ON BEING TOWED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18796, 7 February 1931, Page 10

ON BEING TOWED.

The jokes perpetrating on the unwary are endless. One of the latest on motorists refers to a jammed starter pinion. It is impossible for a pinion to become so jammed that assistance has to be sent for, and consequently also not impossible that a tow to a garage may be requisitioned. An American paper seriously advises that in such cases the plugs should be removed from the engine, as thereby compression will be relieved and the tow made easier. In the early days of the motor-cycle a respected Canterbury country doctor who used to meet with the frequent stoppages of users of the precusor of the efficient modern machines pedalled all the way from Rangiora to Kaiapoi with the belt still driving the engine. Fortunately he was a young man then and his heart stood up to the ordeal. If a car has to be towed it is not necessary to relieve compression by removing the plugs. One can relieve himself of the whole of the engine, and the clutch and gear-box as well, by the simple process of going into neutral, which, of course, is just what a normal person would do without thinking about it. CLEANING GLASS. The glass panels of doors and windscreens can be cleaned very effectively if a small quantity of paraffin is mixed with the cleaning water. A simple method is to pour a few drops of the paraffin into a saucer, in which is a little water, and then rub on the mixture with a piece of old chamois leather or cloth. A few minutes should be allowed for the cleaner to dry, and the glass can be polished with a clean duster. In this manner a particularly brilliant polish is obtained, and it will last for some time. In addition to the brightness of the glass, the mixture forms a coating which tends to make rain drops run off rather than collect, and it will be found also that, as far as the interior of a sedan is concerned, the windows have no tendency to steam on the inside when they are closed. When the weather is warm in Berlin, Germany, and the asphalt becomes soft with the heat, a heavy roadrolling machine is run over the surface. The wheels of this vehicle mark the surface with a pattern like that of bricks, to prevent skidding.