MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2792, 9 June 1916, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

IBVCarrcnJ

The British/tadustpy,

Every mpt/orist in Great Britain anil her colonics (says the "Motor," England) snould kxioiw and. keop in mind the iact that evois British motor manufacturer has what may be termed a "waiting order list. 'J:hese are days when everyone of us is prompted by patriotic motives, and certaiji'y t'ho motorist will b® acting the part tjf a true patriot when he, reinembenjjor the sacrifices which the motor-car as a wliolo has been called upon to. make, decides that when peace comes '■/a will bo the owner of a motor-car produced in his own country. AVe know that in somo cases immediate and urgent requirements, particularly those of professional men, have necessitated purchases of cars during tha war, when (lie Home industry, by reason of its pressing obligations to the State, has not been able to supply. . But in nearly every case these manufacturing ooncerns have thuir waiting order. list, arid those whose ' requirements are registered thereon will have first attention immediately firms released from their present -undertakings. Everybody who can guage future financial facilities with sufficient accuracy would be well advised to place his name and his possible requirements upon the list of the manufacturer for whose products he, has a preference, so that when car building is again resumed his order will be attended to with the least possible delay. There are two important reasons' why this piece of advice 6hould not be ignored. If we plaoe tbo purely selfish aspect of the case first, it will bo to the motorist's own personal interest. Then we would urge that, for patriotic reasons, the British motor industry, which has been helping to pile up' munitions for the Government and engines arid vehioles for the services, deBetVes, And should be assured that it will have, the support of British people, whibh-assurance these.waiting order.lists will provide.' . ' . / Cleaning Rimt. At this time 'of the year it is wise to examine rims well, for the removal of any signs of rust and for taking preventive measures. In spite, of close-fitting beads' moisture .finds its way in by some not. easily. accountable process, rust extends to the exposed strip of the rim between' the toes of the bead, and deterioration of the tube, resulting ultimately in splitting, soon, sets in.' There is no difficulty in making the riin rust proof for,., say,- two . reasons. Clean the existing rust off-carefully and thoroughly with a.'wire brush or file, finishing off with emery cloth and paraffin. ■ Avhen quite I clean the surface snould be'given at least i three coats of a good drying, enamrl | paint. Rectifying Regular Missing, When the fault is -proved to be regular misfiring in one or. more cylinders you have still to 'make -tip your mind where the fault- lies, '.for all '.-practical purposes it may 'be 'decided forthwith that it is either the particular coil unit that is at fault or the particular sparking plug involved. If tiie.fault lies.elsewhere, it will almost 'jfcrtairily produce interrnittint and irregular misfiring—difficult to detect by fye ooil tests. - ■You car x tell if the coil unit is at fault Simply >jy substituting for the. suspect ono of the 'other unite connected with a cylinder that has been firing perfectly. - If tha cylinder that had previously missed Haw begins to fire perfectly, the fault lies •In the unit originally suspected. If the (substitution makes no difference to the ■ fifing the fault lies in the plug in the thissing cylinder. ■ . .■•lf-the coil' unit is thus, proved, at fault you, have nest to determine the nature of the fault.

Listen first whether the unit buzzes. If you cannot'trust your ears lay a finger very lightly on ' the vibrator (or trembiftf) and feel for the buzz. If none, the iCrouble is in the dirt, distortion, or. maladjustment of the points. If the buzz is there the trouble is probably internal. To make 6ure, take the corresponding spark- 1 ing-plug cable off the plug (when engine is not running), and: then (with' the' engine running) see if, a good, snappy spark regularly passes to the plug head if you hold the metal of the cable . terminal about I.32iji. away. (Do not touch the metal with, your hand, or you will get a nasty shock.) If the spark does not jump, the unit is internally wrong, and all you caii- dq is .to .get homo on .three cylinders—as you can. If -the unit <loe6 not buzz, clean, adjust, and, if necessary, file the points. That should make the cylinder Ere. If the coil unit was not proved at fault by substituting another unit tliß trouble was thereby located in the plug. . The quick way is ; ts> change it for a-nerfect plug. ; Cleanjjig '.with petrol will probably put it Tight. This, however, often takes quita a little time,' and if you are in a hui;ry you had better. insert vour tested spark (one or two of which you should maka a. point of .carrying), and postpone cleaning till you have time. Hare and There. Nuimtous light trailers have. l>een cleSignofl. for attachment to. passenger cars: In America they are used by grocers other tradesmen, and also by contractors, plumbers, painters, and others who frequently have occasion to transport material and use an ordinary car in visiting the various operations they may have in hand. Built more substantially than, horse-drawn vehicles, ; the trailurs. arc capable of carrying a considerable load. They . are usually provided, with rubber tires _ and easy-riding springs. A trailer is an inexpensive and useful auxiliary to a.car when it iB desired tp transport a comprehensive camping outfit, ind on other similar occasions.

_It is little wonder the crack Australian racing cyclists find ARierica a congenial place to- live in. Last seas.jn, Uoullet, Grenda, Spears, M'Namara, Clark, and Walker between' tliem Mceived in contract fees from promoters alone the sum of JJ3900. Goullet's share amounted to .£750. In addition to this amount the above riders won big money in prizes. During the American racing season .£21,000 was disbursed in prizes. A New York inventor has recently brought out ft device whereby, in cases of eitergency, the occupants of the tinneau of an automobile can bring the car fo a stop by depressing push buttons, which shut off the engine and apply Die brakes. It is especially in instances when the chauffeur fails in his duties, or is "suddenly incapacitated that the invention calculated to be most valuable. The it is stated, weighs only 151bs„ and can be mounted in any iiir without .interfering with existing equipment.

Experiments have determined that the best esplosive mixture is obtained when sixteen-parts of air to one of petj-ol .-ire used. The ideal condition is to have Ihe inixturo homogeneous, to have the proportion of. petrol to air constant throughout the combustion chamber; but this condition is not exactly attainable in the average chamber; but this condition is not exactly attainable in the averase motor, because the carburetter will not supply an absolutely perfect vapour. In other words, the first part of the charge sucked into the cylinders may be w«k and the last part rich, and only the intermediate zone will''be of the correct proportions. Again,' there is always a certain amount of burned gas left over from the previous explosion, and this decs not mix evenly with the incoming charge, with the result that somo parts of the mixture are diluted by it more than other parts. Lighting-up time:—To-day, -1.27 om. Next Friday, 4.2G p.m.