MOTORDOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 16

MOTORDOM

f&J-

; RACING IN AUSTRALIA AUCKLANDERS INVESTIGATE ■ Messrs. A. J. Roycroft and J. Kay, i two of the officials of the Muriwai I Motor Racing Club, have recently re- j turned from Australia, where they j were investigating dirt-track motor- j racing. They purchased a car on arrival in j Sydney and covered about 4,000 miles in a few weeks, visiting Melbourne aud several smaller centres where dirt-track racing is popular. In Australia dirt-track racing is al- ! most confined to motor-cycles and is rapidly becoming a national craze. Gates of 30,000 are by no means unknown. At one place, Bathurst, 150 miles from Sydney, with a population of 9,000, the average attendance is nearly 5,000. Such sensational popularity is evidenced everywhere, and both Mr. Roycroft and Mr. Kay consider that when the Western Springs speedway is open next summer, Aucklanders, too, will revel in the new sport. Mr. Roycroft told a Sun man that his two most outstanding impressions

of the trip were the high purses won by really crack riders, and the terrible lack of sign-posts on Australian roads. The road from Sydney to Melbourne is, in his opinion, very poor, and there is nowhere such efficient sign-posting as has been installed by the A.A.A.

HEADLIGHT

WORLD FIGURES N.Z. COMES ELEVENTH Tlie -world registrations of motor vehicles have been calculated up to the end of last year by the “American Automobile.” Here are the first 20 countries:

These figures do not include motorcycles. Instructor: "You’ll have to change your gear here.” Pupil: “I’ll do no such thing. lt‘ there’s anything wrong it can go back to the makers—let them change it.” .

“WHIPPET" NOW FIRST ! MANGERE RESULTS ALTERED Following on a protest lodged by I the Canadian Knight and Whippet Co., I Ltd.,, an alteration has been made in j the placed cars of the classic event at Mangere Speedway on Saturday. | The “Whippet” has now been declared the winner. G. Smith in his j Smitlie Special is now declared second, and A. Bell's Chrysler, third. The time was 12min 13sec. This event, the Motor-Car Handicap for cars that have lapped better thau lmin 30sees, attracted IS entries who started under widely different handicaps. The limit men had about three minutes’ start of the scratch men and had therefore covered one lap before the whole field was away. It was very difficult for the onlookers to follow the race, but it was evident that the Whippet, which had already distinguished itself, was putting up a great race. The Whippet passed everyone on the field and was not passed by anyone. It was a well-deserved win and the only reason for the mistake on Saturday was the fact that, of the cars on the course, some had covered more laps than others.

MORE HINTS The Care of the Car When a Fuse Blows ; There are occasions when drivers may find themselves in a very embarj rassing situation through the blowing of t.he fuse which is mounted behind the switch-box, since both the lights and the horn will be put out of commission. Without the fuse there is ;no means of makiug a convenient and I speedy test of head, side and tail lamp ! circuits, and horn circuit to locate | which is shorting. There are, how- | ever, handy means of acquiring exj temporised replacements. One way is to buy a packet of cigarettes or con- ■ fectionerv and use the silverised wrap- | pings. If a thin tape of silver paper Is carried round the metal contacts of the fuse holder and replaced in the fuse clip it will afford quite a serviceable substitute, and can be retained In position for the time being. Another and better way, however, is to use one of the fine strands from some flexwire twisted round the fuse glass container. Aluminium Running Boards Many modern cars are fitted with stippled or fluted running boards. The best! way to clean these is as follows: Procure a wire brush such as is used j for cleaning woollen scarves aud i suede gloves. Dip the brush in kerosene and scrub the aluminium thoroughly. A fair amount of elbowgrease will be required if the aluminium is at all stained or dull, but the improved appearance of the car as a whole is well worth the trouble involved. Front Tyre Wear To equalise the uneven wear on front tyres caused by the dishing of the front wheels, it is desirable that every two or three thousand miles the tyres should be reversed, so that the worn part comes on the inside. With some types of wheel, the wheel itself can be reversed on the hub, but with others, especially those of the wire or disc pattern, this is not possible, so that it is necessary to remove the tyre and reverse it on the rim. ministry of transport REPRESENTATIVES ON COUNCIL "The constitution of the Advisory Council has been the subject of a good deal of discussion, and many requests have beeD made for a larger council. The Minister has agreed to the request of the automobile unions for a representative from each island and it is claimed that this gives motor mterests over-representation,” says an article in the ‘‘New Zealand Radiator ” the official organ of the Motor Trade Association.

We are of the opinion that the council should be kept as small as possible if it is to do effective work, and we think the interests of motoK car owners might have been satisfactorily represented by one man. “If the council Is to be successful, it must deal with transport matters on a Dominion basis, and there is no need for separate representation of the North and South Islands of any of the interests who have been asked io nominate representatives.

