1930-05-24 — Page 2

BY THE WAY

of

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. MOTORING SUPPLEMENT SATURDAY, MAY

It is stated that the average life of a car is seven years, and that 2,000,000 cars are scrapped every

year.

Wembley Council is to have new offices and twelve more assistants to speed up the construction of private roads.

The authorities

many. It is proposed to construct American cities are to take action road from Fairbanks, Alaska, to against slow drivers.

*

A start has been made in Copen-: hagen on an underground parking. garage to relieve congestion.

Peru, which, when completed, will be some 12,000 miles in length. .

During the year ended January 81, 1930, the quantity of refined

WHAT A SMASHUP!

Look Out

It Might Happen to YOU!

PROTECT YOUR CAR

AND

YOUR LIABILITY TO THE PUBLIC

By & Policy with

CHINA UNDERWRITERS, LTD.

Phone: 28121

The NEW

tongkong Bank Building.

The

Silvertown Tyre

Balloon That

extra

heavy

Cives

More Miles

and BETTER SERVICE

ALL SIZES IN STOCK

Next time- TRY GOODRICH!

Sol Agents for Hongkong and South China:--

THE CHINA MOTOR SUPPLY CO.

28-28A, Des Voeux Road, Central.

1

Telephone 21558.

Branch Office:-486 Yat Tak Road, Canton.

FIAT

the

petroleum imported into United Kingdom, and registered: as consigned from the Soviet Union (Russia), was approximat

Thia ly 220.8 million gallons. quantity included 87.2 million gallons of motor spirit, and 27.2 million gallons of fuel oil.

The work of the Birmingham al Safety First Council has been com

mended by the Lord Mayor, who was recently elected President of the Council. The scheme was of paramount importance to the citizens, he said, as every effort was made to reduce the number of street accidents. More than 3,000 awards were made to drivers in the "Freedom from Accident" com- petition.

"WOMEN

DRIVE SO BADLY.”

[By Ilamilton Fyfe.]

24, 1930."

CHEMIST PREDICTS UNPAINTED

STAINLESS STEEL AUTOS.

All One Job:

I

."Been down to Brooklands) "But you must remember," said lately? inquired the youngest the Accountant, "that insurance may come when automobile bodies been reduced from between 15 and Detroit, April 11,-The time because of painting defects · has member.

companies always ask, when they will be made of stainless steel and 20 per cent. to one per cent.. "Attended a funeral there last are investigating claims, whether will require no lacquer finishes, week," the Humorist promptly warning was given, and magis-was the opinion of Mr. J. Callahan, that without the use of lacquer the "The statement has been made replied.

trates accept it as an excuse for research chemist, in addressing the mass production of a great number "No, not Brookwood-oh, I see, running a person down if the American Society for meant for a joke. Ha ha! I'll tell motorist can prove sounding the Materials here.

Testing of machines would have been im- you why I asked. They've ad- horn."

possible," Callahan says. "At present there is no prodact mitted women drivers on to the

in sight which appears to have a track. I wondered if anyone had The Novelist shrugged his reasonable chance of supplanting seen how they get on."

shoulders.

"In the first place the time cycle Jolly badly, I should think,"

the present day lacquer," "Simply

said of operations has been shortened encouraging.. bad Callahan. was the Novelist's suggestion. drivers," he muttered.

so that the body can now be taken "The field of corrosion-resisting from the bare steel to the finished "It's perfectly scandalous the way, "What's the great idea then?" alloys offers considerable interest trimmed job in one working day of women drive. I was walking the Humorist queried. Every road user, whether he is down a broad street in the Wes-women driving altogether? Take to speculate that alloys may be baking operations has been de- "Stop and it is not too radical perhaps about 10 hours.. The number of motorist or not, is aware of the end the other day, a street with a bit of doing, wouldn't it?" appalling traffic congestion caused not much traffic in it, and sud-

produced, which will allow of the creased, and the moving chain "Yes, that's out of the question, manufacture of automobile bodies assembly method of operation has by trams. According to "Motor denly I heard a fearful hooting of course. But they might num-which will require no finishing been applied to the whole opera Transport" the statistics just is Down came a little car-it's always mon some of them occasionally." other than a burnishing process." tion of finishing with the resultant sued by the Underground group of the little ones that make the worst "What for?" traffic system indicate that the row-and, of course, a woman "Why, for making an unneces-Callahan believes this method of handling, and so forth.

In discussing lacquer itself, economy in space, labour for total number of passengers carried was at the wheel."

Bary row. by Underground railway, tram and "Yes," the Journalist assented,

"Is that all you complain of in the mass

body finishing is responsible for "The use of closed car bodies. bus in 1929 was 2,176 millions."and I live-in the country-just women's driving? You don't say manufacturing automobiles, for ation would have been practically production system of and their almost Liveram adop- Of this total, the buses carried 73 opposite a woman who rouses the they're dangerous. You object to better finish and the almost univer-impossible without the availability per cent, the railways 18 per cent.. whole neighbourhood every time them because they are noisy?".

sal adoption of closed cars. and the trams 9 per cent. In she comes out of her gate. No

of lacquer now being used." Calla face of these figures the outcry need for it at all."

han opines. With the ald which is general for scrapping the

varnishes the open body was the trams seems thoroughly justified.

only feasible unit.

