Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Duke University Libraries https ://arch i ve . o rg/detai Is/howtotakecareof a0 1 co 1 1 HOW TO TAKE CARE OF AN AUTOMOBILE AT SMALL EXPENSE By A. Frederick Collins The Book of Wireless The Book of Stars The Book of Magic The Book of Electricity Gas, Gasoline and Oil Engines The Amateur Chemist The Amateur Mechanic How to Fly The Home Handy Book Keeping Up with Your Motor Car D. Appleton & Company Publishers New York 596 E HOW TO TAKE CARE 6f AN AUTOMOBILE AT SMALL EXPENSE WITH COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATING REPAIRS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM BY A. FREDERICK COLLINS MEMBER AEBO CLUB OP AMERICA AUTHOR OP “THE BOOK OP WIRELESS,” “THE BOOK OP ELECTRICITY,” “THE HOME HANDY BOOK,” ETC.. FULLY ILLUSTRATED D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK LONDON 1920 Copyright, 1917, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY Printed in the United States of America TO MY NEPHEW RAYMOND SAMUEL ZEITLER INYENTOR — DESIGNER — BUILDER A WORD TO YOU Everybody else rides, so why don’t yon? This is the age of power, wheels, and speed, and yon ought to belong, for the riding is fine. To own a motor car means that you have increased the measure of your life tenfold, not by tacking on so many more years to those you have already lived, but by living that much faster while you do live. With a car you can go everywhere and see everything, and this takes you out of the rut of an ordinary human being and puts you into the class of the superman — takes you on the great broad highway where you can see a never-ending panorama of the glories of nature and the handiwork of her puppet;:. And this is indeed living. Again, there is your health. When you motor you breathe in great lungsful of oxygen — that wonderful magnetic gas which, if it is not life itself, is the great sustainer of life; and this helps to give you physical strength, to preserve your mental poise, and to increase your power so that when you get down to the routine of business again you are a regular dynamo for work. These are the good things about owning a motor car, and now let’s see what’s the matter with it. You may have thought that a car is beyond your means to buy and beyond your salary to keep up, and so it is apt to be unless you know, in the first place, how to buy one; in the second place, how to treat it after you get it ; and in the third, the right thing to do vii A WORD TO YOU viii when something goes wrong with it at whatever old place it may happen to stall. Not to know these things will make a car a burden to any man of ordinary means, but if you will take a tip from one who is in the know — I have examined the working specifications of 159 different makes of cars — you will find that it is almost as cheap to ride on air- inflated tires as it is to walk on rubber-heeled shoes, and it’s a lot more pleasant, too. So now get in with me for a demonstration, and if the car rides easy and it is all that you think it ought to be for the money, take the following twelve easy les- sons and be glad. A. Frederick Collins. Biltmore Chambers, Boston , Mass. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR The Dominant Idea; Ways to Buy a Car; Kinds of Cars to Buy; On Buying a New Car; Buying a Cheap Car; Buying a Medium-Priced Car; Buying a High-Priced Car; What’s What in Car Bodies; Buying a Car on Time Payments ; The Opulent Man’s Way; The Salaried Man’s Way; Buying a Second-hand Car. II. LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR Lessons from a Demonstrator; Running the Car Yourself; Now for Some Road Work; Just Before You Start; Nest Start the En- gine; When the Engine Is Running; You Are Ready to Go; How to Shift the Gears; On Direct or High Gear; To Slow Down and Stop the Car; How to Stop the Engine; Learning to Take a Curve; About Backing Your Car; When Going Up a Hill; When Going Down a Hill; When on Bad Roads; What to Do When the Car Skids; The Rules of the Road; To Equalize the Trac- tion. in. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR The Main Parts of a Car; The Running Gear or Chassis; What They Are Made of PAGE 1 . 14 . 