Motordom

Southland Times, Issue 25341, 20 July 1935, Page 13

Motordom

News Notes

OF GENERAL INTEREST ON THE ROAD AND ON THE WING. THE LATEST HAPPENINGS. The “Austin Magazine.” The June number of the “Austir Magazine” deals extensively with touring on the Continent, and there are numerous articles written by experts concerning this important field of motor travel. As usual, the issue is well illustrated, with good clear photographs. Wear In Plugs. Spark plugs definitely wear out, even though the motorist may say that they are working properly. Petrol contains minute traces of impurities, such as sulphur. This leads to corrosion of the electrodes, with consequent widening of the gap. First-grade spirits contain absolutely the minimum percentage of sulphur, but cheap petrols may contain an appreciable quantity. This explains why a set of plugs may seem to have a shorter life if different qualities of fuels have been used. Apart from increasing the gap, the action of the sulphur can be such that it will upset the composition of the electrode and alter its electrical characteristics, so that the old method of cleaning the wire by emery paper may be of no avail. Accidents In Australia. There is only one really preventable disease, death or injury by accident, says the Bulletin. In Australia it takes a tragic toll;. and a large proportion of the victims are children. Figures for 1934 show that in Victoria 332 persons were killed in traffic mishaps. There were in all 15,924 traffic smashes as against 11,232 in 1933, an advance so shocking as to i call for explanation. Police Chief i Blarney has put his finger on one factor —the multiplicity of regulations govI erning traffic. The man who is accustomed to perform certain evolutions in his own suburb and his city is required to do the reverse when he crosses a certain dotted line on a map. Unless he has memorised every regulation of every municipality in the State he is apt to bump into somebody else, with results more or less serious according to the pace he was _ travelling. Mr Blarney demands one big code of traffic regulations, and, as the man responsible | for seeing that it is obeyed, he wants i the power for himself. Mr Blarney is ! right in his demand, but every, little I pompous municipality in Victoria is I kicking against what it regards as an infringement of its dignity., Gear Changing. Hanging on in top gear is a practice condemned by every motoring expert. If the car will not climb an incline in top unless the throttle is fully opened, and, if there is a manual control, the spark must be greatly retarded, then it is obvious that an unfair strain is being imposed on the engine. Moreover, nothing is gained either in time or petrol economy. Now that gear changing has been simplified there seems no reasonable explanation for the obstinacy of certain motorists who grimly refuse to change down into third or second gear when everything points to the wisdom of doing so. The hill-climbing ability of the car must be considered in relation to its weight and horse-power, but it seems that there are still drivers who think that if they climb a hill in an intermediate ratio while another motorist with a more powerful car does so in top, they have lost prestige. Gearboxes are meant to be used, and on a long journey they are most serviceable as a means of maintaining a good average speed. The driver of a light car might boast that his machine is so good that he has made a long trip in top gear all the way, but there is far more credit in being able to say: “I used the gears intelligently, and my average was as good as that of a model of much greater horse-power.” Remarkable Tests. Amazing tests were carried out with a Chrysler Plymouth car at the Kew, England, works of the Chrysler Corporation recently. Spectators saw a demonstration of driving a car to destruction. The tests were carried out by Captain J. Miller. He has carried out similar tests at Chicago. For the first test the course was indicated by a white line which led through a wooden palisade, about 9ft in height, and then on to a wooden ramp. On the white line in front of the palisade a daring photographer placed a springcontrolled cine camera and stationed himself in readiness to jump for it. Presumably he wanted to shoot the scene as a turning worm would see it. There was a roar of a car in the distance, the palisade, soaked in petrol, was fired, and the photographer, having touched off the trigger of his camera, jumped out of the way. Crash! The car had shattered the burning planks, plunged on to the ramp, leapt in the air and was down again at the end of the field—unharmed, the driver calmly smoking a cigarette. For the next stunt a strip of ground had been turned up until it resembled a ploughed field. This was approached at a high speed and the driver simultaneously switched off deftly, turned the wheel and applied the brakes. Over went the car, rolling and bouncing towards the spectators, and stopped upside down. It should have landed on its wheels, but the door swung open. “He is done for now!” exclaimed someone. The spectators rushed up to the car and speedily righted it, but Miller, cool and unhurt, immediately restarted the engine and drove away the Chrysler with its dented roof and starred windscreen. Subsequently he said that he had performed this feat in Europe and America over 300 times. He relies solely upon a strap that secures him to the front seat and the all-steel construction of the car. Power From Modem Fuels. It is somewhat astonishing to realize that even the mist efficient of the modem cars do not use more than 10 per cent, of the tremendous power latent in motor spirit. In a pound weight of petrol there is nearly three times as much explosive power as in a pound of the well-known explosive T.N.T. (Tri-Nitro-Toluol.) Knowing the tremendous puwer available, it has been the main object of designers of modem engines to make use of as much of it as possible. Knowing that the tighter a petrol air mixture could be compressed, the greater would be the power output when it was ignited by the spark, designers of internal combustion engines have of late years been steadily raising t;heir compression ratios; but they reached a stage, some years ago, where the compression sc raised the temperature of the compressed charge, that it set fire to itself, and exploded with such violence as to cause the well known phenomenon called “knocking.” Thus engine designers were faced with the problem of discovering some substance that would slow up the burning of the fuel charge, and prevent this knocking tak-

