MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2640, 10 December 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

187 CujTOH.l Long-Distance Motoring. A comparison between the reccnt fine motoring record established by Messrs. Armstrong, poster, and party, between Fremantle (W.A.) and Sydney, and tho American ocean-to-ocean trip from San Francisco to Now York, reveals tlie fact that the Australians bettered the 1 American record as regards the daily mileage for a transcontinental drive. The distance across . Australia. is given as 3289 miles, negotiated on a 6-cylin-der Dunlop-suod "Studebaker," in 8 days, 23 liours 40 minutes. This gives ' a average daily tally of over 365 miles, remarkable travelling for practically nine consecutive days, when ono considers the difficulties to be surmounted in the trip across Australia. The distance from San Francisco to New York . is 3557 miles, also over very rough country in parts. The motor-car record for this trip stands to the credit of L. L. Whitman, who drove across tho United States in 10 days 15 hours 13 minutes. Whitman's avorage worked out at 330 miles por day, some 36 miles •' per day loss than accomplished on the Fremantle-Syduey run. _ Both performances arc woudcrful achievements, and serve to illustrate' the remarkable strides made in mot-or-car construction during the past few years. Needless Tire Wear. It is possible practically to wear a new front tire out in less than 200 miles, in driving at touring speed of 30 miles por hour on good macadam roads. This almost inconceivable tire wear is not imaginary, but has actually happened, and happened quite recently. The wear was entirely due to the front axle having slipped bon tho spring clips at one side, thus throwing tho front wheels out of parallel, and imposing this tremendous wear on the tires. These tires were worn , worse than .others that had covered nearly 5000 miles. Only a. few weeks ago. the "Motor Age" drew, attention to how necessary it is for drivers to see that the front wheels are properly lined up in order to. cut out this extravagance in tires. Manufacturers should give this matter of properly lining up the front wheels the most careful attention, but, unfortunately, all of them do not. Tins is not due to any laclc of knowledge on the part of the factory, but rather that some carelessness has taken place in the assembly. For this reason it is imperative that owners give this question of wheel alignment every attention. ' It is too. costly to lot' pass idly by. Sometimes it is nearly impossible for the owner to detect this lack of alignment in driving the car, the car holding the road satisfactorily; whereas there are other times where lack of alignment makes steering difficult, and in some cases nearly impossible. The measurement test is the only definite assurance . that all four road wheels are'aligned as they should be. Housjng the Car. Some , practical hints in regard to tlie > arrangement of a garage are given by a motoring correspondent. The garage, he says, should be well lit. Colours quick-, ly fade anil deteriorate in the dark. But dt tho same time it is not advipable. to expose the car to the sun's rays through a skylight or window. Therefore it is advisable to use frosted glass, so as to ensure a thoroughly subdued light. Another important factor is an unbleached calico sheet, large enough to cover the car, with the hood lip, and nearly extencjed to the full. Before using the calico it is always advisable to wash it thoroughly, so as to remove any in- . jurious impurities, such as lime or dresß-;. ihjjs peculiar to the material. This is quite an important point, and the more so when the car has just been painted or is new. A 'drip tray nearly the length of, and narrow enough to slide under the car from the front, is also a necessity. '.To facilitate the. cleaning of this, a layer or two of sawdust or sand will save a lot of time and unnecessary labour. A bench, vice, shelves, and cupboards, are indispensable, particularly tho bench and cupboards. For the latter it is a good idea to have them made large enough to hold a couple of spare tires, with a peg near the top, and two and a half feet long, to suspend the covers by. Rubber,'as is generally known, is preserved better in the dark, so make sure no light penetrates, when the doors aro closed. Any spare tubes'not- in use should be. fitted into the covers, partially inflated; and well coused with French chalk. This in the long run is far'more economical than leaving them in tlie garage haug"ing on tho wall suspended by a nail. At the same time I would like to