Motors and Motoring.

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11685, 24 November 1923, Page 14

Motors and Motoring.

0 Trade and Other Jottings. §

V (By

"Terque-Rod.")

ALPINE TRIAL THOUSAND MILES CONTEST. Since the decision of the Royal Automobile Clu'b of Victoria to put back the date of running their 1000 miles alpine trial from November until early in 1924, nothing further lias been heard of this great sporting contest. If this instructive and popular motor-oar reliability trial is to be held early next year, it is time that a definite announcement be made, so that intending contestants may make the necessary arrangements for taking part in the event. Several prominent N.S.W. motorists are keen on taking part in the test, especially as the proposed route takes in Alt. Kosciusko, and the Tumut valley, one of the most picturesque parts of N.S.W. No doubt an announcement re the test will lie made at an early date. ACROSS AUSTRALIA RECORD LOWERING EFFORT. The recent fine motor-car drive hy Messrs E. Croysdill and V. Allertcn from Fremantle to Sydney (2889 miles) in 8 days 7hrs 21min, on a Dunlop shod “Overland” has stimulated Alessrs J Burton and W. Bradley to have another go at, this transcontinental record. It will be remember that, these two NS.W. motorists had extremely bad luck in an attempt on this record some months back, owing to crashing their 30 h.p. “Vauxhall” into a deep culvert, when travelling at a fast pace. The machine was badly damaged, necessitating the abandonment of the attempt. Alessrs Burton and Bradley have left Sydney and are driving across, making the necessary arrangements for their return trip. Ail going well they propose leaving the west on their record attempt towards the end of November. They intend to try and travel from Fremantle to Sydney in less than 6 days, which, if accomplished, will be a remarkable feat. P. O’SHEA'S RECORD SERIES OF SUCCESSES. The protest entered against P. O’Shea, the New Zealand crack, after winning the fastest time in the Warr-nambool-Melbourne race, was withdrawn —in fact, should never have been entered, in the opinion of many spectators who witnessed the incident which occurred within about a hundred yards from the finish. The trouble occurred through J. Beasley endeavouring to go up on the inside of O'Shea, who was riding fairly close in near the crowd of spectators on the left. Finding there was not sufficient room to squeeze through, the Victorian rider had to ease up and come round O’Shea. It was an error of judgment on the part of Beasley, and he had only him self to blame for attempting to pass the leader on the wrong side No fault was attached to O’Shea in the matter, and his success was well earned and extremely popular. O’Shea, who is 34 years of age, has had a remarkable series of successes in the TimaruChristchurch (the leading New Zealand road event), and the “Warrnambool.” The former event he has won twice, and established fastest time on six occasions. SCORED THE HAT TRICK. In the Dunrop Company’s big event he has scored the hat trick by carrying off the Australasian road blue riband and championship on three occasions. It is interesting to note that O’Shea, who is small in build and weighs just under 11 stone, rides a small gear, which probably accounts for the strong manner in which he invariably finishes in long-distance races. This year he rode .an 82 gear with 7 inch cranks, his Dunlop shod machine weighing about 2olbs. Last year he used an 84 inch gear with 6) inch cranks. O’Shea rode in the “Warmambool” as far hack as 1910, when he finished about 21st. He is undoubtedly one of the finest andi most consistent long-distance riders Australasia has yet produced. DRIVING IN REVERSE Most drivers are aware of the danger of trying to drive a oar quickly m re verse gear, owing to the difficulty of steering in the desired course. They attribute this, as a rule, either to inexperience, or to the apparently greater effect which movement of the steering wheel lias when the car is being driven backwards. The latter idea is a fallacy, since when the steering 'a fully looked over the car may he driven either fciwards or backwards, and will obviously travel on an aro of the same circle in both cases. THE REAL DANGER. The real danger of driving backwards lies in the tendency of the steering suddenly to fly over or to full look on one side or the other unless a tight hold is kept on the wheel. This tendency is caused b,v the inclination given to vhe pivot pins on which the stuib axles turn. If lines are drawn through the centre of these pins and produced they would touch the ground an inch or more in front of the point of contact of the front wheels with the ground. Henpe when the car is driven forward the front wheels tend to keep straight because they are in effect being trailed behind the pivot pins,

and have what is known as ''castor action.”

When reversing, however, the opposite effect is experienced. The wheels are being pushed in front of the pivot pins, and directly anything causes them to deviate the smaller amount from the straight path they tend to swing over to the full extent on one look or the other. This has been the cause of many serious accidents in the past, for if a car is reversed quickly, either on the level or downhill, the force tending to turn the front wheels becomes large, and may momentarily take the control of the steering out of the driver’s ha-nds. A golden rule is, therefore, “Never drive a oar at all qdickly in reverse gear, especially on the camber of the road or downhill, and m every case keep a tight grip of the steering wheel when driving backwards.” AN IMPORTANT POINT.