ing place, so that they could then raise, still further, the compression ratios and still further increase the power of their engines. It is not surprising, therefore, that the credit for the discovery of that remarkable chemical known as Ethyl fluid, is due to the chemists of the staff of General Motors Research Laboratories. The success of this anti-knock substance is demonstrated in a remarkable way in the motor spirit known as Super Plume Ethyl. Its anti-knock, and therefore its power producing capabilities, are a revelation. The very latest model cars demand a petrol of very high anti-knock quality to give the maximum power their designers intended they should give. With older models, the compression can be artificially raised by advancing the ignition at the distributor head. It is a fact that the vast majority of cars running today have their ignition too far retarded at the distributor. By getting a garageman to advance the ignition in the proper manner, motorists will be amazed at the increase in power and mileage, when the ignition is returned to where it ought to be. The retarding of the ignition in the first place was done by the assemblers of the cars, to suit the relatively low anti-knock fuels available prior to the introduction of Super Plume Ethyl. To-day the necessity for this retarded ignition no longer exists. Using a motor spirit of the very high anti-knock quality (higher indeed than anything ever before sold in this country,) of Super Plume Ethyl, and advancing the snark to where it ought to be have the effect, not only of increasing power and mileage, but of reducing the temperature of the exhaust vases by as much as 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus engines and valves are actually operating under cooler and better conditions than they would be with ordinary motor spirits. The standard of yesterday are gone forever, and it is easy to prophesy that the 10 per cent, efficiency of internal combustion engines will soon be left far behind. with the vast improvements taking place in modem fuels and engine design.—2o/7/35.

THE ENGINE’S HEALTH

IMPORTANCE OF THE PLUG POINTS.

EASILY RECOGNIZED SYMPTOMS.

When a man is fit and well, he is not continually troubling his physician, but the wise 'man will get his doctor to “run the rule” over him from time to time.

The same thing applies to the engine of a car or motor cycle. When an engine is on its best behaviour, the average motorist leaves it well alone; but at the same time a few minutes spent on it—say once a month or once a quarter—may prove to be the proverbial stitch in time.

It is only the technical few amongst motorists who realize how many of the symptoms of motoring malaise can actually be seen by a brief glance at the plug points. As a director of one company explained recently, the sparking plug is the only one of the “intimate” parts of an engine—'these including the valves, cylinder head and piston—which can be easily removed and inspected. It is a simple matter to take out the plugs and examine them, and they provide much information to the intelligent. To begin with, the plug is an excellent guide to carburation. If its business end is black and sooty it is a sign of too rich a mixture. If it is white and parched, that means it has been very hot and is a probable sign of a weak mixture. With correct carburation the points should be grey-black in colour, without being actually sooty. If they are covered in wet oil it is a sure indication that too much oil is getting into the combustion chamber, either due to worn piston rings and cylinder bores, worn valve guides in O.H.V. engines, or to over-lubrication. Plugs which do not show oil, but which carbon up frequently indicate engine wear (or over lubrication) to a lesser extent. To obtain this information the plugs should be examined immediately after a normal run, but other symptoms may be revealed by an inspection first thing in the morning, before the engine is started. If the points are wet then, there is a probability of a defective gasket or even a porous cylinder casting allowing water to get into the combustion chamber. From the foregoing it will be seen that the plugs offer a clue to engine condition, and if their silent advice is taken early, subsequent expensive repairs may be prevented. SLEEVE VALVE ENGINE NEW INTEREST CREATED. AERO ENGINE DESIGN.

