For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 27
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TEN SHILLINGS is paid to the Eender of any letter which we publish an this page, and an EXTRA FIVE SHILLINGS to the sender of the one which we select as being the best each week. All notes are edited before being ..rublished. Mention your employer's name, in, confidence, as evidence of good faith, Address, A, M. and E., "The Commercial Motor," ,7-15, Bosebery Avenue, London, B.C. 1.
Lamps Alight.
On. Saturday, February 28th, light your lamps at 6. in London, 5.56 in Edinburgh. 5.54 in Newcastle, 6.6 in Liverpool, 6.26 in Birmingham, .6.15 in Bristol, and 6.52 in Dublin.
Repair of Cracked Water-jackets. •
The sender of the following eoinnwieleation has been awarded the extra pawnent of 5s. this week.
t2058].." Heavies " (Manchester) writes :—`' During the war considerable trouble was experienced, at any rate, in the depot at which I was stationed, owing to an epidemic of cracked water-jackets, etc. Welding was out. of the question, and it was therefore _imperative to make the most of whatever materials and ingenuity were available. The same need for emergency work does not so frequently apply in civil life, at least in this country, owing to the facilities whicn exist now in all industrial districts, for welding such. cracks as and when they occur. From time to time, however, it may so happen that, owing to congestion in the welding shops, or other reason, it may be more expeditious to employ some such expedient as the one I am about to describe, and I think, accordingly, that the matter is worthy of ventilating in your M. and F.' page. Moreover, as I understand that your paper has a certain circulation in the Colonies, i.t may be that the method of repair will be found extremely useful to some of your overseas readers. •• The material used was round brass roka• quarter or an inch in diameter, together with a little red lead. Tools, a small pin drill, a hack-saw, and some threesixteenths taps, sto,..ks and dies. Two small holes were drilled, one at each end of the crack. They were tapped three-sixteenths of an inch Whitworth thread. The ends of the wire were tapered and screwed to the same sire as the,tapped holes. Bending the wire in the middle enabled us to use it as a wrench, and the two holes were then tightly plugged with the wire. After this was accomplished, the wire was sawn off almost flush with the outside of the jacket, and another pair of holes were drilled as close to the first pair as possible. They were plugged in the same way, and the process continued along the full length of the crack.. Each plug, by the way, was thoroughly coated with red lead or thick paint before "being screwed into place. . After all the plugs were in,-the job was tested, using hot 'water. If • any signs of leakage showed, the heads of the plugs were riveted over. In some cases it proved necessary to solder the rivets together. • Generally, if the job was
properly done, it proved satisfactory and permanent. Small cracks were healed in this fashion without even removing the cylinders from the car, although this bftendinvolved sawing off, the heads of the plug in awkward corners. In the worst cases of this nature we had to use the blade alone without the frame.
" I enclose a sketch—(which we have had redrawn. —En.)—and also aphotograph of an actual repair— one that I carried out myself."
More Autovac Mysteries.
[2059] " Anon " (Chard) writes :—" In your issue of December 9th last, on the 'D., M. and F.' page, a correspondentdescribes some trouble which ha had encountered with an Autovac on an Austin chassis. I myself have had difficulty of the same kind, but in my case I was unable to find the cause of the disturbance, and ultimately had to make temporary provision for doing without the services of the device. The circumstances may interest your leaders, as also the method whereby I was able to carry on. Moreover, I s.hotild be glad of suggestions as to the cause -of my trouble. "In this instance, as in the other, the petrol commenced to flow much too freely, and I had the lorry on fire twice as a result. Fortunately, I was able. to put the fire out on both occasions without any serious damage resulting. The Autovac I took down and examined thoroughly. The float was unpunctured, and, in faet, appeared to be all in order. I cleaned the whole apparatus, ground in the valves, ,and made it, so far as I.could see, as good as new. I still had the excess delivery of petrol, however, and finally, since the lorry could not be allowed to lie idle even for art hour, I had to devise means of carrying on without the Autovao. This I did by utilizing the petrol tank of a Ford car. I hung the tank up behind the 'driver's seat, and coupled the outlet pipe up to the carburetter of the engine. . I enlarged thevent hole of the tank, and fitted it with a short length of copper nipe, which I bent at right-angles twice so that when it was in position in the tank the open end of the pipe pointed. to the ground. I thus had all the advantages of a proper vent hole without risking the ingress of water to the tank. I have been riming the lorry like this for some time now, as I must defer nay experiments with the Autovac."
[The writer of the above letter, while giving otherwise sufficient proof of his bona fides. omitted to sign his name. If he will communicate with us again he will be paid the proper fee for the communication.—ED."I