HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20728, 11 February 1939, Page 28 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

I A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS. j

SPECIAL PLYMOUTH DE LUXE

1 ensure more luxurious and more comfortable riding qualities. A very noticeable improvement ts the new*aero-dynamic styling with an nposing front end. A new split ”V“ ype windshield, not only reduces wind •csistance, but contributes to the ap- 1 t earance of ultra-modernism. Bumpers. ! font and rear, are new, sturdier, more : oppressive. Luggage capacity of the j trunks is larger. No detail has been neglected in the complete restyling of !lie body designs. All models have new pantograph type coil-springs giving inlependent suspension to each front wheel. This type of springing is the finest in the industry and has been proved on the most expensive cars. All models have the synchromesh transmission, which automatically syncliromisps gear m^shins 1 , making.it positive, silent and instantaneous.

The 1939 Chrysler-Plymouth models. 1 just introduced to the public of New Zealand, are now built in the large i modern Canadian Factory of the Chrysler Corporation situated at Windsor. Ontario. These cars, due to their Canadian origin, now qualify for low British preferential duty, which enables large reductions in the prices of all models. The new Chrysler-Plymouths for 1939 have many new features and improvements. All the wheelbases arc 114in. two inches larger than last year's models. The appearance of the cars has been completely changed and little resemblance remains Between 1939 models and those of last year. All models arc completely equipped with features of higher priced cars—engineering features that increase performance and

THE ELUSIVE SQUEAK Nowadays the prevention of squeaks and minor rattles in a motor car is be- j coming a matter of primary design. : It is not, as it used to be, a subject j for subsequent search and correction, j says the Motor. Squeaks and rattles, I or silence no less than trustworthiness J or the opposite, are built into modern motor cars from the beginning. I Silence, so far as exhaust noise and , mechanical clatter are concerned, Is of importance. It is possible that silence, so far as minor squeaks and rattles are concerned, is of equal importance. A driver can be infuriated to the point of conceiving a real hatred for his car simply by a persistent but elusive squeak. Many engines have been dismantled, and many chassis have been entirely rebuilt in the effort to eliminate a squeak or rattle* small in Itself, but suggestive of graver defects to the over-anxious ear of the owner. One of the reasons why the bodychassis form is to be looked on with approval for certain types of car and •under certain conditions of manufacture is that it ofTers, perhaps, greater opportunity to the designer to ensure that rattles and squeaks shall not develop in service. Technical merit and practical service are thus linked.

DONT SWITCH OFF ENGINE This is & “don’t” that it pays to remember. When coasting with the car’s momentum turning over the engine, i don’t switch off the ignition. Some j motorists believe that by switching off j i they are increasing the engine’s resistj ance. j If the carburettor is set to provide a | , proper idling speed, the gain in brak- ; ing power is but slight, and not enough ! to compensate for the potential dam- i , age through unburned fuel which is j admitted to the cylinders, there to condense and wash off the oil by which j the pistons are lubricated. CHOKED GREASING NIPPLES When the private owner is lubricating the chassis of his car, not in- j frequently the oil from the gun refuses j to enter a bearing but squeezes out j from between the nipple and the | nozzle of the gun. This indicates a j choked oil passage, which generally ’ can be cleared by passing a fine wire through it after the nipple has been removed. In very bad cases, the , whole shackle bolt may have to be removed so that it can be cleared. This. 1 of course, involves a little trouble in jacking up the car, but it is worth it in order to prevent undue wear of the bolt and its bushing, and annoying squeaks.

COMPLETELY RE-DESIGNED CAR

English manufacturers have given • special attention to the development of t.he ten horse-power car. They have j endowed it with sufficient power and ! speed to satisfy a big section of the 1 travelling public. They have designed ‘ bodywork which provides roomy and comfortable seating for four persons. And they have continuously improved the riding qualities of their “tens.” And because these motoring essentials have been combined with economy in purchase and operation the “ton” has. rightly enough, come to he regarded . with special favour, both in England and in New Zealand. The announcement, by any manufacturer, of a new “ten” is therefore of more than passing interest. The new Morris Ten was recently exhibited j

at motor shows in England and already a number of these cars have made their appearance in New Zealand. One’s first impression of the new Morris Ten is that it is a completely new r car. This view is correct, for the 1939 Morris Ten is an entirely new design, not only in external details but mechanically too. A new overheadvalve engine is used, coupled with a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on second, third and top. This unit, the makers say. gives an extremely lively performance and actually results in better petrol-consump-lion figures. Vibration is completely eliminated by engine design and the floating rubber engine suspension system.

SPARKS Is “All lorry drivers use rough lan- o. guage. and they all exceed the speed limit,” said Sir William Tlaslett at Felt- „ ham Police Court recently. Edinburgh ha& planned two under- \ g ground tunnels one, to cost £190.000 j| and the other £155.000, with the two- ;g fold idea of relieving traffic pressure j g and providing a large-scale bomb shel- j g ter. Fined at Caerphilly for not carrying "L” plates, a motorist was said i to have had 12 convictions on motoring offences since he was jrranted a provisional licence a year ago. i According to a racr-picker’s story in court recently whe-Pe he was charged with stealing a motor wheel, a dog attacked him. and he took up the wheel to protect, himself. He should have “borrowed” a car. “I remained neutral right until the last, and then I took the side of the | motorist because 1 don't t-hink he knew | what he was talking about.” A witness with the spirit of a j Cabinet Minister. A latest traffic tally on the Hutt j road gave a total of over 9000 vehicles ; in ten hours, that. is. nearly a thousand < cars, lorries, and buses an hour, and . the volume during peak traffic is much i higher than this average. , ■ j

The electrically operated hood, which has already appeared in England, was seen at the New York Show on a Plymouth drop-head coupe.