Motors and Motoring.

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11435, 3 February 1923, Page 14

Motors and Motoring.

Trade and Other Jottings.

(By

“Torque-Rod.”)

LONDON MOTOR EXHIBITION IMPRESSIONS OF OUR EXPERT. An export |in Motor construction after viewing the automobile exhibition in London, says the general impression obtained by viewing the exhibits in this way is that there will bo a strong movement towards cheaper motoring this year. Not only has the price of petrol been reduced considerably, but there has been also a decided drop in the prices of motorcars. The movement-, however, does not rest here; a largo number of the best known makers of automobiles have thought it wise to introduce cheaper models of their productions. The chief of these is, of course, the Rolls Royce concern, which has just introduced its smaller model, which will sell at £1,550, which is little more than half the cost of the fullsized model, previously the only production of this firm. Among the other firms who have produced cheaper or smaller models are the V auxhall and Crossley companies, which are now represented by perfectly practical motor cars within easier reach of the average overseas purchaser than the types of car with which they have been previously associated.

HIGH QUALITY SMALL CARS NEW TYPE OF HOOD. A further noticeable devolopment in automobile production is the general expansion in the light car movement. In addition to the smaller four and five seaters referred to above, there are some two dozen firms who have introduced two-seaters, which will ocsasionally accommodate three or four persons. There has been an intensive as well as an extensive development, for some of the better known firms already in this field have produced highquality small cars, with six-cylinder ertgines, 'datable of ee.af.ing two to four persons’ This type of car is, of course, not cheap in price, but represents the high water mark of quality in the small car field. Amongst the detailed improvements noticed at the exhibition, the following are a few of the more obvious. In connection with the expansion *n the small car movement, in place of the type in which the two-seater had a dickey seat for an occasional thit d person, who was exposed to the rig ours of the climate and for whom no provision was made.- with regard to hood and screen, there is now a single shell type of body with a hood capable of covering all the occupants As these light cars are largely used for week-end motoring, the smaller seats at the hack were often used for children and the necessity for their proper protection has been so insistently brought to the notice of tho manufacturer that at last he has produced a solution to the somewhat difficult problem. of providing a car which is essentially a two-seater and yet provides a simple and efficient type of protection for the occasional occupants of the rear seats. ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT.

Another improvement in the same direction is with regard to the weath-er-proof nature of the hood and side curtains. Formerly it was not the practice to fit side curtains in cars intended for use in this country, and the purchaser often dallied between the open car with its hood only effective in light showers or front winds and the fully enclosed car with a top that could not be removed. _Tho modern weather-proof equipment now standardised on British cars removes the objection and provides a car which can he readily converted without the slightest difficulty from an open touring car into .an enclosed car which will securely shield the occupants from the weather. The most that could he done hitherto was to have side screens formed as flaps to the root, or possibly as independent fittings, which could be adjusted at will in addition to the hood. A large number of cars in this year’s exhibition are, however, pro vided with side windows which slide up and down in'the doors, and thus enable the door to be readily opened without the necessity of throwing hack the hood or removing the side curtains.

INTERESTING CHANGEB MORE EFFECIENT ENGINES. Amongst the more intercstihg changes in connection with the design of the mechanical part of the car, one is immediately Struck with the more highly efficient engines which are now fitted, as compared with the variety immediately preceding the war. Engine improvement, which was always a strong point in connection with British products, has continued beyond anticipation. The .common case is for an engine to produce at least 50 per cent, more power than formerly This means that the car which has been rated at a somewhat low. figure now requires to have a. higher rating, although tho size of tho engine remains the same. As an example, one of the cars rated as 12-14 h.p. in this year’s show is actually capable of 40 h.p., while it can reach at normal revolutions up to 25 h.p. or higher, thus giving a good pulling power at all speeds. These improvements have been made possible chiefly owing to the scientific 6tudy of the phenomenon known as “Turbulence,” by which higher compression ratios and a more complete mixing tf the fuel and air at the time of ignition are possible. HOW TO DISMOUNT A TYRE A QUICK METHOD. To dismount the tyre and rim from the wheel, jack up the wheel until the tyre freely clears the ground, loosen the tyre bolts;, and then the rim by shock, and turn the wheel so that tho sector containing the valve is near the ground. With both hands grasp the tyre and rim at points just below the level of the huh, and quickly lift and pull the rim away from the top of the wheel. At the same time, watch the valve, to make sure that it does not hind in the felloe when the rim slides off the felloe band. If properly performed, this method of .dismounting the tyre and rim from the wheel requires very little lifting, and causes no damage to the valve or tho tube at the valve base. To detach the tyre from, the rim, lay the tyre on level ground 1 , locking ring side up, remove the valve .plunger to complete deflation, and push hack the valve stem inside the rim. Remove locking and side rings, loosen flap all around, and, standing inside the rim.

lift the tyre straight np off the rim. When the tyre is ready for replacement on the rim, reverse the operations of detaching the tyre from the rim with tube flap in place and valve stent pushed back flush with base of flap; drop the tyre carefully over the rim, taking care that the base r.f valve stem is directly opposite the rim valve hole. Step down the tyre on the rim all around by treading on the bead, apply side and locking rings, draw out valve stem to proper position, and inflate. Finally, in applying the rim and tyie to the wheel, engage the valve stem in the felloe at a point level with ‘he hub, push the rimi firmly against the felloe, and slowly turn the tyre, rim, and wheel until the valve is at the highest possible point. The rim will drop into place on the felloe, except at the bottom', where it can be pushed on bv the foot. This knack of first engaging the valve, then turning the tyre and rim on the wheel, eliminates all direct lifting, and makes the applying of an Bin tyre, the largest perfected truck pneumatic, a one-man job.