Page
MOTOR NOTES FROM GREAT BRITAIN
The Alpine Trial Again
From a London Correspondent)
Once again British cars- have carried off many of the important awards in the. International Al- pine Trial, frequently referred to as the most strenuous reliability trial of the year. involving six days' motoring over some of the most mountainous roads In Europe at a high average speed. Against strong competition from almos; every European country they won 15 out of the 41 major awards, including team prizes in two out of the Ave groups. 80. strenuous was the event that only 24 out of 150 starters reached the finish.
The two successful British teams were thế Triumph (in the 1,100. c.c. class) and the Talbot 13,000 c.c. class), each winning an Alpine Cup. Thus, the Talbot concem celebrated its return to competitive motoring after nr: absence of two years, in the most ronvincing fashion. Running In lose formation the team of three "105" models completed the 1,000 miles without the loss of a single- mark and repeated their succeAS
• 1932.
which
The falth
is rightly placed in the reliability of the commercial vehicle is shown by the fact that, for the second year In succession a 2-ton Thornycroft parcels van WAS employed to transport the personal luggage af the British competitors in the Trial and followed the course taken by the cars on their gruel- ing run from Nice to Munich.
WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS The first of the 1935 pro- grammes are now before the pub- fic and bear out the forecast that there are not likely to be many radical chances. The Standard
Co.. at its recent meeting of dis- tributors and dealers at Coven- try announced that the cars which have proved so "successful luring the past 12 months will he retained, with detail improve- ments. for 1935. In addition. there are two important new mo- dels; a special version of the Nine, with slightly "lengthened wheelbase and 4-door saloon coachwork, and a Speed " Ten- Twelve. Outwardly the normal Ten. this latter model is equipped with a specially tuned 1608 e.c. engine, with twin carburettors and an aluminium head, and pos sesses a maximum speed of 70- im.p.h.
Over 20,000 of the 1934 Star- dards were built and sold up to the end of June. which shows what the public thinks of them. Incidentally, export figures are re- ported to be even better than last. year, with sales particularly good in South Africa, India and Cey- lon.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE
The secret of a successful hire- car service Mes largely in the re- liability and good appearance of the cars. The service organisa. tion, therefore behind a fleet of the size of the Godfrey Dayis concern, is the highest Import-- ance, This concern started with two cars in 1919; to-day there are 250, with a capital value of £75,- 000, representing the biggest hire- car service in London.
Realising the necessity for keep- ing the feet in the highest state of efficiency, each car Is thoroughly examined at least once every three weeks and the latest machines for testing are made full use of.
It has been widely proved that defective brakes contribute large- 1y to accidents and it is good to learn that.considerable attention is now being devoted to the ques tion of scientifle brake testing in England. Rotax Ltd., a consti- tuent company of the Lucas- O.A.V.-Rotax organisation have 'ately taken over the distribution of the Bendix-Cowdrey Tester,
It is only too true that the ma- 'ority of cars on the road are run- ning with defective breaks, but it is confidently believed that when facilities for testing are generally available, the demand will be suf- clent to justify the expense of the equipment from the Service Station point of view. The fre= portance of the service it renders and the extent to which it wil in- crease trade certainly makes 16 a very desirable adjunct.
LI
FIRE ENGINE PRODUCTION Bome very interesting £gures re- lating to fire engine production have recently been published by Dennis Bros.,' of Guildford, the commercial vehicle manufactur- ers, who have been constructing machines of this type for the past 27 years. Commencing with one achine in 1908, 27 fire engines were commissioned in 1910 when for the Arst time the London. Rirmingham and Glasgow Briga- des placed orders.
Up to date over 2,000 Dennis fire engines have been sold, of a total value of nearly £1,700.000, many of them operating in va- "rlous countries Overseas. It is poteworthy that during the last 12 years the delivery Agure, has never fallen below 80 machines, while one of the latest orders was from the London Fire Brigade for, IB machines, bringing the total number supplied to it up to 230,
"
While on the subject of fire hghting it is common practice nowadays for the motorist to carry some type of equipment "to enable him to deal with an out- break,, however caused. Frobably the most frequent source of fire on cars, apart from cases' of ar- cident, is the carburettor and, though localised, unless it is promptly dealt with. It can lead to disastrous results.