When 'manoeuvring a car it is, of course, possible to take full advantage of the ease with which, the steering can be swung over on reverse. Thus, 'in turning round on the road, always swing the front wheels over from one lock to the other when driving backwards, both at the beginning and the end, of the car’s travel. In this way both greater speed and ease of manoeuvring will bs attained than if the lock is changed when the ear is bloving forwards. Another important point when reversing a car on a road which has a pronounced slope or steel drop or falling embankment on one side"of it is, always to reverse the car away from the embankment, or up the slope, as the case may be. Drivers only too frequently make the mistake of trying to turn the car with the back towards the edge of the drop, and a slip.of the foot on the clutch or brake pedal in such circumstances may, and often does, result in a bad accident. JOTTINGS SUPPING CLUTCHES. If trouble with a slipping clutch be experienced, a cake of common soap may be used as a remedy. Simply shave oif thin slices of soap, and put on the face of the clutch. This makes an excellent temporary repair when miles from home. This method applies to both disc and cone clutches. STEERING GEAR. After a fair amount of use, the steering gear tends to develop a certain amount of play. If this becomes excessive, driving 'at high speeds is unsafe. The method of taking up this play varies with different types of cars, and the gear should not be tampered with except when the precise method of adjustment is known. The adjustment is usually quite simple, and can he easily performed by the amateur, but extreme care should be taken to screw up all bolts and nuts very tightly. TRIMMING CONTACTS. It is a mistake always to be using a contact file whenever the platinum requires a touch up. Unless the surfaces are rough and pitted, there is no necessity to actually remove any of the platinum. It suffices to cut a narrow strip of the finest emery paper, place it between the platinums, press these together, and draw the emery paper through three or four times, then reverse it and do the same for the lower contact. NON-CARBON ISING OILS. Just because a certain brand of lubricating oil does not give any carbon in the cylinders and on the valves, it is not proof conclusive that the oil is a good oil. Besides being reasonably free from the tendency to carbonisation a good oil must have lubricating body as well. There isn’t anything to be gained by using a brand that rids you of carbon troubles if the bearing surfaces are being "worn out through lack of body to the supposedly efficient stuff, you piit into the crankcase. KEEPING THE WIND-SCREEN CLEAN. It is not generally known that apple juice is a preventive against the formation of rain spots on the windsoreen. This is' best supplied by cutting the apple in halves and rubbing one of the flat surfaces all oyer the Screen. Another good treatment is a mixture of glycerine and methylated spirits. The proportion should be a teaspoonful of the former to a tablespoonful of the latter. This mixture may be applied quite sparingly with a piece of cloth, although the latter should be rubbed over the whole surface of the screen. These applications cause rain-water to run down the glass practically as a solid sheet, and, while the view through the 6creen is even then slightly blurred, the advantage is very appreciable, particularly when driving at night. REPLACING PISTON RINGS. When new piston rings are supplied to the pistons, they should) be lapped in so that they will fit the cylinder wall tightly and evenly alt round, hirst put the rings on the pistons and then move_ the assembly back and forth in the cylinder, using an abrasive mixture to assist in setting the rings. A good compound . is ground glass and cylinder oil, or carborundum and) powder of emery. When the rings bear evenly all round l the work is oompleted and it will be easy to tell when this desirable condition is reached by the appearance. Valve grinding compound may also be used for the lapping process.

WORLD’S BIGGEST AEROPLANE.

Seven aeroplane tyres, the largest ever built, have just been completed by a Canadian Tyre and Rubber Company for use on thj world's largest aeroplane, which made its trial Bights recently. The tyres are 54 x 14 inch, with smooth treads and are inflated to 70 pounds air pressure. Each tyro will support 10,000 pounds. Six dOtVhonsepower Liberty motors furnish power for the 40,000 pound craft. The engines are supplied from a gasoline tank of 2000 gallons capacity, and the oil tank will carry 181 gallons. It takes a crew of four men to operate the ship, which has a filing speed of 00 miles per hour. In construction the ship is a two-and-a-half 'planer, the middle 'plane being a small chord, with ailerons on the top and bottom planes only. The plan of the craft combines the advantages of the biplane and triplane with but few of their disadvantages. Because of its great weight and Tinusual loads, the regulation type of landing gear would not support the giant plane, so a special undercarriage was constructed to absorb the energy of

land and also to permit taxi-ing. The tyres, which, by the way, are Goodyears, are a. part of this landing gear, j»nd beciuse each is capable of tearing 10,000 pounds, they will, play an important part in landing and! tokjcc-off.—

The question as to whether the price of motor-cars ’S likely lo drop in W§4 i s being answered pretty comprehensively j-ust now as far. as the Americans are concerned. The Buick Ale nr Company has, however, taken an absolutely new line. The price of the familiar Buick is unlikely to recede. On the other hand, the manufacturers announce a fine Car at a moderate price. The Buick is likely to be, to all intents and purposes, .an entirely new automobile on the principal of more value for your money. Tho 1921 models already exhibited in the States have caused extraordinary interest, and the volume of sales shows that they are capturing popular favour. —Advt.