Novice and the Car

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 859, 31 December 1929, Page 6

Novice and the Car

Being some elementary hints on driving for those who are just learning.

Coasting Coasting with a clutch out is bad practice, and is liable to result in damage to the clutch and transmission, and to cause skidding, on the clutch being re-engaged. If the engine is stationary and the gear in neutral, with the car jolting downhill, and it is desired to restart the engine, this should be done through the starter in the usual way, independently of the momentum of the car. When the car’s speed approximates sufficiently to engine revolutions, the direct drive may be re-engaged and the clutch let gently in again. Should the starter not be functioning, the direct drive and not any- of the lower speeds should be re-engaged, because it is not desirable that the momentum of the car should start turning the engine at a high but at the slowest rate possible. But this is an operation to be avoided whenever possible. We have known cases of the propellor shaft or the universal joints being broken through starting the engine by means of letting in the clutch with the direct drive in service.

the front seat and the rear bench. Set on its narrow edge in this position, it will lie between the feet of the rear passengers, will never move, and not be in anybod-y’s way. If the funds do not run to a fitted luncheon case, cardboard plates and tumblers are cheap and satisfactory. When vacuum flasks are carried, drinks with a less delicate flavour than tea are preferable, e.g., coffee, which does not so obviously “taste of the flask”; milk should be carried separately, and added at the time of drinking. Sugar should never be dropped into a vacuum flask, as it may provoke a fracture; it should either be dissolved in the liquid before filling up or added at the meal. The corks of vacuum flasks should be boiled clean after each use.

Sandwiches should be wrapped in coverings which are very slightly damp, and should preferably contain some moist ingredients, such as chopped cress, or tomato, or cucumber.