The Motor World

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17217, 7 December 1923, Page 4

The Motor World

NOTES AND NEWS BY ••RADIATOR”

Wliil« touring recently in South Aus.Talia Mr Collin*, of Collinsville, ran us car over a snake. He got out to Iniali it off. ami th© reptile came at iim. As he had no stick, he clambered back into the Toliiele, out of which he and hi* wife scrambled when ihe snake crawled in after him. The •ar was hold up for an hour bei'oro the snake was hooked out and killed.

Carbonised cylinders, too much low•peed driving, spark, retarded too far, poor ignition or insufficient or poor >il, racing the engine, clogged muffler >r silencer, bad carburettor adjustment, slipping fan-belt, clogged or |ammed radiator tubes, teaky water sonnections or low water in radiator, will overheat the engine. Then lock »ufc for real trouble.

A small wooden box about tho size of a matchbox, covered at each end with a piece of wire ganzo and containing some small pieces of fluff or down, make a handy puncture-finder. To locate a puncture, pass the gauaecovered end of the box over the tube until the fluff or down shows the source of the trouble by fluttering.

Remove plugs from the cylinders and scrub the points with an old toothbrush dipped in petrol. If tho plug is badly carboned up, take it to pieces by securing the hexagon shell in a vice and loosening the pack-nut which holds the porcelain in place. The earbon deposits can then he removed from the porcelain and shell with a penknife. Wash all parts in petrol before re-assembling.

To make a handy tool, get an old spring leaf or tyre-lever and grind the edge into tho shape of a wedge. Then sear a groove from tho point back about six inches with a cold-chisel or an old file. When the end is wedged between the leaves of the spring, the oil will run down the groovo and thoroughly lubricate.

Close both the long and short taps under the petrol tank by turning them horizontally Screw out the plug at tho bottom of the carburettor and the petrol contained therein will flow out. If it doesn’t the carburettor is dirty, and a piece of wire should be poked through tho opening to start the flow and drain all the petrol and dirt out. Regular cleansing of the carburettor saves lots of trouble.

The entire water circulating system should be flushed out occasionally. To do this the- radiator inlet and outlet hose should be disconnected and the radiator flushed out by allowing tho water to enter the filler neck at ordinary pressure, whence it will flow through the tubes and out at the drain cock and hose. Tho waterjackets may be flushed out by allowing tho water to enter the cylinder head connection and to flow through the water packets and out at tlte aide inlet connection.

A noisy bonnet can be cured by threading some fabric belting through the holes provided in the radiator shell. Often the rattle is caused by the old fabric padding becoming rotten and breaking away. To thread the new padding in take out the tickler wire and remove the two nuts holding the radiator to the frame, and lift off the shell. Then thread tho new cord or fabric through the holes provided after having first removed all traces of the old material. Some fabric can also be tacked to the da3h where tb« bonnet fits on.

MOTOR TRUCKS.

USED FOR TRANSPORTING CATTLE. Out-back cattlemen in Australia who have experienced difficulty in transporting stock to country shows are being catered for with a new epeciallj constructed cattle ran. v Thia van is so ingeniously ventilated that not only can plenty of air be admitted* but by the moving of slats the temperature can bo regulated to almost any degree. On the front of tho waggon is a glass window, so that the occupants can bo kept under observa tion. When the doorway at the rear is opened, it releases a gangway 12ft long with detachable sides. The interior of the ran is so clerery designed that it can be converted into a sheep travelling van or a cattle ran in a few minutes. Ail the fittings are detachable. In the North-west the transport of cattle by motor is not a new idea. There are se\*eral station owners who have constructed motor stock waggons out of car trucks. A man at Meteor Downs, Queens land, ha 9 a trailer which he has constructed himself for tho transport of horses to various picnic race meetings, and also for bringing sick cattle in from distant parts of his run. In this way the lives of hundreds of sheep and cattle arc saved every year. Wild pig hunting expeditions arc carried out with the same vehicle.

MOTOR HEADLIGHTS.

BIG PERCENTAGE IMPERFECT. According to investigations recently made in America, tho autombile headlights on nineteen out of twenty motorcar* are defective to the extent that they jeopardise tho life and limb of other motorists who moot and pass them. Official representatives tested out tho headlights of 400 car* in the district of Columbia —these cars were very typical of the general run of automobiles used throughout the entire country—and found that 95 per cent of them were so imperfect in one wav or anotner as to endanger the safety of other motor-car owners who chanced to meet them on the open highway. In this day and age. whan most countries —where automobile traffic is heaviest—enforce stringent regulations about the design and adjustment of headlights, the fact that in the neighbourhood of nineteen out of every twenty seta of headlight* violate regulations through tho carelessness of the «ar owners and drivers is astounding. In the arts and industries, wo are constantly reading about the formulation