The introduction of a new type of aero engine working on the sleeve v live principle has aroused interest in a design which has now disappeared altogether from British car engines. The pioneers of the sleeve valve engine were the Daimler company, who were the last to produce it in Great Britain. No one, therefore, is more qualified to speak of it than Mr Laurence H. Pomeroy, who controls the technical destinies of the Daimler-Lan-chester-B.S.A. group. Mr Pomeroy states that the reason for the introduction of the sleeve valve engine was its extreme silence compared with all other contemporary types. As time went by, from 1908 onwards, the poppet valve type of engine gradually began to acquire the characteristics of silence of the sleeve valve engine, so that on the whole at the present time there is very little to pick between them. There are, however, other important aspects of the matter apart from silence, continues Mr Pomeroy. No poppet valve engine can compare with the sleeve valve engine from the viewpoint of absence of detonation and the capacity to use more or less any type of fuel, for the reason that the bete noire of the poppet valve engine the incandescent exhaust valve, is eliminated when sleeve valves are used. Thus we see the sleeve valve beginning to work its way back into aero engines. On the other hand, the lubrication problems of the sleeve valve engine were more difficult than in the poppet valve, although once the difficulty was faced it was overcome. The determining factor in the disappearance of the sleeve valve for motor cars was its association with relatively expensive cars, in Great Britain at any rate, so that the attitude of the ordinary motorist was to regard it as mysterious and unorthodox.

TOURING IN SWEDEN AN ATTRACTIVE COUNTRY. GOOD ROADS AND HOTELS. The idea sounds new—and to some extent it is. It is true that Sweden has “been there all the time,” but tourist visits to it have hitherto been chiefly associated with steamship tours to “the Northern Capitals,” which gave visitors little if any idea of the interior of Sweden, says an English writer. Now, however, comes the SwedishLloyd Line direct service from London (Tilbury) to Gothenburg, covering the journey in 35 hours and with special facilities for the British motorist taking his car to Sweden. It may be useful to give brief details of this service before discussing the attractions of Sweden as a motoring country. Charges for conveying cars to Gothenburg range from £2 (for a car up to 15cwt.) to £5 (for one over 35cwt.). Only half rates are charged on the car, if it is accompanied by three passengers, while in the case of four passengers the car is carried free. The British and Northern Shipping Agency, Ltd., whose London office is at 5 Lloyd’s Avenue, E.C.3, will be pleased to furnish further details to any reader. There are several conditions distinctly favourable to motoring in Sweden. The exchange is in our favour; petrol and oil cost about the same as in England; Swedish roads compare favourably with those of other countries of similar geographical and climatic conditions; the rule of the road is the same as in Britain. Hotels have undergone great improvement in recent years; the larger towns offer a wide choice from simple comfort to luxury, while the country districts are served by clean, well-kept inns. The car documents required are similar to those for other European countries; the Royal Automobile Club of Sweden is an active body, with its uniformed port officer (equipped with the English language!) waiting on the quay to welcome the British motorist. The best way of illustrating the varied attractions of Sweden for the visiting motorist will be to describe briefly a circular tour from Gothenburg, the port of disembarkation. Gothenburg is so conveniently placed that a series of circular tours can be made from it, embracing the best parts of Sweden with extension, if desired, into Norway or Denmark.

Gothenburg itself is a place of great interest. It is the chief port and second city of Sweden. At the mouth of its harbour stands the Alvsborg fortress, while the 17th-century redoubts of Kronan and Lejonet are among other sights. The Museum of Arts and Crafts, and the Museum of Fine Art are both very interesting and the park of the Horticultural Society has palmhouses

and greenhouses stocked with many rare plants. The Masthugg church commands a fine view over the town. Quite the best way of seeing the harbour and the archipelago is to make an excursion by pleasure steamer to one or other of,the popular island resorts within easy access, such as Styrso, reached in an hour, or Marstrand, two hours distant. Inland a number of interesting excursions can be made into a country of wooded • hills, green valleys, winding rivers and placid lakes.

