THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22067, 25 September 1933, Page 4

THE MOTOR WORLD.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Prospective Buyer," Dunedin. —The car is in the reliable class and has a good name among users. .• " Radiator," . Waitati.—The radiator should be drained before laying the car up for any considerable time.. Wash if out well with water containing a handful of' ordinary washing soda. Run the engine and circulate the water, and flush with clean water—a hose is excellent to do this. Drain the radiator, and no trouble should occur when the car again goes into commission. ' OTIRA GORGE. It is expected that within a month or two it will be possible for traffic to use the road through the Otira Gorge again. On the Arthur's Pass side of Pegleg Greek the road is in fairly, good condition, although there is one bad slip about a mile from the creek. On the' Otira side a good deal of work has been carried out by gangs of relief workers, but there is still much to be done. Several corners have been. rounded, loose rock .removed, and deviations.made. . Several new culverts have been constructed, and a bridge will be built over the Pegleg which is at present in a. bad condition. Large boulders brought down by slips make it impossible for a vehicle to ford the creek at present. ...'■-.. CLEVER WARNING DEVICE. : Lorry drivers will no longer be able to trundle their heavy vehicles along in the centre of the road at night, blissfully unconscious of the motorist behind who wants to pass them, if the apparatus designed by Monsieur de Courdeval, joint director of the municipal police of Paris, is adopted. The vital part of the instru-. ment consists of a photo-electric cell placed in a tube and fitted behind the vehicle. Directly the lights of a following car are picked up by the tube, an electric horn placed inside the cab is automatically sounded. WAR ON LOCUSTS. Fleets of trucks are now being used in an effort to control locust plagues in Iraq The insects, through, destroying crops, cost Africa and Western Asia about £1,500 000 annually, with the loss? of about 5,500,000 working days. In Iraq, the Agricultural Department tried aircraft for spreading poison m the. swamps where the locusts breed, but this method proved too expensive, and a fleet of Bedford trucks has been purchased for the work. Each truck is fitted with a 400-gallon tank of sodium arsenate, and a power-driven-pump, which sprays the solution 25 to 30 feet on each side, through nozzles at the front. By this, method, several tons of locusts can be; destroyed a day, and. the trucks can be used for street cleaning and watering when they are not required for locustcontrol work. i The importance of insect pest control ia vjemphasised by a recent report from the ; president of the Institute of MicroBiology, London (Mr A. Moore-Hogarth).. who stateed that unless the insect menace to world crops was speedily checked there was a serious danger of civilisation being, wiped out. •• ;/•,.. RELIEF FOR'CAR OWNERS. ; ,->■ Holding that motor cars are almost as necessary to working men as are clothing and shelter welfare agencies in' Los j Angeles have decided that ownership of i a car does not disqualify for public aid ! and free food. The result is that streets surrounding emergency food and clothing depots are congested with the motor cars of people waiting to receive assistance . from • charitable institutions. . On an j average, Los Angeles County is reported \ to be distributing 25,000 food orders each ■ week, affecting the food supply of nearly | 100,000 persons, and. about one-half of the orders..are said to be called for by people driving motor- Most of the work offering is beyond a reasonable walking; distance from the homes of the workers* and welfare authorities hold that some form of transportation is necessary and that driving a motor ear is often, cheaper than paying tram fare. : , * REAL,. LOW PRESSURE >T¥RE$p -. ' -Demonstrations of the road' behaviour of what are called " real low pressure tyres" attracted large numbers of motorists "and others to Anzac avenue during the lunch hours on several days last week. The exhibitions of turning and the attempts to skid the car were in the nature of a revelation even,to seasoned drivers. Shod with these tyres, it would appear almost impossible to overturn a car on the skid, while the braking exhibition showed that the tyres were a factor in emergency control. It was amply demonstrated that "real • low■'pressure tyres" have introduced new ' possibilities into motoring. Bad roads lose sbnie of their terrors and. the .puncture hazard appears also to have been consider ably.. reduced. The demonstrations will be continued for several days this week and, in addition to the thrills provided, there is full opportunity to/gauge the strength and possibilities of pneumatic tyres. / ■ - BODX DESIGN. The trend, of design of British cars for 1934, which will be exhibited at Olympia in London next month, is outlined in a recent issue of the Motori It is stated that prices' are likely to show an upward tendency, but that equipment generally will be more lavish; so that 1934 models will compare favourably with current types in respect of value for money. The general run of 1934 models'; will display many improvements, but -will follow the conventional plan. Thus, coachwork is not :• being redesigned on streamlined principles, but nevertheless will display many features calculated,' to reduce air resistance, such as smoother outlines and. outswept rear panels devised to give a tail- effect. .' The design of coachwork will also be influenced by changes which are being made'.'to'-the chassis frame. There is a general move toward dropping this component so as as to permit of 'the provision of a low flat .floor. This in turn enables the roof level to. be, lowered without, sacrifice to headroom. For similar reasons there will be an increase in the popularity of pneumatic upholstery, as this material enables a comfortable seat to be provided with cushions of much shallower proportions than' is the case when coil springs are used. # ' The general design of wings and running-boards will show improvements both in appearance and in utility. ■ Wings with deep valances and sweeping lines are to be. the rule, merging neatly into running boards which, except in the least costly cars, -will be curved to suit. The most important, development'in connection with coachwork equipment is undoubtedly found in the real move toward providing adequate ventilation. This is decidedly overdue, as there are few saloon cars at the present time which can be driven in comfort with all the windows closed. During 1932 and 1933 # great improvements, were made in the direction of preventing- engine fumes from reaching the interior of the body, but now many more makers are about to provide some means for ensuring that a current of air will ventilate the interior without draughts.

