MOTOR & CYCLING

Taranaki Daily News, 6 December 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

MOTOR & CYCLING

TOO MANY PARTS TO LOOK AFTER.

OWNER-DRIVERS’ OOMPLAINTS.

(London Motor Correspondent.)

Owner-drivers will echo fervently the declaration of Sir Herbert Austin the other day that the modern car has too many parts, for this problem of the multiplicity of components is an acute one to all who have a conscience about their car, and who believe in doing their own adjustments, their decarbonising and their greasing and oiling. It is all very well for manufacturers to say that a minimum of attention need be bestowed upon the cars they make and that it does not amount to much more than filling the tank, the radiator and the oil sump and giving the grease nipples a touch of the gun. Things are not' quite so simple, and my own experience is that it takes several hours each week to keep a car in perfect trim. With the exception of the natural potterers —the type of owners who delight to tinker with their vehicles and to give two turns with a spanner where one suffices—motorists as a class desire to spend as little time as possible in maintenance tasks and running adjustments. If I succumb to the temptation of looking at my car at a lower level than that of the floorboards I always find enough work for at least a couple of hours. Sometimes I try to soothe my conscience with cheerful optimism as to the state of the batteries and tell myself .that they' were topped only the other day and cannot possibly require more distilled water, or I endeavour to convince myself that the .front wheel hubs must be full of lubricant, that the back axle is’similarly replete (it is a difficult back axle to fill) or that my tyres are inflated enough for the particular run in contemplation. PROGRESS IN SIMPLIFICATION. But if I manage to dodge my conscience I pay for it in the long, and even the short, run. ,No sooner does my car develop any speed than I become beset with apprehensions. I can almost see the plates in my batteries buckling up because they are dry to the grids, I fancy I can hear a funny noise coming from the back axle—the sort of noise that precedes a seizure—l am positive that the. car is bumping over the road a..d destroying my tyres for lack of air, and I begin to wonder how I shall fare when one of the front wheels parts from the axle.' In short, I find it much more comfortable to give my car as frequent and as .thorough an examination as I can, and consequently I fully agree with Sir Herbert Austin that there are too many parts in the modern car. The problem is how to simplify the chassis, and that can only be solved by Sir. Herbert Austin and other motor manufacturers. Admittedly some progress in simplification is being made. Many of the. new models, for instance, have, their grease nippjes neatly grouped, while others have adopted bushes that require .no oiling. A’ further step in the matter of easier lubrication is the adoption on some models of centralised lubrication, which sends oil to almost every rubbing part by the movement of a single plunger, i t • The adoption of the central position for the- change-speed lever is another move towards chassis simplification, for right-hand change involves the provision of additional parts. On one car I have noted a number of examples of simplification not only as regards the chassis but in respect of the tool-kit, which is reduced almost to' a minimum because one spanner can fit so many nuts, and because certain implements serve a different purpose at each end. One article of the tool-kit. I should desire to see done away with on all cars is the jack, -which is really archaic.

