1933-10-17 — Page 2

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"SPORTS" SWANKERS WHO ENJOY NOISE

How To Stop Body Sounds.

A motorist once told me thas he would never drive a silent car. His reason was that it gave him no impression of speed.

HÔNG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1933.

SPARKS

FROM THE PLUGS

and bangs against the radiator and the scuttle dash. Here the cure does not consist of strapping a huge leather strap around the bonnet and thereby wearing bare the cellulose, but in buying a new bonnet clip. They too, are cheap At least they ought to be judging by the

way some ɔ them are made..

from what

There are hundreds of thousands of his type running about on the roads nowadays, alded and abetted, I am sorry to say. by manufac- turers. Not that one cannot pur chase a car that does not roar like a lion when the throttle is opened" The manufacturers! NOISES THE DRIVER HEARS. realise that not every person wants to drive a perambulating nuisance; and they therefore turn out com- paratively silent and so-called family cars, but-of late most of them have prod, iced sports models; and thereby hang many tales of frayed nerves and possible (in fact, probable).. action "on the part of the authorities. SIMPLY ANNOYING SWANK"

Apart

might be there are others which annoy one termed 'noise arising from neglect intensely when driving. Chatter ing doors can be most disturbing, and they are not as easily cured

ECONOMY TESTS

Competition For Ford Owners

On Saturday afternoon, twenty- six Ford car owners took part in the Ford Petrol Economy compo- tition staged by Messrs. Wallace Harper & Co., the local Agents for the Ford Car.

DRASTIC CHANGE IN

DESIGN NEEDED?

A Break With Convention: Where To Put The Engine

BOLD THINKING

»

I am lately much inclined manded that the ordinary motorist writes W Gordon their patrol tanks drained at the car manufacturera

The cars in the competition had wards a misgiving that our motor-innovation. He will enjoy a peck Aston to-should take too big a mouthful of Company's Service Station at Kow rather too serious and rather too not make a meal of it.

are becoming at the novel, but, evidently, he will loon and replenished with three practical. As I read the specifica- gallons in the case of the V8 Ford tions of the unquestionably admir- and two gallons for the Babyable and excellently developed 1834 Fords. The tanks were then sealed models I cannot fail to be impressed by Mr. C. Dodson of the Hongkong by their manifold virtues. Automobile Association and the cars then proceeded to complete a turning to the Service Station after circuit of the New Territories, re- covering about 52 miles. The seals were then broken and the contents of the petrol tanks measured.

But all the advancement, welcome though it undoubtedly is, seems to running power plants (irrespective be in the same direction. Smooth- of the number of cylinders), trans mission schemes, includ.ng seif ges, synchro-mesh "facilities, to say change gears, clutchless gear chan- Ng Chiu Yan took first prize, co-nothing of the automatic gearbox, vering 59.43 miles to the gallon, of which we are to see a great deal with Mr. T. Young second Mr.before we are very much older, are Young returned the figure of after all is said and done, merely 4.74 miles to the gallon. Mr. J. D. Lloyd won the com- which it would take a bold man to modifications of a basic design to petition for the large "V8" Ford attach the label of "finality." models, covering 37.4 miles to the gallon with Captain J. A. Peter- son, second, covering .71 miles to the" gallon,

as many other things. The slack In the class for Baby Fords Mr. ness which causes the chattering may arise from Joose hinges, worn dovetail Jocks cr worn rubbe buffer stops. The buffer stops are usually fastened to the door pillar I am not going to apologise for by a single screw, and a cure may describing the owners of loud-sometimes be effected by loosen exhaust so-called sports cars as ing the hall and turning the rub public nuisances, because that is ber stop half round so that a new exactly what they are. More than face is presented to the door. that, they are guilty of more than they imagine. A friend of mine who has just come out of a Lon- don hospital tells me that if ever he becomes well enough to exercise his full physical strength he will wait outside that hospital every dark night and lay violent hands on half a dozen motorists who scream their gears and blare their hooters every night out 1 a.m.

