MOTORIST'S TROUBLES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20797, 13 February 1931, Page 14

MOTORIST'S TROUBLES.

GETTING OUT OF NAPIER. CHAPTER OF MISHAPS. Motorists who needed spare parts or benzine at Napier in order to get out of tho town had many unpleasant experiences, especially if they were of the tourist kind or had merely gone up to "see the sights." Few, however, can have had a more difficult time than one who was on business at Port Ahuriri. Stopped by the man ho had como out to see after a fruitless search for him, he made a grasp at his pocket for his wallet, which, among other articles, contained the key of his car. It slipped out of his fingers and dropped into what in the Alps would bo called a crevasse, one of the yawning chasms in the road caused by the earthquake. What to do next was the problem. A lounger told tho motorist tho only thing to do was to got under the car, arch his back like a cat and get at the handles inside. This bo did, but in the operation he seriously damaged the ignition system. He got a tow back to tho town by a lorry, but there his troubles really only commenced, because in all tho garages tho stock was burnod out. Experimenting with tho ignition, he managed to make a contact with a steel screwdriver and this burnod out his coil.

After many fruitless visits to mon who tho day beforo had owned garages, but now had nothing but heaps of ill-smelling refuse, tho car-owner found an obliging mechanic who hunted over all tho partlyburned cars until he discovered a coil that looked lifelike. This was tied in place with adhesive tape, connectod up. and, oh, joy! the engine roared. With this primitive fitting, and after some further adjustments, tho car ran to Wellington, after u tromendons heat in the coil, duo to lack of earth wire, had boon remedied.