Motor Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19918, 13 August 1927, Page 10

Motor Notes

THE USED CAR TESTING FOR DEFECTS SOME HINTS TO BUYERS There is no doubt that a portion of the cheaper second-hand cars are bargains. On the other hand, some of them arc a source of continued expense. Their maintenance does Kot repay the owner with care-free service. In venturing to take possession of a car which has endured five or six years’ abuse, the embryo motorist should satisfy himself that he is not receiving a ear needing entire rejuvenation. Some dealers can be relied: on to give a fair account of - the condition of the car, others undertake the overhaul before selling the car, and are prepared- to stand by their recommendations. There are cases, however, when the new owner needs the assistance of an independent mechanic. Lacking this, he should insist on certain tests, remembering that it is easy*to make a car perform convincingly over a short, chosen course.

Not ext by Experts Foreign engine noises are readily significant to the ear of the expert, and should be investigated. It is geneially conceded that the first few hundred miles are the most critical in the life of the car. Abuse from the start will manifest itself in wear throughout the components of the chassis. The buyer of a second-hand car 'has no means of ascertaining the ped-igree of the vehicle, and is unaware if it was overdriven in its infancy. Primarily the second-hand purchase should be examined for piston slap and worn bearings. It is hard to detect scoured cylinders, but baid: compression can be roughly gauged by turning the engine over by hand. If there is any indication of gas escaping into the crankcase, the fit of the piston rings must be defective. A test should- bo made to escertain if there is any fore and aft motion in the crankshaft. A fierce clutch may he merely in need of dressing, or it may require relining at considerable expense. Noisy gears may be an early source of expense. If the steering gear has excessive play it may be due to wear in the operating cogs, andworn tie-rod bushes. The four wheels should revolve easily when jacked up, and if any warping in the rims is apparent. the tyre wear may be expected to be heavy.

PISTON RINGS ADVICE TO OWNERS OVERCOMING CLOGGING When taking down an engine for an overhaul it is sometimes foud to be somewhat difficult to remove piston rings from their grooves, into which they may have firmly gummed, without running the risk of breaking themTo obviate this risk, paint well over the piston where the rings lie with paint-remover, so that the latter may penetrate into the grooves. Allow to remain fqr a quarter of an hour or so, and- then ease out each ring with the aid of a cycle spoke. The spoke should be softened slightly,' one end filed flat,a nd then bent to conform to the circumference of the piston before its flattened end is inserted into the ring slot- The spoke should be worked around the slot gently, and a little at a time.

Simple Implement Having removed the piston rings, before replacing same on . new ones, the grooves into which they fit should be completely freed- of any carbonaceous matter which may be found in them. For this purpose a simple and efficient tool may be made out of an old piston ring of the same width as the ones fitting the grooves to be cleaned out. About a quarter or a third of the old ring should be taken and softened by heating and allowing it to cool. One end of this is straightened and sharpened, so that it can he fitted- in an old file-handle. The otKtfr end is filed or ground to thes hape of an ordinary wood chisel. Before commencing to use the tool, brush the paint-removeh well into the grooves, and allow to stand for a few minutes. On placing the chisel end of the tool into the groove and firmly drawing it around the piston the gummy and carbonaceous contents of the grooves will easily be removed. Carburettor Flooding. Should your car be old, and the carburettor persists in flooding, you will probably find that the weights controlling the float movement are worn. It is an easy matter to remove the split pins upon which the weights pivot, and, turning the weights upside down, bring the unw’orn surfaces to bear upon the float; this will lower the level and prevent flooding.