A compact and inexpensive t- ment for cars and commercial vehicles is the Bestobell asbestos cloth, which can be used most effectively to smother or isolate an outbreak. This "blanket." a yard square is housed in a con- tainer fitted with
2 lightning
fastener and, when located in a convenient position on the steer- Ing column. is ready to the driver's hand at any moment,
BIG RAILWAY ORDERS The latest orders placed by the Great Western Ralway include, nearly 400 motor vehicles and are umong the largest ever placed by a railway concern. Highly signi- cant is the large proportion of "mechanical horses," amounting to nearly half the total vehicles. In this way the rallway is con- Luing its policy of mechanising Ils goods depots where soon the horse "proper" will have ceased to exist.
Scammell Lorries are to supply · 100 motor units of their 3-ton "mechenical horses' and 200 trail- ers and also 59 6-ton motor units with double that number of trail. ers.
Following upon their order for 53 welded frame trailers from Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd., the South African Railways and Harbours have ordered a further 100 trailers of 6/6 tons capacity from the same concerti.
LOCKING WASHERS
There are a number of places on a car where it is desirable that, whilst being properly se- cured. the part may be taken down readily: In the case covers of gear boxes, inspection. holes and elsewhere, it is some- times necessary to remove these for an examination of the items or for greasing or oiling. On such cases the usual type of split spring washer placed under the nut, which can then be fairly tightly screwed up, is the most satisfactory method. Further- more, there are no small split- pins to take nut and fear of scratching one's hands on the pins which usually protrude is eliminated.
j!
RODIATOR WATER
When washing the car it is a good plan to remove, the radiator filler cap, open the drain tap, and let water from a hosepipe 'run through the whole water system. If this is done periodically it will
HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1934.
MOTOR
JOTTINGS
THE AUTOCAR ROAD TESTS
8 h.p. Morris Two-Seater
over
It seems certain, after trying an example of the latest 8 h.p. Morris for some considerable distance
the оп
road, that this new model is a distinct and marked Improvement a almost every possible way its predecessor, the Minor. The new car is described elsewhere In this issue; important changes In t are that the engine is big- ger. a three-bearing crankshaft is fitted, giving greatly improved smoothness of running," whist bot the wheelbase and the track dimensions have been increased appreciably, so that the car as a whole is larger, and roomier,
as to
It is quickly noticed that the engine is decidedly liveller, too, for the car gets away from rest with Man altogether better snap, runs up more readily to speeds in the region of 40 m.p.h.. and the performance at the top end of the range, it is most decidedly good. At Brooklands on a day when there was a quite strong. gusty wind. a best
reading of exactly 60 m.p.h. was attained over the quarter-mile with the wind behind, and over 54 m.ph. against the wind on the level, the speed of four runs, both ways working out, at 58.6 m.p.h.-a fair speed not many years ago for a touring car with an engine of twice this size,
·
11
Speeds above 50 m.p.h, may not be in very much demand from those who own cars of this size and type, but the reserve im- plied for everyday use is through- ly worth having, and there" are certainly people
who, though
as
they want a small car with its all-round economy. desire good a performance as possible from a small simple form of engine. It is not only that the general performance, in which is included acceleration as well as maximum speed, is better in this latest model; its running is more refined, and
altogether it is a
more pleasant car to handle. On corners it is quite steady; the steering is light, and its direc- tional accuracy for a car of this size good, whilst it is not subject to kick-back arising from the road wheels on uneven surfaces.
Powerful Brakes
The brakes, hydraulically oper- ated, give better power than has been the general rule with cars of " about 8 h.p., and, apart from a certain amount of fore-and-aft pitching which seems inevitable with a fairly small car. unless the springs are damped to such an extent as to make them hard, the comfort of riding is very good.
Top gear can be held in a very useful fashion. Just as with big- ger cars this ability to run for a great part of the time without necessity for changing down has been steadily improved, so, pro- portionately, smaller cars, too, have become better in this re- spect. The larger engine of the Eight this year is giving a dis- tinctly higher power output, and it is really rather surprising how way can be maintained on the ardinary kind of upward slope, for, it is put to the test, as it almost certainly will be by some drivers, "the engine will continue to pull against a gradient right down to quite low speeds without showing signs of serious distress. Speeds well below 10 m.p.h, on top gear on the level are also feasible...
