OVERSEAS DELEGATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19720, 20 August 1927, Page 10 (Supplement)

OVERSEAS DELEGATION.

LECTURE ON TOUR. Messrs. J. P. Cast ley and B. R. Cathrick, the two British motor-cyclists who are touring the world in the interests of .British trade, will arrive at the Auckland G.P.O. at 3.39 p.m. on Monday. Mr. H.- S. White left the city yesterday morning to meet the visitors at the Mokau Ferry this morning and escort them . thrpugh the King Country a:: YYaikato districts. The English Automobile Association wrote to the Auckland Automobile Association over twelve months ago advising that Messrs. Castley and Cathrick would visit Auckland about August 26, and it is to the credit of the delegation and a tribute to the reliability of their motor-cycles that the programme has been kept.. The A. A. A. will extend an official welcome at a luncheon on .Tuesday. While in the citv Mr. Cathrick will deliver lectures, illustrated by lantern slides. The lectures, to which all motor-cyclists will be welcomed, will be held in the premises of Messrs. Skeates and White, Ltd., Fort Street, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. FAN BELT ADJUSTMENT. An Auckland' motorist reports a solution of repeated and mysterious fan belt trouble which might settle the difficulties of other drivers. His car is fitted with a •.ommon-four blade fan, driven bv a fabric belt from a pulley on the crankshaft extension. In six months four fan belts have frayed and snapped, replacement costing six shillings on each occasion. The breakages were baffling, since the pulleys appeared to run true, and when new belts were fitted the, tension was carefully adjusted. Recently the motorist noticed that the belt became very tight after the car had been . standing overnight. Close examination showed that the belt was sodden with water. This apparently accounted for the shinkage and splitting of the cords of the fabric. It was found that there was a constant drip from the radiator hose connection directly above the fan pulley. When ths car was steady ths v?ater could saturate the belt thoroughly, causing a heavy strain on the pulley bearing. With the car ;n motion, the belt apparently dried and slackened. Tightening of the hose connection has effected a cure and the present belt shows no sign of damage after outlasting the four which were "previously subjected to the effects of the leakage.

HOMICIDE SQUAD. • ' i "With the increasing hazards of everyday motoring, the traffic commissioner of the Cleveland ./ (U.S.A.) police department has organised a special Homicide Squad in the hopes of curbing deaths which have been caused by careless drivers.- The «quad, which is the only one of its kind in the country, is supplied with complete photographic equipment, including a darkroom for developing pictures taken immediately after accidents, two offices and complete files for keeping records. There is always a sergeant and one patrolman on duty awaiting the call that a serious accident has occurred. Both men are trained in the use of cameras and draughting materials for making sketches. Wlieft an accident has occurred these officers start out in their own motor-car, one taking a camera and the other a portable t-ype- ~ writer. Arriving on the scene, they take pictures from every angle, a complete report is typed on the spot and ail available witnesses, including the drivers and occupants of the cars involved, are brought to the office of the* squad. Forty-three drivers have already been convicted for manslaughter. Convictions for careless driving and failure to stop after accidents run into hundreds. COIL OS MAGNETO. The manufacturer of a well-known coil ignition system makes the ridiculous statement that coils are superior to magnetoes, because they are continually absorbing current and preventing overcharging of the battery. The coil certainly draws direct from the battery when the engine is idling, but with the car running on the road and the dynamo charging, the current consumed by a coil is not worth considering. If the generator is delivering 8 to 10 amperes and the coil is using perhaps less than one ampere, its value as a safety valve for an overcharged battery is hardly worth- considering. If a battery is being dangerously overcharged the obvious remedy is to alter the generator output. The suggestion that many battery troubles may be eliminated by abolishing the magneto need not influence owners of perfectly good engines to convert to coil ignition. TRANSPORT CONGRESS. The Prince of Wales has consented to preside at the World Motor Transport Congress to be held in London in November. At the conclusion of the proceedings the delegates will visit the Commercial Olvmpia Show, which opens on November 17- The congress has been organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and it will be.conducted on the lines of the international conferences which have been held in the United States during the last three years in connection with the New York motor show. Delegates representing dozens of nations and colonies will be present, and an invitation has been extended to New Zealand. The object of the conference is the discussion of subjects calculated to stimulate motor transport throughout the world. Among the subjects to be reviewed are problems arising from motor competition with railroad transport, research into fuel supplies from both vegetable and mineral sourco?. and highway construction. j