High Road and By-Road

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17750, 29 June 1929, Page 24 (Supplement)

High Road and By-Road

A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS.

JOTTINGS. NEWS AND HINTS. The motorist who has never ridden a bicycle often fails to appreciate the necessity of giving cyclists a fair amount of room. Especially in wet weather is this necessary. Forcing a cyclist down the camber of the road is an unsportsmanlike procedure, and should be avoided. It may mean disaster to the cyclist, and the motorist also. Motorists will add to the amenities of the road by consideration of the two-wheelers.

Occasionally when making ready to start a car in traffic the gears will not slip into low on the first try. When this happens, take your foot off the clutch pedal for a moment, then press out the clutch and try shifting to low again. If the car is on a grade, release the brakes and let it roll a foot or two with the clutch in.

| Although motorists in Great Britain | are the heaviest taxed in the world, road users have to pay tolls on flftyI five roads and eighty-eight bridges. Of | the eighty-eight toll bridges, tvventy- ! four are on class 1 roads, and the balj lance on less important highways. I Many efforts have been made to have j these sources of extra taxation refnovi ed, without result.

On some of the accessories of the car, such as the electric horn, there are sometimes very small screws for which there is no sufficiently small screwdriver in the tool kit. A useful tool can he made very quickly by bending a suitably-sized split-pin- open so that one arm is at right angles to the other, filing the ends into the shape required.

Edinburgh's famous motoring maze —the " West End Tangle,” as it has come to he called, may he solved in the main as the result of negotiations which are taking place between the corporation and the vestry of St John's Episcopal Church. If a suitable settlement is arrived at the corporation will proceed with a scheme of street widenat the west end of Princess Street and Lothian Road. This road widening is urgently required, as it is an important centre of (he motor industry.

The new experimental laboratory of the Government A carlo my of Engineering science in Stockholm is,at present carrying on a manner of important experiments and lests, some of which have already yielded highly interesting results. Commercial Councillor Enstroem. the director of the Academy, recently stated that the problem of obtaining benzine and other oil from wood by the use of hydrogen gas under high pressure has been theoretically solved.

SPARKS. Apart from the usual routine of testing the tyre pressure, it is advisable periodically to examine each cover for any cuts or damage to the walls; moreover, all flints which may have become embedded in the rubber should be dug out, a screw-driver or smaller tool being used for the job. Do not employ a sharp tool, as this may pierce the cover and tube. Flints, If ignored, may be forced through the cover and cause a puncture.

* # * * When a leather coat becomes worn or badly cracked, a repair can- easily be effected by sticking a small sized inner tube patch on the inside of the material. It is generally necessary to use plenty of solution in order to make the patch slick firmly to the leather. Incidentally, if a . bright “leathery” colour is not absolutely essential, cracking of the material can be prevented by periodically rubbing over the surface of the coat- with, a soft wad and a little engine oil. The oil should, .of course, be well rubbed in so that, the surface of the coat is not sticky.

* * # 9 Although not a frequent occurrence, there are occasions when the Bendix pinion of the starter jams. In many cases it is an easy matter to remedy, the pinion being pushed out of engagement with screwdriver or .tyre lever. In the case of a built-in starter the remedy is not so easy, but in the majority of cases it can be remedied as follows: After making certain that the ignition switch is “ off,” engage top or second gear and rock the car to and fro. This will generally • result in the pinion being freed. Failing this, of course, - the starter lias to be removed from its housing.

When working on small parts, such as the magneto, difficulty is often experienced in starting the very small screws. It will be found helpful to push these screws through a strip of paper, which forms a handle to hold (lie screws upright while they are being Started with' a screwdriver. When Hie screw is entered in the threads, the paper can he torn away, and the screw run right home.

v » o • Taking.- a single'piece of threeeighth. inch rubber tubing, bending it and slipning an end over each handle of the pliers, is a quick and convenient method of insulating pliers tha. are to he used for electrical work on Ihe ear or in the garage where there is any likelihood of getting a shock if not protected. The loop formed by the tubing will not interfere with the use of the pliers, and has the advantage that the pliers may he hung by it on a rack or hook.

. It is important when going over the engine to see that the controls to the throttle are well lubricated. A sticking throttle due to stiff joints in the controls may have serious consequences, especially if the throttle should stick in the full-open position. Keep them well oiled, and lake up any play that may have developed, when necessary.

Few motorists realise the huge momentary power supplied by the selfstarter. In the first rush of current, before the engine is spinning steadily, a self-starter may be. drawing over 200 amperes or 50 times as much as is required by the head-lamps. A 12-volt system furnishing 200 amperes represents a power of 2-400 watts, or more than three horsepower. Provided the engine is in good order this huge current- is required for only a second or so. A test, with a standard 12-volt system showed that when the switch was pressed a current of 154 amperes flowed until the Bendix pinion meshed and took up the load. There was then a sudden increase of 228 amperes and once the fly-wheel moved freely the current fluctuated at about 100 amperes.

9 9 ® • Good wire wheels are the strongest and lightest type in existence; also they are considered by many to be the most graceful, particularly when seen with large section tyres on a modern, low-built car. These are the reasons why the wire wheel has gained another 10 per cent, of popularity. For wire wheels the figure in England in 1027 was 37 per cent.; in 1028 it was 47.2 per cent. The only objection is the difficulty of cleaning. Work is being done in connection with the feasibility of chromium plating wire wheels, whereby the smart appearance can be preserved and cleaning made easy, since, for some reason, mud does not cake on chronium. Disc Wheels are still used, but some designs are not popular on cars which women own, because they are awkward to handle when changing a wheel.