Evening star., 1937-10-31
Special Carburetor Compen-
sator Prevents Overflow
ing and Fire Risk.
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.

tlOn, lQeTe Is less UfSTliOWlllS VI Tie
carburetor with less risk of fire.
Back to the Rainbow.
It is high time that the industry
reverted to more simpliied nomen-
clature for body colors. This wave of
fancy names for the colors Of rain
bow is causing no end of confusion,
especially in the licensing and insur-
ing of cars.
Last night three cars stood out in
front of my home. The technical
color of each was entirely different
from the average persons idea of the
body hues. One dark gray car was
rated by the factory as blue job,
while the obviously tan car was known
as a Buckingham gray. The third job
was a beautiful shade Of light gray.
1t was designated by the manufacturer
as green.
Wisely the owners disregard the
their cars. Unquestionably some of
these colors are on the borderline. but
the color a car is considered to be in
the eyes Of the owner. or the police, or
the insurance sdjusters, should be the
deciding factor.
Springs Affect Steering.
1t is not generally appreciated that
the springs of the cars have much to
do with the way it steers. This is
convincingly demonstrated in the case
of travel over a wavy road. If the
car bobs up and down the front wheels
will tend to dart this way and that,
so that the driver is never too sure
Just where he is going to come out.
Such a condition calls for extreme
caution on the part of the driver,
otherwise he will find that the car
does not have proper directional con-
troll. Often the springs have too much
fiex for the reason that the shock ab-
sorbers need attention.
Mechanic Joe Speaking:
ut is not true. as many car owners
believe. that the ammeter pointer Of
. modern engine is revealing normal
condition If It flickers necessarily.
This is not something that is called for
by the use of the modern voltage
regulator.
"Of course during gear shifting,
while idling, or when the speed of the
engine is being varied widely it is
normal for the ammeter TO reveal a
varying charging or discharging rate.
But If the pointer is unsteady while
on the charge side the indications are
that there is high spot on the COM
mutator. causing the brushes to jump
q little"
He Feels Safer Then.
A friend of mine who is in the habit
of driving many different cars in all
manner of condition makes it a rule
to do three things when he takes
the wheel of strange car. First
he notes how quickly the engine &C.
celerates, so that he will not be
trying to do more than the engine is
capable of doing. Next he tries the
brakes to determine just how much
physical effort he must expend in
order to bring the car to halt.
Finally he tries the steering to get
an idea of the steering ratio and the
responsiveness of t system.
Better Near the Bottom.
Believe it or not, the engine is a
better compression brake as it nears
the bottom of descent. This is due
to the fact that as it COO. off there
Is contraction of the valve stems and
more oil around the rings. The former
offsets the tendency for valves to
seat improperly, While the latter pro-
vides a better seal at the pistons.
Compression Is raised in both cases.
This naturally aids braking.
For the Newcomers.
A good rule for beginners is that
II the engine labor. or starts bucking
1t is too late TO .hift from high into
second. The car should be shifted to
low. Invariably by the time the driver
starts to make the shift the car will
be nearly at standstill. That will
make the shift to low easy.
1t will help any newcomer to spend
an hour out in the open learning how
to run the engine itself. Get the
feel Of accelerating it. Switch it off,
re-crank it, speed it up. Note that
there is a marked increase in the sem
sation of developed ,ower as the en-
CINE speeds up. This clearly illustrates
the fact that car engines power
Is in its speed.
That embarrassing business of STALL
ing the engine by forgetting to shift
to neutral when pulling up for a curb
stop can be eliminated by shifting
to neutral before coming to a stop.
Think of your stopping as going back
ward through the gears al make
motion as if to shift to second. You'll
be reminded to stop in neutral.
Forward Gear Better.
If you make it a habit to leave
the car in gear as az extra safeguard
against having it coast away when
parked, make it rule to use second
gear. At least avoid reverse. You are
less likely to start cranking when
there are pedestrians directly in front
of the car, but you may not note
them behind the car if you acci-
dentally step on the starter-button
when the car is in reverse. In second
the starter-motpr will aot pull the car
ahead so rapidly as in low. High
gear Is not so effective as brake.
Make 1t Simpler.
In close traffic where the situation
calls for concentration on steering
it will be easier to handle the car II
the gears are left in second. This
is fast enough gear for such con-
ditions, and it will not strain the
engine in starting. It provides better
deceleration as well s acceleration.
If the starter control is combined
with the accelc -ator pedal you can
spare yourself the annoyance of delay
in re-starting hot engine by simply
pressing all the way down on the &C
celerator This oDer the throttle