31 IS x CONTENTS CHAPTER and How; About the Power Plant; The Transmission Mechanism ; The Transmis- sion; Friction Wheel Transmission; The Final Drive; The Car Body. IT. HOW THE ENGINE WORKS The Gasoline Engine ; The Parts of a Gaso- line Engine; How the Engine Works; How the Valves Are Worked; Timing the Valves; The Exhaust Gases; How an En- gine Is Built; Diseases of the Engine and How to Cure Them; How to Calculate the Horse Power of Your Engine; The Latest Word in Engines. T. HOW THE GASOLINE SYSTEM WORKS What the Fuel System Is; The Simplest Form of Carburetor; How the Carburetor Is Made and Works; The Construction and Operation of a Real Carburetor ; About Air and Gasoline Heaters; Kinds of Fuel Feed Systems; What Carburetion Means; About Buying Gasoline; Troubles with the Fuel System and How to Fix Them; Where the Fuel Power Goes. VI. HOW THE IGNITION SYSTEM WORKS Kinds of Ignition Systems; The Vibrator Spark Coil System; The Vibrator Spark Coil ; How a Spark Plug Is Made ; A Timer for a Single Cylinder Engine; A Dis- tributor for a Multi-cylinder Engine; The Magneto Ignition System; The Low Ten- sion Magneto; The High Tension Mag- neto; The Circuit Breaker Spark Coil Sys- tem; Why the Spark Must Be Timed; Dis- PAQB . 61 . 78 . 94 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE orders of the Ignition System and How to Treat Them. yil. HOW THE OILING SYSTEM WORKS . . 112 The Parts of a Car to Be Oiled; How the Engine Is Oiled ; Kinds of Lubricating Systems; How the Oil Pump Is Made; Oil Pressure and Pressure Gauges; About En- gine Lubrication; The Kind of Oil to Use; What Lubricating Oils Are Made of ; Trou- bles of the Oiling System and How to Get Rid of Them ; What to Lubricate the Clutch With; What to Lubricate the Transmission With; What to Lubricate the Universal Joints With; What to Lubricate the Dif- ferential With; What to Lubricate the Wa- ter Pump With; Your Lubricating Chart and Schedule. VIII. HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS . 127 The Air Cooled Engine; The Water Cooled Engine; The Thermo-syphon System; The Pump Circulating System; Kinds of Wa- ter Pumps; How the Radiator Is Made; The Tubular Radiator; The Cellular Radi- ator; The Combination Fan and Water Cooling System; Keeping the Cooling Sys- tem in Good Order; What to Do When Winter Comes; When Zero Weather Sets In. IX. HOW THE LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS WORK . . . .138 The Electric Lighting System; The Storage Battery ; The Dynamo ; The Automatic Cut- out; How the Current Is Measured; How xn CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE the Lamps Are Wired Up; The Electric Starting System; The Electric Motor; The Electric Starter; How the Drive Is Made; How the Drive Works. X. WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR When Your Car Stops on the Road Finding the Trouble; The Things You Ought to Carry; How to Repair a Tire While You Wait; Fixing the Radiator; Leaks in the Gasoline Pipe; When the Wa- ter Pump Leaks; Putting on a New Fan Belt; Fixing Spark Plug Troubles; To Loosen Screws and Nuts; How to Make Nuts Hold Tight; When the Clutch Acts Up; What Not to Do. When Your Car Is in the Garage When the Valves Need Grinding; Stretch- ing and Replacing Valve Springs; To Remove Carbon from the Cylinders; Put- ting in New Piston Rings; How to Adjust the Brakes; How to Make Good Gaskets; Replacing Broken Parts. XI. WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST When You Have a Breakdown on the Road; After Your Car Is in the Shop; Work on the Front Axle; Straightening the Frame; Repairing the Radiator; Timing the Valves; Adjusting the Connecting Rod Bearings; Adjusting the Crank Shaft Bearings; Regrinding and Reboring Cylin- ders; Rebrazing Loose Parts; Welding Broken Parts; Putting New Leather on the Clutch; Fixing the Steering Gear; Taking Care of the Universal Joints; About the . 151 165 CONTENTS CHAPTER Transmission Gears; A Twisted or Broken Propeller Shaft; Testing the Differential; Relining the Brakes; Overhauling Your Car. XII. HOW TO RUN YOUR CAR AT THE LEAST COST On Extra Seating Capacity; What Speed Economy Means; How Tire Economy Is Had; How to Be Good to Your Tires; Practicing Economy in the Water System; How Fuel Economy Is Obtained; How to Secure Ignition Economy; How Oil Econ- omy Is Worked; About Saving on Your Starting and Lighting System; How to Practice Engine Economy; Your Private Economy Service Inspection; Table of In- spection Items; Your Company’s Service Inspection; Keeping Your Car Spick and Span; Some Useful Recipes; Storing Your Car for the Winter. xiii PAGB . 