Evening star., 1940-03-03
By Frederick G.. Russell.

able to appreciate things he cannot
have rather than have things he
isn't able to appreciate.
Events follow each other in such
quick succession no motorist can
consider himself well-posted these
days unless he tosses in a few
guesses as to what is likely to hap
pen. Classic example is the situa-
ton with respect to sealed beam
headlights. When these were Offer
ed with the 1910 models motorists
were told that they could not be
had for cars already in use, yet in
less than two months after the Ma
tional Automobile Show in New
York leading lamp manufacturers
announced sealed beam lights for all
cars. Where the public slipped was
IN failing to have vision enough to
appreciate that such a marked i'm
provement in lighting could be con-
fined to the conventionally located
lights. There was no reason whv
such lamps could not be used for
auxiliary lights, which is why the
industry now is rushing to equip
older cars with sealed beam lights
IN a variety of adaptations.
What pity we motorists are FORE
ever tagging behind rather than
dreaming ahead in the highly sue
cesstul manner of the automobile
industry.
Gassed as You Go.
With car windows closed and the
neater warming over stale air the
annual risk of carbon monoxide is
with us again. This is highly dan
gerous and entirely unnecessary.
MonoXlde leakage into the car is
the result of corroded muff1ers, loose
piping, leaky gaskets and other con-
dltlons due to neglect. Gas leaks
into the car by various routes in
spite of more effective insulation
Best evidence of the failure of even
a modern car body to keep out un-
wanted fumes is the way a little
OIL on the exhaust manifold can be
smelled inside the car even with all
windows closed.
But monoXlde has no smell and is
thus all the more treacherous. In
concentrations likely to be found
WITHIN car when leakage is pres
ent this gas can be strong enough
to make you listless, slow to act
sleepy and thus a good prospect for
an accident. This may explain the
otnerWlse cryptic statement that in
winter driver is as alert as the
eff1clency of the cars exhaust sys-
tenn.
And In checking for monoxide
leakage don't forget that the engine
Itself can be source of speciaI
oanger II there is gas blowing by
the piston rings. Escape of vapor
INTO the crankcase finds an exit
through the oil filler pipe where it
is blown back toward the toeboards
ana into the driving compartment
around the clutch and brake pedals
ouch Tunes often work into the car
around the pipes to the hot-water
heater.
Mechanic Joe Speaking:
Inc TACT that modern engines
nave SO many new gadgets should
not blind us to the usefulness of
some of the old trouble shooting
plans which should work as, well
To-Day as they ever did. Take as a
good example the old wav to find
out whether mixture is the cause
OF poor idling.
The trick here is to close the
cnoke valve slightly when the engine
loieS ana note If idling is smoother.
All you have to do to make this
RUE practical with the modern
engine is to remove the air cleaner
II the engine doesn't idle better
With a richer mixture obviously the
next step is to try a leaner one IF
3lelther helps then we had better
look to ignition or valves for the
poor idling." '0
one doeS not have to be a de-
tectlVe TO note the effect of high
speed on tire treads, but not so
easily observed h the result of
pounding against the road. Even if
the road surface is extremely smooth
the average passenger car tire re-
celves $50 jarring impacts per min
ute at a car speed of so miles per
hour. This generates extreme heat
within the rubber and is a prime
FACTOR IN blowouts. In actual prac-
tlce most tires are subjected to MANY
more impacts per minute even at
lower speeds because they, or their
wheels, are out of balance. In addi-
tlon to the bouncing there is the
Wobbling and shimmying action,
which not only increases tread wear
but helps to raise the internal tenn
perature.
Try This Next Time.
1 used this scheme last year when
parking my car in an ice storm.
and 1t worked so we'll am repeating
1t at risk OF your saying you have
heard OF the idea before. When I
parked the car placed pieces of thin
cardboard under each wiper blade.
Upon returning to the car I had
merely to remove the cardboard, the
windshield being clear of ice. This
mere ounce of prevention saved me
from long struggle to get the
Iced glass ready for visibility.
Those OF you who sit on pins and
on showing you how fast his new car
can travel will be interested in a
story in reverse wherein a mere
passenger complained to the manu-
facturer because the bus wouldn't do
over 95 miles an hour. It seems
that the owner did not care to travel
this pace on more than state oc-
casions. but it irritated him to find
his chauffeur unable to do at least
the 100-mile- an-hour pace guaran-
teed by the manufacturer. Taking
the car to the factory he demand
ed a complete engine tune-up
Then koey took the car out on the
road for spin.
When the speedometer crossed
122 the owner nodded assent. He
was entirely satisfied. In explana-
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