240 MILES IN LOW GEAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 232, 20 December 1927, Page 6

240 MILES IN LOW GEAR

RUGBY ENDURANCE TEST Speed tests are held one after another in monotonous rotation—some by motor associations, others by individual motor lirms anxious to boost their particular car and pit its strength and speed ability against the next best. Something of a unique endurance test was carried out in Wellington last week under the supervision of the Wellington Automobile Club, when a four-cylinder Rugby car, sealed in low gear and with water and oil supply also sealed, set out on a 240-mile round trip. The route followed was to Palmerston North, through the Manawatu Gorge and down the Wairarapa Plains on return to Wellington. The start was made from Wellington at 9 o’clock on Friday night, the sealing having first been supervised by Mr. Bond, service officer for the Wellington Automobile Club. The car completed the circular trip and was back in Wellington at 12.50 p.m. on Saturday (four hours ahead of schedule time), when the seals were inspected and found intact. The water consumption was one quart, and the oil one and a-half pints. The average speed (not allowing for stops) was 15.1 m.p.h., and the petrol consumption worked out at 15.2 m.p.h. The car used, a new Standard 4cylinder Rugby, appears to be none the worse for its gruelling. Should you burn out a bearing in some remote section, where a new one cannot be had, it is possible to run by removing the piston and rod from the motor. If your car lias a force feed oiling system, wrap tape around the shaft over oil hole in crankshaft, then use a clamp or wire over tape to hold it in place, thus permitting oil to feed balance of engine.