MOTORDOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 160, 27 September 1927, Page 7

MOTORDOM

Your Ford — Its Care and Maintenance

jk tSLN special feature to assist the owner-driver to obtain the maximum results in performance by the proper care and treatment of his car.

CLEVER THIEVES

i'otor-car thieves these das s are as '•SDUreeful as the detective c £ Action, 1 are even carrying their operations J automobile head<iuarters. I heard “* week, says an Australian vrlter, 1 * case in which a dealer was communicated with by telephone and s ked no send out a model for demon'tmioi. While the salesman was picking at the door of the supposed herding buyer, the car. which had A>^; en re Sistered or insured, was J rem °ved by thieves, who made I Whan getaway,

There are three essential things that all car owners must look to, viz., water, oil and petrol. The Ford engine is so constructed that any amateur driver can look after same. There is no oil or water pump to worrv about. How does the Ford lubricating system differ from others? It is simplified and there are fewer places to oil. Practically all of the parts of the engine and transmission are oiled by the Ford splash system from the one big oil reservoir in the crank case. The oil (one gallon) supplied with new* vehicles, is Valvoline E light for winter and medium for summer. This same oil can be used for all oil cups. It is important that the commutator or timer is kept freely supplied with oil at all times. There are 12 oil cups, exclusive of the main aperture for putting oil in engine. This is covered by a breather cap. There are five grease cups. The differential is now filled with heavy gear oil Valvoline C.C. and same should be examined every 3,000 miles. It is advisable to change the oil in the engine after the first 500 miles, its it is then thoroughly run in, the operation to be repeated every 1,000 miles. All new vehicles are supplied with a Ford manual, and facing page 53 is a lubricating chart, depicting all oil and grease cups and stating when same should be attended to. The Ford cai 1 is light on oil and will run 800 to 1,000 miles on one gallon. The Ford pooling system is known as the therm d syphon system and requires very little attention. The radiator must be kept filled, see that the fan belt is not slipping and examine water hose clips occasionally to see if tight.. Petrol system. The “new beauty” models have petrol tanks under the cowl, which holds eight gallons. This allows petrol to be gravity fed to carburettor and eliminates vacuum feed and long pipe line, which is likely to get damaged or pierced. The latest models are now fitted with hot plate vaporiser and the mixture is controlled from the dash as before. Cars fitted with above run on second grade fuel only. It is important that you do not mix lubricating oil with petrol , when using the hot plate vaporiser, 1 as the cil will not vaporise but burn between plates and cause the narrow passage to become quickly clogged. The present model with coil box alongside engine has very little wiring and therefore makes it easier to take care of. The coil vibrators should not be tampered with by a novice, and there is no need to keep taking plugs out as the porcelains can easily be i broken. Leave the ignition alone;: I half the trouble with ignition is caused , through lack of experience on the i driver’s part. Leave well alone. As I mentioned before the; commutator ! must be kept clean and oiled fre- j quently. The Ford lias what is known as the ! planetary transmission, which means j that one group of gears always re- | mains in mesh and revolves around a ! main axis. The different sets of gears are brought into action by stopping the revolution of the parts which support the gears. By means of bands (similar to brake bands) the rotation of the different parts is stopped. The : planetary transmission is the simplest • and most direct means of speed con- I trol. The adjustments of above bands I

SKIDDING.

A skid i:i usually due to one of the following .auses: Sudden and violent braking, jerky movements of the steering wheel when changing direction cornering too quickly or harsh use of the accelerator. If a modern oar .s driven gently and the above faults avoided there is little danger of a bad skid. It should be remembered that wet roads in summer are often more dangerous than is the case in winter, especially when a shower follows a dry spell. Some of the new roads are extremely slippery in these conditions and ex treme care should be taken on a strefel of road with a navement like carpet.

