MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 246, 11 July 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By Clutch.)

Cleaning a Car. It is not every beginnor who knows that the chamois leathers for car. drying aro not used dry, but first 60aked in water and wrung out until only just damp. In this condition they absorb IUo water left on the body quite easily. Quite a good finish can be got by .rubbing with a soft duster or other polishing cloth when dry; but a more brilliant result is obtained by tho use of a. wax or liquid polish. A cheap recipo is a mixture of equal parts of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. It should bo used sparingly and polished quite dry. A dry chamois should always be reserved for tho metal work. The main point in tho care of brass and nickel, especially the latter, id not to let tarnishing go too far. Paste or liquid polish can be used, the latter ' being perhaps preferable, for, although it may sometimes splash, it does not lodge thickly in crevices-like the paste. Tho .action of the various polishing lormulae is that they combine with the tarnished surface, aud, when rubbed with » cloth, come away in tho form of dirt, leaving tho under surface bright. A soft chamois or selvyt can then be used to give a final polish. For cleaning screens aud lamp glasses, a mixture of half methylated spirit and half water is .a well-known recipe, and soffctpaper is oven better than a rag for polishing. Another recipe, which will '.require moro elbow grease but is. particularly suitable for wet weather, as it tends to keep the screen free of raindrops, is half methylated spirit and half glycerino, Except in the case of bad oil stains, rubber hoods should not be cleaned with petrol, but brushed, or. taken off the car .and washed with soap and water. Petrol should also bo kept away from tho ordinary enamelled leather upholstery; for this, plain wator with perhaps a little ammonia usually is recommended; when dry, polish with a soft cloth. A warning might be given as to the use of soap. Any soap, but especially the,commercial "soft' soap, which contains alkali, should never bo used as it at once destroys the varnish. Tho only permissible kind is a pure soap, and by some people this is recommended for use in removing greasy patches from the bodywork. "Joy Riding."-. The unauthorised use of oars-by unscrupulous people has been a source of continual trouble to motorists, not only in Wellington, but in other parts of the Dominion, Tho practice is known as "joy riding," but it is no source of joy to' an owner to have his car remoyed uy irresponsibles, who more often than not are very amateur drivers, and have it damaged almost beyond recognition, as happens in some instances. Considerable attention to the matter has been given by Mr. F. "\V. Johnston (chairman of the By-laws Committee of the Canterbury Automobile Association), and he has suggested that the Motor Kegulntions Act should be amended on the following lines: "Any person who drives or usee ,any motor vehicle without first obtaining tho consent of the owner thereof, shall bo guilty of an offence under this Act, provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a member of the police force in the execution of his duty or to any person appointed by any county council, city council, borough/ council, town board, or other local authority having control of any street, road, public highway or other placo, to control or regulate the trafhVithereon." "Any person who procures the use for hire of any motor fehiclo by fraud or misrepresentation, or who aids or abets any.such person, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act." ' ■ . "Any person charged with any offence under this section shall be liablo on summary conviction to imprisonment for not exceeding three months or to a fine of not exceeding ,£20." Mr. Johnston states that_ in regard to tl»e first recommendation similar, regulations aro in force in' other ccun'ries. The second proposal is designed especially for the protection, of taxi-cab men. These men deserve the help.of motorists. In some cases■ publ'c bodies come airing, and 'hire tho taxis, but" subscquentljfail to pay for their use. The taxi drivers should have the right to make sure tlial their fares can pay for the services rendered. HBre-and There. A handy box for keeping- together, ready for instant use anywhere, the most often-used small tools and an assortment of nuts, bolts, washers, and cotter-pins may be made from a common box of convenient size, preferably with sides about 5-inch thick. The moist .satisfactory one will bo found to ho of oblong shape. This should bo divided into four parts by three partitions, the centre partition having an opening cut in it for a handle.. Along the sides of this lwx and placed near .the outside upper edges screw a long strip of strap metal having sufficient spring in it' to hold its shape if temporarily distorted. Pick out the' few small tools you most often use for quick jobs, and bend tho strip-of metal in shape/ so that each tool may have a nlaoe of' its own around the box; and may bo easily removed by a quick jerk when in a hurry. It is quite easy to feel for play in con-necting-rod bearings, when tho crank case is open, by moving the rods up and down by hand. To feel for slack in main hearings is more difficult, because of the weight of tho parts which have to be moved.' In the case of tho rear bearing, for instance, it is necessary to move the flywheel up and down, which is beyond the average man's strength. It may easily bo done, however, by placing a jack under the wheel. It should be used with 6ome discretion, simply applykg enough lifting effort to take up any ulay in the bearing. This can-be'fcltA by placing the fingers of the left hand on the main journal, where it projects from rear bearing, and feeling for the slack, while, with the right hand, tho lack bar is given a slight up and down motion. Instead of a jack, a pinch bar, with fulcrum of suitablo height, may bo used' for the .same purpose. An interesting little auxiliary motor attachment for using on an ordinary bicycle is to be marketed in England at about £Is. The power unit is a l-h'.p. two-stroke engine, and is carried in a special attachment over the back wheel. The drive is first by chain, then by a fibre-lined V-sectioned reel. Tho weight complete is about 251b., and. twenty miles per hour is 6aid to be easily obtainable. Petrol consumption will work out about 150 to 200 miles a gallon. It is to bo marketed as the "Zephyr." Lighting-lip time:—To-day, 4.37 p.m. Next Friday, i.H p.m. Where tho accelerator foot pedal is in an uncomfortable position for tho foot to operate, a good deal of relief n ay be effected by applying a barn-door hi'ngo. Tho short end is fastened to the tcoboard with wood screws, and, if desired, tho holes in tho long end of the hinge can be fdlcd with counter-sunk rivets so a 6 to make tho surface smooth so that the foot may sljie more.easily, upon it. This gives a oroader surface for the foot to rest on and makes driving more comfortable What should be the condition of the compression chamber in an engine when working to best advantage? Should tho piston head and compression space, bo dry and sooty, or in an oily condition? Tho condition of the combustion chamber should be as clean as possible An oily coudition indicates too much oil and imperfect combustion. The cylinder will necessarily bo sooty on- account of the products of combustion. While there should bo no carbon residue,. nevertheless it is impossible 'to realise such ideal conditions. < . As to whether it is good practice to put lubricating oil into tho' gasoline in a now car so as to oil above tho' pistons, etc., it is stated by a motor expert that on a new car in which the engine is particularly stiff, the addition of a small quautity of oil in the gasoline would probably prove beneficial to guard against seized bearings. A continuation of this practice, however, is likely to result in unduo trouble with sooted epark plugs and excessive carbon doposits. . . . ■ Cranking tho cngino with Hie ignition switched off hardly sounds a promising melhod of getting started, but-it is, r.s a matter of fact, "an invaluable process more often than not. If an engine refuses to start for no apparent reason whon magneto, sparking plug, and carburettor all seem 0.K., switch off tho ignition, open the throttle wide, and then givo tlie engine a few hefty turns. With tho ignition thon switched on and tho throttle returned tonormal' starling position tho next swing will effect a 6tart