Admittedly it is a necessary evil, but need it is quite so evil? It is small, cumbersome, laborious and transforms what should be a comparatively eimple job, that of changing a wheel, into a loathsome task. If the Israelites really did help to build the pyramids it must have been with the aid of some such device as the modern screw jack. It would explain to some extent their detestation of the Egyptians. The screw jack has no business on board the modern highly-efficient automobile, and it should be superseded as soon as motor manufacturers can afford it by a device which enables any wheel to be jacked up in an instant with as little effort as is expended in depressing the clutch pedal. ’ I have also a complaint to ventilate in regard to the bodywork of the average light car. Why is it that so few car interiors are able to accommodate a bag of golf clubs in azontal position? Take tny own car for instance. It is a full five-seater saloon of a popular make, which by all modern standards is accounted, fairly wide, yet it will not take my clubs “lying down.” I must either be content to permit the club-heads to scratch the upholstery of my doors or permit them to rub the leather off the seat. If car designers cannot give us the little extra width required, let them make a receptacle' for the clubs under the running boards or bulge the sides of the body out a few inches to enable the clubs to lie peacefully on the floor. TRANSATLANTIC “EIGHTS.” American manufacturers of mediumpriced cars are definitely depending upon a wide extension of the straighteight market in' this country in the coming year. Buick are offering straight-eights over their entire range, while Chrysler have introduced two new straight-eights in addition to their “sixes.” It is a bold departure on the part of General Motors to turn all their Buick “sixes” into “eights,” but they can gauge their market fairly accurately and they know that so long as they give more rather than less this market is secure. No prospective purchaser of a Buick will be deterred from paying over his cheque because he is’ getting eight cylinders instead of six for his money. Besides, these Buick straighteights actually cost less than did the “sixes,” while the new models have been ( improved in various notable details. Frame, transmission, rear and front axles have all -been strengthened to allow for higher speeds and various refinements have been introduced; yet it is possible to buy a Buick for £398. The new Chrysler ’“eights” record another change in Chrysler radiator outline, and I must confess that I am impressed with the beauty of the new lines. The radiator has down-sweep-ing lines of distinctive design and the whole car with its low centre of gravity is a’thing of beauty. Combined with these new lines are many chassis improvements and refinements making for even better performance than before and for greater riding comfort. There is an ordinary “eight” and an “Imperial Eight,” the latter being a luxury car 1 of decidedly, arresting appearance.

ITALY’S 1000 MILE RACE.

A MOST UNUSUAL COURSE. Tfie most uAusual and longest motor race in. the world is held annually in Italy‘over a/distance of 1000 miles. The race is organised by the Automobile Club of Brescia and, starting from the town' from ’which the club takes its name, the course traces a ; rough figure, through Bologna, Florence, Rome, Anqoha, back through Bologna and on ■'through Treviso, Feltre, Vicenza, Verona and finally back to Brescia. The most unusual feature of Che race is its course. The roads over which it is run. are left open to ordinary traffic while the race is in progress. An appeal is made through the newspapers to the sporting instincts of the people to keep away from the course of their own free will. The request is complied with explicitly, and this year 140 entries of all sorts, sizes and makes, competed over the 1000 mile route that had arbitrarily been chosen as the course.

ROLLER SKATING AT WORK.

\ SAVING TIME ON ORDER'S.

A firm which distributee automotive parts to a number of service .stations in New York City has such a large warehouse that it is an eighth of a mile from the order desk to some of the farthest bins on one floor of the enormous building. To save time the company has equipped the young men who fill orders with roller skates. Nine of these youths, roll up and down the aisles at breakneck speed carrying parts that range from a tiny bolt to a fender. Some of them have become so expert that they' scarcely slow down for corners. They push hand trucks or climb up to high bine without removing their skates. ON A BUTTERMILK DIET. : . A TALE OF BYGONE DAYS. The thrills and hazards of motoring in 1912 were brought, vividly to mind recently by the recounting of an accident that happened to a motorist who was driving his Oldsmobile in the deep ruts of a rough road Jn Alabama. The bottom of his crankcase was scraping the ground, when the drain plug of the crankcase was knocked out and he lost all of his lubricating oil. At the time of the accident he was thirty miles from the nearest big town, there were no petrol stations on the road and no telephones, so the motorist "walked to the nearest farmhouse. He did not expect to get any oil there, but he did find ■ the farmer churning. Purchasing six quarto of buttermilk, he plugged up his crankcase again, filled it with buttermilk and successfully drove the thirty miles to town with the churned milk functioning as lubricant. This was probably the first and only time an automobile engine was oiled by the product of a cow. / ' Those were the days of the splash lubricating system, and it is a question whether buttermilk would function, in the full pressure lubricating systems of a 1030 model, as to-day’s .efficient systems draw the lubricant through a fine screen in the bottom of the crankcase to a pump and the oil is forced under pressure through small passages drilled in the crankshaft, camshaft and connecting rods to all bearing surfaces. .But even though buttermilk would not do the job to-day, with pump stations on every road, it is doubtful that any owner would ever be called upon to resort to. the buttermilk method.