are easy to make and once a driver has seen this simple .operation he can carry on without fear of doing damage. These bands are all self-oiled from the crankcase and therefore; need very little attention. The starting and lighting system is of the two unit type and consists of the starting motor generator, storage battery, charging indicator and lights, together with wiring and connections. The starting motor is located on the left hand side of engine, facing forward, and is controlled by starting switch under driver’s feet. The generator is on the right hand side of engine forward end, and is run from the timing gears. The starting motor and generator practically look after themselves. Owners should not attempt to repair or tamper in any way with the mechanism of the starter and generator. The Ford starting system uses six volt three cell 13 plate battery. From time to time the battery should be examined to see if it is firmly secured. See that the wiring connections. are tight and clean. The battery terminals should be covered with vaseline to prevent corrosion. Keep the battery filled with distilled water and get same tested frequently. A Ford owner has very few occasions when he has to inspect his lighting system, which consists of two single bulb headlights and a tail light controlled by a combination lighting and ignition switch on instrument board. The large bulbs are of 6-8 volt single contact 21 candle-power double filament type. The small bulb is 6-8 volt single contact two candle-power. All of these lamps are connected in parallel so that the burning out or removal of any one of them will not affect the other. Do not connect the | lights to the magneto, as it will result 1 in burning out the bulbs and might discharge the magnets. How to test your ear for a blocked ■ oil feed pipe. First, this pipe carries the oil from the splash of the flywheel I to the extreme front of the engine, and is supplied with a large cup at the rear end to catch the oil. It is located inside the engine on the right side, and oa.nnot be seen without removing the j transmission cover, or the engine in--1 spection plate. An easy way to test if this pipe is clear, is to remove two screws from the front of the engine inspection plate., and then, with engine running there shoulid be a good flow of oil out of the screw holes, showing that the oil is coming freely through the oil pipe. Blocked oil pipes are caused by neglecting to change the enginb oil regularly every 1,000 miles i or by using dirty oil. | To clear a blocked oil pipe it is necessary to remove the transmission j cover, the radiator, and timing gear I cover. Then both ends of the pipe can j be seen, and it can be cleaned out | with a piece of wire. Another hint to stop oil leaking from | ends Of rear axle housings on to _ brakes and wheels. j First, remove rear wheel, axle hous- ! ing cap, felt washer, and outer axle roller bearing. Second, place axle felt washer on axle and with a rod or good stick push the washer well inside the housing, followed by a quantity of greasy waste or , rag. Then another felt washer and ram the lot in tight to ■ form a wad, which will stop all dizi ferential oil from passing. Third, reI place the roller bearing, axle felt, housI ing cap and wheel.

FORD SALES IN AUCKLAND

3,000 SOLD BY ANDREW’S John W. Andrew and Sons, Ltd., Ford dealers, Symonds Street, Auckland, completed their 3,000 th Ford sale on September 20, 1927, when they delivered a New Beauty Ford touring car to Mr. Geo. Long, Wentworth Avenue, Papatoetoe. With the car goes a gold medal suitably inscribed to mark the event. It is interesting to know that the first car sold by the firm was to Air. E. A. Pearce, on February 17, 1917, the I,oooth was sold on September 30, 1923; the 2.000 th on September 23, 1925: and the 3.000 th on September 20, 1927. Note how these dates run in twoyear periods, showing a yearly average of 500 sales. The above figures are for new Ford vehicles and do not include some 1,000 used car sales during the same period. The name of John W. Andrew associated with Henry Ford’s car is well known, not only in Auckland and the Dominion, but throughout the great Ford organisation and motor trade generally, and many have watched with interest the growth of the firm in the ’past ten years, from a. small wooden building in Eden Terrace to one of the city’s largest and most up-to-date garages, now situated in Symonds Street. This garage has probably the most up-to-date Ford service department in the Dominion,