TRANSPORT LICENSING. "The Transport Licensing Act, which ■was passed to regulate competition among raad transport services, is in its second year of operation, and it is now" possible to consider its effect on road transport," says the annual report of the New Zealand Motor Trade Association. " For the first year attention was confined to passenger transport services, and as a result of the authority given to the Transport Department a good deal of useless competition was cut out. " The Act provided that services established when it came into force should receive a license for the first year automatically, but subsequent licenses would nob be granted unless the service was found to be in the public interest. The second year started early in 1933, and great interest was shown as to the actions of the licensing authority in respect of renewal of licenses and their interpretation of 'in the public interest.' The pruning knife was freely used, but on'the whole the. decisions of the licensing authorities

By ACCELERATOR.

[ltems of news—short descriptions, of tours, thft state of the roads, •to., comment, or inquiries will ba , welcomed by " Accelerator."]

were considered not unreasonable and workable. Although a number of services was cut. out, the railway authorities appealed against a number of those granted, :on, the ground that there was unnecessary competition with the railways, and this was not in the public interest. "In a number of cases the appeal has been granted, and it appears as though the Appeal Board was of opinion that if a reasonable service were available on the railway there was no need for a road service. The decisions of the % Appeal Board have aroused consternation, not only among the operators but among local bodies, whose districts are affected. It is probable that these decisions may bring matters to a bead and may result in an : appeal for the amendment of this legislation or its: annulment.. . "The association has been associated with the owners' organisations in handling this matter with the Government, as it is realised that the future of road transport in New Zealand would, be seriously retarded if the railway interests are permitted to ride roughshod over those of road transport. The.present position is acute, and its future development will be watched with interest. ... , , "The regulation of goods services by road has now started, and. already the difficulties met with are greater than wa 9 the case w*fch passenger transport, ceedings are not sufficiently advanced to forecast the future, but the difficulties are so great that unless the matter is handled with the greatest care : it may fall down under its own weight. ~_... A NEW GUIDE. Instead of the familiar wall-sheet type of lubrication chart, the Vacuum Oil Company Pty., Ltd., have this year issued a "Directory, of Correct Lubrication, . which embodies information that both motorists and service station operators should know in the matter of obtaining efficient and economical car performance. The Directory, which is now available at all the leading service stations and stores, takes a handy, book-like form, and is conveniently indexed. In addition to the Mobiloil Chart of Recommendations for 1933-34. It contains descriptions of the various working parts of a car, and the care and attention necessary to obtain best results. Special reference is made to modern developments in car practice, such as synchro-mesh gears and freewheeling devices. ' The effect of engine i design on lubrication requirements is clearly explained, by means of graphic diagrams; and other features include notes oh lubrication practice. The Mobiloil Directory is a verv definite step forward in the realm of helpful service material for motorists. CAR CONTRASTS. ~ ; ; 1 '•"■. The steady development of mechanical control.in the motor -ear so that it can all but operate itself is indicated in the following contrast between old and new. Only thoie drivers who long ago struggled with