MOTORDOM

Southland Times, Issue 18967, 14 June 1923, Page 12

MOTORDOM

NOTES AND NEWS

( By

“Self-Starter.”)

NORTH v. SOUTH. Under the heading of “Why Not Pull Together,” a northern writer has the following interesting comments to make with regard to the present misunderstanding be-, tween the New Zealand Automobile Union and the South Island Motor Union. He says:— “A great weakness of the organisation of motorists to-day is the breach between North and South. In 1907 the New Zealand Automobile Union was formed as a governing body for the whole Dominion. In February, 1920, the South Island Motor • Union was formed by the South Island associations, on the ground that the New j Zealand Union was not giving enough attention to South Island matters. The result is that the New Zealand Automobile Union has since been a purely North Island organisation. An agreement was macle between it and the South Inland Union that neither should approach Ministers without prior consultation with the other. In the latter part of last year the New Zealand Union wrote terminating this agreement on the ground that, the southerners had not. observed it. The South Island Union, in turn, at its annual meeting on May 31 complained that the North Island had not observed the agreement. The whole position is most unfortunate and greatly weakens the hands of motorists in approaching the Government. Agreement is essential if important legislation is to be pressed fcr. At the same time the interests of North and South as two separate land areas are far from being identical in many respects. The initial error was made by the South Island in breaking completely away, instead of pressing fcr a reorganisation, with separate North Island and South Island unions, and the New Zealand Union j as a joint executive to deal with national ; matters. With voting strength arranged in proportion to the membership of the individual associations, an equitable j scheme could surely be worked out . without difficulty. “At the South Island annual meeting correspondence was read form the New Zealand Union offering to send delegates to a conference, but adding that unless the South was prepared to agree to the formation of a Dominion executive it was felt that a conference ; would be futile. The South Island dele- i gates after some discussion resolved that • they were agreeable to meet the N.Z.A.U. i in conference, but without any prelimin- I ary stipulations. There the matter rests ■ for the moment. The secretary of the | N.Z.A.U., Mr Stott, states that his body is j perfectly willing to change its name to the North Island Motor Union. and hand over the old title of New Zealand ■ Automobile Union for use by a joint exe- ; cutive representing both bodies. “How great the injury to the move- ' ment by the present lack of cohesion is instanced by the position to-day on the Motor Vehicles Bill” he continues. “The Government requires the revenue from motor annual license fees before it can do much under the Highways Act. In the Bill as introduced in 1921 a flat rate of £5 for private motor-cars was fixed. At a conference at which the counties and all motor organisations were represented there was general approval of £3, a figure which the Government seemed prepared to accept. The South Island Motor Union, however, has since resolved on a nominal fee —£1 annually, I understand—whereas the N.Z.A.U. has informed I the Minister that while it prefers the £3 I discussed last year, it is prepared to leave | the exact amount to the Government, in I view of the extreme urgency of securing • the money and proceeding with highways 1 improvement. The crux of the matter, is | that the South Island has far better roads I than the North, and is less interested in I road improvement. The South Island motorists are better organised. At the South Island M.U. meeting it was stated ' that the Union had 500 Q members, as, against the N.Z.A.U.’s 2000. The North ! Island associations have rather more mem- i bers than that, but their numerical i strength is only about half that of the | South Island associations. As it is esti- j mated that there are 60 motor-cars in the j North Island to every 40 in the South Island, it is high time the North Island j motorists woke up and looked after their | own interests. If they are too tired to ; do so, nobody else will. The differences ' between North and South are all capable ' of amicable adjustment, but the Scuth j Island is organised and the North remains apathetic. The South will be likely j to rule the roost. Are there no motorists in the various unorganised centres through- j out the island with time and enthusiasm ; enough to get busy and form new associa- I tions, and are North Island motorists for- ; ever willing to allow existing bodies 1 to languish with a few score members when i they should have hundreds, and a few hundreds where they should have thousands ?” THE AVERAGE COMPRESSION. One term in particular which appears to be much misunderstood concerns the compressed ratio of an engine. Because he can rest his weight upon the kickstarter crank, one occasionally hears a novice remark that the engine has “high” compression. All that it really signifies, however, is that the engine has no leakage around the valves or rings—in other words, “good” compression. The compression ratio, upon which “high” or “low” compression depends, has reference to the degree to which the charge of gas is compressed before it is tired. The higher the compression, the more powerful will be the resuitant explosion, but • the more prone will be the engine to knock. An average touring engine has a compression ratio of about 4$ to 1; a sports engine may have a ratio of 5| to 1 or even slightly more. CAR EQUIPMENT. Although motor manufacturers the world over have generally adopted the all-in policy—that is, the policy of providing the necessary accessories as part and parcel of the car at an all-in price—there is still plenty of scope for the play of individuality. This because the makers provide only the necessary accessories. such as the lighting and starting equipment, hoods, and screens; presently, in this connection we shall find them standardising some sort of rear seat screen. Indeed, a beginning with this desirable accessory has already been made with the two-purpose type. But to-day the public is going farther, and is demanding much more. The present generation knows nothing of the pioneer days save from hearsay, and frankly is not much interested in those times. Tell them that they owe much to those early experimenters who had no wind-screen, often no doers on their cars, who trusted to thick, shaggy bearskin coats for protection, who could look to spending some appreciable portion of their time on the road under the car, and they shrug their shoulders. They don’t question it, but they ask why progress is not continued more rapidly on the lines they want. The pioneers w r ere fighting fcr efficiency and reliability against factors unknown or not too well-known. The modern motorist takes efficiency and reliability for granted—has he not bought it?—and points out in reply to all this talk that the car would be even better if it had this, that, and the other thing fitted.

