MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 12, 5 September 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By "Clutch.") Road Construction. In. tho course of 'an address in Dunedin. Mr. L. M. Saudsion, a'Christchurch engineer, who has recently returned from America, pointed out that the problems''of His roiitl had been altered by the advent nf the motor-ear. Franco was particulftrlv fortunate in the possession of a good Bvstem of road construction, and that fact was responsible for saving l J aris in 1914 bv enabling reinforcements to be rushed Im in time to turn the tido asrainst tho Germans in the buttle of the Marne. For this reason the I'rench were able successfully to dofe.id Verdun..', The National Council of lioads and Bridges was resnonsiblo for the construction and ndministration of roads in that country, and t.ho whole work was intelligently • Dlanned and executed.ln .ltagland- the road svstem was much'more complex, and too mnnv authorities had jurisdiction over one length of road. In. the United States vast sums had been spent in road constructions and administration, but bribery and corruption had been respon r sible for big sums having been squandered. In 191G\an Act was passed which made provision for tho: establishment of a fund for . improved method's of road construction and a bureau to control tlio distribution and expenditure of the monev. Since then the money had been xiselv expended, and . America, like Trance, had now a 6plendid road system. Valuable assistance was given to the controlling authority by national associations,, and' courses m road engineering work were aiven' in the universities. Th'e sneaker said ho would like to see the mnfter taken up by the New Zealand universities, and he would also.like to'see' nil miblic bodies interested in the question unite for the purpose of devoting their tmereies towards the establishment of n better svstem of road construction. Pressure sho.uld be brought to bear on the. Government. , He had spoken to the •Aotin/r-Prime Minister on the. matter, nointimr out the,need for an intelligent svstem of rond. construction, and .Sir James Allen had,in effect replied that when the people wanted.it they could ffp.t it.. Batterv or Magneto? The' much-discussed question as to whether- the battery or mag;neto is to prevail in the near future on motor-cars and mntor-cvcles is neatly summarised by a leading American engineer, who states that:—(l) The magneto does not depend tiDon a battery for'starting. (2) The human clement of forgetfulness is provided for in the magneto system; it is not provided for in the battery system. (3) There aro no. external low-voltage wires or connections in the magneto—there aro manv in the battery system. (4) The mncnetn is moro compact and has fewer narts to eet.out of order than the batterv ccmimnent. (5) The magneto, being self-contained, is easily tested. .6) It is — a complfte unit, and i 3 easy to instal, . whereas the battery system, is complex. Most motorists in Australasia who have had any experience with both types -of nrnition will probably agreo with , the above exuression of opinion. 'Spare Wheels, It' is a debatable point which'is to become the moro popular in the near faiure/ tho detachable wheel or (he•■. demountable .rim. The completo detachable wheel is probably the most popular at present, ' but it still has msny drawbacks. The weight of tlie fifth ivheel itself is considerable, and some device has to ba made to carry it firmly to prevent the cqver from being chafed. Often tlio lines of an otherwise handsome car are totally marred by an objectionablo spare whqel sticking out- at'the buck," and; if fitted to the sidd, extra weight is put oil the one pair of springs, badly disturbing the balance of the car. The most serious objection, however, is the quick and secure fitting of tho wheel to the hub. Spare wheels are apt to collect, dust, and if tho serrations are.at all a good fit, as 'they most certainly,- should lie, considerable trouble is'experienced in fitting a wheel. Especially is this'noticed on front hubs, when no positive, grip, can be .got • ' on tho hub'shell to prevent'-it'! turning and enabling the, serrations to engage. Having got the wheel on the Mb, 'the locking ring has to be screwed'up,' usually 'with a' special spanner, and itself- , locked. This' securing of the locking device is of the greatest -importance. The. typo of detachable rim which carries its own inilnted tyre ami fits over the rim of tl\o ■wheel itself, being clamped by a fixir' ilange or plates, has' many 'advantages u-er the complete detachable wheel for moderate-sized cars and tyres. The extra weight to be earjjed is small, and the rim can ' lie securely. held by etraps. In. fitting ttfl thfc road there is an absence of grcai"/ and resultant dirty hands; and, gfenertlly speaking, a,.i;ira does not require 60 much persuasion as a complete wheel to make it fit. As legards safety,, tho rim itself is held tightly to thfwheel, so that., there is no slackness, in the drive or steering. Thero is little difference in fitting a, tyre to either a detachable wheel or rim in the garage, except when discs aro used on tho ' wheel, making it harder to ,use levers , and get at tho valve security bolts. When everything is considered; the detachable rim has much in its favour, especially tho type incorporating tho detachable' flange," thereby enabling . easier fitting of covers. Here and There, ' (At a mooting of the Otogo Motor Club tho following resolution was carried '"That this club note with regret the cit< tempt of a well-known -motorist.