HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20953, 4 November 1939, Page 23 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

1 a COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS :

PROTECTING CHROMIUM PLATE A simple method of maintaining the finish of chromium plating during the winter is to coat all parts with vaseline. First thoroughly clean the surfaces so that all mud and tarnish is removed, using, if necessary one of the many chrom-ium-cleaning preparations that are on the market. Then melt the contents of a small tin of vaseline and, with a soft cloth, smear the chromium parts with the liquid vaseline. A thin, even coating all over results. The parts can be left until the fine weather returns, when the vaseline can be removed with any good-quality cleaner. BATTERY POINTS A simple method of removing corrosion from the positive post of a battery and its cable lug is to take a small tin, fill it with water and heat up. Then throw in a small quantity of soap powder, or even a piece of soap itself. Dip the cable lug into the solution for a few moments; the corrosion can then be wiped off, and at the same time all traces of the acid adjacent will be neutralised. The battery post can be cleaned by soaking the corrosion with soap solution. If the post and lug are then wiped dry and smeared with vaseline, further trouble of this nature will be avoided. Drivers who have strictly conformed with the new regulation regarding the dipping of the headlights on their cars have probably noticed that the practice conserves the power in the battery. There are many stretches of roadway from the city to the suburbs where it is not at all necessary to use the full lights, with a consequent reduction in the drain on the battery. The saving is noticed when it comes to whirring the motor over in an icy cold start, and in a dozen other directions.

PHILIP LEWIS LTD.

MOTORING LAZINESS CAUSES MANY ACCIDENTS “Not so much ignorance in motoring as laziness is often a serious consideration which affects road safety,” says the latest road safety message of the Automobile Association. Canterbury, Incorporated. “Many accidents are caused, for instance, by drivers who cut corners, so bringing themselves on the wrong side of the road at a point wnere it is most dangerous because ' ot restricted forward vision. Such •an offence is seldom committed because the offender does not know better; more frequently it is due to shee?’ laziness. ‘ Another example of the sai.-e is parking with the car facing in the wrong direction. There is very little trouble involved in turning the car round, or in stopping on the correct side and walking a few yards extra to cross the road on foot. In well-Jighted streets, little or no danger is introduced, but drivers can easily become confused on dark roads because of the difficulty of judging whether the car is stationary or moving, and accidents have occurred because an approaching driver tried to pass on the left side of a car parked on its wrong side. The danger is much greater when the parked car is left with headlights full on, as sometimes happens. Then there is that type of motorist nuisance, the driver who is too lazy to get out of his car to ring a friend’s doorbell, but sits in the car and hoots impatiently. “And, of course, there is the laziness which causes motorists not to bother about warrants of fitness, or attend to many little self-evident details bearing on safety. The defective tail-light is one of them.” PLUG SPARK FAILURE One plug is misfiring in your sixcylinder engine and you don’t know which it is. What a fag to take them all out, besides which you can’t tell by looking—or can you ? To find the wicked plug let the engine tick over, produce a screwdriver, approach the plugs, press the blade of the tool against the cylinder head or block and then press on to the plug terminal. You won’t get a shock this way, but you will if you put the blade first on the plug and then on the engine. Well, if the plug is working properly, the engine note will become irregular, because you’ve cut out one good plug. Go along the line of plugs until you get to one which makes no difference to the rhythm of the engine when you touch it. That’s the dud plug. ELIMINATING OIL FUMES On cars fitted with an oil filler pipe which is attached to the side of the crankcase, and have an air cleaner of the cylindrical type fitted to the carburetter, it is a simple matter to eliminate oil fumes which may arise through wear in the following manner:— The materials required are a length of flexible metal tubing, such as the inexpensive gas type, and a rubber stopper the size of the oil filler pipe. Drill out the rubber stopper and insert one end of the tube to make a really tight joint. Next take the original oil filler cap and drill this at the top to take the other end of the tube, and solder the joint. It will be found that the oil filler cap which previously acted as a breather can be inserted in the hole at the end of the air filter. Push it in for half its length so that the induction of air to the carburetter takes place through the breather holes in the cap. This will not upset the running of the engine, and will induce the oil fumes into the combustion chamber, thus supplying automatic upper cyclinder lubrication and oil vapour to the inlet valves. AIR As motoring grows in popularity it seems to become more expensive. Quite apart from next year’s increase in horse-power tax, the last month or so has seen a gradual disappearance of “free air,” says the Autocar. This is particularly noticeable on Sundays, when I have seen boards hung by the air pump with the words, “Air 6d.” printed on it. It was not so very long ago that garages gave free distilled water for topping up the battery, but that went out of fashion, too. a few years ago. “Free air” must be a nuisance to some garages where customers will buy a gallon of petrol and clutter up the space around the pumps for an unconscionable time. High pressure air pumps cost quite a lot of money, and have to be Government stamped. When one! thinks of it, we have no reason to expect to get the use of them for nothing. A NEW METAL Developments in metallurgy have done much towards furthering the dependability and efficiency of the automobile, and the end is not yet in sight, for new metals and alloys are being perfected which promise even yet better motor vehicles. The latest development is in connection with beryllium, a remarkably light metal with characteristics which in time will prove of great value in prolonging the life of automobile and aero engines. Already it is being used with great success in the valve springs of the power units of the crack German Auto-Union and Mercedes racing cars. In some of the latter the engines are capable of “revving” at the enormous speed of 11,000 r.p.m., because the valve springs retain their full strength and do not fatigue under heat and stress so rapidly as ordinary metals. Beryllium melts at 1280 deg. Cent., copper at 1100 deg. Cent. Little has yet been heard of beryllium, which is extracted from beryl. It is closely allied to the emerald, a gem familiar to most people. There are about 45 different berylliumbearing minerals, deposits of which are found in many parts of the world.