MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 228, 14 June 1918, Page 9

MOTORS AND MOTORING

(By "Clutch."')

The Use of Gas. | A prize of JilOtiO is offered by the Eng- ( | lisli Automobile Association for. the best' invention enabling conl gas to bo used villi ailvnnlii','!.' as a iM-opeltaint of motorcars iiiid mnlor-cyolcs. It is offered to encourage the production of a practical, convenient, ami inexpensive* method of utilising coal gas as a molor-ear fuel. Owing to. war conditions nnd tbo scarcity of materials, it is unlikely that tho winning instilllatinii could be utilised vhfta the war lasts, but it i* i'elt that every endeavour should bo made to have. ! .iich a device ready for the time when | it will be possible to manufacture it ] commercial;;;. The conditions are i'ram- j wl with the idea of enabling motorists to curry sufficient gas ii\ a email splice— not exceeding H) cubic feel: —to provide the equivalent- of between two and three gallons of petrol, and so ensure possibility of running care distances of api'ro.\!)fiiire:y lifty miles on one charge. ■>•! gas. 'i'he w'oight of the iostallalion | must, not exceed 1-iOlb., while the cost j so tho motorist must Iw limited to .fc-11, I »r tin luamul hiring charge of ..Ci>. The expense of establishing nnd working the plant for charging the containers must bo such as not to add to I lie cost of gas fuel |.o tho motorist more than threepence for such amount of gas as ie equivalent in propelling power on a motor vehicle to one gallon of petrol. The-conditions are, so drafted that the winner of the prizo must place his invention at the disposal of tho British motoring public on terms fair to himself and users. Inspects. Without doubt, remarks an exchange, the, big car lias its comforts, but the h'ttlo car lias conveniences which more than counterbalance them. T\o one who has tried both would ever choose- a 12ft wheelbuse. ear for runabout work in preference to one of 9ft,, provided both were, of the same standard of engineering. At the present time, therefore, designwa and engineers may work in two ways —towards.ii cat- which is economical because it is smalle:\ and towards a ear wiiioh is economical because it is inher-. fintly better. Moreover, experts consider thai we are at tho end of the petrol as wo know it. Possibly tho fuel ten years hence will be called petrol, but it would not operate in tho 1913 petrol car. We must "learn to sacrifice the absurdities of "flexibility" existing in tho modern engine, in order to uso n fuel which wo will bo able to buy at one-third of tho present pric«. ]f motoring were merely a luxury, as it used to be fifteen years ago or longer, tlion the output of cars would ]» tens of thousands less. The world took tho luxury offered to it, find has miulo that luxury a necessity. Tho timo is coining when the true reason for tho enormous demand for cars will bo appreciated and reflected hi motor design and engineering. A Useful Improvement, A leaky motor tubo is not only a source of nunoyanco to tho Motorist, but there is always the chance of damaging expensive tyres by lack of sufficient inflation whilst travelling along the road. Leaking valves are mainly responsible for this trouble. New valve springs or r\\\y her plug generally remedy this trouble, "but thoro is another more, difficult for tho average motorist to overcome. Tho seating of tho base of valve stem in.tho tubo itself at times results in a leakage through strain in fitting of tyre or a slightly creeping tovcr. Tho Dunlop Rubber Company has recently patented and put into practice a .simple means of ovorcoming trouble at this point. A nielal ring is now built into all Diinlop motor tubes, through which the'stem valve is inserted from the inside before tho tube, is joined up, the result being tlint it is practically impossible to drag a valve from its seating. This little patented device is going to Have motorists a deal of the trouble and worry that in ' tho past have arisen from air leaking from the valve base, fitting. Hore and There. A writer in the "Light Oar" observes that being subjected to .a great deal of woar and tpar a chain not infrequently breaks at a most inopportune moment. "This," ho adds, "is frequently caused by half-hearted lubrication followed, by excessive wear. Tho • various componzz. ' onts of a chain become loose and finally a breakage occurs. Special kito should be taken to ensure that the'link bearing receives its proper share, ,I'robably the weakest point in a cliain is. the link through which tho ljolt is passed in. order to join up. This should be screwed home tight, tho nut run on with the fingers, pulled up gently with a suitable spanner, and secured by a split-pin. Graphite is undoubtedly the best lubricant to use. Some mechanics recommend a thick oil, and although it possesses certain advantages it is. liable to be flung oil' by centrifugal force. In the experience of the writer, three out of four breakages occur at the joint in the chain. More often than not'tho head of the bolt shears off. Keep a watchful eyo on tho joint, and see that it gets ; lubricant."

It is stated that tlio United States military authorities litivo decided lo abolish the uso of horsce and other pack animals in tho signal service, and adopt tho motor-cycle, which, it has 'been found, can bo driven almost anywhere a■ liorsa can go, and at about four or fivo times tho speed—an important consideration. Tho covering of tho floorboards _: always wears very much moro quickly where the driver's heels rest, below the pedals than elsewhere. A. good plan is to tack a piece of hard leather in this position. A cheaper substitute is a scrap of plain linoleum, but it does not wear so won. Aluminium sheeting is to bo avoided, as even in the embossed pattern it only affords a slippery foothold. One, virtue of the modern light car which it; seldom appreciated as much as it deserves, says an English .writer, is its comparative immunity fmm sideslip. We liuvo hud occasion, lately to aee somethinj; of an, early 8-h.p. single-cylinder , two-seator, and its nerformemee on greasy roads over which a light car runs without a trace of slip is certainly rather sensational. The chief factor in this is, of course, the powerful, isolated .impulses given by the large bore singlecylinder. Lighting-up lime:—To-day, -J.2S p.m. Nest I'vidny, 4.2b p.m. ■ . . .