their assertion. The time has not yet arrived—nor does it appear to be within hailing distancewhen the sidecar outfit and the cheap car, of-equivalent grade, will .be on a par as regards price. The proviso "equal grade" means much. The use of poor oir wrong grade oil will result in loss of power, increased petrol and oil consumption, increased carbon deposit, more repairs, shorter life, and generally increased running expenses. Qver 100,000 bicycles have been imported into the Netherlands during the past two years. Germany has secured four-fifths of the trade and Britain practically all the balance. British seem to be dominating Continental racing, the latest victory being the winning of the Danish Grand,Prft; by the Budge. , A good motor-cycle should be seen, not heard..' Riders, cut out,' the .open cut-oat.

"Is this the main roa4?" recently asked a southern motor-cyclist when passing' Penrose on the J Great' South Road. Hb reply, obtained from an old Irishman was " It's the ' manesV road hereabouts." ~,

A quantity of broken glasa was strewn in Grafton Road' just abova the bridge early this week.

Thii thoughtless rider who tears through the suburbs or surburban townships, with -open exhaust at. night little knows or cares what evil his conduct may result. in,. In a case of'. serious illness, the noiso and disturbance might prove fatal- .

-An enterprising London ico cream vendor lias utilised a sidecar outfit for business; purposes. The sidecar, a roomy one,'-ba3 been fitted up with a freezer, and carries a cargo of the popular cold delicacy. , ? In the recent motor-cycle races; held at Gruenewa-ld, Germany, English machines scored heavily, some of the 3£ h.p. motors competing succosssfully against foreign heavy-weights. Now is the time to look to your tyres. Remove the coyer from the rim, clean off any rust from the rim, and repaint the inside surface. Sprinkle French chalk inside the cover before replacing. Also inspect the cover to be sure there are no tacks or pieces of metal embedded. Colonel Clive Wigraro, the King's private secretary, is one of the several Royal officials who prefer the motorcycle as a means of transport, often making the journey to and from Windsor and London on the speedy and handy two-wheeler. Commander Louis Qreig, comptroller I cydisl °' Y ° rk ' ' S n ardoDfc motoT ' Sp ° k f Bhoul l bo examined period'- &: a ". d - any ~ oo߀ mt * tigntened. b T SaSe. Stmn **•«»•■«»*£ spoke Or. recent J A.P. engines two small oil holes are drilled through the flange rluh fr ° nt i, cyl i , " ler to the inside of the cylinder wall. This is to allow for LSa 'Sertook' to ß °r nt l y a WSS3 , unue.took to overhaul such an eneinp covered the holes with a gasket. The inA'T a with ite re! | sulta it damages. This again prove* that Sissy* exiiei:t to & « SSi.joit wilder 116 ' " D ° W »--SS?«A" i Councillor Brady~6joke very forcibly in mg of the Otahuhu Borough Council.