MAKING MOTORS MIND. HELPFUL HINTS. d'By Max Wall, service manager of General Motors, New Zealand, Limited.) Most water used in motor-car cooling systems carries a small amount of lime and other substances in solution. Sometimes it carries small quantities of silt or solid matter in suspension. When this mineral or silt-bearing water is heated and circulated through the cooling system, it leaves deposits of sludge or mud or a coating of scale in the cylinder jackets and water passages cf the radiator. Also, a certain amount of iron rust is formed in the water jackets and joins with the other impurities in the water or may accumulate in the jackets and radiator. This mud, scale or rust interferes with the flow of the heat from the water into the air that passes through the radiator core. Toinsure cooling effectiveness, the system should be drained every month and flushed with clear water. In the spring it should be cleaned with a suitable scale and sediment removing compound. Ordinary washings soda dissolved in water will loosen the sediment and ■scale. The engine may be run with the radiator.covered and radiator cap on tight so the circulating water and chemical is circulated at a boiling temperatture for a few minutes. Then jemove the drain cocks or hoee connection# to. permit the writer to drain rapidly. Unless the hose connections are in very good condition, it is advisable to replace them after the operation. • in seasons impose different duties on various parts of the car which call for periodic adjustments. Vibration causes looseness. Dirt leads to diminished efficiency. If the car were/ inspected at least every three months and cleaned and adjusted as inspection revealed necessary, the owner rarely would know such a thing as sluggish acceleration, uneven operation, lack of power on hills or poor petrol and oil economy.

An engine, to operate efficiently, must have an occasional change of oil. If the lubricating value of the oil is diminished there is undue wear of all engine parts, which may lead to serious damage. Oil becomes practically worthies: if an excessive amount of petrol has become mixed with the lubricant, so as to make it very thin or if water has caused it to emulsify. Also, if dust, metal particles, pieces of carbon or other hard and a'brasive 'material have polluted the oil in considerable quantities, its further use will cause very rapid wear of engine parts.

In order to obtain the full benefits of the oil filter, owners should have it 'renewed every 10,000 miles. The oil filter keeps the oil clean, which means longer life, and smoother performance. After about 10,000 miles the filter becomes filled with dirt, carbon and other foreign matter’taken from the oil. By renewing the filtering element the filter is made as good as new.

When a car has been idle for several weeks, it is advisable to drain' the float chamber’of the carbureto- in order to get rid of any sediment or wat.r before, starting the engine. A small piece oi dirt or a few drops of water in. the carburetor will eaiise the motor To misfire or fail to start. ,i

If. you lose the gas tank cap. do not go. for long with a ’rag or piece of cork plugging up the hole, as this may prevent air from entering’the tank ami so interfere with the functioning of the petrol- system. Also, lint or particles of cork are almost sure to full in and clog the fuel linb.

If you want to test ’ for a s’ippiug, clutch, set the hand-brake and try to run the car. If the engine stalls immediately the clutch is not slipping; if it races for a moment without moving the car the clutch is slipping. This test should be made very carefully it involves slipping the clutch, which is injurious if prolonged. , ft •

RUBBER FOR COMFORT.

GOOD CAR'S EQUIPMENT. Every motorist knows some reasons why his car rides easier than its predecessor of a year or so ago, ; but he may not have an idea as to how much easier it rides. ’lf the amount of rubber used in motor-cars can be taken as a criterion, to-day’s automobiles are tliree times easier in riding qualities than they were three years ago. Three times as much rubber is used in their construction. To-day the average car contains from 401 b. to 60lb. of rubber. In 1927 it was from 101 b. to 151 b. A. good car contains about I'so pieces of rubber, fitted here and there, to produce easier riding and less vibration.