in a surprisingly largo number of cases. It is a very simple tip, and because it is so simple it is worth 1 trying on an oft. 6tinate engine before tho usual examination of eai<bur. 'or and magneto is made. The announcement made in Franco that ten of tho leading French motorcar manufacturers have agreed to a schemo of co-operation in the purchase of material and production of cars is of particular interest. Tho scheme appears to have been very thoroughly thought out, and tho details show that tho co-operation is to be on mutual lines, tho object being primarily to reduce the cost of production by tlie purchase of raw material collectively by tho ten concerns, by standardisation and tho avoidance : of- overlapping in tlie production of specified,types of cars. In this way, it is dimmed, cost to the buyer will be reduced, and great advantages will result to tho. owner by the general intero.hangeability of parts. An outstanding feature, of: tho policy of the "combine of ten" will.be the production of a new cheap, popular car, each concern contributing towards the car the parts it is test equipped to produce! The outcome of this policy will bo watched with interest.

A loan of nearly -,£IOO,OOO is" the Stratford County Council's remedy for the reading trouble. It reads like a fairy tale (writes a correspondent of tho "■Taranaki Herald") to one who remembers when tho whole income of the coun- , oil was under JJIOOO a year. It is a pity some magician of foresight did not in those days of cheapness lay down the main roads in concrete. What a world of wasto and heart-breaking labour would have been saved in the interval between then and now, especially if he had been good enough to have invented the motor-lbrry in an'idle moment. Distilled water which is used in storage batteries is water that has been turned into steam and cooled and collected again. A motorist can easily put up some for himself at home with very little trouble. Coil a length of annealed copper' tubing so it Will fit in a dishpan. To the snout of a tea-kettle connect one end of the coil by a rubber hose or tube and have the other end of tho coil bent'so the distilled water will drip into a bottle. Fill' tho dish pan .in which the roil is placed with water, which must Jj.e kept cool either by frequent changing or by allowing a fresh supply to run into it during the process. When the water in the tea-kettle begins to steam it will pass through, the 6nout into the tube and through the coil, where it will be cooled and condensed into water again. It • falls into the bottle as distilled water, being as pure as desired" for storage battery purposes.