MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 19, 17 October 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By "Clutch.")

Wellington Motor Club. Tho following new members have been elected to the Wellington-Motor Club-.— Messrs. Martin Beck, W. E. A. Gill; W. Lawrie, jun., John Getuige (Upper Hutt), 0. liush, C. l'eel, A. Al. llolme.?, Butterworth Sutherland mul Hankine, C. ,T. Nathan, AV. H. Strnthers, 11. T. Bartholomew, The Bristol Pinno Co., C. IL. l'ym, J. G. At'Greuoi', W. J. Gaudin and Hon, J. F. l')iyt)uan, H. K. Kobertson, A. M. Pickford, J. F.- Browning, T. H. Hill, M. Manthel, W. J. H. Tonks. P. W. Oaken,. James Bell, A. J. Gcorgo, W. It. Doughty. Causes of Trouble, It is strange how often one heara .o motorist hoiist of the fact-that-hi.s car has .run, for .two ,or .even- tinea years without' being- overhauled .or tuned - up. Where this occurs, 6ays a motor expert, it is generally to be found that .the owner is .without that sensibility and sympathy which enables him to realiso when his power plant begins to olowly but surely fall oil' in effectiveness. Tho ciiango is slow and gradual, no doubt, but still it should be possible to locate it, and . it . b of great importance that it .ehculd.be realised at once, for it inevitably denotes the need for attention-. The liibst' serious source.of,, loss, ..as .ft rule, is want of compression. This may arise.,,from n,'variety of causes, such as tho pitting of the valves,' 'the fact that one or other of the valves fails tn close absolutely, duo to the end.of the tappet rod remaining'in contact, the breakage or wear of piston rings, or tlio shifting of sn'nio so that the slots come adjacent to. _ each other; a bad joint in the cylinder head, allowing tlio escape of compression j or wear in tho cam surfaces (which is rare). ''Sometimes the trouble may be only in .one cylinder, making it moro difficult to diagnose. If tlio trouble is serious one can' test"it by slowly turning tlio starting handle, biit, 'os a : rule, a compression' gauge i*> neews'ary, and 'unless tho owner has some expert knowledge it would be better for liim' to take the car to an'' expert. Another fruitful sourco of tronblo is tho • deposit of carbon on tho tons of the pistons 'and tho walls of tno combustion ■ chamber, due, usually,- to excessive lubrication causing tlio oil to get past the piston riiifjs, and in some cases to faulty carburntion. Such deposit, neodlesn to say, rcduces the size of the combustion chamber, and also is likely to cause pre : ignition. The vnlvo timing also may.'lie faulty, needing the re-setting of the tappets. The clearance should' be only jiist sufficient to leave the smallest possible space between the top of tlio tappet and the vnlvo stem; about 1-64-th. of an inch is ample. Ignition troubles, also, will cause a fallingoff in power. These may result from ordinary ; short circliits, or may 80-duo to the ends- of' the plug electrodes being too far apart, or too close, or through the space in the respective cylinders varying. These should be set absolutely to gauge, and, to ensure their synchronisation, should be checked at regular intervals. Wear in the ■ cbntact maker disc or contact points ■ will also cause trouble, and sometimes the fibre disc is- at fault, or the distributor is dirty or worn. An occasional overhaul of a car is wise, and a payable outlay in the long run. Motors and Fuel Taxation. According to British motor journals just received, the International Motor Congress sat -in Paris, and considered the question of fuels and motor taxation,' when" some important resolutions were passed. The countries represented wore Groat Britain,' France, -United States, Italy and Belgium, and, according to tho "Autocar" (London), tho subject, so far as Great Britain was concerned, appeared to be left to the Motor Legislation' Committee of- tlie R.A.C. The summary of the resolutions passed is as follows: In view of the production dur-l ing tho war by the automobile industries of the Allied countries of war materials of nil kindsi and of-the services: rendered by automobile transport of tlie highest importance. to tho. armies; and in view of the fact that motor: transport of passengers and goods is now an indispensable, 'condition in. modern, life; "and that transport" generally, lias long ceased to be a Matter of luxury, and has become a necessity for commerce 1 and industry; tho congress recommends: 'JPhat tho internal taxes and duties of. all kinds, .direct arid indirect, which fall heavily on automobilism in most of-the I Allied countries, 'be largely diminished in order to permit normal and progressive development of automobile communications; and that the product of these taxes and duties be applied to tho upkeep and; improvement of. the roads. Commenting on the matter, the journal above mentioned considers it satisfactory that the Motor Legislation Committee is alivo to tlw importance of tho whole subject of motor vehicle taxation, and that the automobile industries of Great Britain, Belgium, France, Italy and the U.S.A. are agreed as to'' the' recommendations that should be put forward in this connection.'. Effective" Splices. . Much trouble comes from old wiring systems (says an exchange), both in matters of ignition and starting and lighting, particularly where it has been necessary to splice wires for ono reason or another. There is a right and a wrong way to bring two ends of wire together soJt will be as useful as a whole piece and tho degreo of oaro exercised will determine tno success of the work. It will not do to merely twist the two ends together and expect to have a job that .will .prevent .short circuiting, _ to Bay nothing of the possibility of losing a portion of the current, the maximum of which is needed for whatever purposo designed. It is true a high-tension lino needs moro care in treatment than tlie primary circuit, for the voltage is sumcient in itself to cause ;at least a portion of tlio current to be diverted. A hightension ourrent, in the first place, is heset with resistance, arid electricity, like nia nv other tilings, peeks a-path