174 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGUBB PAGB 1. The Ford runabout 3 2. The Chalmers touring ear 3 3. A Pierce-Arrow limousine ...... 3 4. An F. R. P. brougham 3 5. A. Top view of a ball gear shift lever ... 17 B. A gear shift lever working in a speed selector, or gate 17 C. Gear shifting table for a ball lever ... 17 D. Speed selector gates 18 6. A. Relative position of throttle and spark lever on semicircle 19 B. Throttle and spark levers on quadrant ... 19 C. Throttle and spark levers on the steering post . 19 7. A and B. The proper way to crank a car . . 20 8. A. Always press out the clutch before shifting the gear lever 22 B. Press the accelerator pedal with your right foot . 22 9. The fittings of the driver’s compartment of a Hudson Super-Six 23 10. A and B. How a car is backed .... 26 C. Reversing direction of car in a narrow street . 26 11. A and B. The right ways to pass a vehicle . . 29 C, D, and E. Turning into another street . _ .29 12. Front axle and steering knuckle assemble ... 32 13. A. The steering wheel linked to the steering assembly 33 B. Worm gear exposed, showing bearings and thrust 33 C. Screw and nut gear 33 14. Front axle and steering gear assembly ... 34 15. Rear axle assembly 35 16. Kinds of motor car springs ..... 37 xv XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGDBB 17. A. Sketch of external contracting or service brake . B. Sketch of internal expanding or emergency brake C. Parts of the brake assembled . 18. Kinds of tires and rims A. An inner tube with valve . . . . . B. The valve of an inner tube . ... . C. A clincher casing ....... D. A straight bead casing E. A clincher rim F. A quick detachable gear G. The demountable rim 19. A. How a cone clutch works B. Cone clutch and operating gear of an ordinary car C. How a disk clutch works D. Disk clutch of a Chalmers car . . . . E. How the magnetic clutch works . . . . F. How the magnetic clutch works on the Owen car 20. A. How a universal joint works . . . . B. Universal joint of Chevrolet car . . . . C. Universal joint of Pierce-Arrow car . 21. A, B, C, and D. Diagrams showing how forward and reverse transmission gears work E. Four-speed forward transmission .... 22. A. Diagram showing how a planetary transmission gear works B. Planetary gear transmission used on the Ford ear 23. A. Diagram showing how a friction transmission works B. The friction transmission of a Metz car 24. A. Diagram showing how the differential gears work B. Differential gears in their housing on the rear axle of a Chalmers car ..... 25. A car body built up of cast aluminum plates and backed by wood 26. Parts when assembled make a car .... 27. How a single cylinder engine works .... PAGE 38 38 38 39 39 39 40 40 41 41 41 44 44 45 46 47 47 48 48 49 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 57 58 59 64 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii FIGURE PAGH 28. Diagram of a multi-cylinder engine showing how the pistons are connected to the crank shaft . . 65 29. Timing gears, cam shaft and valves of a Ford engine 66 30. Diagram of how the cams work the valves . . 67 31. Four cylinders cast en bloc 68 32. A. Water jacket cast integral with cylinders . . 69 B. Piston, piston ring and wrist pin ... 70 C. Connecting rod and shim 70 D. Four cylinder crank shaft 71 E. A four cylinder cam shaft 71 F. A poppet valve 72 G. How the poppet valves are set . . . .72 H. One kind of a muffler 73 33. Cross section of a gasoline engine .... 77 34. A. How the nozzle forms a jet . . . . 79 B. How a spray of gasoline is made .... 79 C. Diagram showing how a carburetor works . . 80 35. A. The auxiliary air inlet of a carburetor . . 82 B. The carburetor complete in cross section . . 82 C. How the carburetor is coupled to the engine . 83 36. A. Cross section view of a Stromberg carburetor . 84 B. A Stromberg carburetor complete ... 84 37. Throttle lever and accelerator controls of carburetor 85 38. The pressure feed system 87 39. The vacuum fuel system 88 40. A. A dry cell and a battery of dry cells ... 95 B. Testing a dry battery 95 41. A. A cross section of a storage battery ... 96 B. Storage complete 96 42. A. A spark coil 98 B. Wiring diagram of a spark coil .... 