Evening star., 1933-09-03
Apparently a lot Of drivers forget
that playing safe beats playing q harp.

There's more than a smile in the
complaint of a chauffeur that he drove
SO miles a weeks with the car and
At with the lawn mower. Today'S paid
driver plays an almost indispensable
role in the life of many an elderly
woman. He runs virtually all the er-
rands and does much of the shopping.
He is a pleasant companion during
those precious hours when otherwise
home ridden folk commune with life
and nature on the broad highway. His
helping hand is often substitute for
the attention of nurse or companion.
When saw chauffeur cash large
weekly check the other day felt that
he had earned it.
I have often been asked what Is the
first step in teaching woman to drive
This is simple While you are driving
on a stretch of open, level road, let her
lean over and take the wheel. This will
provide an opportunity to become ia
nliliar with steering and should go q
long way toward providing an idea OF
the feel Of car in action. Later let
the pupil sit at the wheel and feed gas
with the accelerator. Suggest slowing
down, coasting by pressing the clutch
pedal to the floor and accelerating
Then call a halt on the road trial. Go
from this to lesson in how the car
operates, followed by instruction in gear
shifting on some quiet dead-end street.
Another cheer for the woman who
noticed that as the car went down hills
the motor held it back better than
usual The service man had said to
her that he might have adjusted the
valve tappets too close and that If
things did not go along smoothly he
wanted her to bring the car into the
service station for another check-up.
The better compression on down grades,
following a pull to the top of the hill,
was evidence that the valves were not
holding open.
"Why is it." asks a woman whose new
car is commencing to reveal some de-
sirable performance, that my engine
provides much more getaway when I
lift nv foot from the accelerator pedal
and then press down on 1t immed1-
ately?"
This, If she would consult the in
struction book, is due to the action OF
the acceleration pump attached to the
carburetor. The motor receives an ex-
ira rich mixture each time the accel-
orator IS pumped"
"Ful1-pressure fabrication" is one Of
those terms that is apt to puzzle any
woman who takes the trouble to look
through car catalogue to see what
her money would buy. Yet the term Is
not only easy to explain but leads to
much better knowledge Of how q car
ticks.
In the older motors oil was lifted
from the reservoir at the bottom OF the
crankcase to troughs run croSsw1se just
Oh Lo nj Az the connect.
ing rods turned over the main shaft OF
the. engine dippers on the rod bearings
picked up oil, feeding it to the bear
ings and splashing it on the cylinder
walls. This worked well enough for
engines that were running fast when
they revolved 1000 times per minute.
When engine speeds leaped to 5000 or
more revolutions per minute. however,
this system had its obvious limitations.
In present design the oil is pumped
under force through the drilled crank
shaft so as to feed each bearing di-
rectly. In addition the oil is forced
I'D through the connecting rods to the
piston pins at the top. Splashing of
from this point the oil reaches the
higher points on the cylinder walls.
Oil also goes to the valve compart-
ment, to the timing gears and various
other parts, depending on the style OF
motor.
Just a smattering Of the above ought
to explain why you should never let q
mechanic use kerosene or even so-called
flushing oil to flush out the crankcase.
The flushing agent merely gets trapped
ha this elaborate fabrication system
thus diluting the new oil that Is add
Cd. Greatly to be preferred Is the plan
Of merely changing the oil at regular
jntc~tc-s, and hovjn9 the c~"nF "ase re-