MOTOR WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12063, 19 July 1917, Page 3

MOTOR WORLD.

(By SPARK.)

LIGHTING-UP TIME,

p.m. Thursday, July 19 i • 5.14 Friday, July 20 . . o.la Saturday. July 21 . . 5.1b Sunday, July 22 . • o-l? Monday, July 23 . • <>-1^ Tuesday, July 24 : •» Wednesday, July 25 . 0.-0

Registrations with the motor inspector and applications lor certificates are still coming in freely. Roughly speaking there are 3000 niotor-c\cics icgistcrcd in the city and 2250 cars.

Corporal Alan 'Woodman, who returned to Wellington on Monday night with Mrs Woodman, will have the good wishes of all Canterbury motor-cyclists in his married life. At present lie is in charge of the staff cars and garage at Fcathorston, and does not expect, to be sent on service abroad. He stated while in Christchurch that he had decided to give up the racing game, and this will rob the New Zealand tracks of certainly the pluckiest rider that has ever graced it

The handling of petrol by the Canterbury Au'.oniobil > Association has no doubt had a stimulating effect on tho membership, for already 225 new members have been enrolled tor the year, bringing the total activo membership to over 850. The association buys largely and gives members the benefit of its operations, making no profit. Already .some thousands of cases have been handled in a matter of twelve months. Motor-car insurance is another useful activity, and rules have been drafted by Mr F. W. Johnston for discussion at tho annual meeting.

The Automobile "Pierrots" will shortly make their bow to a. Christ - church audience- This concert party, which was undertaken on the initiative of Mr I'. K. Clituie, chairman of the Entertainment Committee, has been rehearsing for a long time under Mr Braeey Wilson, a well-known comedian, and the first concert will be given in the Theatre Royal or the Opera Mouse. Tho party is also booked to give a concert. at r,oburi; on August 3. This will be for the Trench Comfort Fund, but probably other concerts will bo for Red Cross purposes. The association will provide conveyances whereover the party may appear.

Messrs J. S. Hawkes and C. W. J-lervey, who have been appointed to visit the new West. Coast branches of the Automobile Association, will probably make the trip next week. They will he able to give the new officers the benefit of their organising experience, and help to place the new branches on a sound footing. It is not altogether premature to say that when reliability runs are resumed, one of the first, and possibly tho most enjoyable on record, will take in the West Coast, with an extended trip through the Otira Gorge and the Buller Gorge and back through Kaikoura. This route was mooted some time ago, with the suggestion that the charms of the trip would bring in many outside entrants who might have no aspirations for trophies. This would be a four or five days' run, which would have a high social value.

It, is understood that no Bill will bo brought down in Parliament this session dealing with motoring matters, unless it is a simple clause in the ''Washing-up Bill" designed to get over tho dilliculty created by the Timaru borough by-laws. Although there is much need for uniform motor legislation, it is as well that, the motoring bodies should discuss the position welt in time to assist in the framing of legislation. One of the first things to be provided should be that registration with one authority will be sufficient for tho whole Dominion. Incidentally, an assurance has been given that existing regulations will be recognised under any new Act. In the matter of registration there is undoubted need for uniformity. At present'.some parts of tho Dominion do not demand registration at all, and an unregistered motorist, taking an extended trip is merely obliged to register with the first registering authority. If t3iere was uniforinitv of registration' and certificates of ability, a great deal ofeonfusion and supervision would be done away with.

A Cliristc'lnirch motor-cyclist, who keeps a somewhat out-of-date outfit but nevertheless gets a great deal of fun out of it, has been trying kerosene in an old J. A. P. h.p. engino. He screwed a simple vapouriser in over the exhaust valve, and led the jj'ipy down into the float chainbeV. The kerosene, vapourised all right, and the cycle, with chair, went for about three miles at a time, but slowing tip to turn a corner was fatal, and the engine, knocked and finally gave up. Ho put it down to overheating, for the engine became very hot, and continued to knock no matter how the, spark was retarded, and, lie concluded that there was pro-ignition. On second thoughts, he came to the conclusion that there was too much vapour, and that tho intake should have been introduced below the float chamber. With the present price of petrol, the use of kerosene would be a great saving, and possibly some reader of these notosniay be able to give his experiences in the same direction.