mention the care of the tubes when used as spares, whilst on the road. . Many a good tube has. been ruined through the chafing of a jack, pump, or some such tool. You have grobably experienced this yourself. One'can recommend tho tube bags supplied by the tire firms. These should be well soused with'chalk, and the tube fitted in snugly. If one has the time, though, bagging cut in strips and wrapped well round the folded tube and'tied with cord, takes a lot of beating. A Motor Caravan. Something special in the way of a motor caravan was recently/ built to ' the order of Mr. R. Conkin, president of the New York Motor Bus Co., with a view to taking his family _ across tho American continent on a visit to the Panama Exposition. The van was built'..up on a bus chassis; fitted with a 60 h.p. G-cylinder engine. The body is a double-decker, 21ft. long, 7Jft. wide. The main or lower deck is di-

vidcd into three compartments, tho ..forward compartment containing tho steering gear, tbo operating levers, the driver's seat, the petrol tank, and two folding berths for the chauffeurs of the party. The next compartment servos tis a sitting-room, and is furnished luxuriously. Six berths are accommodated in the 10ft. allowed for tliis room, this being made possible by reason of the fact that four of them can be rais-.. cd to the ceiling, and tho remaining two arc made up from a conch and two big arm chairs. Tho third room on the ground floor is litted up as a kitchen, and has all the conveniences of j home life. A folding leather top is ! provided for tho upper deck, and here ' lockers are to be found containing sup- , plies, guns, and fishing tackle. Final- ] iy a motor-cycle is stowed away iu 0110 , of the lockers on the roof to be used, i presumably, in any case of emergency. I Nino persons, including a chef, comprise I tho party. Whether the house _on j wheels will meet with all tho requirements of the trip across America has yet to bo proved, hut it is a hold and ( interesting enterprise, which deserves > well. v ; Here and There, j Lighting-up time for motor-cars and i motor-cycles I To-day, 7.30 p.m.. Next 1 Friday, 7.35 p.m. ] A peculiar motor-car test was recent- ' Iy carried out in America, a leading 1 manufacturer of air-cooled motors run- ! ning his car a distance of 860 miles on the low-gear without the engine being once stopped. Tho high and second- , speed, gears were removed from the car, which was kept continuously running for 83hr. 40min. a speed average of over 10 miles an hour being maintained. It was a severe test for an engine not water-cooled, especially as the most mountainous country in California was selected for the demonstration. 11l the choosing of a chamois, one should look for a thin, dose-graincd leather, soft, and free from stitched-up cuts. Never choosc a large, thick; heavy one, as sucli rarely proves much good no matter how soft it may feel. Do not put the leather away wet, or leave it lying in a lump on the bench or in the cupboard. Rinse it well first in clean water,- then wring it as dry as possible, shake out and hang on a- small line, running from two nails on the wall,' or on a wooden peg. Should the chamois become greasy, the following is a good "recipe," ami one well worth knowing: Soak well in water, then spread out in a saturated condition, preferablj' on a large clean tea tray. Then cover tho leather with a thick coating of whiting, and place in the sun. When dry, -wash off the whiting in clean cold water. Should the chamois be very greasy, this process may have to he repeated soveral times. Many a good leather has been thrown away owing to. its greasy state, whilst labour and expense would have been probably avoided if the above rule had been followed. Having washed the car—never put it away dirty unless you can help it—see that the hood is up, and the front extension straps loosened off a hole or two. A hood continually down never has a long life, and always gives a poor appearance when put up later. If' the cushions are not covered, turn them upside dowii, so as to lie flat. But do not force them as you would when fitting into position right side up. Then pull the calico cover over the complete car. The Victorian motor cyclist, J. Booth, | put up another very fine speed performance on the Geelong Boad, near M'el- ; bourne, last week-end. Booth tackled | Finlay's half-mile flying start Australian record, and reduced the time by twothirds of a second. The new figures are , ! 22 seconds, equivalent to a speed of 81.S miles per hour. The performance ! was electrically timed, and is the mean of rides with and against the wind.