I know the type: long may they

have to listen to their fellow- disturbers of the peace while suffering from insomina...

Cannot something be done about this 'huisance? The popularity of these low, rakish.and over decorated sports twi and four seaters is not at all surprising: "what astonishes me is that the manufacturers do not ence them effectively and that the police do not Suppress drivers who de- liberately create noise.

to cover

Worn dovetail locks must be renewed, but the screws holding the door hinges are easily tighten- ed. It is the practice the linges and screws with paint, and it will be necessary to fill up the crew heads, etc... after the tightening operation. Plastic, wood is quite reliable for this purpose. and it takes the paint readily. FLOORBOARDS CAN BE ANNOY

ING

most manufacturers

make the

Despite all talk to the contrary. floorboards of their cars from in- sufficiently seasoned timber,,, with the result that they rattle dread- fully unless held down very tight,

Turnbuckles are usually provid- ed to hold them down, but these generally work loose, and the best thing do is to screw them down at each corner. The removal of the screws takes a little longer than merely turning. the turn buckle, but the extra trouble is well worth while

And so we go on along the road of progress, marking our way by furlongs, when we might be plant- ing milestones,

Who doubts that

accord, are giving us better vehicles our car manufacturers, by one

equally, who doubts that the mod. in every possible respect t But,

away from what we shall have in era conventional motor-car is miles the not distant future?

performance, "appearance and other qualities more and more alike, so As our care become in price,

ty for the bold thinker to depart will there be the greater opportuni- from the habita to which he has too readily become accustomed.

Is that basic design right? The notion of putting the engine Finality in design" is a myth. under a bonnet is intimately con- Not even the "push-bike" has The following competed :-

nected with the distressing fact reached that stage, for even in that "8" Ford: Messrs, C. C. Bergso terribly unreliable that accessi-ments are still being made.

that thirty years ago engines were ultra-simple mechanism improve heer, A. Betts, C Crofton,bility to all their parts was an Kennth Chan, G. Forder, G. Fab-essential quality. nestock, P. M. Hodgson Dr. Li motorist to-day never sees his en- The average Shin Kee. C. Little, J.D. oyd, gine. And there is no reason what J. W. H. Lo Dr. J. B. Mackie soever why he should do so. ..Maclesoff, J. Panizzi, Captain J. A. spector A. W. Smith, P. A. Silva, Peterson, R. R. Roxborough, In

M. A. Xavier and B. Netland Messrs. Chan Fu-cheung, Ng Chiu- Baby Fords Miss A. Chan,

Dr. Mok Hing-fai. van, U. Man Hit, T. Yeung, and

RESULTS.

of

The man with the big idea, who rut, and who can look at mctorcar has the character to get out of the design with the clear-sighted eyes of the pioneers having none

gives up space in the bhassis to a He has got to kick it over a high Yet he remains the victim of a their technical troubles to worry, conventional idea. He willingly him-now has the ball at his foot.

well be hidden away in some un-the opportunity awaits him Power-plant which, by reason of its wall of ignorant, prejudice, and he extraordinary reliability, might has got to keep on kicking it-but obtrusive place.

Motoring is badly suffering from lack of "freaks." There is such a thing as being toc conventional.

There are conches in which the driver sits over his engine,. There The following were the results of are even buses in which it is put the competition in the V-8 Class at the side. But in the private and the Baby Ford Class:- motor-car it still presumes, in all "Vg":1, Mr. J. D. Lloyd, 37.4but a negligible number of cases, miles to the gallon Silver Cocktail to take the best place. Set); 2. Captain J. A. Peterson, 99.71 miles to the gallon (Attwater- Kent Radio' Sel).

Baby Ford:-1, Mr. Ng Chiu- yan, 89.43 miles to the gallon (Silver Cake Dish); 2 Mr. T Young, 54,74 miles to the gallon (Silver Sweet Dish).