INDUSTRIAL CHANGE NEW DESIGN OF FORD PASSING OF THE POPULAR TYPE There could not be a more interesting piece of news in the industrial world than that of the advent of the new Fond, car (writes a special correspondent of the London Observer). For months past it has been common knowledge that the new model was being perfected, and that Mr Ford was preparing for the necessary transformation of his great plants. The world as yet knows only the central fact—that no more cars are to be made of the familiar model. Experts have maintained that the Ford, which has commanded the cheap-car market for twenty years, has had one capital defect—cheap to buy, it has not been cheap to run. The new Fond- will cost more to buy, but it will be more economical to run. The new Ford- is a portent in itself. It is much more so in relation to American industry, method, and social habit. In the first place, its coming- involves a revolution in the greatest single manufacturing business now existing on the globe. In the se.cond place, the event befalls at a moment -which marks the great crisis of Its maker’s career. The Ford Crisis Consider, first the main facts in connection with the crisis with which Henry Ford is confronted. He has been aware for some .years that the day of his light car was drawing to an end. ’ Many factors have contributed to this result. The road system of the American continent is to-day vastly different from what it was ten years ago. The “flivver” for rough work is no longer a primary need Again: Mr Ford-’s idea, expounded in his .books, is that no factory is large enough to turn out more than one kind of product. The great plant at Highland Park, Detroit, and its companiou factories, for the manufacture of the Ford car on a scale which postulated an enormous public demand, maintained a steady level. In other words, the 200,000 people directly employed by Mr Ford, the 600,000 indirectly, were dependent upon the continuance, not only of the public’s ability to buy, but also of its satisfaction with Mr Ford’s standardised product. A change in the demand, a realisation that the product itself must be re-created to meet a new public want, means that the entire plant must be transformed —with the risk that during the critical interval a huge mass of business will be lost, anil; with the certainty that the change over to the new order will inevitably involve the throwing of many thousands Out of employment. That is Mr Ford’s case. And- the fact that the makers of his most immediate rival, were in a position three months ago, to publish larger figures of production than those of the Ford works, is a fact of resounding import.

PACE THAT THRILLS! WHAT IT REALLY MEANS ASTOUNDING SPEED STATISTICS How many people really know what 200 miles an hour really means? When Major Segrave broke the world’s record- on Daytona Beach, he could only stop 'his car by running into the sea, because, when he used his brakes ,the friction was so terrific that the aluminium lining of the brake shoes melted like butter and ran out at the bottom of the brakes! Some statistics have been worked out with a view of illustrating comparative speeds. If you were to push a car over a precipice I,oooft high—that is about 10 times- the height o? the Dilworth building, and let it drop sheer, the car would not be travelling more than 160 miles an 'hour when it hit the ground. If you were to build h. platform 400 ft long with one end on the ground-, and the other end as high as the Dilworth building, and then ran the car up the slope at 200 miles an hour, it would, after leaving the platform, attain a height of 1,280 ft before descending to earth. This is 300 ft higher than the Eiffel Tower, the tallest structure in the world.

ON FOUR WHEELS HUMOUR BY THE WAY RANDOM PARS FROM CARDOM Enough ! “You just missed a man,” said the wife of a motorist, as a pedestrian made a flying leap for a lamppost. “I. don’t care,” he growled-. “I’ve got my quota for the day, anyway.” « T- * The Eagle Eye. Reported that Mussolini has apparently planned to make all Italian motorists Government auxilaries. All Italian motor owners have been ordered- to become members of the Automobile Club, which has moved its headquarters from Milan to Rome. In the Beginning. “So you would cross my path, would you?” muttered old man Hatchetface of the Stone Age, as he seized the black cat and hurled her far out on the cliff toward the dizzy depths. But the cat set 'her feet squarely and came to a stop on the very brink of the chasm. And- thus came into the world the first use of four-wheel brakes. # ❖ * ♦ Petrol Proverbs. Put not your trust in patches. Take out thy rich aunt, thou sluggard, consider her ways (and 1 means) and be wise. ’ Stolen waters are sweet, yet petrol adulterated in secret is unpleasant. Fools are mocked at on a trial spin. The hard start knoweth its own

bitterness; and a wise stranger doth not intermeddle therewith. A soft tyre provoketh wrath. A man’s heart deviseth the way, but the roaidmaker directeth his steps. Always look a gift tyre in the tread. Caledonian Caution. MacTavish had* bought a secondhand car, and persuaded- his next-door neighbour to come for a ride in the country. They started off gaily enough, but the neighbour was astonished to notice that at every roadside

pump McTavish pulled tip and bought half a gallon of petrol. °I say,” he ventured, “why don’t you fill up the tahk and put an end to this stopping busines?” The Scotsman regarded him for a moment. “Man,” he answered, gravely, “d’ye no ken we micht ha’c an accident, an’ then a’ the petrol would be wasted.” -