98 43. A. A spark plug 99 B. How a spark plug is made 99 44. A spark coil, spark plug and timer for a one-cylin- der engine 100 45. Four spark coils with spark plugs and distributor for a four-cylinder engine 101 xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS rieuBB 46. A low tension magneto 47. A. Wiring diagram of a high tension magneto and interruptor for a one-cylinder engine B. Wiring diagram of a high tension magneto, in- terruptor and distributor for a four-cylinder engine C. A high tension magneto showing interruptor and distributor disk and plate 48. A. The circuit breaker and distributor combined B. Wiring diagram of a six-cylinder circuit breaker spark coil system ...... C. Pictorial diagram of a Remy six-cylinder ignition system 49. The straight splash system 50. The splash circulating system 51. The splash and force feed system . 52. The force feed system 53. The fuel force feed system 54. A gear oil pump 55. A, B and C. Troubles caused by using poor oil or wrong grade of oil 66. The lubricating chart of a Hudson car . 67. A. Air cooled cylinders B. Air cooled cylinders C. A Franklin air cooled engine .... 58. A. Diagram of the thermo-syphon system B. The thermo-syphon system of an Overland car . 59. A. Diagram of a pump circulating system B. The pump circulating system on a Buick car 60. Tubular and cellular radiators 61. A, B and C. Apparatus to test the storage battery 62. A, B and C. How dynamos are wound . 63. A, B and C. The automatic cut-out 64. A. A double scale ammeter B. A fuse is an electric safety valve .... 65. Wiring diagram of a lighting and starting system complete (Gray and Davis system) PADS 102 104 104 105 106 107 108 114 115 116 117 117 118 120 125 127 127 128 129 130 131 131 133 140 141 143 144 144 145 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 66. Wiring diagram of an electric starter 67. A. The electric starter complete B. The motor drive of an electric starter . 68. The kit of tools you need . . . . 69. Quick repairs for the road . 70. A couple of good kinks 71. A and B. How to take out and grind a valve 72. A. Testing the seating of a valve B. Stretching a valve spring . . . . 73. Scraping out the carbon 74. A and B. Tire inflation 75. Abused tires ....... xix PAGE 148 148 149 153 154 157 159 161 161 162 176 178 HOW TO TAKE CARE OF AN AUTOMOBILE AT SMALL EXPENSE CHAPTER I HOW TO BUT A MOTOR CAR I do not know whether you are a Christian or a scientist or both of these x and y quantities equated to zero hut I am firm in the belief that if you want a thing hard enough it will be yours for the thinking. It’s a trite saying that “where there’s a will there’s a way,” but never before in the course of human events has it been so strikingly exemplified as in the case of a fellow who wants a motor car and of his ability to find the means to get one. The Dominant Idea. — So let’s suppose that you have had a burning desire to own a car and enjoy life like your neighbors or to use one in your business like your competitors. How when this craving has seared into your soul deep enough it develops into a mental abnormality which psychologists call the dominant idea , that is, your every waking thought will automatically influence, control and direct your mental activities to the end that your wish may be fulfilled, and the net result of it all is that you, ! will finally own a car. 1 2 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR The whole process is akin to faith cure, as the psy- chical treatment of diseases is called, but you don’t need to care a continental how it is brought about as long as you get the coveted thing. Ways to Buy a Car. — Now there are several ways to buy a car — I say buy because it is the only scheme I know of to get one, for it’s a thing you can’t borrow — though you can borrow the money with which to buy one, it is quite unlawful to steal one and I have yet to hear of the lady or gent who accumulated enough green trading stamps to swap for one. You probably know as well as I do that if you have any amount of money from $345 on up with the sky as the limit you can go out and be separated from it in an hour’s time and bring the thing of beauty and joy until something goes wrong with it, home with you. This is the easy don’t-give-a-care way. But if you haven’t the immediate wherewithal two methods are still open for you to buy a car just