MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2473, 28 May 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

, a IBy Clutch.] ie Coast Route to Wairarapa. Tiio Wairarapa. Automobilo Association J is not letting the grass grow under its " feet in connection with the proposed coast x route to the Wairarapa, via Wainui-o- ■' mata, Orongorongo, and Wharopapa. To-morrow a party is to set out from 11 l'eatherston in company with an enls ginecr (Mr. H. F. Toogood, C.1.E.) to J" examine the route. The Wellington Automobilo Club is co-operating and " sharing the expense and will be repre- " sented by Mr. C. M. Banks and the 1 secretary, Mr. H. J. Stott. At the last meeting of the Wairarapa cl Association, lUr. Coleman Phillips attended and explained the position of the route proposed for the railway round st ' tlie coast, lie pointed out that so far as a coast road was concerned there , was only a matter of about 12 miles 5 to be formed, that is the gap between ? Wharepapa and Orongorongo station. !" A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Phillips for his able and interesting address. It was resolved that the Wellington Automobile Club, the Wellington City Council, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, and the Hutt County ~ n Council, be asked to assist in furthering [ the scheme. >y i, Main Roads Maintenance. Tl]e problem of maintaining its main ™ roads is causing concern to the Waikato '® County Council, and a special meeting ® is to he held to discuss the question. At r; last Friday's meeting of the council, the u request of the Taumarunui Chamber of :c > Commerce for support in getting a tional highway from Auckland to "Wellington provoked an interesting discussion. Sir. Koss sand he thought the 1_ suggestion of the Taumarunui chamher was in the wrong direction altogether. ,r The main roads in the county were a long way behind those in many other n provinces. It was a humilating position '® altogether. Road boards could not put main roads in order, and it was quite lt reasonable, seeing that main roads were national highways, they should be main--3,1 tained by the Government. He moved r ' that the council consider the question of main road control, as the matter '® required serious consideration, and 0 should be taken up without delay. in The chairman said tie council ought to go into the question. The state of in the main roads was not satisfactory to | e a thriving district like the Waikato. ; l J They would require to strike an extra • rato, but the benefit would be felt 1 throughout the whole county Perhaps the Government could be induced to give a subsidy towards the projects, but the council appealed to bo afraid that if the Government took over conj trol a rate would be struck, and then another local body would be created. That was what they wore trying to 5 guard against. . Mr. Primrose t>aid he quite agreed as to tho necessity of having the main road i( j put in thorough repair, but it would be ' quite a different matter to make it a , county concern. The trouble was that they would not be able to get t'ho c _ counties to be unanimous. Australia /J had first-class roads made under a svsn_ tern whereby they were made and rejj paired by the Government. in Wellington Automobile Club. io A meeting of the committee of tho "y Wellington Automobile Club was held s> on. Friday last, when a number of new members were elected and a quantity of general business put through. Mr. Voting, Mr. Banks, and Dr. Knight ij wero appointed delegates to tho Now r " Zealand Automobilo Union. It was arranged in conjunction with tho Wai- - ratapa Automobile Association to obtain an engineer's report (Mr. H'. F. Toogood, C.1.E.) on the proposed coast I. road from Orongorongo to the Wair. rarapa. Two delegates were appointed 'd from the club to accompany the party, 3. starting to-night, working along coast n- on Saturday and Sunday, arriving it Orongo Orougo in the afternoon. In sf answer to a request from tho New Zeals land Patriotic Sooiety, the committee re agreed to request members to lend their ys cars for the procession to be held on e- June 3, either decorated, or to be utilm ised for the use of tho deputy-marshalls le in connection witli the procession. 