FORD VAN POINTERS.
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By R. T. Nicholson (Authorof "The Book of The Ford.").
T NDER THIS HEADINGwill follow occa sional paragraphs dealing,,,yith the driving, care, and upkeep of the Fd van. They will be written with the idea„,of interesting both the owner and the driver—to show how to get the beet out of the Ford van in various ways. •
I.—Generally Speaking.
My idea is that, in a general way, I should 'deal with any problem that the Ford van driver is likely to come across—and he comes across all sorts of old problems—starting, stopping, braking, misfiring, loading, °vet:heating; lack of power, etc., etc. Not that the Ford is more-liable to troubles than any other vans: but, with many Ford vans on the road, "troubles must come" in individual cases now and again. r want to show the driver not only how he can "keep her on the road" and. "gether home," but how he can get the best out of her all the time, and
keep her in the pink of condition. I also want to show the owner how to get the best service out of the van at the least cost.
I shall, therefore, deal with " any old" question thatooccurs to me, and which I know can arise in practical experience ; but I shall specially welcome questions on points that have actually occurred in drivers' or owners' experiences—always providing that they are sensible questions. If addressed to the Editor of THE COMMERCIAL Mown a reply will either appear here, pr be ssent by post, if a stamped addressed envelope accompanies the query
2.—" M.P.G."
The number of miles that the van will run per gallon of petrol is a question that interests owner and driver alike, especially in this day of high-priced spirit. All sorts of statements are made as to the number of miles that can be got out of a gallon—some drivers claiming that they cau get somewhere near 35, and others complaining that their figure is nearer 16.
Now, this is a point in regard to which no hard and fast statement can be made. Much depends upon the load and the road, as well as upon the conditions of running (e.g., on the number of starts and stops).
do know that it is possible to get nearly 35 miles to the gallon, but I also know that it is possible to get under 20. Here are a few general statement-s that-are true
(A). A new van will, as a rule, be disappointing. She simply " eats up" petrol, It is not at all unusual. for a new van to run only 16-18 miles to the gallon. It takes time—and petrol (which means money)---to run in the engine of a new van, and until the engine run in there is a lot of friction to be overcome in the "innards "—friction which means waste of power. When everything is nicely polished up by actual running "M.P.G' will show a vast improvement.
(B). •An old van, in need of overhauling, will be equally disappointing. If the engine is so well run in as to -be leaking power at valves, piston rings, gaskets, °to., the " M.P.G." record will be poor. (C). On give-and-take roads, with fair loads, under average conditions a van that has covered, say, 500 miles, and has not covered more than, say, 10,000 miles without overhaul, ought to run at least 25 miles per gallon.
Irrespective, however, of what your van ought to do, you can always increase yoUr mileage per gallon by taking care on various points—with all of which I hope to deal 'later on. With One of the most important points I will deal right away.
3.—Carburetter Adjusting Disc.
The other day I' was listening to an experienced Ford van driver talking to a. beginner. In course of his instructions he referied to that brass disc on the dash—the disc, with the notch cut in it, and which everybody knows " has something to do with the
carburetter. "Never touch thatl " was the expert's (?) caution. " If you do, you'll jigger every
thing up:"
And there is a general impression among drivers who have picked up" their knowledge of the Ford van that TZZD that said disc is left alone. Perhaps; on one occa sion, they " fiddled with it," and afterwards had trouble in starting or, after shehad started, found the engine power poor. Better
informed drivers know that ghat disc ought to be turned up at the start and down one she is running.
They know that, in the ordinary way, the nick on the disc ought to be pointing in a certain direction, and they keep it there all the time once the engine is .warm.
The fact is that that.,dise ought to be adjusted to various positions, as shown in trig. 1, according to the running conditions of the moment. Its pos,tion at the moment regulates the amount of petrol that passes into the "mixture," and its normal position is as shown in the drawing at A. The higher the disc is screwed up (anti-clockwise towards the position shown at B in the drawing) the greater the amount of petrol that passes ; the lower it is screwed down (clockwise towards the position shown at C in the drawing) the smaller the amount of petrol that passes. screw it down far enough, and the engine will peter out because the mixture is too thin—that is, too full of air ; screw it up high enough, and the engine will peter out because the mixture is too rich—that is, too full of petrol. In other words, the adjusting. disc gives you a variable jet in your carburetter. Most carburetters are fitted with fixed jets, being made as in Fig. 2.
The Holley carburetter (now generally, standard on the Ford) has a variable jet, -illustrated in Fig. 3. The
turning of the adjusting disc screws up or down a cone inside nside the carburetter, which allows more or less space (as the case may be)! round it, and between it
and the hole through which the petrol passes. You will see, therefore, that adjustment of the disc enables you to govern to a nicety the proportion of petrol to air in the mixture.
