Evening star., 1929-06-30

bI EhEDEnICh ~ hOOSEAA
Women, too, will learn that most cars
90 downhill quickest when they are
being fogced uphill.
Every woman naturally wants to get
the quickest possible service, but too
frequently she finds that the service
station is busy and the job must wait
its turn. Here's little trick however,
that often produces good results:
Don't mention all the things you
want done when first driving in. Pick
one of the easier jobs, and invariably
the service manager will put a man on
the car. Once a mechanic is started
then, in inStallments, ask for further
assistance. II any part of the work
really should be postponed to a later
date the mechanic will say SO, but in
the meantime he'll complete much of
the servicing which II ordered in bulk
would have seemed too much for the
facilities Of the service station at the
time.
One of the tricks In testing drivers
for their safety when at the wheel is
to ask them to crank the engine quickly
after having set the spark and gas con-
trolls in the wrong positions. I'm giving
this away because it illustrates a safety
point which can best be summed up by
pointing out the importance of giving
the controls a hasty check-up before
stepping on the starter.
II you are having trouble with the
steering gear and find that it does not
stay adjusted for easy operation per-
hapS it is because you park the car in
some garage or outdoor space where the
attendants are in the habit of over
working the steering gear in order to
f1fA eFrARf0l nj "a
Steering that must be done when the
car stands still is harmful.
Proof of devotion in the modern man.
ner is the sight of father taking the
small car to business with him instead
of the large one.
How does the gas in a cylinder ex-
plode at exactly the right moment to
push its piston DOWN." asks a woman
who has been giving a little thought to
what goes on under the hood. She fig
ures that a slight variation might upset
the order and wonders just how the
precision of explosion is obtained.
Her trouble, of course, lies in viewing
the action of the ignited gas as an ex-
plosion. 1t Is really rapid burning.
That is why the spark Is timed to fire
this gas mixture even before the piston
reaches the top of its stroke. 1t takes
a measurable amount Of time for the
gas to ignite "all over" and TO start ex-
panding. It iS the expansion that does
the work Of driving the pistons down.
ward.
The accuracy of this process is OBJ
tanned by valve action and spark timing.
Both the inlet and outlet valves of any
cylinder are closed as the respective
piston moves upward to compress the
gas Vapor, also during the process of
igniting this gas and while the eX-
panoing gas Is driving the piston down.
ward again. The finer points Of the
timing are accomplished by the auto
matte or manual spark control-ad-
vancing and retarding the spark so as
to hurry or slow up the process Of igni-
ton.
I notice that most women give 1t the
gas and start off with a wallop "It'S
the best way / know to avoid stalling
the engine" explained one of them.
starting encourages sudden stopping,
and about the best way to stall mod
| ern motor Is to step on the powerful
brakes so quickly as to stop the wheels
! before you have chance to press out
the clutch.
There is no need to be alarmed If the
are trying to start. The first thing to
| do is to note just what sort of difficult
| ties you are encountering.
Is 1t simply a case of the gears not
meshing and without their making any
noise during the resistance? If SO, this
can be solved by letting in the clutch a
minute and pressing it out again, en-
| gine running meanwhile.
II there is a clashing sound when
you try to mesh, the clutch is dragging
| Hold 1t out a minute or so, and If this
does no good switch of the engine
Press out the clutch, shift to low and
| crank the engine again.
It's very considerate of the attendant
at the filling station to dust off the top
Of the engine when he has finished
| pouring in quart of oil, but he may
bear watching. I've seen an ignition
| wire pulled away from its plug by just
such haSty busting more or less in the
| same manner that the households finest
vase comes topping down during O
spell OF house cleaning.
tcopyrlsht. 1919. by the Russell ssrVics.l