MOTORING NOTES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 60, Issue 4232, 17 January 1940, Page 9

MOTORING NOTES

IMPORTANT WAR SERVICE. WHAT AUSTINS DID IN 1914-18. The signal service rendered to-day by the leaders of Britain’s automobile industry cannot, of course, be disclosed, but when one reads what Herbert Austin’s (now Lord Austin) motor company did in the way of making munitions, etc., during the 1914-18 war, one may form some idea of what the big British motor plants are now doing to win the present war against aggression. In 1914 Austin’s plant was producing about 1500 cars per annum; its 1938 output exceeded 100,000 vehicles made by 20,000 employees, figures which enable one to visualise how much greater will be Austin’s war work during the present hostilities as compared with the output of war materials by that company during 191418, when 8,000,000 shells, 650 guns, 2,000 aeroplanes, 2,000 motor lorries, 480 armoured cars and 148 ambulances were produced, amongst other things. Amongst other British motor concerns to play an important part in supplying motor transport units was the Albion Co., which during the Great War made and supplied the war authorities with 6,000 heavy duty 32 h.p. 4 to 5 ton trucks. It is of interest to mention that Lord Austin, when 18 years or age, emigrated from England to Australia. He was apprenticed at Langland’s foundry, Melbourne. Later he became manager of the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Co. In 1893 he returned to Birmingham to supervise the manufacture of sheep shearing plant. Later he founded the present huge organisation at Longbridge, seven miles from Birmingham, with a capital of £15,000. AMAZING SPEED. The greatest motoring achievement of the year was John Cobb’s epic drive over a mile, in both directions, at the amazing speed of 368.85 miles per hour, a feat which is likely to be last land mark in the world of motor sport for some time to come. It is rather incongruous to read in a London newspaper that the fastest man on ear has now become a war time cyclist. From a speed of over six miles a minute to pedalling along London’s thoroughfares is certainly going from one extreme to another. One of the small British party, which accompanied John Cobb to America, supplies some further interesting inside details of the wonderful performance recorded on the Bonneville salt flats (Utah, U.S.A.), by the 2,500 h.p. Railton-Dunlop super speed, turtle shaped racing automobile. It is disclosed that, during the speed trials the car actually reached 380 m.p.h., this figure being shown by the speedograph, the chart of which is recorded a red line showing the curve of the car’s acceleration and deceleration. The pointer had moved for about 4 minutes, while 12 miles of the hard salt straightaway was being covered. The speedograph showed that a speed of 300 m.p.h. had been reached after travelling about three miles, after which the red line climbed steadily up to 380 m.p.h. and dropped as steadily back. A strip, 150 feet wide, was swept across the dried up lake bed, with a black oil line laid in the centre as a guide for Cobb to follow across the dazzling white expanse of salt. An examination of the wheel tracks on the two drives in opposite directions showed that the tyre marks were absolutely regular, thus bearing out Cobb’s statement that the three ton monster was absolutely tractable at 380 m.p.h. From the nature of the marks it was possible to tell where Cobb changed gears. All told, during the trial runs and the final record attempts, the Railton travelled about 75 miles. - / SIX MILES A MINUTE. In describing to the official timekeepers, etc., what it feels like to drive at a speed exceeding six miles a minute, Cobb stated that the nearest parallel he could give was a power dive in an aeroplane. As to deceleration, which is one of the trickiest operations after attaining such super speed, Cobb explained that this was so great that, on lifting his foot from the accelerator pedal he was thrown forward in his seat. He began braking in short bursts from 300 m.p.h. and finally coasted to the finishing depot with the free wheel in action. The Railton has unconventional brakes, two transmission only, hydraulically operated and cooled by water. The new record figures were established by 6 a.m., before the heat of the day became intense—llo deg. F. being quite common on the Salt Lake under the mid-day sun. After examining the speed racing tyres by Dunlop, the treads were found to be only slightly blistered, caused as the car was swung round at the end of its run, giving the smooth l/50in thick rubber treads a sideways thrust they we were not meant to take. So admirably did the tyres stand up to the terrific stresses that Cobb laughingly said to the Dunlop technician with the party “that he was sure Dunlop could build him tyres to stand up to 400 m.p.h.’’ Maybe, when the war is over, and John Cobb and his wonderful Railton

are ready for another onslaught on the world’s land speed record, Dunlap will build tyres capable of withstanding 400 m.p.h. WAR’S EFFECTS. Evidence of the effect of the war and petrol rationing on the British motor industry is seen in the attenuated size of the latest English motor journals, which are putting up a brave fight to carry on despite the severe blow that has befallen the new and used car business in the United Kingdom. The motor journals, without exception, are devoting considerable space to advising motorists how to get more miles out of their petrol allowance. All agree that high speed and violent acceleration must be cut out before any worth while increase in miles per gallon is obtainable.

It is of interest to mention that most of the leading makers of carburettors are advising a change in the set-up of their units by reduction in size of the choke tube and jets, with a view to obtaining more mileage from the petrol ration, which is based on about 200 miles a month for the various powered cars.

The British motor industry, and particularly the retail and servicing ends of the business, are hopeful that the British authorities may soon be able to extend the existing petrol allowance, and thus enable the nation’s huge motor servicing industry, in which over £lOO millions is invested, to be preserved as far as possible. The importance of this is realised fully by the British Government, hence the belief that if it is at all practicable, a more liberal petrol ration may be available to motorists in Great Britain early in the New Year. Many modern cars have radiator grilles which are fully chromium plated, and if these become tarnished with sticky deposits thrown up from the road the frontal appearance of the car is marred.

Washing with a sponge and water in the ordinary way is often not a very effective method of removing the tarnish, since the heat from the radiator dries the deposits. If the grill is brushed down with a small brush dipped in a little paraffin or petrol and washed down with water afterwards the stains will quickly disappear. A virtue of the brush is that it can be worked into corners where a sponge is useless. More than one half of motor accidents are caused by collisions, the result of foolish and unnecessary hurry, lack of mental alertness, failure to see danger in time and miscalculation of the speed of the driver’s own machine and the speed of the approaching automobile. The hazard of collision is one of the most serious which a motorist has to meet on the road, and it is growing more serious each year—mostly because of the faults of drivers.

The first and most important thing to avoid collision is not only to see the approaching vehicle in time, but to anticipate what the driver of that vehicle is liable to do next. By keeping an alert mind, ready to decide instantly and act quickly when approaching an intersection, one can minimise the risk of collision by keeping one’s speed within the limit of control.

As fully 60 per cent of automobile accidents occur at night common sense dictates that, by reducing speed and taking extra care, the hazards of night motoring can be greatly minimised, says the Dunlop Bulletin.