3d Mr. C. H. Izard was accorded a vote of thanks for his services in getting the Upper Hutt obstructions removed. _ \Tlie Town Clerk, in replying to nn inquiry from tho club regarding the bad state of the road opposite Lambton V Station, stated that repairs would be 1 carried out, and tho work is now being ' c done. ' A communication was read from a gentleman asking if the club were prcs pared to represent the interests of owners of light and cycle cars in view , ' of future tax being placed on motorH oars. A reply has been sent in the , s affirmative, and the gentleman has since been enrolled, as a member. ' The secretary of the Taumaranui Chamber of Commerce was informed . that tho committee would bo pleased to 7 co-operate in_ any work undertaken in " connection with the proposed central gn highway from Auckland to Wellington l]c j if within their power. Is i o ' Telephone on the Rimutaka Road. te Thanks to the enterprise of the WalJ. rapa Automobile Association, a telen- phono is to' be installed at Mr. David- ; son's house on the Rimutaka.Road, for v. the use of motorists in trouble on the з., hill. The matter was brought up by the secretary, Mr. I. V. Wilson at the last meeting of the association. Mr. Wilson stated that at the outside the cost would be only £5 per year, as Mr. ay Davidson was willing to pay a portion 3 'i of the cost. He pointed out the great or advantage of having a telephone at that m - spot, and accordingly it was proposed ed that the telephone be installed. An '. re amendment was proposed that it only ls_ be installed on the condition that the association be able to make a charge for use. A general discussion took place, and on being put the amendment iV. was lost and the motion carried. !'S. Ed Cares of Tlras In Winter. It is very necessary, says tho Dunlop ■ »" Rubber Company, that careful and i're(went examination should be made of • one's tires for small cuts and so forth • during tho winter months. If these cuts extend at all deeply beyond the ' ' surface, and, in fact, get suspiciously near the canvas, tho hole should at once be plugged with rubber stopping, m- Unless the cuts are stopped, a weak he spot in the tire will sooner or later dcA. velop close to them. Water enters ed through the cut, attacks tho canvas, ml and causes rotting; so that a small, ni- weak spot is developed in the tire. If rlo an examination be made of burst tires, ey very frequently it will be found that se. the burst has started from a. small cut lit which has permitted water to rot tho ier canvas. Its presence can be detected it. I along the breakage line of the fabric, to because tho ends of the fabric where en the cut is caused are comparatively ie, clean cut, whereas when the burst has ni- occurred the ends of the strands of the fabric are frayed. •as m- Seme Car-Cleaning Hints. vs > Judging from the very shabby appear:]le mice of many comparatively new cars alter short service in the hands of PSi owner-drivers, the average owner is igи.y noranl of many simple maxims for keeping a car sniart. A diity hood should lie scrubbed down with soap and water, and kept extended until it is perfectly e's dry. Cushions should always be slowly it, dried by the, application of a gentle heat. Grease marks, e.g., from oily Jvo lingers, will not disappear under hnsin ing, and must not lie ruhhed oil' with a wet cloth or removed with ■ benr/ilc or paraffin, which a-re.death to varnish; id." i but they como away easily under wai

lather, after which the place should bo thoroughly hushed with clean water. Bad spots on coach varnish, e.g., those due to leaving dry mud on the car for several days, will never yield to hosing or paraffin, but can usually be eliminated with cotton-wool dipped in linseed oil; the same applies to bad rain marks on the bonnet. It is wise to polish up all the coachwork occasionally with one of tho special polishes sold for tho purpose, which, incidentally, removes most spots and vivifies the varnish. Dusty cars should never be wiped down with a dry cloth; the scratches thus made ar# ineradicable. A car should never be dried in bright sunlight after a wash down, or the polish will bo dulled; notice that all the best privato garages have their washing floors roofed in with opaque material for this reason. Dusty cushions are best cleaned with a vacuum machine when such is available, otherwise the dirt may be mopped olf with a damp cloth; when the latter method is used, the cushions deserve occasional treatment with a leather reviver. Soap, water, and a scrubbing brush are the best treatment for rub-ber-covered floor and running boards; when aluminium matting is prowled, a little turpentine is the best cleanser. — B.H.D. in the "Autocar." Here and There. Legal lighting-up time for motor-cars and motoT-cycles:—To-day, 4.32 p.m. Next 4.23 p.m. Tho Wairarapa Automobile Association is taking the liospitnl patienjs and staff for an outing on Sunday, Jflne 7. The ownor of a car, which he had recently had to pieces, took it to a garage to have an extraordinary condition of affairs examined into. He found that the car had. three reverso speeds and only one forward speed. On dismounting the hack axle, it was discovered that tho owner, after dismantling it, had replaced it upside Strange things can happen w : hen a novice takes down a motor-car for an overhaul.