of least resistance; In making a' good connection it is only necessary to- take, time to do the 'Work well.. At least '2m. n' each end should lie uncovered from insulation- and tho strands, of wire gently scraped with a dull knife. \_ They should\ parallel, about lin. separating the insulation, then tho copper strands should be twisted as closely together as possible. When the strands -havo been brought together, all the way,-a. drop of soldering acid- Should bo touched: to tho iwirc- and then -a- drop of solder. With .the, iron held .tliete a moment, it will oause tho solder to run all through tho. strands and sot them into a . solid mass, causing a thorough connection. This part then should lie covered carefully \vith a half width of tape, .built up to prnetically the size of the. insulated covering. Before you have proceeded to connect the strands of /wire together put over ono end of tho insulation a piece of . small "rubber hose, enough to^ cover thie pplico f ol ' ' a,; Jeast an inch on either end : After the job of splicing ha.« been accomplished the lirise can be pushed Ovor tho splico, so that it. is equally placed, find there will be no chance for a' short-circuit through exposed wire or even if soaked in water' This sanle treatment may be accorded a connection whero a terminal has been attached to the' wire; that is. 'twisting and eolderW the wire at the splice, taping ' and' then sliding-over tho splico a niece of small hose. Tliis will he especially good ill the case of terminals used for' spark plugs,' for the liosp covering will wake ft suitable insulator to take in the hand in testing the plus. Hero and Tliore, Work has been started on the' Melbourne Motordrome which is to be erected on the old Amateur Sporlti Ground. It is anticipated that the speedway will be available for motor racing early nest .Veai.'* Th" motordrome will bo tho.first of it 1 ) kind in Australasia. ' The an'iunl meolinT of the Wellircton .A ntr'i'iiMlp Club w'l! bt> held shortly. iU the meeting it is nfoptised (o rivc mrnibepi an (>i>i)ft''tunitv of ventilating (I'oir "u.m-s mi the (Miration oft.V taxation of tyres as ii nini'is of .rnising funds fr" rratl ''nitirovPinoMs, til =n lo express eninioin nn the resolution by the \<MV T'oiinl-'no' cnli((.wnw t'-t t!-n<"> i>- ■' uniform snen-l limit of !10. nujes nil luiui. M"rn Mil'mi'-'-i'e Cub H livinor'ng lis i'Ule« nn to (Me. a-ul tyy •" . .-.M.Oip!! I<) i»r>n>lirr« in duo coilrsu. Ml- |C, i„........ >|v iii'inv ••'i'"""' I'l'mil nctivitlP",' n') , vii'i" : n>» ii't evo'"''l ; !nrt' of 'I l, "" M f' 1 " 1 Of JC18.000.000 sterling on the' highway*

during tlio next three years, and tlio American motor journals are naturally giving great publicity to tliie programme. They say that it is duo to-the inlluenco of tho development of motor traction lh its several forms that better roads liavo become the uivcrsal. theme in the Slates, quite overshadowing any proposition in railroad construction,, either at' present or in the' past. Similar programmes are under way in Great Britaiii, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Austria, and tlio Governments of jnany other countries are paying .unprecedented attention tt> this matter, though necessarily on a smaller scale. Even in South America tlio mitroduction and application automobile for transport; work of all kinds have lod to the planning ot important highway improvements, connecting tlio uljief -cities' df Brazil'' Argentine and Li Pl(itii. ; " The American War' Department has Army trifelcs, ' valued at Xb,or2 000 together,witli 411 tractors, 001) imscelJnneoiH touring cats and'lo7s Fords to tho Department of Agriculture for--distribution to the-various-iState higlnvay departments for.usc in tlio-con-struction and maintenance of highways throughout tho United States.- A furtiler lar|fo <listfil>iitioii of war vehicle is to be mado shortly, with the same purpose in view—the betterment at American roads. I have practically bought out all the shareholders in tho l''ord Motor Co. A sum- of was involved. Tins transaction- will Icavo | Henry Ford freo to do what he likes an regards the future making and marketing of tho car that .bears his name In fining a doctor's chauffoiir at the Glebo Court, Sydney, f6r exceeding the i-peod. limit,' Mr. Adrian, S.M., addressing the defendant, remarked: "If a doctor is being driven to attend a -danger* ous case there may be some excuso for speeding up, but it is a different matter when his mission is -to. keep an. appointment at his office,.and tho lives-of pedes-trians;-nro endangered in the process,'". . At tho city of Akon, Ohio,- U.S.; which is the centre of the rubber.manufacturing industry of the ,iworld,; there . are about 20 factories engaged in the-pro-duction of pneumatic.- tyres fur automobiles, motor-trucks, motor-cycles,- and bicycles, and also solid-rubber tyres for trucks. The daily output of this collection of . manufacturing plants: average .50,000 tyres and an equal number of tubes. These factories produce nearly. 273 different brands of tyros, for motorcars. .. ~ 11l England what is known as the Middle Class Union lins been orgnuised in tho interests of the rank.and tile of tho motoring public, which, it is claimed; will form the majority of those which' the nuion has been founded to protect. It is pointed out that as regards jietrol profiteering, and tho general, inciderico of-taxation, the motoring world is considembly affected, and it is anticipated that there wfll -lie a. largo preponderance of motorists who will:realise the; advantages of assisting to develuii this organisation ill order that it may become a powerful influence in scouring equity of taxation. -Now tlwit motoring has loner since ceased to be the amusement of the "idle' rioh,", theie is no--doubt the ranks, of autompbilism aro principally recruited from'the middle classes, and for that reason the union iti question should, if it develops as anticipated, be in a position to .provo of considerable valuo to those who mako private uso of self-propelled vehicles.- * . Lightmg-up time. To-day, G-13 p.m. Next Friday, 6.21 p.m. '