the machines which then passed for the very latest thing in design can really appreciate the vast change which has taken place in the method; of control and the extraordinary advance in devices automatically doing what the unfortunate driver himself once had to do. In the early cars there was no elaborate automatic carburetter, with a strangler to help_ in starting, a special jet for acceleration, a pump, ail auto: matic mixture control, or anything of that nature. Sometimes there was a throttle, sometimes there was not. Anyhow, the car's successful progress depended on the driver himself altering the proportion of air to petrol by operating a control. To-day the carburetter looks after itself. True, it has become far more complicated in the process, but if a machine is to do things for, itself that a man has hitherto done, complication is inevitable. Take next the ignition, on the exact variation of which the. correct running of the early, .engines: .depended to such extent that the ignition control was practically as effective as the modern throttle; To-day .we have an automatic governor, advancing and retarding the ignition in accordance with ihe engine speed. Even in the gear change a number of early cars had an extra lever for the reverse, which speedily proved the necessity for an interlocking catch to prevent careless people from, leaving the. ordinary ■le'vjer in first gear .slot-and- putting in reVerse with the separate lever. .There are gear boxes to-day in which thechange of gear is effected automatically, the driver merely moving a small lever which selects the gear to be used, and fimchines have been produced in which the gear ratio varies in accordance with the engine torqud

Even the cone clutches of the early car absorbed energy, to *put it when the unfortunate driver had. to use them for any length of time in traffic. To-day a vacuum-servo motor will take care of the clutch by itself, operating only when the throttle pedal is released so that, in effect, the clutch pedal can be deleted. Added to that, there is the fluid fly-wheel, which is entirely autpmatic in the sense that it acts as a clutch whenever necessary, but need not everi'be controlled when the car comes to rest* the necessary free engine being quite automatic.

As cars grew in weight and speed, so the needed more personal strength up to a point. Now the driver need only depress a pedal and a servo motor can apply the brake, the main work; being done not by the man but by the.servo motor. Brakes can even be adjusted automatically, and from the driving compartment while the car is running.' With the coming of the windscreen and the gradual fall into disuse of patent remedies, such as half a potato, windscreen wipers were provided, and with great muscular exertion a man could, if lucky, keep the glass clear at times. Now the automatic windscreen wiper does the work for the driver, for the front passenger as well, and will probably doj.it for all the passengers in time. Even cigarettes are lit automatically, and a devioe has been evolved which holds and lights the cigarette, afterwards handing it to the driver. The ho'rrij'. which once sounded only when the' driver squeezed the bulb correctly, now answers to a button; clocks are rewound automatically. Tyres can be inflated by a pump which the engine drives; all four wheels can be jacked up by an automatic device; radiator shutters, manually controlled at first, are now operated automatically by the radiator temperature. The question is, Where will it all end? Will the driving of the car eventually become a thins in which the man at most only turns the steering wheel, or possibly has the steering wheel and throttle pedal as sole means of control? The enthusiast will always grumble that each of these things in turn makes driving less interesting, regardless of the fact that he is probably using with joy a device which another enthusiast some years previously hotly derided as being only fit for half-wits.