There may be a certain critic- ism of the reversion to a three- speed gear box. but it can be suggested that, tor this type of car, the effective use made of third in comparison with a good second of a three-speed box is Insufficient, regarding owners aa a whole, to justify the inclusion of the extra ratio. Certainly. the performance on second gear is good on the Eght, a genuine 35 m.p.h. being possible as a limit, 30 m.p.h, comfortably, and 18 to 20 m.p.h, can be reached on frst gear..
There is a synchromesh me- chanism for the changes between... top and second, and this, provid-
remove any sediment which mayed that fairly deliberate chang "have formed in the radiator or water jacket, and so increase the cooling efficiency, Motorists in some parts of the country may not, however, be able to act upon this advice this year!.
ing is adopted, works quite well with depressing the clutch alone and moving the lever, there be- ing no need to employ the or dinary double-clutching process. Second gears cozimendably
quiet,
long and the lever is enough to be convenient.
The clutch action is good; it requires no perceptible effort to free the plates, and even if one is not specially careful in releasing the pedal when moving off there is not a particular tendency to suč- den jerk, as has sometimes been the case with small èars.
The Centrola
Another good feature connect- ed with the controls is the new form of pull-up brake lever, which, besides being handily placed, operates the rear wheel shoes to such effect that the car can be stopped and held by the lever alone on a 1 in 4 gradient.
The car tested was, it was un- derstood, one of the first to the new series to come off the production lines, and as to the performance, though it would naturally be ex pected that the open two-seater would be slightly superior to the closed models, more particularly in acceleration, it gives a clear indication of the improved, en- gine for purposes of judging the potential
capabilities of the Saloon model. During the test there were two people on board the car. and it may be mentioned that in the fastest timed run the speedometer reading did not ex- ceed 65,
The advantage of the wlder track of the chassis is apparent in the comfortable seating width.. afforded, passenger and driver do not have to rub elbows, there is good leg room. and а paint
about the two-seater Is that whilst the seat back-rest is in one piece it can be adjusted over a fair range of travel for position after two nuts have been loosened, and the separate
seat cushions can be moved forward or backward by
Alteration of position is possible the usual form of adjustment.
to an extent sufficient to sulf occupants of quite widely varying heights,
'ና
The upholstery itself for both the cushions and the squab is particularly resilient and Com- fortable. At the centre the squab is raised in a hump formation, giving a measure of support on the lines of a bucket seat.
In detall the car is nicely ar ranged; horn button, anti-dazzle control for the head lamps, and the switch for the traffic signals are conveniently grouped on an extension from the steering co- lumn, while a point worth men- tioning is that the horn notę is sufficiently penetrating to be use- ful where heavy vehicles are, con- cerned. Thre are door pockets. and behind the seat protected by a' cover which conceals the hood when the latter is down, is a very useful sized compartment for baggage. The hood, which is neat, goes up and down "easily. and the side screens, which are also easily put up or down, en- close the car well in bad weather. An electric windscreen wiper is fitted.
LORD DAWSON'S JOURNEY
Film Magnate's Wife Seriously lii In Paris'
(Special to "Hong Kong
London, Bept, is. Lord Dawson of Penn left Croy- don by special: 'plane for Paris hospital doctors in, consultation yesterday to join Lard Horder and
or Mrs. Louis B. Mayer, wife of the vice-president of Metro Goldwyn-Mayer Flima.
Mayer la in the American Hospital As reported by Reuter, Mrs. suffering from the effects of double pneumonia. -
Lord Dawson 1s physician to the King and Lord Horder physician to the Prince of Wales.
Easily Arranged
you want to be when you grow up, Kind Stranger And what do
my Uttle man?!.
Little Man What Daddy is Kind Stranger-Splendid! what is Daddy?
And
RANDON NOTES
Battery Wires
. Few people realise that there is a right and wrong way of tight- ening battery and coll terminal wires. The correct way is to twist the bare part of the wire or cable round the termiñal in a clockwise direction, and then tighten up the terminal put. The reason is that, as the nuts have right-handed threads, the act of tightening up the nut tends to pull the wire round more tightly. If the wire is twisted round in an anti-clock- wise direction tightening the nut tends to uncoll the wire, and it will. slip front under the nut whilst it is being tightened or when, later on, vibration is set up on the road.
The Driving Seat
The angle of a front driving seat cushion can be altered quite easily by packing the cushion at. the forward end with a wooden block firmly secured in position. A metal clip. fastened at each. end in the front, will keep the cushion securely in position.
