MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2634, 3 December 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

[Br Clutch.]

Oyerlandlns in Australia. Many fine motoring records lmve been established in Australia, but the greatest of all is undoubtedly that completed last week when a Western Australian party, comprising' Messrs. P. \V. Armstrong, H. Fraser, and T. Collins reached Sydney aftijr a 3000 miles overland journey from Fremantle. When some weeks back Mr. Percy Armstrong, one of the pioneer cyclists and motorists of Australia, announced to a few motoring enthusiasts that he thought that tlie trans-Continental trip from tlie West to Sydney could be negotiated in : from nine to ten daysj and that he and three other W.A. motorists intended tackling 1 the task, if> was thought . that they were attempting the impos-1 sible, both on the part of enduranco I of men and machine. The stupendous task has been accomplished under nine days. The party selected for the trip a (Cylinder 40 h.p. Studebaker car, shod with the Australian-mado Dunlop tires, the total weight of the' whole outfit, including passengers', extra pqtrol, etc., being 2' tons, a heavy load to transport across some of'the worst sand drifts, met with on Australian transcontinental routes. When to Varnish the Car. As the temperature varies, a highgrade varnish of extreme elasticity expands and contracts to such an extent, that as time goes on, the varnish becomes harder and drier. Finally a network of cracks—so minute as to be at first invisible to the naked eye—is produced, and eventually is the cause of that dull appearance on the panels. Later, these cracks become more pronounced, owing to the warmth of the sun'expanding the surface of the var- ! nish. Then the fine particles of dust lying thereon work their way iu and when the temperature is lolvered in the evening this fine dust becomes imprisoned. _ That it is only the matter of a. very little time when these cracks become visible to the naked eye. When once this takes place, no matter how many coats of varnish are applied, they will always recur, as varnish will not fill a. cracked surface. The only remedy then is to burn off, scrape and repaint. So do" not wait until the surface _ becomes absolutely dull, as revarnishing at that stage can have no lasting effect. Many a poor but good car-painted has been blamed through Sis alone for' using inferior material. By carrying out this practice the owner wijl not only be saying his pocket, but will be ' doing honour to himself s his car, the tradesman and the varnishmaker. A new car wHI require varnishing much earlier than an older one. This is entirely due to the many undercoats of paint absorbing the varnish, until finally exposure has fully, completed the hardening. If varnished before becoming, too dull, the result should be a brilliant and lasting job. The best time then to have the car revarnished is as soon as the first brilliancy begins to wane.. And when you send the car into the paint shop, give your car-painter a free -hand in the' matter of materials, and allow him Plenty of time to ensure a sound and high-class. job.

Starting tho Engine. Ho\v seldom one sees a private owner swing his * engine once or -twice with the sivitch i off, though the professional | dn v er very often'adopts this procedure when his bonnet is cold. Tlio average owner (says a motoring correspondent) floods his carburetter, switches 011, and pulls-up or swings ineffectually five or six, '.time's;.' Then, :after .getting, his breath, ho opens the- bonnet once more, floods the carburetter again, and at last gets an explosion. It is obvious that the idea of flooding the carburetter is ti> obtain a temporarily enriched mixture J but the value of the flooding is lost if it be done when, the cylinders and induction pipe are full of neat air, any petrol vapour left in them overnight having long since evaporated. If the engine be turned over a few times with the switch off, the air is expelled and a thin mixture of air and petrol inhaled in its place. Flooding then gives a temporarily rich, mixture in tho cylinders, and the engine will start at the next swing. Here and There. Lighting-up time for motor-cars and motor-cycles:— I To-day, 7.23 p.m. Next Friday, 7.30 p.m. •' Various accidents have occurred lately showing that it is still necessary to emphasise, the fact that care is essential in the handling of petrol. In one case a, motorist struck a match while making -some'adjustments to his carburetter, with the result that he sustained serious injury to one of his eyes. In another case, a motor cyclist took his machine into the kitchen, where a quantity of petrol leaked on to the floor and in some way caught firb, with the result that' three women were burnt to death. The "Motor News" mentions another case' in which a chauffeur while refilling' his petrol tank overnight held a lighted candle over the filling aperture, with the result that the vapour burst into flame, and the man's face was badly 'burnt. The conflagration 'spread to to the shed, both being completely destroyed. There is / no danger with petrol if proper precautions are taken, as is indicated by the millions of gallons that are consumed with so relatively few accidents. Seasoned motorists and motor drivers know this, but those who are new to motoring need to be warned that ther* are potential dangers, which, however, may be avoided by the exercise of proper care.

Driving a Maxwell touring car, and carrying more than 600 pounds, 13.. F. Clark, of the Pacific Telephone Company, successfully attained a height sbove sea level of 9940 feet, surmountmK Fass in the Sierra Nevadas. Tins is believed to bo the greatest elevation ever attained by a motor-car. IV was made in a trip from Los Angeles to the Yosemite over a trail heretofore used only by wagon traffic. .Over 7000 motor cars have been registered in Manitoba alone this year, a considerable increase over the number registered during the same period last year. There'are few, if any farms of any size in either Eastern or Western Canada where one or more cars are ijofc to bo found.

iL^'urw 111 mm™ 1 , nla ' je rs are adopting tho_ Petroil method of lubricating the engine, i.e., mixing lubricating oil and fuel together-a practice adopted with success in England.