A motor ambulance, the first in Christchurch, is nearing completion in the, factory of Stevens and Sons, to the order of tho St John Ambulance Association. Up to the present the city has only had two horse ambulances, which are considered to bo out of date not only in design, but in propulsion. They will be maintained as a stand-by, but the new ambulance will be used as much as possible, it will not only be able to travel <|tiio.kly on outward iournoys, but will bo of use for going into tho country for medical cases lor removal to hospital, and will also be able to cover the. ground more rjuiekl.v with the patient. The. new ambulance will be, fitted to take any kind of stretcher, or even a hod in cases where the patient cannot bo moved. The interior will be in white enamel, with no square corners to retain dust or germs. The outside will be in walnut-stained kauri panels on a clear-varnished ash framework. There will be a long overhanging roof coming well out over the bonnet, a feature which will, lend distinctiveness to the new conveyance. Tho chassis, which of course was not built in Christchurch. was selected for its length and ease of springing. The ambulance..should make its appearance in the streets possibly inside a week.

One of the causes of 1 03s of power in an engine, says jm exchange, isi duo to leaky piston rings. The chief symptom of this loss of compression is that the crank case becomes unduly hot. To remedy this, tho cylinders should bo taken down and the piston rings examined. The faulty rings will be found to be discoloured or probably blackened. This is caused by the exploded gas leaking past. The defective rings shpuld bo replaced by now ones, which should be obtained from the agent to ensure being the standard size. The slots should bo kept as far apart as possible. 7f it is found that this does not remedy tho trouble, then tho t rouble will be found to be in tho cylinders themselves, tho boxes of which will require trueing up. A Christ-church motor engineer says that a. wonderful compression is obtained by " double turning " the piston rings, so that when in place in the cylinder they form a, true, circle, instead of being slightly oval, as is the case with single turning.

Last financial year tho Ford Company produced 533.020 cars, which means a car for every minute,' or iruhcr less tlian a minute. The profib on ouch car was over £22, the net profit of tho year's operations being •slightly under twelve millions sterling.

In America the cover over the engine is tlio " hood " ; in England, the " bonnett-." The "hood" in New Zealand is the "top" over the seats. American gasoline is benzine here. " Paraffin " in England is "kerosene" elsewhere. A tyre cover Here is a, casing in America. " In England they write "tyro"; in America "tire." In America what New Zealanders call tramcars are known as trolley car?. The word tram comes from Ontrnm, :< coal mining engineer who first used rails for carrying trucks to a pit's mouth.

Seven of tho leading motor-cycle manufacturers of America have signed an agreement to withdraw from giving trade hacking to racing men. This means that riders will have to pay for their machines, etc.. and will all he placed on an equal footing. Furthermore, no special racing machines will be constructed and stock models will have to he used plus any little improvements the riders can carry out themselves. Amongst the companies that are cutting out the " trade rider ' are the Harloy Davidson, Excelsior and Indian.

On top of the recent rise in the price, of motor tyres in America is to bo added a further dual war tax by the American Government. A 5 per cent tajc on covers and tubes is to be paid by the manufacturer on the selling price to dealers, and in addition a 10 per cent duty is to-be levied on all crude rubber entering the States. Heretofore, crude rubber "has been on tho free list. During 101 (J, 115.000 tons of rubber was imported into America, of which some 90,000 tons (worth about £.'5,500.000) would probably be absorbed in tyre manufacturing. The American tyie houses are making every effort to have the ueu- taxes removed or modified, particularly the duty on crude rubber,

Tn a. recent contest n't- Los Angeles a. novel competition depended on the strongtli of si, machine to jump into mid air and hit the ground again as it landed. The winner jumped 51ft 2in ! Thero was also a ride through deep sand, and a, machine v. rider contest. In this event the motorist had to set his machine going and run alongside until ho reached the winning mark. He was not. allowed to mount' the eyele, but had to handle his controls to keep with his running pace. The one* who reached the mark first, was the winner.

If Ihe rated voltage of the lamp is higher than it should be it will give a. poor light because it, is designed to offer high resistance to high pressure, and with tho low voltage battery there is insufficient- pressure to overcome tho resistance. On the other hand, if the lamp is of low voltage as compared with the battery, the low resistance, will permit the current, to flow nt.,such a high rate that, the filament will flask up brilliantly and then bum out; the greater the discrepancy in tlie voltage the sooner the end will come.

