ROADSIDE AND GARAGE.
Page 31
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A Page for Drivers, Mechanics and Foremen.
An Uncommon Breakdown.
The sender Of the Jrill.owing communication has been awarded the extra payment of 5s. this week.
[2310] " J.M." (Whittle-le-Woods) writes:—" A short time ago and late one afternoon, whilst I was in the garage where the wagons belonging to my employers are housed, I received an urgent telephone call from the driver of a 4-ton wagon which was held up owing to its steering having jammed to such an extent that it Was impossible to move -it.
" Taking another lorry out to the scene of the bleak-down I found that the bushes in the steering column had seized to the shaft, and it was impossible to free them on the road. I therefore dismantled the steering box and left the front wheels free to move, except that they were held together by the steering tie rod. By this time it was nearly dark, amd as I did not wish to leave the wagon on the road all night, I decided to do what I could to tow it home.
"I first fixed the usual type of tow rope to take the strain and then looped &citable lengths of wire rope round the front hub caps of the broken-down lorry. This was a Leyland, in which there is a recess behind each hub cap flange, and these recesses accommodated the loops in the ropes very conveniently. The other end of each rope was fastened to a hook at the end of the side member of the towing lorry. I then thoroughly greased the rims of the front wheels and the wire ropes, and instructed the driver of the broken-down vehicle to be careful not to overrun the tow rope. I then drove home very carefully, and the side ropes prevented the wheels from turning out in either direction."
An Unusual Fault in a Magneto. [2311] " w.r:" (Brixton) writes ;—" I was recently on a journey from London to Birmingham, when just outside Markyate, 31 miles from Dunstable, the engine suddenly started misfiring, and after a few minutes stopped altogether. Thinking that the carlatiretter was at fault, I cleaned this out thoroughly. This made no difference, and I tried to improve matters by cleaning the plugs, but the engine would not respond, and I found that I. could get no spark at any plug. Finally I disconnected the magneto, which was a Simms, and examined this thoroughly. " In taking the distributor to pieces TI discovered a small black spot on the brass rod which screws inside the fibre tubing. On examining the latter I found in it a small hole surrounded by spongy fibre, I cut this portion of the fibre completely away, leaving a hole, about in. diameter, which I plugged tightly with a small piece of fibre from a washer that I happened to have by me in my toolbox. After removing the magneto and placing same on the engine, I started the latter and proceeded to Dunstable without trouble, and here I was able to obtain another fibre tube."
An Adjustable Garage Stand.
[2312] " M.N." (Highgate) writes;— "I am employed in a garage where a considerable number of light commercial• vehicles are under repair at the same time. Many of these have to remain standing with one or more wheels missing for some considerable time whilst the wheels are sent away for retyring or for other repairs.
" In order to take off or replace a 'wheel it is quite a simple matter to jack up the axle, but jacks are somewhat expensive instruments, and not a sufficient number is used at the garage to enable them 'to be left under the axle for a considerable time. I therefore made a number of adjustable stands which could be placed under the axle so that the jacks could be removed.
" These stands can be made quite easily, and will serve many purposes, even for the supporting of crankshafts while big-end bearings are being fitted. Each stand consists of a wrought-iron pipe from 2 ins. to 3 ins, diameter screwed into a large pipe flange which forms a good solid base. This pipe has a number of holes drilled along it, and into these holes fits one end of a bar bent as shown in the illustration, the upper end being curved to suit the axle or other part for which the stand has to be used. If a scrap light axle housing, such as that employed on the Ford chassis, is available, half of this will make a very suitable stand instead of the pipe and flange."
A Temporary Float.
[2313] " O.M.T." (Stroud) writes :— "Whilst on the road recently I discovered that the float of the carburetter of my lorry had .punctured. There was no way of repairing it, and I was two miles from my destination, so I endeavoured to run this distance with the petrol partly turned. off, and eventually finished this, portion of the journey.
" The place at which I arrived was a brewer's stares, and there I procured a large cork bung and cut. this to the, size of the float. This, however, proved to light, so, as I happened to have a pair of scissors with me, I cut some tin washers to the same diameter as the top of the float until.I made this the same weight as the original float. To make certain of this, I notched the centre of a piece of wood, tied a piece of string to this and suspended the two floats at equal distances from the centre by two further pieces of string. I was thus able to balance one against the other. The washers I kept in position, on the .cork float by means of two ordinary pins, and when replacing the temporary float kept the washers at the top, thus giving the weights on the needle valve a good surface on which to slide and preventing any risk of jamming.
" No time was lost in making this repair as it was done whilst the lorry was being loaded and unloaded."
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, November 5th, light your lamps at 4.55 in London, 4.49 in Newcastle., 5.1 in Birmingham, 4.52 in Edinburgh, 5.2 in Liverpool, 5.5 1.P Bristol, and 5.45 in Dublin.