MOTOR-CYCLING

NEWS AND NOTES Sports Motor-Cycle Club On October 2 a motor-cycle steeplechase will be held at Henderson. A large unfended areas has been selected, in which a circuit will be flagged. Competitors will be required to cover three laps, the competition being in the nature of a race. There are no watercourses, but rough virgin scrub, gorse, and bush will have to be negotiated. The event will really be an experiment, and if successful a much more comprehensive test will be arranged at a later date. The usual monthly meeting of the club will be held in the Chamber of Commerce at 7.30 to-night week. Sales in August It is interesting to note that 79.3 per cent, of the total motor-cycle sales in New Zealand for August were English cycles. B.S.A. led with 44. Triumph being second with 43 sales. There were 233 English cycles sold and 61 American. The Melbourne ag€:nts of the B.S.A. recently carried through an extraordinary reliability test of a 4.93 h.p. B.S.A. motor-cycle. This was selected by the local motor-cycling organisation while still in its case, so as to ensure that an absolutely stock model should be used. It was then driven to Black’s Spur, a notorious Australian test hill, and 100 ascents were made. The test took four days and a night, and the distance covered in the climbs was 731 miles, chiefly over wet, slippery ground, in places amounting to a muddy morass. The hill is one a single ascent of which is regarded as no small achievement, on account of its danger and its terrific gradients. A very interesting event is the six days’ stock trial, for which the machines are selected from dealers’ stocks by the Auto-Cycle Union. There were 62 competitors, of whom 52 gained gold medals and 36 came through with absolutely clean sheets; thus, the Triumph Company’s team, including a lady rider, won a manufacturer’s team prize and three gold medals, finishing the course without the loss of a single point. The model used was the new Triumph Model N, with a capacity of 494 c.c. In all, four teaims finished without the loss of marks, and it is worth noting that all the machines in these teams were fitted with Renold chains. HAMILTON CLUB’S TRIALS The reliability trial organised by the Hamilton Motor-Cycle Club was held last Saturday afternoon at Rotokauri, a few miles out of Hamilton. The course was one of 12 miles, the whole of the way being metalled road, covered with sloppy mud, sometimes over the foot-rests. The winner, Mr. L. Mawhinney, showed brilliant riding throughout, and did not appear to be troubled by the greasy road surface. The following were placed: L. Mawhinney (Triumph), 3hr lmin 1 E. Tall (Norton), lhr 52min .... 2 S. Lorrimer (Triumph), 2hr 2min .. 3 SEPARATE COMPANY The directors of the Dunlop Rubber Company of England have entered into a provisional arrangement with the Dunlop Rubber Company of Australasia providing for the financial association of the two companies and the closest possible technical and commercial alliance. The arrangement includes the acquisition of a share interest in the Australian company by the Dunlop Company, and representation on the board; also the formation of a.separate New Zealand company, jointly owned by two Dunlop companies, for better trade development.

RACING IN AMERICA

TWO SEPTEMBER TRIALS

Results are to hand in New Zealand of some of tl?e latest car racing in America during the present month. The old idea of crossing the States from coast to coast has again been attempted in a non-stop run, and this time A. B. Jenkins, driving a Stock Studebaker, “Commander” model, lowered the previous record by 2 hours 15 .minutes. His' time was 77hr 40min. Strange to say, another Studebaker “Commander” won the Atlantic City 75-mile stock car race, attaining a speed of 85.9 m.p.li.

“YOU ARE CHARGED—’’

MOTORISTS AND THE LAW ABOUT ONE IN NINE FINED Ever since that motoring offence in Auckland, only about 20 years ago, when some unlucky fellow was charged or prosecuted for loitering round a corner, or frightening horses, the total of motorist delinquents has risen. Examination of the justice statistics for 1926 shows that about 14.000 persons in New Zealand were before the Magistrates’ Courts for offences of one kind and another in the operation of motor-vehicles. The motorists provided approximately one-third of the total number of cases dealt with by the magistrates in their criminal jurisdiction. As £32,662 was received by the local bodies in motor drivers’ licences in 1926. this means that about 130,000 licensed drivers were on the road. A little calculation will show that about one driver in every nine was before the courts during the year charged with some offence or other. On this basis the total number of motoring prosecutions in a few years would equal the total number of motor drivers. The evidence is thus plain that the motorists as a body belong to the criminal class. The detailed list of cases is as follows: SumArrested, moned. Negligent or dangerous driving, etc 26 4,934 Improperly lighted vehicles* ID 4,212 Offences in registration of motor-buses . . .. Offences in registration other motor-vehicles 34 3,116 Other offences relating to vehicular traffic* . . 79 14,355 *lncludes other than motor-vehicles. There were 209 ladies charged with negligent driving, etc., 151 ladies appeared for breaches of the lighting laws; 78 ladies were in trouble overregistration matters (one got herself arrested) ; finally, there were 48 lad ies in the miscellaneous vehicular offenders’ list. No statistics are available showing the total number of lady drivers, so it is not possible to say whether their criminal tendencies are greater or less than those of the male drivers. Are we becoming a nation of lawbreakers ?