-to esta)> lish.a record between Dunedin and Christchurch 'and vice versa, 'nnd desiro ' to express their disapproval of such oction, which, besides oeing a menace to traffic, tends to bring motorists generally into disrepute, and does not serve any useful purpose." Figures issued by the Italian Government show that last year 1071 cars wore exported, as compared with 702 in 1917, and 824 in 1916. On the other hand, the number of lorries exported-by Italy showed a big drop tho total last year being only 1867, as against 8032 in 1917, and 5639 in 1916. ', It is stated that tho output of American motor-cars has no]w reached tho : enormous figure of 2,0Cf1,000 - cars per annum. A goodly proportion of ..the largo number of motor vehicles which the United States Army find surplus to its requirements aro to bo turned to good account in helping on the movement) for improved roads in that country. '■ Through tho Bureau of 1 Public lioads tho Secretary-, of Agriculture Is to distribute some' 20,000 vehicles, valued at) moro than' ,£9,000,000. They will be distributed to the States, and all that the authorities will have to do to acquire tho use of these will be to pay the loading and' freight charges. But-they must be used on roads constructed wholly or ill pavt by Federal aid.The trucks range from two to,live tons capacity, 11,000 are jew, and 9000 are used, but all are declared to be in serviceable condition. The British Government has 800 workmen employed in repairing motor-cars, motor lorries, and ' motor cycles. It is estimated that all (old thero will be about 80,000 moior vehicles of nil descriptions put into good running order nnd marketed «s •'second-hands" in' England. Owing to tho. shortage of" motor vehicles in tho Old Country, and the hieh prices ruling for .thorn, it is anticipated that the Home authorities will make a "good sale" over its war-used vehicles. . ■ Voluntary Motor-Corps, Tho following members of the • Wellington .Voluntary Motor Corps were present to meet the draft ot troops which returned bv tho Athenio on Monday:— Messrs. J. 'l\ luke, A. ,E .Roberts,- W. Pryor, 11. J. Stott, L. 1?. Partridge, • S. M'Kchzie, 11. K. Bews, S. H. Underwood,' V. liiddiford, IVII. Baillio, R-. W. Wills, Andrews (M'E»van and 1 Co.), C. 11. Young, .T. Checsman, W. Mantell, G. 11. Scales, Mrs. Cornish, Dnltoii, F, Iloldsworth; F, A. Vaughan, A. ~C. Mitchell, L. Nelson, A'.' W.' Blau', 11. L. Friend, Mrs. Cameron, Miss Cooper. J. Smith, W. Campbell, H. D. Bennett, Union Ship. ping Company, Gear Company, Gray , (Pahautanui). Hints. Occasionally -a cat will' miss or refuse to run during or after a heavy rainstorm., The difficulty usually is due to; moisture" on the distributer (board, that is, the in- i sulated cover through which tlii) high-' ■' tension wires issue and run to the spark i

plugs. 1 If this-cover carefully is wiped dry, says an exchange, the chances aro very good that tJio engine will run withoik further coaxing. It is well, however, to remove moisture from uuy other high, tension conductors, such us wires or spark plugs. Contrary to popular belief, tbere is practically no possibility of wator causing carburettor trouble. The fact that tiiero is wifier on. or around (ha carburettor is not sufficient evidenco that it has anything to do with the bulkiness ot the eii"iuo. There is only ono way water can cause trouble, and thai; is to make its way into the float .chamber' through whatever-openings there may bo between tins chamber and the open air.Usually, however, the carburettor is bo ™ projotted that this is impossible. Ihq failure of the generator to supply current to tlio battery ■ sometimes is caused by a dirty commutator. In an emergency tho troublo sometimes may bo cureil, tor a time at :a- luii.iip'ig ejig.ino and holding a small stick hard fijrainst the commutator surface, thus picking, up enough foreign matter so that the generator will function again.' For still better results, wrap a picco of very line 6andpaper- around the- end of the stick. Remember, sandpaper and. not. emery cloth—the latter will ruin tho surface. If the commutator is worn very badly, it may bo necessary to smooth it up. in a lathe to bring the generator back to working condition. Worn brashes or brush springs lacking tension a-iso may ha the cause ot -faulty gi-nt-rauou. Ta.s may result from natural wear and tear or may be-due to the drawing of the temper of tho brush-spring by tho shorting of- tho current through tho spring instead of .through, the connecting:, wire, known, as a brush pigtail. Tho lack of current also-may be due to tho wearing away of tho iiißulatioit' 011 the pigtails' and' their short-circuiting'on tho-frame of the, generator.

It has .been said that ono should never itso -rubber to "make repairs where gasoline is apt to come in contact with it, but it will serve as a capable and quick repair medium in some cases and. has been known to hold out for months without causing trouble in any way. A pipe that has been', entirely severed can bo brought up -under this repair quite at) successfully as where , a leak lias developed at only a crinlc in the line, brought about through a sharp bend. An ordinary round.rubber tulie patch first is used in the .operation, after the gasoline has been shut of course. This is wrapped closely around' the pipe right at tho point of breaking or splitting and should ba hold in place -by- twisting. two comparatively small and flexible wires around to hold the patch in place and to act as tourniquets to hold track , the gasoline. If-there-is a • "on? split in the pipo to bo -repaired, just that much longer patch will be required and perhaps four tourninuets will be necessary to do tho work. Then tape should be bound around the natch, after the ends of the wire havo lx-en laid down to the rulAer, and tlie tape pulled taut. This in turn should he held iii places by two or possibly four tourniquets in the shape, of wire, twisted so as to hold tho tape down securely. The tape alone would 1)e apt to prevent gasoline lenkiiisr. but the rubber makes a safer job. So little rubber conid get into tho gasoline line that it would not be worth worrying about, and innsnvnch as 'tho rubber cannot get away it will act as a thorough, dam. Lighting np time; To-day, 5.29 p.m.; Next Friday, 5.30 p.m.