Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
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Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for anything else published.
Clips for Broken Flanges.
E. M (Manchester) writes If you knock
into shape the sketches I now send you, they might possibly be of assistance to some of your many readers.
" Some while ago I was ordered to go out to a steam wagon that had broken down; the driver of the vehicle, so I was told, was unable to proceed. When I arrived at the scene of the trouble I found that the reason of the failure was the breakage of a stud in a steam-pipe flange.
" I fixed the job up in the following manner. I found a blacksmith's shop, and there I made some clips of the shape that I have endeavoured to show in the sketch. You will notice that one of the straps is bent over in such a way as to act as a distance piece. I have found this to be a much better plan than the use of a loose piece of packing. I would suggest that all drivers of motor wagons would
Running Without a Switch.
[475] " E.C." (Eastbourne) .describes how he managed ti run a de Dion bus although his three-way switch had en tirely broken down :—" I had an experience some weeks ag4 with a broken switch on a de Dion motorbus, and a descrip lion of the way in which I was able temporarily to run th vehicle may, I hope, prove useful to some of your readers. am in charge of a service of motorbuses, and in the cours of my duties I received a telephone message one evening t say that one of the buses was hung up with a broken switc: about three miles from the garage. When I got out ther with the spare car and took over the broken-down machine I found that the little fork-shaped piece that makes th contact between the terminals in the switch had becom broken. I had not another in my bag to replace it, so took the switch off altogether, and allowed the three wire viz., accumulator, coil and magneto, to hang loose. 1 nex held the accumulator and coil wires together while m assistant started the engine, and I then changed over to th magneto, allowing the accumulator wire to hang loose. A I had to do then was to tie the two wires together, and t drive home in the ordinary way. A new fork piece put th switch right, and I soon had the car in service again. Thi sounds a simple thing to have done, but I have not yet hear of its having been employed."
A Mann Wagon in Devonshire.
. [476] " W.!." (Axminster) writes about steam wagons follows :—" I notice in your issue of the 26th November letter signed F.C.W.' (Newton Abbot), who appears t think that there is only one make of lorry that will suit hill Devon, where it is all brake and collar work. I am drivin a Mann steam lorry, which belongs to a large firm of millet of Axminster, Devon, and I would like to say that, in in opinion, there is no hill in Devonshire that either the tort or its driver have as yet taken fright at. The machine almost four years old (not three months like ' F.C.W.'s'), that we have had ample time to test it on all sorts of hill as we work within a 35-mile circle of Axminster on ot journeys. In the course of my work, I have come across a makes of lorries, and I think I can state that I have nevi yet been left behind by any one of them. As a matter fact, we have yet to meet the lorry that can keep time wit us, and I can assure ' F.C.W.' that I am looking forward meeting him some time on the road, when I have no doul that I shall he able to convince him that there is nothing c the market to beat a Mann wagon. The lorry has bet kept on regular work, and below I give you a sample of tl work we do.
"This is the record of an odd week taken subsequent to t1 publication of your correspondent's letter : 27th Novernbe Haslebury 36 miles; zgth November, I.ydford and Tedbu: 36 miles; 3oth November, Donyatt zo miles; 1st Decembe Exeter 58 miles ; 2nd December, Honiton 22 miles; 3rd D cember, Exeter 58 miles; or a total for the six days of 2' miles. In addition to this, we brought three loads from ti siding, which is half-a-mile away, and I also found time wash out the boiler." Budget of Useful Advice from a Garage Foreman. The sender of the following communication has been awarded the los. prize this week.
1,477-] The letter which we publish below has been sent to s by S. WEBSTER (Tunbridge Wells) and, as it contains a onsiderable amount of useful advice that is evidently rompted by the practical experience of the writer, we offer o apology for the publication of it in full.--" I note that in
le first part of the letter, No. 467, from` (Victoria /ocks), which you published in your issue of Toth Decenter last, the writer lays considerable stress upon the facts tat repairs and adjustments should be made as soon as they ecome necessary and time should be allotted each day for djushnents before the commencement of the day's work. n the notes which follow I should like to emphasise my pinion that repairs and adjustments should not be delayed ntil they become necessary and also that the time for adistments should be at the end of the day's work.
" As foreman of a large garage how often I have pointed at to owners as well as to drivers the wisdom of the old roverb • a stitch in time saves nine.'
"I have, unfortunately, become convinced that there is a umber of drivers about, who owe their participation in the totor trade to the fact that they could make no fist at all of nythieg else to which they turned. Such men took a course
f 'driving lessons ' (save the mark!) and became convinced tat thereafter they were fit men to become managing irectors of large construction works, at least! In the days 'hen drivers of ally kind were scarce men of this type cured jobs as privalkoservice drivers This part of the usiness, however, I am glad to say is working its own ire, hut I am not certain that a small proportion of the undesirables ' has not drifted into the service of the comtercial-vehiele owner. This type of man is he who will run is machine as long as possible without any adjustment. " A considerable number of drivers who axe really good ten tlo not seem to realise how imporUmt it is to am icipate ouble by constant and careful examination. The few notes am sending are, therefore, offered for what they are worth • the type of driver who does not care to wait for a break)wit to occur before he examines or adjusts anything.