At one end of the motoring scale we have a car famed for its silence, its power an speed, and at the other we have Inexpensive Writing of floorboards reminds screaming and roaring pests in- me that I effected a great im- capable, speaking generally, of at-provement on my car by covering taining an honest 6 miles an these boards with thick felt, tacked Mr. C. M. Manners, Vice-Presi hour The sooner the owners of down thoroughly, and then laying dent of the Hong Kong Automobile these public annoyances realise the usual carpet on the top. The Association, and the Rev. G. E. S. that they do not impress one felt was cut to fit the various con- Upsdell. other than unfavourably the bet-trol pedals tightly, and I try to among the prominent spectators,

past *Secretary ter for the trade and the sport delude myself that the car is much of motoring.

NOISES THAT ANNOY.

But all noisy cars are not of the sports variety. There must be thousands of cars on the road which create a din simply because their owners will not trouble to tighten up loose parts such as mudguards, running boards, en- gine bonnets. luggage grids, brake rods, and even the doors of the coachwork,

more silent and less holder than before.

of a fume

worth adopting for additional com

If you decide that that hint is fort during take a spanner inside

the winter months and tighten up every bolt and nut with you

around the scuttle. dash, That, too, will help to quieten the car.

WHY NO BULB HORNS?

"And now I would like to raise A loose number plate can con point in connection with what I trive to create a real disturbance, have described as pesilferous especially when it is mounted on drivers and their cars. It is the a slack bumper bar, but somehow question of why bulb horns, are the owners of cars so neglected becoming almost extinct. One in do not hear the disturbance. cannot attempt to cross a street Perhaps it is because they never nowadays without being greeted have owned a car in good condi with a startling plp squeak from

a high-frequency hooter..

tiqTh

A noisy car, especially when the noises arise from neglect, betrays the character of its driver. Yet It is so easy to prevent unnecessary

din.

י

A year or so ago bath electric and bulb horns were atted, with the result that considerate drivers used the bulb

for. town work.

TRAFFIC SLOGANS

were

ENTERPRISE

It is good to see that in many instances our enterprising designers are doing their best to put the passengers well within the wheel- auccessful, nor even partially, until box. But they will not bo entirely they take their courage in their hands and give us "short" radia!" hacks of the car to which, in the motors, or put those motors at the

opinion of many far-sighted en- gineers, they properly belong.

Unhappily it not infrequently happens that the man who has the audacity to break away from con- vention in one direction (for which he would obtain recognition and tolerance) is not content. He is not satisfied with establishing one new principle-he must associate

Bangkok Preparing himself with not less than a dozen.

For Road Act..

Here he makes a bad fault in psychology. He may be perfectly correct, in his logic, but he will get but few converts to go all the way with him.

Bangkok, Sept. 27. We seem to further attempt at traffic contri! motoring even within the last fif- be going at long last to have A glance back at the history of

Pedestrians are to keep to the that this truth holds good. There Bangkok's congested streets. teen years, will be sufficient to show footpath or 38 near thereto 8 have been great and revolutionary possible, and, the different users of ideas that should have succeeded, the roads: riksha pullers, cyclists, but, they failed because they de drivers of all kinds of motor vehicles are to be instructed. coaxed and persuaded how to pro

11

ceed at cross roads, in trame The 1934 Hillman

Minx

31

Now it is nothing but electric jams, and wherever humanity, too. Mudguards are

screamers designed to startle the freely spreads itself over road sur particularly prone to rattles. The remedy is most stupid walker That they faces. to tighten up the bolts attaching are elelent I do not doubt, but The idea it that by this pre- them to the frame, or the running they are responsible for much bad boards and brackets. If the bolts language and frayed nerves.

have sheared-a not uncommon occurrence the obvious thing to do is to replace them. They are cheap.