THE MOTOR CYCLE FIXTUEES. OTAGO MOTOR~~CLUB CYCLE SECTION. October 7. —Club run. October 17. —Monthly meeting. October 22-23.—Labour Day Trial. November 5. —Social run. November 21. —Monthly meeting. November 25. —Beach Races at WaiI kouaiti. December 0. —Paper chase. CLUB NOTES. At the monthly meeting of the Otago Motor Club Cycle Section, Mr C. Bingham presided over an attendance of about 30 members. The chairman outlined particulars of the Labour Day trial, to be run from Dunedin to Pembroke, via Oamaru, Kurow, Om.arama, Lindis Pass, and Tarras, returning via Cromwell, Roxburgh, and Milton, on October 22 and 23. Entry forms and rules are now available from the secretary of the Otago Motor Club. A large number of entries is expected, and the committee is confident of making this a most successful event. It was also announced that beach races will be held at Waikouaiti Beach on Saturday, . November 25. Soma lively discus-

sions took place on live questions, and the meeting was brought to a close with supper supplied by members of the Social Committee. . ■- ,' '..'.'. v \ A: WOMAN, AWHEEL, , Though by no means a novelty in Wellington and in some of the other centres of the Dominion," the sight of a woman motor cyclist riding through the city is sufficiently uncommon to attract attention.. At any rate, heads turned in Willis street and Lambton quay recently, when, shortly after 5 p.m., a woman sped by. Wearing riding breeches and astride a quite powerful she was no timid rider. She handled her mount with ability, and traffic held.no terrors for her. OVER-HEATED; ENGINES. ; As'a'general rule when the running temperature of a. modern, .motor cycle engine shows signs of becoming unduly high, the source of the trouble may. be sought in details of adjustment and maintenance neglected by the owner. Excessive carbon deposit is one of the most frequent causes of over-heated engines, and it is very likely, therefore, that when an engine shows signs of hot running, all that it may require for a complete cure is a thorough decarbonising and the Removal of accumulated masses of carbon and burned oil from the exhaust system. Badly-seating * valves, due either • ;to pitted faces or to permanent heat distortion, are a prolific source of an engine's hot running, particularly on long runs. So, also, are tappets which are allowed to remain out of correct adjustment. On tour the engine may tend to overheat if the spark is too far advanced or retarded,,and ,the same result may be caused by the constant use of an incorrect mixture. Of course, a cylinder that has been'allowed to become caked with clay or dirt cannot be expected to maintain a normal running temperature, as the presence of such a film would prevent the vital heat radiation, and would insulate the cylinder from the cooling the surrounding air. In this respect also it should be remembered that oil leakages or splashes on the outside, of the cylinder will eventually carbonise _ and so form a non-radiating film. Again, any factor which operates to prevent the free transmission of power from the engine to the road wheels of the machine will tend to create overheating in the Prom an economic standpoint it is a wasteful proposition as regards petrol and oil consumption to continue riding an unduly hot-running engine, and also such a unit is awkward to control and usually noisy in operation. If reasonably treated, modern motor cycle engines shouloVbe immune from such complaints, and if ordinary remedies fail the owner would be well advised to determine whether his own driving methods are not at faulty and probably the basic cause of his troubles. SPARKS The annual meeting of the Canterbury Automobile Association will be held on Saturday next. * * * It is estimated that of the three million and a-half motor trucks m the United States, one million are farm-owned. The total production of private cars in Great Britain last year rose to as compared with 158,997 in 1931. : t . .'. # * • * ..'..' An anti-splash regulation.is being enforced in Sydney. The maximum penalty is £2O, and the victim may sue for damage done to clothing. * * * The number of garage proprietors on the register of the New Zealand Motor Trade Association at the end of June, 1932, was 528, and this number has been reduced to 391 in the past year. *. * * It is said that American motor manufacturers are alarmed at the success of British cars in Spain, and efforts are to be made to check the replacement of American cars by smaller and more economical British cars. * *. * Twin-cylinder advantages with singlecylinder simplicity are claimed for a new British motor cycle, a vertical twincylinder. The 650 c.c. engine develops very high power at low speeds, while the even torque of the power unit reduces tyre wear and to a large- extent prevents skids. ■ ~ • ■ '■■'••• * ,:■'■*•■ * .■■■■; A commercial traveller saved mingham woman motorist from almost certain death recently when the car m which she was a helpless passenger careered down a steep hill, with no oue at the wheel. The car. was within, six feet of a quarry at the bottom of _ the hill, when the traveller, who was m a shop near by, rushed across the road, jumped on to the running board, appliedthe brakes and steered the car to safety.