THIS YEAR’S MODELS. Of the 106 makers of passenger cars in the United States of America only a few have made any radical changes in their 1923 models. The outstanding feature of the 1923 models is the reduction in number of manufacturers and the tremendous increase noted in the number of sixcylinder cars made. As a whole the factories have made no radical changes in the chassis construction, the survey shows. This survey is taken to represent a viva vcce vote of the entire industry, and • shows while to-day there are 106 manufacI turers, a year ago there were 123. A year I ago there were 159 models made by these factories, while to-day there are 156. It is shown that the number of six-cylinder cars has increased from about 60 per cent, in 1922, to about 67 per cent, of the entire lists. The percentage of eight and twelve cylinder cars remain about the same, while the gain in the number of sixes was made at the expense of the feurcylinder cars, whose percentage dropped from 30 in 1922 to 22 per cent, this year. These numbers are based on the models produced, and not on the number of cars made, as such a ratio would show that 70 per cent, of the cars driven in America are of the four-cylinder type. Pump water circulation and air-ccoled motors made decided gains in the models for this year, while disc wheels are becoming extremely popular in the industry, and 7 per cent, of the cars now made cany’ them as standard equipment. DRIVING TESTS. With the spring-time the crank’s thoughts i once more are turning to the question of : proficiency tests for drivers. Except as regards drivers of vehicles plying for hire, 1 no standard of ability s demanded of the ' British motorist—never has been and never, • one surmises, will be. And yet, we, in this i old-fashioned country have managed to rub I along somehow and to some considerable | extent with a lower ratio of accidents than countries where officialdom works overtime to evolve fresh shibboleths for motorists. Much has been made, on occasion, of the fact that a blind man can get —and has got —a license from the British authorities, i This, of course, proves nothing, for it is also ! a fact that the driving license is merely a | form of registration. It purports to be | nothing more. And no amount of official | qualifying test can make it a certificate of I safety. Those who have had opportunities ; of studying this question at Home are fully i convinced that safety is obtainable only by l a consistent enforcement of the clauses in the motor laws that make recklessness qua recklessness a serious offence. RUNNING-IN SPEEDS. ' Almost every firm of car manufacturers ' recognises this tendency on the part of the motoring public to over-drive their machines in the early days of ownership, and they issue instructions and advice, pointing out the necessity for the careful nursing. Indeed, most, if not all, of them go so far as to give the maximum speeds at which the car should be driven on its various gears, until such times as the bearings and all working parts have comfortably bedded. It may be distressing to have to keep down to 25 miles an hour on a broad, empty road with a machine which will later be capable of doing twice that speed. It is true that an occasional burst of 35 to 40 | miles an hour will do no great harm, but i the continual driving of the machine at too i high a speed in its early days spells trouble jin the end. One has only to see a machine ! which has been dissembled after being • forced through in its initial running-in i period to realise what damage can be done, j Every new owner ought to get it thoroughly | fixed into his mind that the makers know what they are talking about, and the more he responds to their suggestions and advice the better for him in pocket and in comI fort in the long run. LOCATING NOISES. I Oftentimes the fan bearing gives trouble. ' If of the ball or roller type it will not make I much noise if loose, but, anyhow, it should be tightened. If it is of the plain bearing ] type it will rattle, and the blades can get iso far out of line as to hit the radiator. If ; the bushing is worn the bushing should be ' replaced, and, perhaps, the pin. Occasion- ' ally the engine hold-down bolts loosen, and • this causes a very heavy pound, which is ’ especially noticeable when the car is climb- : ing a hill or working through heavy ground. Usually the engine can be seen i moving up and down. The remedy, of j course, is to tighten the engine bolts. In ‘ the case of stripped threads the bolts will • have to be replaced. If the engine over- ; heats to the extent of burning up the oil I between the pistons and cylinder walls the pistons will stick. This may go to the extent of stalling the engine, in which case mechanics refer to it as “freezing.” This can be remedied by taking them out and lapping them in cylinders until they have sufficient clearance. Care should be taken to see that scores have not been cut into cylinders by the freezing. A PROSPEROUS YEAR. I All indications favour the view, says the New York Times, that the present year will be the greatest and most prosperous automobile year in the history of the industry. Not only will this be true in the production of new cars, for, unless some unlooked-for depression occurs, the American factories will turn out from 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 • cars, but it will also be seen in the increased . volume of motor touring in all parts of the i country. For various reasons, due partly to the war and the general economical wave , which surged oyer all interests, motor touring in its original popular aspect suffered somewhat of an eclipse for a period. Last year it came back, but this year evidences j all point to the fact that the nation’s highways will carry a far greater number of automobiles than in any previous season. HANDLING A NEW MACHINE. The motor-cyclist who has just taken delivery of a new machine is naturally very anxious to discover its capabilities at the first possible moment. To desire to know without delay “just what she will do” is very natural, and one cannot wonder that the average rider lets his new machine “all out at the first possible opportunity after he has taken possession, so that he may tell his friends that “she will do 50, and climbs 1 stiff hills on top. ’ He would be more wise, 1 however, to remember that his new machine ! may be well worth over a hundred pounds' I worth of somewhat complicated mechanism, and that on the way in which it is treated during the early days of its life will depend ‘ the service and satisfaction to be obtained from it later on. So temptation should be • resisted, and for the first 500 miles, at any • rate, the throttle should never be opened • more than half way. This will give the piston and cylinder and all the other bear1 mg parte an opportunity to bed down pro- ' perly and develop really smooth surfaces before they are. called upon to carry heavy loads. 'Hie maker of the machine takes great care to grind the surface of the . cylinder and piston to as smooth a finish as possible, but it is impossible by any form of machinery, however accurate, to produce the beautifully polished surfaces which result from the two parts rubbing t over one another under light loads. The same thing applies to the buyer of a new i car, except in this case there is more money at stake. The manner in which a new .! car is handld for the first 1000 miles is a big factor in its future service,

