MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 96, 17 January 1919, Page 9

MOTORS AND MOTORING

{By "Clutch.").

Tho Trend of Prlcos. .' Many intending buyers of motor-cars are'hanging.back> waiting for a drop in prices. When is it going*to come? Recent advices from England and America point to an upward trend in prices for new cars. In America, reduced output—scarcity of metals and increased cost of production.!—has already put tho price up.i Freights are certainly down, but not sufficient to cover the increased factory price. -.A reduction iu tho Ameroutput of passenger cars alone— particularly''when it is mentioned that weir over 1,000,000 vehicles were sold in America a your—for only ono season is going to take a lot of picking up agaiiir—and with the doniahcl exceeding tho supply prices are not expected to fall for' some time. As regards European cars—huge engineering plants will be available later on in-Engla'nd,.France and Italy for automobile construction— hut it is impossible -to convert or'turn from munitions to motors 1 at a- few weeks' notice. In tho meantime, the greater portion uf the world's supply of steel ujill be'diverted for shipbuilding, and-restoring tho war ravages in 'Belgium and France, Italy and the Balkans, arid it will take some time before steel supplies for automobile'construc-tion-will regain normal. Wages show an upward tendency the world over—, therefore, from all viewpoints it isliold tliat there is little justification for the prevailing idea'that cars will be cheaper! in the.near future. ■ ■< ■

To Find Leaks; : It''is - usually difficult to find' just w ; hereia;leak inthe petrol tank lies, because .the fluid; after: escaping spreads all around on the surface of the tank. When you encounter this difficulty wipe •off oall'ifhe petrol, and then coat the suspected, area: with... black gudgeon grease.--, Tho-petrol leaking out of the hole will eat away this grease arid make ■'datcctioii of'th.e leak very simple

Motor Truck as Locomotive. .., '■ If the average business' man wore told that the most profitable way to use a motor truck.is; to run .it -empty,-.(he l^vould,.Bays an 1 American' w;riter,,,probably consign his informer.to the.gehtle care of a commission of'lunacy. But ascertain slate mine" in the up-Stato part of New York would merely •mod wisely and remark that he had noticed'the same thing. The quarry in question is. a. mile ami a'half from the railroad station. The running time for a/ round trip is; accordingly small, _ m comparison with the combined loading and ;unloading time. This -bringß it about that when the truck is used in tile' ordinary way, as a truck for carrying tho slatQj' it spends. most ofi ..its time standing aead at the shaft-house or' the; "being Jo.aded. and', unloaded; i.Tliis, of coursb, is plainly, bad; but the remedy' requires a> good deal of vision' in'r the seeing, an'd evon more nerve in the believing. : I.ni the present ■■case/after "a good deal pf persuasion, the quarry man was brought around to give the trailer a trial.', He bougty Hnree-of tlieso, and issued orders that hencefortli'.tlie motor '<ruck was not a truck.' at all, hut simply: a locomotive. It; run's, continuously, never carrying a load', on its own bottom,, but always hauling one;trailer. It leaves the mine in-, the- morning -with' a loaded trailer,, hauls' this to tho roalroac* picks up the i empty trailer left at .the. last trip, drags thisbaok to the mine, and when it. 'gets there the third is loaded ■ an'd : waiting . In this way there is always one trailer loading, one unload-( ing, and one en route in one direction or the ..other. -' Twenty round trips- are made in aten-lioiir day, and six tons of slate delivered,each trip., Operating on this schedule,' the cost of..hauling the slate-to-the drains has been-cut in-half, and the owner,.who was .frankly sceptical'over, the idea of running liis truck with' all that space on its floor yawning to the skies for, a load, .is enthusiastic overV'tho'traileT. ' .'"•'■

Here and There. • Most motorists aro aware of many difficulties' incident to the use of tho standard lear spring, and. in the control, of its -action; Ah English maker has .recently evolved a new system of springing that seems to hav'o distinct merits in simplicity and economy iu manufacture, at least as applied to the lighter class of. cars. His-idea is to hang the chasms "on levers of the bellcrank onder, and to interpose helical springs in compressior' between tho short arms of the levers, . : It is claimed for this arrangement that,the uncomfortable'sharp rebound of-the ordinary 'loaf spring ifj'totally eliminated, thus doing away with the.' necessity for shock absorbers. - ■

Tho importance of being able to diag,ripse r .motor ills, from the souuds onsu-: iiig-.is.well illustrated by the differentia!. A sort of wcavincj' in the differen-tial-indicates that the master bevel 'gear is .out of' alignment. On the other, hand,. a slight, catch occurring several times in eadi revolution of the driving wheels indicates a, chipped • tooth, ■ •;■ lii. some parts ,of America a'novel, means of overcoming the gate nuisance' on-big estates or ranches is. The.nuisnnce of frequent stops to open aiid"close.:gates, and the. certainty that trouble would, he caused ,b,v careless tourists whoiyould not bother to close •thcni/ are. neatly.avoided by borrowing the; idea of tho cattle guard from the .railroad." A shallow pit.is" dug between/ two fence posts,: and over this at right angles, to tliO'Toad are laid :posts -.or •pjnnics close' enough to; accommodate the wlieols of a. car, hut not the feet of:wandering cattle. Thore.is no gate; the road is always open for tfiei motorist. The cattle'drift up and sniff at this modorircontriv-tnco, and turn.away,; too wary'of the ditclv beneath to venture over. It is a simple idea,, and apparently effective. i ' ■ ' . - If a crack-.develops 1 in a pipe or tank, or even in'the radiator, and no soldering outfit is'available, if is possible to effent a very satisfactory temporary repair by running melted rosin over the hole to a. depth of about a quarter of an inch'. This repair' may be made somou'hat more permanent by placing a piece of ieafher over, tl/e hole before running the resin., .' '■'■'" ' ' ''..''

Lightihs-up tinie:—To'-dny, 7.25 p;m, Nest Friday, 7.21"p.in.