Evening star., 1936-05-03


an overhauling.
Even though 1t Is the same old
Springtime that has served for so
many years to remind motorists to
put their cars back into shape for
the touring season there are many
time -honored services which no longer
should be given the same respect. One
of these is reconditioning the breaker
points. Modern Springtime servicing
calls for replacing the points, rather
than trying to clean them.
Yesterdays points were Of better
quality and could be stoned several
times with every possibility of OBJ
tanning high efficiency. Today the
average set of points will stand for
very little reconditioning. New ones
are too inexpensive to warrant risk
ing failure with the old.
It always seems simple, but the
business of adding water to the radi-
ator is highly complicated PROPOSE
tion. That is, if you want results.
Any one can pour in water and get
what follows. The trick is to add
water and keep it there. Especially
complicated is the process when you
are trying to determine just why
it is that the engine overheats.
For all normal cases, water should
be added only after the cooling sys-
tenn has reached its usual operating
temperature This takes care Of ex-
pansion. Water should be kept to
within about three inches from the top
of the overflow pipe. If the top Of
this pipe cannot be seen through the
| radiator neck, then keep the level
about four or five inches below the
cap.
To detect trouble with the cooling
water that can be poured into the
radiator, then wait awhile and see
if more water can be added. If the
| system takes more water the indi-
cations are that the radiator core Is
clogged. Water is slow passing down
through the fins. One reason why
water has to be added SO frequently
when the engine overheats on trip
is, not only because of excessive losses
but also because steam in the radiator
helps prevent the radiator from taking
more than a little water at any one
time. What water the system takes
stays at the top and then overflows
! whor tho ay1oino ~,
Buyers of new cars should make it
a habit of acquainting themselves
with other purchasers of the same
make and model. This is particularly
useful when touring because an ex-
change of service ideas from different
cities often helps to clear up problems
with the particular series of cars.
! Many owners also make 1t habit to
60 to the service station even though
there may be nothing wrong with their
cars. 1t is the logical place to meet
other owners and to be tipped off
to what to expect or to avoid by way
of trouble
Whether or not to take other men,
bers of the family along when visiting
the service station need be no question
for the car owner. Take them along.
1t is surprising how often some one
else in the family will remember to
complain about some strange thing
the car does. 1t is like giving the car
a third degree. Invariably the owner
of the car is too preoccupied with
discussing one particular, outstanding
problem with the service manager.
Other details become sidetracked. To
60 to the service station alone may
mean overlooking some detail that
might easily be the basis of dis
covery leading to remedy.
Besides, there are certain advan-
tages in having others in the car,
especially during tests. This is par
ticularly true of headlight adjust
ments. The rear of the car should be
normally weighed down so as to OBJ
tain the normal tendency toward an
upward tilt of the headlight rays. 1t
is, of course, possible to adjust head
lights to compensate for this rear
sag, but having passengers along
helps to remind the service man to
take this into account.
In their sales talk the men who
are trying to interest you in a new
car this Spring are likely to mention
various types of valves. Actually, the
difference lies in the location and op-
Grafton of the valves, since otherwise
they differ only in quality for va
rious makes of cars. To make it less
confusing, the number of systems has
been abbreviated so that now instead
of half dozen arrangements current
models reveal but four.
The simplest to understand is the
valve-in-head, although it requires
more mechanism to operate than the
L-head type of engine. In the for
mer the valves open their respective
ports by popping up and down in an
upside-down position, while in the
latter arrangement they uncover ports
in an extension of the combustion
chambers to one side of the cylinders.
An F-head engine is simply one in
which half of the valves operate