NEWS AND NOTES. During January the total value of the motor vehicles, chassis, and parts imported into this country was £682,033, as compared with £491.471 during January of last year, and £988,436 during January of 1921. Exports of British-made motor vehicles, chassis, and parte were valued at £288,693, a decrease of £51,481, as compared with January of last, year, when the figures were £340,174; and a decrease of £419,162 on the previous year, when they were £707,855. Since the control of traffic was vested in the police departmental 23 years ago, the growth of Sydney’s transit has assumed such large dinlensions that it has been found necessary to house the traffic department in up-to-date business premises. The new building has been renovated and adapted at a. cost of £4OOO. On the ground floor is a large motor room, and the cash and postal branches, with the inspector’s office. A wide ramp leads down to a courtyard from Kent Street, and here all testing of taxi meters and lights is done, and the number plates issued. The Autocar states: “An official stationed at Cologne advises us that he was recently successful in purchasing a brand new two-seater N.S.U. car, with electrical equipment including engine starting, for 24 million marks, which, at the rate of exchange ruling, worked out at £l4 in English money. Bicycles are considered dear at £l, while the price of a motor-cycle is from £3 to £4 in English money. It is not generally known that all traffic on the King’s highway is there on sufferance of allowing other kinds freely to pass on lawful business, and any who cause obstruction are liable to a penalty. Pedestrians obstinately refusing to budge to allow motorists to pass are therefore committing an offence, and a few prosecutions and convictions on this point, would probably have a salutary effect, especially in Auckland. That chaotic as traffic conditions appear to be in London, th£y are distinctly better than in New York. This is evident from the fact, that street fatalities in the latter are at the rate of between four and five per day. Traffic offences there are dealt with by special courts, which during eleven months of 1922 heard over 45,000 cases. To-day it is recognised that for certain broad classes of goods and passengers, and within certain limits of distance, road transport is quicker and cheaper than carriage by railway. For mineral and bulk traffic and long-distance business passenger carriage the railway will always beat the road, but for door-to-door deliveries of other goods, and for local passenger work, the road wins. The origin of many of the automobile terms we use is most interesting. As it was in France that the industry was cradled, naturally most of our terms come from that language. The term “Limousine” was first applied to a French army wagon which had a hooded covering. The women folk of Limoges, the old capital of Limousine, wore a hood with cape attached; this head-dress was called a limousine, and from its covering the army wagon took its name. The “Sedan” was so called from the fact that when people travelled in chairs, before the era of carriages came, the finest and most comfortable were manufactured at Sedan, a village in north-east France; and as these models were copied by every manufacturer the name “Sedan Chair” came into universal use, and now the term is used for one of the most popular types of closed in motorcar bodies. In conjunction with Wellington’s Welcome Week, the motor-car trade of the city has arranged to hold its first big show in one of the Harbour Board’s new concrete sheds, which is the largest of its kind in Wellington, being 450 ft long by 80ft in width. It is expected that the 1923 models of between thirty and forty makes of car will be exhibited—three, five, seven-seaters, coupes, sedans, limousines, and saloon limousines—of all the best-known makes.

