Evening star., 1926-10-31
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.

Granting that the up-to-the-minute
automobile is relatively perfect
product, owners Of the latest models
are discovering-Often to their cha
| grin-that the humble screw driver
| and lowly wrench still have a part in
the most modern of motoring.
In the old days the well stocked
emergency tool kit was a vital ad-
junct to getting there and back, but
! with the coming of better automobiles
owners found less necessity for repair
outfits, and in consequence swung to
| the other extreme, which bluntly Is
virtually no tool kit at all. AS in other
fields. it doesn't pay to be an ex-
tremist.
Many roadside repairers, for in
instance, have been surprised to dis
cover that many drivers of balloon
| tired cars do not carry jacks suitable
for getting under a low axle. Some
motorists have the body Of a suitable
jack, but have lost or mislaid the
handle or lifting shaft. On one car
that was equipped with a double tire
carrier and a large bumper in the
rear, the jack that was carried under
the seat cushion could not be operat-
ed under the rear axle. Yet the owner
had driven many thousands of miles
in sparsely populated sections Of the
country apparently oblivious to the
trouble he was risking.
Spark Plugs Give Trouble.
Repairers report greater difficulty
in replacing spark plugs, owing to the
fact that many owners of cars with
plugs placed in such a way that they
require a special plug wrench have
lost this necessary tool. Another
, article that IS frequently lost is the
wheel puiler, a tool that Is essential
for removing a rear wheel from the
tapered end of it's axle.
This letdown in the upkeep of the
tool kit comes at q time when a num-
Der of special features on the newer
cars demand additions to the tool kit
or the emergency supply to be carried
In the car. There was q time when a
motorist might forego carrying an
extra fan belt with him, for the sim
pie reason that, with little intelli-
gent encouragement. 1t is possible to
run a car short distance without the
fan operating and without overhead
Ing the power plant. But some of the
newer cars employ the fan belt to run
the generator or the accessory shaft.
These are stronger belts, to be sure,
but no belt is unbreakable. If the
motorist has no spare belt with him
a
r1ety Of complications.
Today's automobiles are more trust
worthy, but the repair equipment car
| ried In them has slumped way below
par.
What Motorist Should Remember.
1t may be we'll for the motorist
to remember that while there were
68,2O6 garages in the country, as
recently compiled by the trade list
Of an automotive publishing company.
and |65,674 repair shops, Including
service stations operated by inde-
pendents. as we'll as dealers, assist
ance is very definitely limited There
Is only one service oasis for every
25 square miles Of the Unite States,
exclusive OF Its dependencies. Many
OF these service concerns are spe.
cialists in speedometers. carburetors,
electric vehicles, spring control de-
| vices, batteries and tires. Compare
lively few places are prepared to un-
derstand the make of car a troubled
| motorist drives or are equipped to
undertake the work he may be willing
to delegate to them.
| Because many motorists do not carry
a grease gun with them, and an emer-
gency supply of grease, cars are being
lIeu up all aIOIS tne highways Tor
| universal troubles, damaged wheel
bearings, loose spring bolts and vari-
GUS other chassis ailments.
1t is estimated that there are 269
registered cars for every service sta
tion. Excluding Sundays and holi-
days, and eliminating many of the
service stations which are specialists,
the average car is limited to one
full day in the shop annually.
One Of the most satisfactory ways
Of avoiding the lam which Is found