The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-07-09
Automobiles and Good Roads
Department Designed Help Farmers With Progressive Road Ideas

other important point which must not
be overlooked and one which is valuable
to the touring car owner also, is that
all the parts which are liable to loosen
should be inspected and cared for. The
ignition wires, for example, should not
be left loose. If in a conduit, they
should be held firmly together al a
point midway betwee nthe conduit and
the magnetic. All nuts should have a
plain washer and lockwasher placed
under them if possible. Always place
plain washer under a lock or spring
washer.
See that the gasoline tank is firmly
fastened and that the gasoline line has
no possible chance of rubbing against
the frame or other patr of the ear. Ex.
anime the steering post and see that it
is securely attached. Motor Age will
be glad to give special information ON
any particular type of vehicle of which
greater speed is desired.
Many cars have the electric horn but.
ton on the steering wheel and the wires
from the button wind around the steer
ing post and extend through the dash or
cowl to the horn under the hood. At
some point metal clip is used to hold
the wires in place. The turning of the
steering wheel may, in time, cut the
wires, because the end attached to the
steering wheel remains stationary while
the Others must give slightly. If suffi-
cient slack is not allowed the wires soon
become cut, an open circuit results and
the horn will not operate.
Battery Troubles.
In an extreme case which came up
few days ago, an owner complained that
neither his horn nor his lights would
operate and only the day previously
the battery was taken from the charg-
ing table and the posts thoroughly
cleaned. The repairnun handling the
job made one move-he lifted the cover
of the battery box-and the cause was
evident Immediately. A pair of pliers
was lying across the top of the battery
and the accumulator was short -circuited
One end of the pliers touched the posi-
tive terminal and the other end touched
the battery box. The pliers were used
to tighten the nuts holding the cables.
The importance of using clean gaso-
line in the tank cannot be emphasized
too strongly. Water and dirt in the
fuel will not only cause poor motor
operation, but on recent trip the motor
stopped completely. In the case in ques-
tion there was about l inch of fuel in
the tank and by looking through the
filler cap one could see dirt all over the
bottom Of the tank.
Instead of attempting to crank the
motor and thus have the remaining dirt
flow to the carbureter, 10 gallons of
gasoline was procured and put into the
tank. The added gasoline caused the
dirt to mix thoroughly. After draining
the gasoline line the motor could be
started, but 1t misfired. When the car
was brought to the garage all the fuel
was drained, the tank flushed out three
or four times, the fuel line cleaned by
forcing air through it and the gasoline
was then strained twice before it was
placed into the tank.
Watch the Wheels.
Misalignment of the wheels is an ex-
pensive ailment of the car and one not
always noticed until considerable dam
age is done to the tires In a recent
case in which an owner had driven a
new car less than 1000 miles he noticed
that his front tires were wearing much
more rapidly than the rear ones. At
| 1000 miles the tread had worn down to
the fabric, and it was case of retread-
ing if the tires were to be preserved.
A visit to the service station of the
car maker brought out the announce
ment that the wheels were out of line,
and when this was corrected the abnor.
NAL wear stopped. Frequent inspection
of the wheel alignment often will save
tira waar