of new safety codes for this or mat trade. The resources of science are yoked to the task of taking tho doubt und danger out of hazardous occupations ; and at the same time motorists, as a class, are promoting & menace in highway travel by neglecting to maintain automobile lamps in the most serviceable and efficient condition. Tho results of tho headlight search and research are startling when we understand that 73.2 per cent of tho lamps tested were out of focus. If the figures arc impartially representative—• there is every reason to believe that they are —you may expect to be nearly blinded by the unsatisfactory lights or 73.2 out of every 100 motor vehicles that you meet. Not only is the man who drives a car with faulty lamps a menace to all those he meets or passes, but he also is a source of danger to himself and the occupants of his car. The lenses of his lamps may be so dirty that they only throw half enough illumination on the roadway—s2.B per cent of the headlights examined were suffering from dirty lenses. As a consequence, the driver may guide his car into the ditch or over a steep embankment just because his lights were so dim that he could not 6ee where ho was heading. Of all tho cars inspected. 46.7 per cent had headlights that were not correctly tilted ; 40 per cent had dirty, rusty or dented reflectors; the lenses in 35.8 per cent of the . cars were twisted in the headlamps; while in 23.6 per cent of the cases the headlamps were not parallel. Dirty lenses and reflectors simply re duce tho average efficiency of the headlamps. However, they become dangerous when they Mo not transmit sufficient light to the roadway to make driving safe. Headlamps that are not parallel are extravagant profligates of light, as rays which should b* refleete.i down the road serve only to illuminate the surrounding scenery. Lack of focus, twisted lenses and lamps tilted upward result in a waste of light, and throw A blinding glare in the eves of the approaching driver. Headlamps that are tilted too far down light tho highway for only a short distance in front of the car. They prqduce a narrow’ zone of illumination about 80ft deep extending from 20ft to 100 ft ahead of the car de pending on the degree of light. When corrected, they should produce a broad zone of light extending from -10 ft in front or the car to 250 ft or more down the road.

ALPINE MOTOR CONTEST.

NEW CONDITIONS OUTLINED An analysis of the main conditions go v< ;rning the Royal Automobile Club of \ ictoria’s 1000 miles alpine contest, to be decided at tho end of March, reveals the fact that the club’s Sports Committee has made a radical and important change in its rule*. It is apparent that formulae as * determining factor in assessing the win ner has been considerably minimised, and in the forthcoming test, the most important in the southern hemisphere, horsepower and classification will play a very small part. Tho most important j features are : J (1) Tlio value of dependability, i.e., 1 the ability of a car to go through tho severe test without trouble or need of adjustment, has been made of paramount importance. Maximum points 1000, deductions to be made according to penalty schedule, the slightest defect calling for a debit. After completion of the run, competing cars to be subjected to a careful examination by an expert committee. (2) A new basis is adopted in the petrol consumption section of the test, whereby freak mileage is eliminated, and full credit given to every car that records a fair and reasonable mileage P«r gallon of fuel. Motorists and potential buyers of cars only want to know what petrol mileage they can rea sonably expect under ordinary travelling conditions from a given make and horse-power of car. A freak fuel performance in competition is misleading, and has no bearing on actaul motoring practioe. The conditions to be adopted are but framed on commonsensd lines. The trade houses represented by competing cars will be asked to nominate the mileage per gallon of fuel over a rou f® say, 950 miles, consisting of considerable up grade work. Tho fuel_ assessments will be made public. Subject to acceptance of such figures by the Club’s Sports Committee, a stated quantity of fuel will be allotted each contestant, and fifty points will be credited him if the day’s journey is accomplished on the allotment. No extra credit will be made for any fuel not consumed. Anv requirements over the quantity allowed will call for , a debit per extra pint used. It can easily be seen that this procedure will call for genuine figures being supplied by trade houses, inasmuch ns too high a claim for fuel mileage is likely to result in a loss of points, whereas too low an estimate ;s going to be an an nouncement to the public that the consumption of a given car is unduly henry. An equitable estimate, of considerable value to buyers of motor cars, will therefore lie forthcoming. Based on these lines, it may be reasonably anticipated that the major position of the contestants will go near to scoring full points for fuel consumption. The”dafca thus obtained should be a fair reflex of what any decent driver may obtain from the same make and type of car Formulae do not enter into this sectio i at all.

(3) Sporting Sub-events.—Probably three hill climbs will be held over different types of climbs, also an acceleration test, and a flying start speed test over a short distance (probably a mile). Formulae will play its part in all these events —but the points awarded for each arc set at a very small figure the maximum being fifteen,, points. This means that, whilst each of these events will be a sporting contest of consider able interest and carry their separate prizes, they will not so materially affect the aggregate points result which determines the winner. In many relia bility trials in this and other parts of the world, subsections such as fuel consumption. hill climbing and aecelera tion tests have in general carried too high a. percentage of points as against those awarded to the “dependability” section, thus considerably reducing in importance the paramount feature of reliability and at the same time allow ing formulae to play too important a pari in determining the successful cars (4) Should the Aspendale speedway be completed (the contract is for Janu ary) by the date of the contest, all cars to complete the run will be publicly subjected to a sustained speed test tot a given time, which will further tend to find out any engine trouble that would not be apparent at a moderate touring pace. The outlined scheme : .s one that should appeal to the general

public, who will thus be able to better judge the relative value of the performance registered by the competing cars. The proposed course is a strenu - ous one, abounding in mountain climbs and picturesque viowa. The forthcoming R.A.C.V. 1000 miles trial should prove one of the most interesting and instructive automobile events held in any part of the world. A big entry is anticipated. Intending contestants may now obtain all details from Mr C Hodges, secretary R.A.C.V., 94, Queen Street Melbourne. Entries close on Wednesday, December 19. and acceptances some six weeks later.