Gothenburg is the starting point of the famous Gota Canal, 240 miles of waterway—lakes and canals—connecting the city with Stockholm. The famous Trollhattan waterfalls, with the great power station, are easily reached from Gothenburg.' A beautiful view of the Gota valley is obtained from there. As a large proportion of the Swedes know English there is no language difficulty in shopping, visiting restaurants, etc., in Gothenburg. An undulating road leads east-wards from Gothenburg to Jonokoping on beautiful Lake Vattern by way of Ulricehamn, a health resort on the smaller lake of Asunden. At Jonkoping—where the great Swedish match industry had its beginnings in 1845, the road turns north and follows the eastern shore of Lake Vattern through Granna, an attractively situated little town. Opposite to it is the Isle of Visingso, which was a centre of Stone Age life and has an important place in the cultural history of Sweden. Interesting ruins of ancient castles dot this part of Sweden. The neighbouring ruins of Alvastra monastery are the oldest of their kind in the country, while the eminence of Omberg gives an expansive view of eight towns and thirty church towers of the Vattern district. At Vadstena, further north, is a castle of the period of Gustav Vasa which is said to be the finest Renaissance building in Sweden. Beyond Vadstena our route passes through Motala, a traffic centre on the famous Gota Canal and then goes eastwards to Linkoping, which has a cathedral founded in the 12th century. Norrkoping, further on, is a big industrial town with texile factories and paper mills, but Nykoping, where the route approaches for the first time the east coast of Sweden, is a place of numerous antiquities. Its old churches include one dedicated to St. Nikolaus, so much favoured as patron of churches in oui- own coastal towns. The Residency and Town Hall both date from the 17th century. We are gradually drawing nearer to Stockholm, but a place of note in the middle distance is Soderatlje, a bathing resort. There is much about the situation of Stockholm, the Swedish capital, that inevitably suggests similarity to Venice —the nearness of the sea and of sheltered waters dotted with islands. The likeness has been accentuated since the erection of the new Town Hall, one of

the most splendid pieces of modern architecture in Europe. From its waterside situation it dominates the city with a lofty tower, recalling, with difference of detail, the campanile of St. Mark’s, while the hall itself has an arcaded facade that has its counterpart in the Palace of the Doges. There is good reason, therefore, for calling Stockholm “the Venice of the North.” Its new Town Hall is the crowning achievement of a city already rich in historic buildings and art treasures. Leaving the capital, our road passes Haga Park, rich in memories of King Gustav 111, whose country seat remains here; in the same neighbourhood is Ulriksdal Castle, a former residence of the present Crown Prince. Almarestaket Bridge marks the site of an ancient fortress destroyed by Esthonian 'pirates in the 12th century; other old castles are still sprinkled over the landscape. Through the mediaeval towns of Koping and Arboga and past the interesting church of Glanshammar with its 16th-century paintings, the road runs to the important town of Orebro at the western end of Lake Hjalmaren. Orebro is now an industrial place, but its striking castle dates from the 16th century, while the Kungsstugan or “King’s Hut” on Lars Bohm’s promontory is a remarkable wooden building of the 15th or 16th century containing interesting paintings. Beyond Mariestad, where the route approaches the great Lake Vanern (an inland sea nearly 100 miles long) the road runs round Kinekulle, a mountain covered with rich vegetation and offering a happy hunting ground to the visitor with botanical tastes; others will be attracted by its curious grotto formations and beautiful views. Near Lidkoping. farther on, is the Lacko Castle, dating from 1298, now restored and open to the public; it contains a notable collection of portraits. Past the great power station and factories of Trollhattan and through the ancient town of Kungalv, now wearing a new garb as a modern garden city, we travel alongside the Gota Canal back to Gothenburg and our ship.

A HAZARDOUS JOURNEY LONDON TO TIMBUCTOO. BRITISH MOTORISTS’ RETURN. Mr H. E. Symons and Mr V. L. Seyd, who set off on a motoring trip to Timbuctoo recently returned to London on May 23 after a double crossing of the Sahara desert. Their journey constitutes a record for any form of transport whether by land or air. Lord Nuffield, chairman of Morris Motors Ltd., presided at a reception given to Mr Symons by Stewarts & Ar-

dern, Ltd., in London. The Duke of Richmond and Sir Malcolm Campbell were amongst those who congratulated Mr Symons on his record-breaking journey, which was carried out on the first of the new Morris Ten’s. Sir Malcolm Campbell said he was well qualified to refer to the arduous nature of the route, because he had himself travelled over certain parts of it. Commenting on the car, Sir Malcolm said he was particularly impressed with the inbuilt jacking system. In his opinion, every car of whatever price should have this invaluable feature. In making presentations to the drivers Lord Nuffield said he knew the car would be equal to its task. He was confident in the future of the British Motor trade which would shortly regain its pre-eminence of the early days of motoring.