‘‘lt is unfortunate tliat the motorists of New Zealand are not united in vine strong body, and that North and South Island interests are still often in conflict. The difficulty of selecting a representative acceptable to the North and South Island unious was probably the reason the Minister has given way on this point, but the same difficulty had to be overcome by the other interests represented on the council, and it should have been possible for the motorists to do the same. “The local bodies are complaining of insufficient representation, and if they are as successful as the motor unions in persuading the Minister to agree to their requests, the council will in our opinion be too large, and there is a possibility of disagreement among representatives of the same interests.” TAKE CARE

; CAUSES OF BREAKDOWNS R.A.C. ANALYSE RECORDS The Royal Automobile Club has Issued au instructive analysis of the causes of the breakdowns that have been dealt, with by them under their ‘“Get-You-Home” scheme. The analysis covers a period of four years, viz.: 1925, 1926, 1927, 1925, and therefore gives a useful indication of in what direction cars in general have become more troublesome or. conversely, in what respects they may have tended to become less reliable. 1 It should be remembered when considering these figures that they deal only with actual failures and bear no reference to the total numbers of cars in use. Unquestionably cars are becoming increasingly reliable and an increasing percentage iu the R.A.C. analysis only serves to show that a particular cause of failure forms a greater proportion of the total of failures that occur. The principal cause of trouble is still ignition by a very long margin. The figures for ignition failure percentages remain very constant for the five years covered. This high percentage is in all likelihood due to the lack of knowledge of the ignition system on the part of the average owner. The ignition system usually suffers neglect because it has no means of voicing that, neglect, except by refusal to function, which counts as a failure. The steady rise of cylinder and piston troubles, from 6. per cent, in 1925 to 10.5 per cent, in 1925. is rather disconcerting. There seems | to he a recurrence of the old troubles that used to be prevalent before the war. Over-oiling is a somewhat frequent cause of complaint nowadays, and this is probably the largest contributing factor in * this class. 3925. 1925. Engine

CHEAP HOLIDAY 1,200 MILES TRIP. AND A CAR, FOR £lO The average life of a car is estimated at seven years, but there are many cars in use in New Zealand which are more than double this age. The following description of a tour recently taken in a 1912 model 10 li.p touring car may be of interest. A party of five young men who spend most of their holidays in “seeing New Zealand first” decided for their 192 S Christmas vacation to try a motor tour in place of their usual tramp. After considering the pros, and cons., it was decided to buy outright an old car if one suitable for their purpose could be obtained at a price within their means. An advertisement in the daily Press made plain that plenty of used cars w r ere available at a cost of £lO. upwards. Some time was spent in inspecting some of the cars offered, and in the end an English model five-seater touring car of 10 h.p was selected at a cost of £25. It was found that after a few r weekend trials that a few minor adjustments weer required, and a friendly agent, and mechanic who "were acquainted with the old model gave much valuable advice. • When loaded up with the party of five, camping equipment and provisions for tlie trip, the old car was asked to undertake a job that would have taxed some of its later competitors. The following trip was carried out through a fortnight’s holiday without particular incident or trouble: Ist day.—Wellington to Taihape. 2nd day.—Taihape to National Park. 3rd. day.—National Park to Wairakei. 4th day.—Wairakei to Rotorua. sth day.—Rotorua to Auckland. 6th day.—Auckland to Hamilton. 7th day.—Hamilton to Tougaporutu. Bth day.—Tongaporutu to Wanganui. 9th day.——Wanganui to Wellington. The days’ runs were not consecutive, and time was spent at most of the places visited. In all over 1,200 miles were traversed, and the total cost of the trip was £lO a man, including the cost of the car, which apparently is still good for further trips.

1 Jnited States .... . Great. Britain 24,494.580 1,372.109 1.1 OS,900 1, 061,828 £5",*™,, Australia §J* 6 :IIJ Italy .Spain Union South Africa . 125,850 1 sl’^qs Holla ml Japanese Empire .. . So'.SOO mu Switzerland 61,000

Ignition [ . . . 0.1 7 oo 7 < ’arburisation 3.6 Cylinders and pistons . . 6.9 10.5 halves mechanism. Cam - shaft and timing gear 1.0 0.4 n.5 1.4 Rubrication . A\ a tor circulation . . i n Crankshaft 0.7 Starting . 0.4 0.1 Xot stated 7.1 5.S Transmission and Clutch Brakes 4.0 5.1 Gearbox 3.6 3.6 Couplings. Universal joints and propeller shafts \ . . . . 4.1 Brakes 0.4 0.1 Back Axle Axle shafts 11’. i ITS Differential Bevels and worms . . . . 1.1 1.0 Other Causes Front axle and steering 4.1 Road wheels and snspension 6. 1 4.2 Righting failures Accidents 13.1 13.5 300.0 100.0 —“The Garage and Motor A gent.”