HOMEMADE,

LAD REBUILDS FORD. NOW CAPABLE OF 70 M.P.H. Every man his own car designer. To every lad his own speedster. That is the motto of Bert Peek, of Granville, Australia, and to give it * ;U effect he forswore the movies and the football field for 10 months, and laboured at the reconstruction of a second-hand Ford. He achieved the effect he sought. Now, it is a streamline racer, capable of 70 miles an hour. Bert is only 19 years of age; but his mechanical ability is remarkable. He had only spare time to devote to his hobby, and not a great deal of capital. As it runs now, the Ford cost £l5O. Of that, the first cost for the second-hand tourer was £65. Despite the high speed the racer shows, the builder claims a petrol consumption of 32 miles a gallon. A three-speed gearbox is fitted, v/ith ratios of 10 to 1, 5 to 1, and to 1 on top. The wheels are balloon-tyred, and have 12-inch external contracting brakes. Road clearance is 9 inches, An steering wheel crowns the column, which ends in a worm-box. Dumb-irons are built on, and * semielliptic front springs. Rear springs are still transverse. To give his racer line, Peek has flitted a V windshield, and slung a nine-gallon petrol tank at the f*ear

NUTS AND BOLTS.

HOW THEY WORK LOOSE. FEW SIMPLE HINTS. lhe majority of the squeaks aud rattles which sometimes develop in a car after it has covered several thousand miles are due to nuts and bolts working loose, those holding the wings and running-boards being usually the worst offenders. Much can be done to prevent this annoying trouble occurring by giving the thread, nut, and washer, just as one is going to tighten up. a coat of enamel or paint: or, better stiU, Dupont’s household cement, which is really a very concentrated solution of celluloid in amyl acetate. A coat of either of these substances, too, should be used on the exposed part of the thread of the bolt after the nut has been thoroughly tightened. Not only will this treatment prevent the nuts from working loose, but it will also protect the threads from rust. Squeaks and rattles, due to the mudguard brackets being slightly loose, frill be very frequently found on second-hand cars. The obvious remedy is to tighten the bolts, but in many cases this is impossible, as rust has obtained such a hold that the nut canlot be turned. In such circumstances leather bootlace wound tightly round be bolt between the bracket and the :hassis frame will often effect a cure. The lace may not actually touch the bolt, but it should be pulled as tightly as possible at each turn, so that it will sink into the slight space between the bracket and the frame. If a proper thin spanner is not available to grip a thin under-nut while the upper lock-nut is being tightened, a length of stout copper wire and a pair of oliers can be used for the purpose. The wire should be wound round the nut, so that it fits tightly round the flats, being pulled taut and held with a pair of pliers. In this way the under-nut can be held securely while the upper one is tightened with an ordinary spanner.

Still, when a realist author is driving he doesn’t think it art to hit all the mudholes.

A resident of Morrinsville has invented a combination lock for cars. He states that the device allows 0,800 combinations of numbers. In the event of a wrong number being dialled an alarm bell sounds. The switch is intended for use of battery or magneto ignition. There are six working parts in the switch itself and the lock has two working parts.

Occasionally use a good wrench on the anchorage bolts of your motor, as this may cause annoying squeaks and inexplainable vibratior. to disappear. In the 700-mile reliability trial of the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, the Fourteen ArmstrongSiddeley was placed first in reliability, first in petrol consumtion, and third in hill climbing.

ELEVEN SCHEMES.

LOCAL MOTOR TAXES. WHITHER ARE WE GOING? Motorists arc in for a bad time in the way of taxation if their local bodies have all their desires inct by the Government. Tauranga County has been circulating to all counties a motion urging that the whole cost of main highways should be borne by the motorists. Numerous municipalities up and down the country are demanding that motorists shall pay enough taxation for the towns as well as the country to dip their lingers into the lucky-bag. Dunedin has a local motor tax scheme, and Rangitikei has proposed one also. Both these provide fo~ a local tax of £2 a car, in addition to national motor taxation. Apparently there are numerous other similar schemes on the stocks. At the meeting of the Rangitikei County Council the other day a councillor inquired what had become of the Rangitikei-Wa-nganm local tax scheme for bituminous paving, framed bv the county engineer, Mr Mail. Mr Mair, in reply, stated that the Bill was being prepared for presentation to Parliament. lie added that a \ present there were 11 local schemes, with more to follow, being prepared, for submission to Parliament. Mr Mair further added that it was expected that the Government would come forward with a national scheme which would take the place of all local schemes. It: the Wellington City Council has its way, and rams the increased Hutt Road tax scheme through Parliament, Wellington motorists will probably remain the sole payers of double taxation.