The propelling power of the "'tanks," the big armoured motors operating on the West front, and now being shown pietoriallv by tho Y.M.C.A. in Christchurch, is said to be in the region of ](100 h.p., derived from four six-cylinder petrol engines of 250 each. Uiis enormous power is icssential. as t,ho weight, of Iho tank is estimated to bo over 100,0001b. The two 40ft eaterpillar belts that are used to transmit (lie driving power are about flOin wide, thus giving the maximum load-hearing surface, so that the pressuro per square inch of earth contact, is kept, very low

much less than that exercised bv man nr horse. It is this great tractive adhesion and tremendous grip that, enables the British landships to surmount practical I v all difficulties of travel, ft is said that the la,test, patterns ol '•'tanks" differ much from tho earlier models, being larger, heavier, and. capable of moving at, a greater pace. and. lioinp; more licjivilv arinccl, they niciilso more formidable.

Wo find (writes "The Light. Cnr'"> that small hvo-.stroko. machines, used only for very short journeys, such as running in and out from business a matte/of two miles at a time- - voquire an absolute minimum of oil. This is duo to the fact, that the engine really become Tvarmed up, as on a long journey, when not only the cylinder and the nision. but the frank and connecting rod. and indeed the whole interior of the engine, become hot. enough to cause evaporation and burning of the lubricant. On short, journeys practically no evaporation takes place, and therefore iho oil feed should bo sparingly adjusted. One rider informs.us I bat-be has used only a !>inj> of oil in six months daily riding. This, wo think, is running it. rather thin: but wo liu/J from personal experience that one particular two-stroke requires only about a tablc.spoonful of oil for every 91) miles, m;ulo up of two-mile runs. Beware, therefore, of over-oil-ing. This advice, of course, refers to the Old Land, but it- more or less holds good licro.

The decision of tho committee of the Victorian Motor-cycle C.C. to repeat the twenty-four hours' reliability trial this year has met with general approval; and it is expected that last year's entry of sixty will be eclipsed. Tlfero is :in addit/ional class this year, comprising teams according to tho make of machine used, and it is thought that the riders will take the better care of their mounts, because condition at the completion of the trial will affect the result. Tho machines will be divided into two classes —under and over 800 c.c.—and wle-cnr machines of either power will each again provide separate classes. The general route will be amplified here and there to give longer distances to the more powerful machines, the idea being to briny the competitors together, within reasonable limits, at meal times, and also at the conclusion of ilie trial. The starting tinio will be nine o'clock on a Friday night, from Melbourne, finishing at the same hour on the following evening. Snood limits will be set for each rlaw> of machine during day and night., thus: •••■Solos over (500 c.c. will be limited to 2P m.p.b. and 22 m.p.h. respectively; solo«; under 000 c.c. will be limited fb '2\ m.p.b. and 20 m.p.h. respectively; side-cars over GOO e.c." will be limited to 2A m.p.h. and Iff m.p.h. respectively; side-cars under 600 c.c. will be limited to 19 m.p.h. and 17 m.p.h. respectively.

The_ questions of free trade or protection is of especial importance to tho English motor-car manufacturer, savs the Knghsh '' .Motor NVws.'' (Comparatively sneaking. our foreign and colonial trade lias liron infinito?imr>l. and lias been absolutely overshadowed by the Amorica?i. o must cat or spcciallv for these markets by tho production of a. quality oar of high grade and devoid of expensive accessories. As regards the colonies, wo are up against: certain difficulties. Tho roads requiro very ample clearanee and large wheels. Surely it would he possible to produce - a modification of the quantity car intended for Great Britain which would suit tho colonics? Larger wheels would insure sufficient clearance and also render (the travelling ea.sier over rough roads. This woulfl probably necessitate a. lower ratio in tho gears, but that ought not to be a, serious matter where cars are being supplied in large quantities. Thus tho same type, with a comparatively slight modification, would suit the colonial market. The war has brought the colonies into close touch with the .Mother Country. They aro anxious and willing to purchase our goods, but: we must supply them with cars which will suit colonial needs, and ut a reasonable price. They will gladly pay more for a good British, car of suitable design than for an American, provided the difference in price is not too great. Tho mere sale of these cars is not sufficient, however. Provision will have to bo mudo lor the immediate supply of spuro