The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-08-03

sound ideas Of the past, and is
Seasoned repairfnen, pioneer car
owners and q handful Of modern
motorists who have turned from
the glitter Of today's novelties to
the good judgment Of the past, are
united in this belief. As one ex-
perienced mechanic puts 1t, Mo.
forists have lost lot Of good
friends In making acquaintance
with 10 many new faces
Good ideas In the care Of the
car and its adjustment have been
allowed to go by the boards merely
because the motorist has had his
attention directed to too many illl-
provements. new features. Of design
and novelties In equipment Ideas
that once saved car owners mil.
lions, bringing them additional COM
fort and convenience, have followed
the hand crank to oblivion. Methods
that were considered sensible In
days gone by are given no place In
the modern scheme OF things
merely because, being old, they are
regarded az wrong.
Many Look Back
That Is one side Of the picture.
On the other side one sees, evI.
dences Of returning interest ii these
older ideas. The old.timers still
left III the repair business are re-.
opening the files Of memory and
not q few car owners are fascinated
BY the gold mine Of hints there
tucked away.
Recently q nlotorlst returned to
the garage where he stored his F.ar
20 announce to the proprietor that
he had just had a wonderful ride
IN . new car. 1t was not so much
that the demonstration rode com.
TOrtably as that 1t was car in
q much lower price class than the
one he had been driving for two
years He was enthusiastic over
the new product and explained the
riding qualities by outlining to the
garage. man some Of the fine de-
tails Of modern spring construction.
The biggest thing In that new
cars favor il It's new set Of
eprings, the garageman asserted.
Il you weren't SO thoroughly mod.
ern you'd install a new set of
springs on your car and get the
sort of ride you enjoyed when It
was new
A number of repairers contend
that motorists of today have gone
70 far along. so-calIed modern lines
that it Is difficult to induce them
70 have their springs reset. When
I the car ceases to ride easily the
general belief Is that it Is worn
out or old fashioned in design,
and that the only remedy Ii a
new car. This applies TO many
owners whose automobiles have
been operated only two or three
years. or virtually but one-half
their span Of usefulness.
Several years ago, 1t was Gus.
t0mary for a large number Of car
owners to order spring re-setting
Jobs at least once a year. Some
still follow this practice, much to
their benefit. But it is believed
that the practice would have died
out entirely had it not been for
the manufacturers of shock alb
sorbers and spring control devices
who are endeavoring to revive the
custom, having found that their
products cannot compensate for
shortcomings in springs and are
designed to operate with normally
efficient ones.
When the average notorist no
longer can get O. comfortable ride
out OF his car he trades 1t in for
b new one rather than pay the cost
of q new set Of springs plus q
labor charge to install them. Rea,
sOning along similar lines he might
be expected to trade In for q new
car just as soon as the original
set OF tires had worn smooth. In
stead, he replaces them with new
set at q cost, in many instances,
Of 500 or more.
Valve Efficiency
other competent mechanics say
that the modern Inotorist pays far
too little attention to the mat.
ter OF valve efficiency. Carbon,
they assert. has captured his
notice. He tries the newer fuels,
and so long as the engine does
not knock he ID satisfied. The
fact that q valve or two may not
be seating properly apparently
means little to him.
The story Is told of one owner
who orders the carbon scraped out
regularly but who always slip
uIates Don't touch the valves"
The mechanic, man OF the old
school, says that this owner over.
looks one Of the most important
features Of engine efficiency. An
engine that has some carbon IN it.
may kock little from pre.ignition
or excess compression on steep
hills, but for rs per cent Of its
operation cit will be more eff.
clent with 4 little carbon In its
cylinders, provided the valves are
clean and tight. Carbon with the
newer fuels, moreover, can be 4
source OF increased power.
In their quest for silent engine
operation, today's motorists are
overlooking another important Tea.
tlire, many OF the older observers
believe. This Is the matter OF
valve tappet clearance Many own.
eFs win urge q mechanic to try
anything in an effort to restore
some Of the engines original