That proportion is important. In starting you want plenty of petrol slopping about (not so much because you need an overrtch mixture for starting, but because, when everything is cold, the petrol does not vaporize readily, and you therefore slop plenty about inside the carburetter, so that some may vaporize and make up for the recondensation on the way to the combustion chamber, and give you a right starting mixture). When she is warm the petrol will vaporize
readily enough, se thatyou.can then afford to reduce j the supply through the et—in fact, you cannot afford
not to do ,so.You therefore screw down the disc till you find engine power at its best. When she is thoroughly warm that disc can be turned down still farther—particularly in warm weather. On different days, on different roads, under diffeient conditions of moisture and dryness, the best setting of that disc will vary a lot. Never assume that the nick should be in one fixed position at all times. Between summer and-winter, at all events, its right position may vary by as much as half a turn.
You need not be finicking all day long. Open up a bit before starting from cold—from a quarter to a half turn ; close down a bit—about the same amount
—as soon as the engine has got into its stride ; close down a bit more when everything is nicely warmed
up ; another little bit, perhaps, round noon, and, perhaps, open up a bit towards the cool of the evening.
The main point to remember is that, the farther down you can screw that, disc, without losing power, the less petrol you are using, the cleaner and cooler you are keeping your engine, and the more power you are getting. -The Berdea attachment, as now sold by Brown Bras., also controls the same disc from the steering column.
Without any such " fine-drawn " attachinent, however, I guarantee that if you will keep an eye (and an occasional hand) on that disc you will cut down the petrol bill quite a lot.
Upon this important question of " T ahall have more to say later. Here I have dealt with one . of the leading points about it.
4.—Engine Lubrication.
Many drivers have very vague ideas as to the rights and wrongs of Ford engine lubrication. Quite lately I received an almost pathetic letter from a correspon dent who had no end of trouble with his plugs oiling up. To such an extent did this happen that the oil collected in pools round the plugs outside the engine. "And," my correspondent went on to explain, I never carry my oil level much higher than the top cock ; I always make a point of seeing that the oil only just dribbles out of it before starting." ' Of course, this last remark showed the cause of the whole trouble. The oil level had been carried far too high.
Many drivers have the notion that the top cock is provided to show where the level of the oil ought to be ; whereas it would be more true to say that it is provided to show where the oil level should not be.
Till the engine is well run in—.say, by :500 miles going—the oil level should be carried somewhere about the height of the top cock. After that, the level should be gradually lowered, till, after 1000 miles, it is carried near the height of the bottom cock. A higher level than that means fouled sparking plugs, carbon in the combustion chamber, and sheer waSte of oil. The Ford engine is often said to be dirty. I do not claim that it is the cleanest engine on the road, even when its lubrication is properly looked after but, on the other hand, I do-know that most of its dirtiness arises from over lubrication.
• The best way to keep the oil supply just right is to clo thus :—
When you come in at night, and the oil is still hot, open the lower cock, and let it drip all night into some vessel placed to receive the outflow. In the morning paur in from half a pint to a pint of clean oil after closing the lower cock. That will keep you going for 75-100 miles, according to road and load. No hard and fast rule can be laid down as to the quantity of oil to be supplied every 'T5 miles, as driving conditions vary. If you find that, after you have run 75 miles since you last filled up, more than, say, a, quarter of a pint runs out of the lower cock, when open all night, reduce the supply somewhat and experiment till you get about a quarter of a pint outflow after 75 miles running.
The outflow is not worth saving. If you only throw away a quarter of a pint per 75 miles you need not • worry over it. It is dirty, and the heat has robbed it of most of its lubricating value. If you throw away this outflow you will find that your crankcase rarely needs scavenging. Your oil supply will keep reasonably clean, and your engine will run " sweetly " for long Periods without cleaning. The principle about lubricating the Ford engine is _ this : After the first 1000 miles running the oil level is high enough when it stands, with the van at rest, at the height of the bottom cock. But you cannot keen it there unless you start your run with the level slightly higher, simply because the oil will be gradually used up. Your object is never to let the level fall lower than the bottom cock (with the Van at rest) till you fill Up again. In many cars •a drip feed makes up for the supply used ; but on the Ford there
is no such system, or any other corresponding system, so you-slightly overoil at the start, in order that your level may never fall too low on the run.
You will waste a lot of oil unless you carry the level . reasonably have found by experiment that if I start With the level high—somewhere near the height of the top cock—the surplus disappears rapidly till it gets down towards the level of the bottom cock. It goes off in sinoke and carbon.
Always test the level with the engine at rest and the van on the level. Do not take it that the level is necessarily too low if, when you have only just stopped the engines oil will not flow from an open cock. The oil has been splashed up all over the innards," and takes time to settle down into the crankcase. But. if it will not flow from the 'bottom cock after a few minutes' rest you have been cutting it too fine.
Remember that, will° the consequences of overoiling are a nuisance—fouled plugs, carbon, etc.—the results of under-oiling are horrible and costly—bUrnt
out big-end and seized_ pistons. .
A badly worn engine needs much more oil, and is much more dirty than one that is just nicely run in. When the piston rings are so badly worn, for instance, that the. Oil leaks up past them, a lot of it gets burnt up at each explosion, beeoming smoke and carbon. [Further notes of interest to users of Ford and Pro bably other small vans will appear • from time to . time.—En., CA.].