Evening star., 1921-12-04
HOT SPARKS FOR
LIVE WIRE MOTORISTS

1t is not good practice to see how
long the valves can hold compression
without grinding. With every days
use they are growing worse. which
means that they are burning and
warping without 1t being noticed
such a bad shape that it will take q
great deal of work to bring them
back to condition. They should never
run more than 1000 miles without
grinding. and every 1900 miles would
be better.
II you have not yet got into the
habit of watching the ammeter, do
so without delay. 1t is the watch
dog Of the battery and tells the OBJ
servant motorist nearly everything
speeds the ammeter should show
charge, and even with all the lights
going there should still be an ampere
or two of current passing into the
and the lights out the ammeter
should stand at zero. If 1t indicates
discharge there is d short-circuit.
If you find one Of the front tires
wearing more than it should, see il
the front wheels are out Of align
ment. Running against the curb OF
other obstacles will bend the steer.
ing knuckle arm and throw the
wheels too far in toward each other
They should toe in slightly. II no,
properly, set the tires will wear rap
idly.
Never use a cloth to wipe dust of
the fine finish of the car. This dus,
is a fine grit. and the cloth grinds II
comes dull Use a fine hair duster ii
you are In a hurry. but the best way
to remove dust is to flow water over
it, The first flow softens the dust
and mud, and the second flow removes
most Of it. Then a, a solution saan n ot %sea
to finish the cleaning, the whole sur
face being thoroughly rinsed before
drying with a chamois cloth.
Try the fan occasionally to see Il
the belt is tight enough. II the blades
can be spun around the belt is loose
and the engine will overhead. II 1t Is
so tight that the blades can hardly be
moved there Is danger of swapping on
the blades when the engine starts.
II the belt is tight enough so that
the fan will slip with slight enort
it is about right.
BY all means carry small hre eX-
tinguisher on YOU car. and keep II IN
some place where 1t is easily ac-
cessible. Besides lowering the an
surance rate it gives you feeiing
around the carbureter begin at the
bottom and work up. II there is burn
ing gasoline on the ground under the
car put that out first, otherwise 1t Will
set fire to the gasoline above as fast
as you extinguish 1t.
Some drivers do not realize the ne
cessity for. keeping the spark well
advanced at all times. The rule Is to
advance the spark as far as 1t Will
stand without knocking. This uses
the full length of the power stroke
and so requires less gasoline. Try TINS
experiment: While running at fair
speed on a level road. retard the
spark. The car will slow down. Now
open the throttle enough to get back
to the same speed. This extra throt-
tie opening represents just SO much
more gasoline used to overcome the
handicap Of a retarded spark.
Go over all the connections Of the
steering mechanism once week to
see that every bolt Is doing its work
and that none OF them are coming
loose. More damage may follow fail
ure Of the steering gear than any
other part OF the car See that nuts
are tight. that cotter pins are in place
and that lock-washers are holding.
II in doubt. put a wrench on each nut
that is not held by q split pin. You
will be well repaid by the extra con-
fidence 1t will give you while driving.
Try out the brakes every time you
take the car out. When there is room
ahead, speed up with the accelerator
and apply the foot brakes to see IL the
car comes evenly, to stop. Do this
several times and then try the emer-
gency brake. Once a week jack up
the rear wheels. the emergency brake
up fairly strong. and try both wheels
by hand. If one moves more freely
than the other 1t must be set up more.
Have someone hold the foot brake
for you or block it by means of q Jack.
Study your fabrication chart thor
oughly and locate every part shown.
Then see that each part gets the at
tention required by the manufacturer.
II any part runs dry it cuts down the
efficiency Of the car, the part wears
and becomes noisy, and may even
seize and break.