an

liminary period of training. a long

giving

A

overdue "Traffic Act may be made. The Hillman Minx for 1934 costs the I use nothing but the bulb horn

to function smoothly from the same as before (except the four-window in residential areas or in city date of its promulgation. The saloon, which is £4 cheaper), although streets, and I seem to get along Rotary Club has prepared a numit is evidently better value. The gear. without smashing into pedestrians

ber of Hingual slogans (10 box is of the easy type, and the helpless or vehicles. It is so easy to per- grams as a preliminary effort, and brakes are bigger-that is, wider in the Siamese and Chinese) with dia

driver is

with a freewheel, A CURE FOR A SIXPENCE.

petuate an anti-motorist complex

"clutchless changing. The Brake rods can rattle like old that we ought to go out of our the Minister of Public Instructio i drum, I take it, and not larger, in cir Harry, and their chattering annoys

way to be considerate and thus is introducing these slogans into cumference, as a lower peripheral speed not only a sensitive driver but build up prestige for motoring.

the schools. every passer by: Yet half,

is mentioned the headlamps are more Once the Rotarians (or some of powerful and fitted with the The possession of a motor car

dip-and- hour's work; four or more springs is no bort which enables them adopt their own slogans the switch arrangement, there is thermos- and some copper wire, and they us to cease being gentlemen with roads will be safer for all There tatic control of battery charging rate, Cease from troubling. All one has out losing our dignity or self ave been attempts at traffic con- the front axle has been re designed, to do is to one end of a falspecte?

trol before, but the problem has with stated improvenient in stroering light spring to the middle of the

not been made easier of solution and permitting the fitting of oversize troublesome rod and the other w

by the nomadic habits of the tyres without risk of "drag," aur there, a convenient part, of the chassis. The tension on the spring can be Shipbuliding and Repair Works, search of fare. The safest vehic's serial in the roof. The radiator lines Built by the South Chi Moto the busiest of thoroughfares in ments. Every salon has a wireless

· drivers · and - rikishas who prowl are a number of coachwork improve. determined by the stiffness of the Lid, the new ferry boat of the in Bangkok and late heaviest and of front wing adopted. The back padal rod. The pull of the spring pre our Terry Company commenced solidest is the tramhear. It geta

been improved and a better type vents the rod from vibrating and its run on Saturday morning and along and anything To Its way or more neatly finished off, sud, the chattering at the forked ends. those who travelled by that ferry crossing its path: finds it disestrous standard coupment is remarkable, in-

whole car. Engine bonnet clips sometimes since have been intpressed by her. But the tramcar has its master cluding congealed direction indicators, distinctly attractive, The break, and at certain engine performance. Her smaller fel in any one of the royal clepfiants stop light looks to 21 dobrt, And periods or on some road surfaces allows for mure room between the when the acason of must is an outtle ventilov the side of the bonnet chatters compartments for passengers.. them.

+

conth #T3B,

Car Grooming

A NEW PREPARATION

FROM THE AUTOCAR”

OF LONG AGO

Driving through West Brighton into Brighton, we found the Mar- ine. Parade fairly thick me

with traffic, but we came through with- out jncident.

A Midland colleague tells writes a correspondent to the Auto car that he was recently in Nott~ ingham, driving a mud-bespatter- ed car, when he saw the fol- lowing notice: "Your Coachwork and Wings Cleaned

while

You! Walt."

He found that an air compres- sor and paint-spraying gun were employed in conjunction with "Spray Pol," 1 magic cleaner which is the invention of Mr. Harold Cave, MIMT of the friend informs me that in about Arnold Service Garage, Notts, My

(Cdalinsed on next column).

Page 754, August 26th. 1899,

a quarter of an hour his car had. quite a "showroom complexion," and he went on his way rejoicing. Surely it would be worth while for other garages to specialise in this rapid cleaning process,

supplied, as a cleaning and polish

I understand that "Spray Pol" is

ing outfit, at the inclusive price of 5s. 6d,

A SHOCK-ABSORBER

FOR YOUR

BANK ACCOUNT

A. A. U.

MOTOR CAR INSURANCE

A. A. U.

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30234-5.

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