The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-02

many attentions that ought to be given
 the car itself before it takes the road 1 for jaunt of this kind. There are
 many things that must be carried on the
 lvehicle, both for the passengers and for
 the mechanism itself In the selection of
 this equipment that is to go on the car.
 there is room for many mistakes and
 also for good judgment. The temptation
 of the tyro is to load his car down with
 a great mass of material useful enough in itself, but which the veteran would know there is little likelihood of being needed.
 OVERHAUL OLD BOAT
 Presumably the car has had thorough overhaulng in the spring or else it is a new vehicle, which may be supposed to be in reasonably good condition. How ever, no matter what the condition of the car may be no wise owner will start on a long tour without giving it certain | inspections to see. that the vital mechan- 1 ical elements are functioning properly. l My first suggestion would be that the breaking system be given careful in spection from the controls to the drums. l Test the brakes to see that they are | functioning properly and that each part needing it has ample fabrication. Test the holding powers and see that the two I weaker than the other, skidding may easily result
 Next in importance I should put an in spection of the steering system. Take up excessive play in the steering post.
 See that all the linkage is in good order ] and give careful attention to the lubrica- l tion of all parts that need it. l GIVE HER OIL
 | And speaking of fabrication, the entire { 1,,tr of bp tO be put in the best possible order to stand the hard work ahead. The crankcase
 should be drained of it's old oil and after being flushed out with kerosene, fresh lubricant should be poured in. The diff | ferential housing should have the same treatment. All grease and oil cups should have their stock of lubricant repen- ished
 1 Under the conditions obtaining l throughout most parts of our country l during he summer months, 1t is essen- l tal thaS the cooling system should be in the best working order. Generally tue l touring sections are mountainous, or l there is sand and heavy going otherwise,
 so that it is important to see that the 1 engine is kept properly cool. It is a good l plan, if it gives signs of being really | dirty, to pour in a saturated solution of l washing soda and water and the engine 1 allowed to run for, say, half an hour. It | should then be drained and the system 1 flushed with clear water. Also l would | recommend equpping with some type l of radiator thermometer which will show l the temperature of the water Tn the | cooling system all the time.
 The fuel system should be inspected and unless the driver is really expert, would
 advise his repairing to the service sta- l tion and having them give the carbure- tor as well as the rest of the system thorough inspection. Incidentally, if the driver does not understand the function ing of the carburetor he ought to get the service station experts to explain it to him. There is nothing harder than to try and find the cause of failure in the 1 fuel system without knowing exactly l what you are doing.
 IGNITION SYSTEM
 I I need scarcely say that the ignition l system will demand the closet attention. 1 The various wires should be followed up l to see that there are no signs of in | cipient breaks Even the wires that 1 carry current to the lights should be gone
 over. The battery should be fully charged and filled to the correct level | with distilled water. Get an o. K. on | your battery before you start on tour. l As final precaution the driver should l go over the whole chassis, tightening | such parts as radiator fastenings, motor supports, spring clips and all the numer- l ous families of nuts and bolts. A little I time and trouble before hand in case | of this sort is better than delay on the | road.
 | With the car properly primed and champing at the bit, so to speak, there remains to be considered the question | of equipment that must be carried. Since | we are On the subject of the car We i may perhaps consider first the matter cf spare parts that will be needed or may 1 be needed and should be on the car. To begin with, let there be satisfactory \ trouble lamp on the car. Accidents some times happen at night and there is noth' l ing much more annoying than to try and l make a repair without adequate light l Many long distance tourists include an ! extra kerosene lantern for emergency 1 use.
 | The tools to be carried may be limited 1 generally by the drivers ability to use I them. There should certainly be Va ! riety of nuts. bolts, gaskets and corter | pins to fit every location about the car. i Moreover, 1t should actually be ascer- tained that this equipment is on board before the car starts. instead of trusting | tosluck that it is
 i WHAT TO TAKE Two pairs of pliers should cer- | tainly be in the tool box. one big 1 ana one mcuIuhas anu = "AAc l enter Is a necessity. You have 1 no idea what repairs can be made with some wire borrowed from . nearby fence, until you have tried | it. Two monkey wrenches. small I and large. should nlso he included. l Two or three files are advisablc, one of them being . small magnetO l or jewellers file. hall of good strong twine, a spool of copper l wire, . roll of insulation tnpc, must be listed among the essen- tials.
 The question of spares will be largely l decided by the country that is to be l traversed. In a run, however long, l through the thickly settled sections of | the east. it is nonsense to load the car with spares that may possibly be useful but prooably will not be. Certainly a set of bulbs for the headlights and other lamps must be carried. If there is room a complete valve assembly Is not pad 1 idea, spring. valve and pin being in cluded Spark plugs will, of course, be carried and a set of socket wrenches will be advisable. Five or six feet of high tension cable ought to be put on board and the same amount of lighting wire. THE TIRES
 There is no other single item on which the tourists peace of mind so depends as it does on tires and tubes. If the ca. starst with four food castings all around, , would recommend two new shoes as