ON THE ROADS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19846, 21 May 1927, Page 10

ON THE ROADS

FROM CITY AND COUNTRY TOPICS OF INTEREST. Wonder what automobile mechanics wipe their hands on when there are no steering wheels handy! ❖ ❖ * * “You can criticise the back-seat drivers all you like, but the fact remains that none of them ever ran a car into a railway train. ❖ Jji >J: Be good to your car, and indirectly you will be good to yourself. This means three things: Law observance, courtesy, and consideration for your car. * * * $ Moon: Bid you hear about the man who drank gasoline for hootch? Shine: No. Moon: Now instead of hicking, he honks.

* * X: * Judge: “What have you to say for sassing the traffic cop?” Prisoner: “I wish I was where there' are no traffic cops to sass.’’ Judge: “Your wish granted; thirty days. ”

City Motorist: “How do you know if I am exceeding the speed limit when you haven’t a watch or anything ” Constable: “Wall, ye seen that yeller dog a chasin’ ye, didn’t ye? When that dog can’t keep up with a feller, the feller’s a goin’ more’n thuty miles an hour.”

When you come to a busy intersection give the other fellow a chance. Perhaps he was there first. When you overtake and pass a car don’t suddenly slow down and force the driver behind you to ride his brakes to prevent mixing his radiator cap with your spare tire.

Wires used in the installation of electric accessories on the car should always be properly insulated. It is wise to make sure of this, and also sure that no loose ends dangle against metal parts. They are apt to cause a short circuit that may set fire to the car. * ❖ ❖ *

When the universal joints and the end shafts of the axle and differential become worn, considerable back lash will result. To eliminate the lost motion entirely is practically impossible on an old car. Each joint itself may not appear to be worn greatly, but like the links in a chain each little amount when added together totals considerable at the wheel. By installing new parts in the universals and refitting the shafts of the axle most of the lost motion is eliminated at a very reasonable cost.

Beware of standing nearer than necessary to a fast-moving motor vehicle. This refers particularly to standing on the side of the metal road. The tires often flip out a piece of metal at tremendous velocity. A local case is reported where two motorcyclists were travelling one behind the other. The front machine flipped out a pitJee of metal which struck the rider of the other in the mouth, with such force that the metal went right through his lip into his mouth. ❖ * ❖ ❖ Rastus and his wife, driving to town in their decrepit flivver, had parked it casually in the first available space. While they were away a traffic officer attached a numbered tag to the vehicle for parking in a prohibited zone. Un their return, Rastus noticed the tag and was for throwing it into the street, but Rebecca restrained him. “Sabe de ticket, honey,” she said. “Dat number might win sumthin’.” * * * ❖ A generator requires now and again a drop of light oil at each end of the armature shaft. Care must be exercised not to over-lubricate the shaft, as oil may work its -way through and cause the generator windings to become short-circuited. The oil leads to the shaft-bearing caps, which automatically close to prevent dirt from entering and lodging on the main bearings of the armature shaft, so it is best to note that these are in working order. * £ * * Millionaires may travel de luxe, but sleeping cars and steamer suites arc not for the man of moderate means, is the opinion of William Vauer, 23, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, who has started on a trip around the world in a £lO conveyance of his own manufacture. Vauer will literally row his way overland, as his movements in propelling his four-wheeled cart resemble those of an oarsman. It will be his second world tour and he plans to make his own expenses by writing for some 200 newspapers in Germany. He is identified with the German youth movement.