Evening star., 1942-10-20

pile OF rubber
Henry McLemore. the spare would
make, let us consider what a race
of Lionel Strongforts we would be-
come If, after November %, we did
not have any spares to fall back on
when we had a puncture. De-
mountable rims and demountable
wheels have not been with us so
long that millions of Americans
can't remember with an ache In
their backs, too) the era when
changing a tire meant just that
changing tire.
In those days, when man had a
puncture, he stepped out of the
car, now sagging periously to one
side, and faced an enemy worthy
of his steel.
He couldn't just jack up the car
on a ball-bearing jack, twist a few
bolts and screws, lift off the wheel,
and replace it with another that
was tucked in the luggage compart-
ment. No, sir, he had to contend
first with jack that was as spindly
as stalk of celery.
Sometimes it took upward of an
hour to get this jack under the axle,
and another hour to crank 1t up.
Then, like as not, 1t sagged under
the weight of the machine and slid
ingloriously to one side, leaving the
repairer just where he started.
But even when the car was Sc
curely hoisted into the air on one
side, the trouble had just begun.
There was the tire, hugging the rim
like a bear cub does its mother.
and with it's affectionate embrace
cemented by rust and long months
of proximity. The tire had to be
removed, and it was task calling
for the full play Of all the muscles
in the body, the cunning of trap
per, and the patience of Madison
Square Garden full of jobs
All sorts of tools ill-fitted for the
task of removing a tire came along
with a car in those days. Great
slabs of steel with beveled edges.
Ice-tong sort of hooks with which
to grab a loosened portion of the
tire. Mighty hammers, and vari-
Gus assortment of odds and ends
which, when spread out alongside
the road, always managed to creep
into the grass and get lost.
There was an established TECH
nique to be followed in getting off
tire. 1t was as set as how to swing
a golf club or how to ride horse.
The changer sat near the bottom
or fiat part. Then he grasped the
upper part of the tire and started
tugging. 1t was magnificent exer-
else, better than all the patented
rowing devices, stretching machines,
horizontal bars, and the like
An hour was usually required to
remove the tire. This was Just
step 2 in fixing puncture, with
many steps to follow.
4 X X
The tube had to be repaired.
Equipment for this bit of magic
also came along with the car, and
consisted of miniature coconut
crater, some funny smelling sticky
stuff, and half dozen or so little
patches.
Long days of travelling together
had made all of these items suspi-
cious of one another, and unwilling
to cooperate. The little crater
wouldn't roughen the tube, the
sticky stuff wouldn't maintain its
sickness for more than a quarter
of a second. And, even when it
did the little patch refused to let
it be lasting go-between between
the tube and itself.
Once the tube had been grated,
the sticky stuff applied, and the
patch pasted over the puncture,
there came period of waiting. No
two motorists ever agreed on how
long it was necessary for the patch
to take" Some said five minutes,
while extremists insisted on grasp
ing the patch firmly between their
hands and holding it in the sun for
as long as an hour. 1t was anna.
teur, and inefficient, vulcanizing
With the tube repaired, all that
was left to do was to get the tire
back on the rim and pump it up.
II getting the tire off was devilish,
getting it back on was tough with
all the trimmings. Either the rim
was too big for the tire or the tire
too small for the rim. One or the
other had to be hammered into
subjection.
The pumping process -- with a
wheezy little pump that was built
for nothing more difficult than in
f1ating toy balloons--completed the
exercise.
Speaking of pumping up tires
you know, the pictures of Mr.. Hem
derson indicate that. his chassis
could stand little of that sort of
work. It's getting tough to tell
where Mr.. Henderson's cigar leaves
off and Mr.. Henderson begins.
Listen, who's talking!
distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Incl