Evening star., 1934-09-02
BY FREDERICK c. RUSSELL.

FORGETTING to curb Summer
speeds when school opens is an
other kind of September mourn.
A woman tells me an actual In
stance where she was unable to obtain
the best from her 1884 car because
two mechanics to whom she went for
service assured her that the engine
was timed perfectly. In each case the
service men we're using 1888 inStruc-
tions. These were not so different
as to make a 1884 model misbehave,
but just far enough off to prevent the
owner from enjoying the best her
car had to offer.
It goes to show how critical adjust
ments have become and how impor-
tant it is to have the latest informa-
ton and service methods. Because 1t
is impossible for every mechanic to
know everything about every car I am
Just wondering how many thousands
of new-car owners are driving in ig-
norance of what the new possessions
really have to offer.
Most women concede that there
may be danger in smoking while the
gas tank Is being refllled, or leaving
the motor run during the process, but
few realize that if AIS pounds OF
dynamite went off the excitement
caused wouldn't be any greater than
if S gallons of gas in the cars tank
exploded. Even if stopping for oil
there is danger when the hood Is
lifted, since the modern carburetor,
due to the overactive fuel pump, Is
apt to leak. The engine should al
ways be switched off during an oil
check so that the gauge will register
what is really in the bottom Of the
motor and not what remains when
the rest of the oil is in circulation.
With knee action has come more
convenient ways of altering the
Gambler and caster Of front wheels, so
If you don't like the way your car
steers just tell the service people
about it. Gambler, you may recall
from previous explanations, Is the
pitched effect of the front wheels
whereby they are closer together at
the bottom than at the top. Caster
is the tilt of the front wheels, the ef-
feet being somewhat like the caster
wheels on furniture. Changes in
Gambler are being done with the ad-
dition of shims or very thin washers.
The problem lies in the technique Of
checking results. Special equipment
and skill are needed. It's no work
for the fellow who wakes the car or
changes the oil.
Next time you spend the day clean
ing the house make a note to have
the brakes of the car "dusted" when
1t goes to the service station. The
harder brake lining used these days
makes its own dust" which, in turn,
interferes with the efficiency of the
brakes. Dust is easily blown out by
removing the wheels and using an air
line. Failure to follow this little rule
in carkeeping may result in a bad
skid, brake dust making it difficult
to secure equalization.
An invalid whose physician has
prescribed motoring as a means of
getting back her confidence, seems to
offer a helpful thought to those be-
ginners at the wheel who are just
making their first solo flights through
traffic She said her experience
showed that getting into the swim Of
things was so gradual a process she
did not notice it nor fear it. 1t is
exactly the same with the beginner
awheel. She will be nosing the car
into the heaviest of traffic before she
realizes it. And she will be surprised
to find that it is easier for her to
handle the car in traffic than to do
a neat piece of driving on an isolated
road.
One Of my friends never experiences
any difficulty going down our main
street, but let her try to back the car
out of her own driveway and she
makes a miserable job of 1t. Psychol-
ogists tell. me this is just another il
lustration of the herd instinct in