USED CARS

FOR

SALE

Studebaker Special Six Sedan,

5-passenger, 1921 Model, ·

6-cylinder. 29 hp., Brown Body Wire Wheels,

36,000 Miles, Rebuilt. Price H.K. $850

Studebaker Standard Six

Tourer,

5-passenger, 1925 Model, 6-cylinder, 27,34 hp., Blue Body, Disc, Wheels, 18,229 Miles, Licence No. 1917 Price H K. $1.400

Studebaker Director Six Tourer, 5-passenger, 1927 Model, 6-cylinder, 27,34 bp.. Blue Body, Diso. Wheels, 22,000 Miles, Licence No. 1860.

Price H.K. $1,200

ΤΗΣ

HONGKONG HOTEL GARAGE 26, Queen's Road, Central, Tal. Central 4259

"Better to use the horn too much rather than too little," said the Old Member, "especially for people who feel doubtful about their driving." "Ah, but it isn't caution or over- carefulness that makes them, do] it. It's panic. They're scared,)

"Yes, and that's what I call driving badly. Self-confidence is what they lack-not all, of course but a jolly sight too many of 'em."

No one audibly disagreed.--Ex. ENGINE KNOCKS.

Less Time and Work.

lacquer system in 1923, when cel- Since the Introduction of the

"Not the least important of the lulose nitrate lacquers were used in changes introduced by the adop body finishes commercially for the tion of lacquer, has been the dur- first time, the number of operations ability imparted to the automobile in painting a body has been re- finish under conditiona of service. duced from 22 to 19. The time ofIn contrast to the older finishes

and they have to make a noise to How to Find Cause. from four to nine days has been based on paints and varnishes,

reassure themselves."

"A good driver scarcely ever uses his horn at all," the Journalist

[By Israel Klein.]'

put in. "He doesn't try to clear Que of the most annoying en- everything and everybody out of gine knocks is that which is made his way. He allows that others by the slap of the piston against have as much right to the roadway the cylinder. It usualy appears as he has."

when the motor is cold or while it is idling and sometimes when the motor is pulling the car hill

"Yes. And that's just what scarcely any women understand," the Novelist broke out. "They be have as if they owned the universe.) all because they've got something that calls itself a car."

POLICE CARS.

For Use in Western,

Australia.

100 MILES, PER HOUR.|

The Government of Western Australia have ordered two British sports cars, capable of a speed of nearly 100 miles an hour with a heavy load, for the use of the police in Perth and in Western Australia.

It is understood that the cars will be equipped with powerful wire- less installations. If they prove successful there are likely to be further orders from other parts of Australia, ng it is desired to build up a central mobile police force with high-speed cars for the prevention of crime.

The cams are Bentleys similar to those which were so successful in road and track contests last year and are entered for most of the biz races this season.

SHOWROOM FIAT GARAGE

67, Des Vœux Road, (24821.)

Dod 520

6cylinders

SELLING AT THE PRE-LOW DOLLAR

MODEL 520 $2,650.

AN OPPORTUNITY THAT CANNOT OCCUR AGAIN!

414

RATE!

MODEL 509 $1,850.

A. GOEKE & CO. FOURTH FLOOR-CHINA BUILDING.

TEL, 22221.

The piston slap dies down, how- ever; when the motor becomes hot and while it is running along in high.

Piston slap is due to the in- crease of clearance between piston

and cylinder and the resultant throwing of the piston, from one side to another with each turn of the crankshaft.

Ordinarily a piston has to have a clearance of about one one-thon- sandth of an inch to each inch of cylinder bore. The ordinary piston clearance therefore is about three to four one-thousandths of an inch. This permits the piston to move up and down the cylinder with ease, while it is cold and there is little or no lubrication. It also permits expansion of the piston under the terrific heat that arrises in the cylinder head,

After running the car several thousands of miles, however, the cylinder sides have worn down sometimes to almost twice the original clearance, giving the piston more play. During all this time, also, the throw of the crankshaft has hurled the piston on the up stroke to one side, and on the down stroke to the other side of the cylinder.

While the engine is new and on up to 20,000 or even 50,000 miles of operation in some cases, no sound may be heard of this con- stant throwing of the platon from side to side, alight as it may be. After a while, however, it is heard more decidedly.

When the engine is cold and there is little or no oil along the cylinder walls, the pistons have more clearance and therefor are liable to cause the slapping. that is heard. As soon as the cil gets up, it takes up some of this space as a lubricating film, and when the engine gets hot the piston expands enough to take up the rest of the space and so minimize the alap..

A temporary relief for the slap is the use of heavy oil in the crank- shaft. But this does not do away with the slap at the beginning of a drive when the engine is cold and the oil has not yet worked uu- ward, or while the motor is idling and the oil is not sent up in sufficient quantity. In addition the extra clearance is still there.

The only solution for this trouble is to have the cylinders rebored and to install oversize pistons to make up for the in- creased bore. Sometimes installa tion of oversize piston rings will help. somewhat, but not for very long.

If the motorist is not certain whether the knock he hears is a piston slap, there are two ways of settling the question: One is the measure of oil that is used. Piston slap means undue clearance between piston and cylinder and that means the escape of oil past the pistons and ringe on the suction stroke into the combustion chamber.. Burning of that oil causes a heavy blue, smoke to ap pear the 'exhaust.

Watch the exhaust and note the increase in oll consumption.

The other check on piston slap is to remove the cap over the oil filler tube and listen at the opening there while the engine is tdling. If the pistons have too much clearance, there will be the sound of each puff of gas as it escapes past them..

lowered to one day. Operating modern lacquer does not change space has been cut from 100,000 colour, crack or peel during the life square feet. to 60,000 square feet, of the car. Practically any shade and the number of bodies rejected of colour can be produced."

MARMON

FOUR

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THE ORIENTAL MOTOR CAR Co.

353-7, Hennessy Road.

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