THE COST OF MOTORING

Otago Witness, Issue 3312, 5 September 1917, Page 49

THE COST OF MOTORING

"The cost of motoring is steadily decreasing. This, apparently, is an astonishing statement," says an American authority, "but, nevertheless, it is true. While tyres are advancing in price and while petrol, oil, and the cars themselves are being advanced more or less, yet the motorist of to-day is riding at a lower cost per mile than'he did five years ago. The present economy of motor car travelling comes as the direct result of advances in automobile engineering and of big quantity production. In 1912 an automobile purchaser paid in the neighbourhod of £6OO or £BOO for a heavy car that ate up a gallon of petrol every six or seven miles, that wore out tyres every 2000 or 4000 miles, and that was constantly in the repair shop. To-day the purchaser of an automobile obtains an eight or six cylinder car for a third the price of several of the old models, and. which is easier riding and of far better appearance. Furthermore, he gets double the tyre mileage and almost throe times the mileage out of a gallon of petrol, while only an occasional tuning up and adjustment is required to keep the car going every day in the year. When to all these advantages is added the time that an owner saves in a hundred different ways over the motorist of five years ago, not to mention the comfort and . added travelling radius, the greater luxury and refinement of the modern car, the present-day motorist is decidedly better off than his predecessor of five years ago."

FILLING CUTS IN OUTER COVERS. Cuts in outer covers need prompt and efficient treatment if damp is to be prevented from reaching the canvas foundation and rotting it. , The first mistake usually mado by the tyro, using a tyre putty, mastic, or similar filling material, is due to insufficient bevelling of the walls of the cut, so that the filling material may have as large an area as possible on which to adhere. This is one of the axioms of vulcanising, and as cutfilling is a similar operation, utilising a cold process, the _ same laws apply. The next common fault is due to the application of the mastic in a slipshod and slovenly fashion. To be effective considerable pressure is needed. The pressure is best applied by means of a set of implements made of bone from tooth-brush handles and mustard spoons. Some are shaped like miniature spoons, and others are blunt-ended, and are used for keeping the mouth of the cut gaping while the fillin» is being rammed in. The final point of importance consists in the application of pressure while the'' filling is setting. A spring-hold damp is the hand : est method of doing this, although excellent results have been obtained by laying a smooth spanner, well dusted with French chalk, over the repair, and binding it firmly in position with a piece of cord until the filling is thoroughly dry. To obtain the best results the pad should be left on for 12 hours.