#
Flies and Moths
After a fast rum flies and moths will adhere to the radiator of the car, and not only impair the. efficiency of the cooling system but are unsightly. These insects may be removed by. Lightly tap- ping the radiator with a hard brush.
On no account should water be forced on to the radia-. tor from a hose from the front of the car, as thla not only forces the files further into the recesses. but may cause water to get into the dynamo, starter, or ignition distributor, with disastrous re- sults. A spray jet of water forced through the radiator block from the "inside" of the "bonnet will push the ales out the way, they arrived, and also lessen the risk of danger to the electrical equip- ment
HINTS AND TIP'S
For The Owner Driver
Your Own Patrol Gauge
As petrol gauges on many cars 'are somewhat erratic, it is a good idea to have an independent gauge of one's Own A very effective one can be made from a strip of metal. Run the car on to a level place when the tank is nearly empty, and then measure a supply of spirit gallon by, gallon. After each gallon sound the tank with the rod; the height of the spirit inside will be plainly visible on it. Mark the height of each successive gallon on the rod with the edge of a sharp file. This rod can be kept in the pocket of the car and used if there is any doubt as to the reliablilty of the gauge the dashboard. The small supply in the tank before measuring 19 'n useful reserve. Nöt all tanks are amenable, of course, to this method.
On
Fan Belts
"
advisable, therefore, always to make sure that it is a puncture. before commencing to change the wheel or detach the cover, Occa- sionally it will only be the valve at fault. This is particularly the case when a tyre has gone down gradually, and not with the sud- den hiss that, usually announces a. Duncture. It is worth while carrying a spare valve "inside." After the First Thousand Miles
The owner of a new car should always examine the nuts and bolts all round the car and under the bonnet after the first thou- sänd miles. For no matter how firmly they may be tightened up at the time of assembling the car, the vibration met with on the road may have loosened some of them and cause elusive rattles and squeaks..
L
Economy
12
During the hot weather motor- ists who consider petrol economy before maximum speed and acce- leration may weaken the mixture their carburetters to sonte
of
ting a slightly smaller main jet. which can be obtained from the makers of the carburetter, al- though, if one
fortunate
During the winter many motor- ists are apt to forget the fan belt, with the consequence that during the hot weather the engine deve-advantage. This is done by at- lops overheating. The first symp- toms are
rust marks on the radiator and under the bonnet caused by the water in the radia- tor boiling mildly and then over flowing through the vent, pipe. The remedy is obvious, but do not make the mistake of tightening the belt too much, for this causes rapid wear, not only to the belt. itself but to the fan bearings as well. Correct adjustment is reach- cd when there is still about half an inch of "play" in the belt,
Push-rods>
Occasionally the push-rods of an overhead-valve engine cause a "rattling" noise at high speeds. This trouble can,. in some cases, be rectified by connecting two neighbouring push-rods together with a light coil spring.
Punctures?
It sometimes happens, that a false alarmn of punctures is raised through a tyre going down. "It is
enough, to live within reasonable distance of the manufacturer's service station, it is perhaps bet- ter to leave this adjustment to them.
Every engine needs a different carburetter setting, and this can- not be reached until after the engine has been "run-in." It is Very often an advantage, there- fore, to return the car to its manufacturers for adjustments after the first 1,000 miles. Very Jew, service stations will make any charge
for this initial adjustment.
Grocer's Note To A Bridegroom Young man, when 2 R. 1, D. C., Y, grocery bills oft double B.; I'd like some Va. 4 bill 2 datė, Not I. O. U's.. 4 what U. 8.
TRUST A THORNYCROFT WITH YOUR TRANSPORT
DEAL DIRECT
THORNYCROFT
SIX CYLINDERED
COACHES & OMNIBUSES
MOTOR VEHICLES
DIESEL
OR PETROL
Ploneer Manufacturers of Commercial Motor Ve
Full Range of Spares carried in Hong Kong and Shanghai,
4 or 6 Wheels
4 or 6 Cylinders
80 Cwt. to 10 Ton Loads
20 to 70 Passengers
JOHN L. THORNYGROFT & CO., LIMITED,
Pioneer Building, Nathan Road, Kowloon,
TEL. 66759.
TRUST À TrensYCHOFT With your Toxx
W
H