Evening star., 1932-01-03
Milady's Motoring
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.

1t must have been a woman who re-
called the fact that the original back
seat driver was the man who drove the
| hanson cab.
When you back up and bump into
something and male bystanders say
/ there's no harm done, don't be too GER
tain about it. They may simply mean
! that you haven't knocked over a fire
hydrant or bent telegraph pole. Some
| PEOPLE are looking for excitement. If
the woman I saw starting off from
hotel the other day had considered this
point she would have discovered
broken section of the rear bumper be-
fore it dropped off the car.
| Leave it to the ladies to capitalize
trouble. I asked one of them where
women in her city go to learn to drive
and she explained that there was the
most ideal abandoned real estate devel-
opment within half hour of the busi-
ness center. Il don't know what we'd
90 II the development ever picked up"
she observed.
To the woman who asks if it is all
right to mix two different kinds of anti
freeze which she had found on hand
IN the garage I am replying with an
emphatic mo-" adding the explanation
that with a mixture it isn't possible to
make quick check of the strength of
the solution. Different kinds of hy-
drometers are needed for testing the
strength of anti-freeze solution, but
none has been developed to test mix
lures.
1t looks like milady's year in motor
oom. Previously the feminine appeal
mas been along lines of doodadS and
style. Now interest has shifted to me-
chanical features that intrigue any
woman who has ever handled the wheel
or hoped to. She is seen in the cata-
logues and advertisements driving the
car without bothering to fuss with the
tlreSome clutch, cranking the motor bv
the mere switching on of the ignition
ana shifting gears with the ease that
was once regarded as a dream that
could never come true. The automobile
mas become as mechnically interesting
ana serviceable to the modern woman
as the labor r-saving equipment in her
CWn kitchen.
In the old days women frequently
tied ribbon on the rim of the steering
Wheel to mark the position at which
the front wheels of the car are pointed
necessary. Most steering wheels have
but three spokes and it is an easy mat
ter to use their normal letter "Y" posi-
ton as guide to the direction of the
front wheels.
Psychology hasn't explained 1t as yet, |
but all of us have desire to acceler- |
ate while being overtaken. Women are |
especially prone to this. Sometimes |
they do it unconsciously just through |
nervous habit of driving unsteadily !
In some cities the driver who speeds up |
while being passed is liable to arrest.
II the service man says something is |
wrong with the timing chain it is |
good idea to know what he is talking |
about and not get it all confused with |
the newest facial. The chain is found |
at the front end of the motor, encased |
in metal cover. Hidden this way its
function is naturally overlooked.
The typical engine has special shaft
which operates the valves 1t must be
timed with the main shaft The func-
tion of the timing chain is to connect
these shafts so that the main one drives
the other. This same chain may also
drive a third shaft operating the gen.
orator, water pump or other accessories.
Some cars dispense with the chain
and substitute gearing. 1t is largely a
matter of engineering tastes, as there
are arguments on both sides. Chains
naturally stretch a little and, If not |
may jump. This act on the
part of a chain throws the engine out |
of time and may bring on serious trou-
BILE. Performance is Immediately af-
fected.
Chains may be adjustable or non