MOTORING NOTES.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 42, 7 January 1921, Page 13

MOTORING NOTES.

REMOVING A SPARK PLUG. Using a monkey wrench to remove a sparking plug lays the plug open to Jiability of being broken. A socket wrench should be used for this purpose. It just fits around the plug and proteets the core from aocident. USES FOR AMMONIA. Keep a bottle of ammonia handy in the garage, for you might need it, especially when testing the battery or putting in water. A drop spattered from the battery solution will eat your clothiag or leave a bad spot on the machine. If ammonia is applied promptly it will neutra'ise the action of the acid. Ammonia can also be used to clean corrosion from connections and battery terminals. CARE OF THE CAR'S SURFACE. Is hot water good for the surfaee of tbc car? It is not, according to "American Motorist," which goes on to say : Hot water has a markedly. deteriorating effect on the varnished surface of a weJl -finished automobile body. Tepid water is ideah al. though cool water may be used without harm. After the car has been properly washed and wiped with oha.uois, it is time well spent to go over it thoroughly with a high-grade automobile, or piano polish. Use good grade cheesecioth, and be sure to rub until the last trace of wet polish has been removed, as a film of pol'sb left on the surface of the car qui ikly collects a heavy coating of dust. SCRAPING THE PISTDN When the cylinder head cf a ^ lotor is detached for the purpose of remov'ng the carbon deposit, it will be notued that during the process of scraping ihe piston, ete., the tapped holes on the top of the cylinder casting soon get full of oily carbon, water, etc., causing trouble to remove when it is d,ecided to insert the holding-down set screws. "To obviate this, ' writes an American correspondent, "I Hav^ usc-d short screws without heads, but with a screwdriver slpt cut in them, and I screw them in flush with the top of the cylinder casting before scraping operations are com. menced. • After decarbonising is completed, the gmb screws can be removed, where holes will b,e found to be free from dirt." OVERCHARGINCT IHE BATTERY. The overcharged storage battery overheats, a condition which is anything but good for it. The active material in the plates loosens and falls to the bottom of the cells causing the battery to operate at reduced efficiency. Although practically every car's electric system is -tted with an automatic cut-out to prevent such over. heating, nevertheless it is often the case that this device does not stand guard over the battery as it should. The safe way is to burn the lights, at least part of the time, when'on a long drive. This helps to taka the load off the battery and to prevent overheating. When we see a motorist going along in the daytime with his lights burning we can consider that he is a wise driver instead of a careless individual who has forgotten to turn off the illumination of the night before. THE C'LOSED CAR. One of the marked evidences of the trend in motor car demands as indicated by the various displays at automobile shows is in the growing popularity of the closed car, or all-year body types. A few years ago the volume of enclosed cars built by even the largest producers was relatively small, and those that were manufactured were turned out largely as a concession to the limited demand. ' To-day many manu, facturers are building as many closed as open cars, and, in some cases, the propor. tion of closed cars to open is in favour of the former. The public viewpoint as regards the closed car has changed. In the old days the closed car was looked upon as a protection against the cold. Today it is regarded as just as desirable in the protection it offers against dust, dirt, wind and rain without sacrificing any of the advantages of the open car.