" In the first place the brakes should be tried every night :fore entering the garage, and, if any adjustment at all is ?.cessary, it should be made at once ; the side brakes should s adjusted to work just the same as one another, quite in!pendently of any compensating device that may be fitted. " If there is no particular day set aside for greasing and ageneral examination, half an hour should be set apart tch night for this purpose : the differential should be [ambled on one night ; the gearbox should be opened up on 'other; and the crank chamber should be examined on yet further evening. Old oil should be emptied away and the ises cleaned out thoroughly. Of course, all bolts, nuts and ns inside the cases should be examined.
" Should the car not be running up to its average power, te following hints might be useful, and they, certainly, ould be worth the trouble taken. I cannot too strongly tpress on any young driver the necessity for putting his ir right before he knocks off for the night. He may have early order, and, if (ssainination is not made overnieht, ouble may he present in the morning. Cleanliness of all las is absolutely essential to good running. Clean the tgine and wipe off any waste oil there may be; never allow rt to accumulate. A good man is easily recognised by the eanliness of his car. With regard to low-tension magnos, the adjustment of the tappet rods must be carefully tended to. The Motor Manual ' will tell you quite well sw to time these, On high-tension systems, keep the plugs an and make the engine run the same speed on each liraler with the ignition retarded; this can easily be done cutting out three wires at a time. If tiw separate cylinrs do not run evenly, some tittle adjustment M:'\ esseary. The plugs should be examined and care should taken that all the plugs have the same space between points : if possible, all four plugs should be of the same
ke. When it is assured that these are correct, the carbon she; on the distributor of the magneto should next be mined, and these shonld be Made free and should have a
d smooth surface. The fibre ring should be examined ough one of the holes from which the carbon brush has n removed: the driver should make sure this is quite dean.
e make-and-break points must be examined arid adjusted the correct distance. This can easily be found; the
Simms-Bosch Company supplies a little combined wrench and gauge for this purpose. Set the points when they are free of the cams the exact distance apart as determined by the gauge. The magneto must be oiled regularly— it should not be swamped though; one or two drops should be given to all the places provided. Magnetos, as a rule, are either over oiled or are left alone altogether.
" Magnetos are, as a matter of fact, very simple machines and, if they are looked after properly, they give little or no trouble. Spare carbon brushes should always be carried.
" Plugs should be regularly cleaned and examined and all the points regulated to the same distance as mentioned.
Carburetters are, I suppose, the most important part of an engine, and, with the various types on the market, it is impossible to go into details regarding each one, but a few general hints may be taken as applicable to all types. First and foremost, a good flow of petrol from the petrol tank must be assured, and, in the case of a pressure•led engine, the pressure valve must be kept clean. Both valves should occasionally be ground in with a little Globe metal polish. The gauze between the exhaust pipe and the pressure valve has to be cleaned out. The adjustment of the pressure valve should be retained as nearly as possible to what it was when it was taken to pieces; the top or escape valve should be regulated so as to blow off at whatever pressure the engine generally runs; regulation can be effected by the pressure gauge on the dashboard. The float chamber must be thoroughly cleaned ; a mere glance at the jet, in order to ensure that there is a bead of petrol on the tap of it, is in-. sufficient. Petrol will invariably show at the jet owing to capillary attraction. The best means of adjustment is to procure an old jet and get it bored out as large as possible, then to regulate the height of the petrol by adjustment of the movement of the float in the float chamber; this is done by moving the collar which takes the two balance-weights on the needle valve. When the petrol is level at the top of the enlarged jet-hole, the correct carburetter adjustment is invariably arrived at; the enlarged jet should then. be removed, and the one which is normally used should be fitted.
" The exhaust pipe and box should be occasionally taken down and cleaned out; the increase of power frequently obtained from a newly-fitted cut-out on a pleasure car is only due to the more free outlet for the exhaust gas, as the pipe and exhaust box very easily become clinked.
" Universal joints should be fitted with grease cups, if they are not already so supplied. Greasers are preferable, in all cases, to oil caps, as, after a short time, all spring lids or other types of oil caps get out of order or become clogged with dirt. It is a pity that manufacturers do not recognise this to a larger extent and fit grease cups to all spring shackle bolts. The practice is not universal, although it is occasionally adopted. It is so easy to fill up a greaser and a turn occasionally can be given when it is not always convenient to oil up in the usual way.
"If an ordinary commutator is fitted this should be cleaned out and freshly ailed every day ; the roller or shoe of the wipe must be examined, and the pin through the centre of the roller must not be allowed to become badly worn before it is renewed. If the centre is of the shoe type a fresh piece can easily be fitted. A small piece of brass or copper may be soldered on and then filed up to size.
"The valves must be ground in occasionally, and the valve tappets must, be correctly adjusted; these should always be looked to after the valves are ground in, the correct distance being about the thickness of a visiting card. Should the tappets not be adjustable the valve must be removed and a piece must he brazed on to the valve stem, care being taken not to heat very far up the stem; the v61ve must be well supported on the brazing forge or hearth, and when cold it can easily be trimmed up and then the correct level may be obtained by filing at the end. Another valve shoat] be ordered to take the place of this one as soon as convenient, but the repair will last a long while.
"I will conclude with a repetition of the old saying never put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day.' In the case of commercial motor vehicles no saying is more full of good advice. It is hopeless when a driver rushes away from his vehicle at night with the cry on his lips that he will get there early in the morning and do this or that. Do it now ' is the motto to be hung in the shed. I reiterate my assertion that at night, after the completion of the day's run, is the time to get adjustments and little repairs done. There's very seldom time in the morning."