HINTS AND TIPS. Always use the same size tyres on both rear wheels. If you have an over-size on one rear wheel the differential gear will be in action whenever the car moves. In this way considerable power is lost and the differential gears are unnecessarily worn. Be particular to the steering mechanism in good order and well lubricated. Many motorists who grease and oil other parte will let the steering gear go unlubricated for months at a time. A piece of chamois leather makes an excellent filter for motor spirit. Many carburettor troubles are eliminated if petrol is always properly strained. A defect to which press-buttons, used so freely on many cars, are prone is that they become either tight or loose. If they are tight, a little gentle squeezing with a pair of gas pliers will reduce the overall diameter of the male member, and cause it to engage readily. If the knob is plated, a piece of rag should be interposed to prevent scratching. Very little pressure will suffice. Similarly, if the fitting evinces a tendency to come undone, a very light tap from a hammer on the top of the knob will Hatten it enough to restore its fit in the cap member, rag being again interposed to protect the plating from damage. To equalise the pressure of gas from an acetylene generator, a gas-bag in the rubber tubing helps considerably. It will also collect any water that may have got in the tube. It is not sufficient to tighten the rear chain or adjust the back wheel. The front or engine chain needs attention, the gearbox having to be shifted back to bring the chain up to correct tension. It sometimes happens that the small end bush in a connecting rod will work loose, tending to revolve on the gudgeon pin. A temporary measure for keeping it in place is to take the bush out and run some solder round it, thus slightly enlarging the diameter. It should then be worked with a file and emery paper to a driving fit. A ball race which tends to spin round on its shaft may be prevented from turning by marking one or two even rows of dots round the shaft with a centre punch, afterwards tapping the inner race to a fit. By taking out the inner tube once in every two months and reversing their position in the tyre, the danger of having the tubes rubbed through by the edges of the flap, or by other slight projections in casing, is removed. Nothing stamps a solo motor-cyclist as a novice more than continual “footing” when rounding corners, and when encountering greasy surfaces. Actually, the mere removal of the foot from the rest is, to a certain extent, destructive of equilibrium, and an expert rider will most instinctively refrain from “footing” when taking some especially tricky corner cr surface. The novice will save

himself many spills if he emulates the practice. One of the first items to which an experienced rider attends, is the obtaining of maximum riding comfort on a new machine. He adjusts the saddle to the lowest position suitable to his height, and sees that it will not foul the back mudguard; he sets the footrests similarly (when they are adjustable), and places the various handle-bar controls where they can be operated without straining the fingers continually. Half-an-hour’s attention to these details can make a machine twice as comfortable to ride. A machine can be made to look much smarter, too, by setting the head lamp beneath, rather than above, the handlebars. THE MOVING SPIRIT. Fir?t Lady: “However did you manage to persuade your husband to buy a car?” Second Lady : “By Continuous auto-sug-gestion, my dear!” —Bystander.