the same, and these are (1) to mortgage your bungalow and (2) to buy it on time payments — the latter plan being the same in principle as that on which Ansonia clocks and Smyrna rugs are sold by peripatetic agents. As to mortgaging the old homestead to buy a car, well, that’s a tremenjous proposition which you and the wife will have to decide, but when it comes to the time payment plan that is an entirely different matter and more will be said about it anon. Kinds of Cars to Buy. — Generically speaking, there are two kinds of cars to choose from and these are (1) new ones and (2) second-hand ones. HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 3 All other things being equal it is always the best plan to buy a new car if you can afford it, but still there are times when it is good business to invest in a used car, but as the purchase of such a car is a weighty prob- lem it will likewise be touched on a little later. Fig. 1. — The Ford Runabout. The cheapest car made. Pries $345, 2 passenger, 4 cylinder, 20 horsepower. Fig. 2. — The Chalmers Touring Car. A fine example of a low priced car. Price $1,050, 5 passenger, 6 cylinder, 30 horsepower. Fig. 3. — A Pierce-Arrow Limousine. As good a car as need be built. Price $5,200, 5 passenger, 6 cylinder, 38 horse- power. Fig. 4. — An F. R. P. 1 Brougham. A car fit for a king and his queen. Price $9,000, 5 passenger, 6 cylinder, 52 horsepower. Oil Buying 1 a New Car.— In the very beginning this much is certain — you can’t go wrong if you buy a new car. Never before in the history of the automobile industry have manufacturers so felt the need of putting the very best materials and workmanship into their cars, because 1 Finley Robertson Porter. 4 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR of all the varied products used by the intelligent public today the motor car is the most widely discussed. A man may buy a turkey that he can’t masticate, or a suit of clothes that shrinks in the rain, or, in the polite vernacular of automobile row, he may get stung in any one of a hundred ways and soon forget all about it, but just let the smallest accident happen to his car and he will tell everybody he meets about it for the rest of his natural life. This untoward knocking has been a large factor in stimulating manufacturers to make good cars, and the result is that the cars of all the makers can be depended upon about in proportion to the price you pay. Next to buying a car of an old, true and tried maker, put as much money into it as you are able, for almost without exception the more a car costs the greater satis- faction it will give you, not only in its wearing qualities but in its riding properties, to say nothing of its higher- toned appearance. Buying a Cheap Car. — Should your bank roll range from $345 to $600 you will have a choice of two or more styles and of at least nine makes of cars. The following table gives the make of car, the price of it and the place where the factory is located : Table of Cars Costing Less Than $600. Name of Car. Ford Model I Emerson Chevrolet Price. Runabout $345. Touring 360. 395. 490. Where Made. Detroit, Mich. Kingston, N. Y. Detroit, Mich. HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 5 Name of Car. Price. Saxon B 5 R Roadster $495. Price. Where Made. i. Detroit, Mich. Metz 25 545. Waltham, Mass. 550. Minneapolis, Minn, Moore H G M Monroe M-3 Harronn 565. Pontiac, Mich. 595. Detroit, Mich. 595. Detroit, Mich. Maxwell 25-4 Before you buy one of these low-priced cars it is an excellent plan to get the literature on all of them. If you live in a city or even a town you will quite likely find a dealer, or at least an agent, who will supply you, and if you live in the country send to the manufacturers direct for it. My idea of buying a low-priced car is that one is about as good as another and so the only features that are worth considering are (1) the price you want to pay and (2) the car you like the best. Any of the above cars should give you good service for two years, or even longer, and you can then trade it in and get a new car of the same make, or sell it and try a car of some other make. In my opinion it is a great mistake to trade in a car at the end of the first year for it should then be in the very pink of condition. Since misery loves company it ought to cheer you up a bit to know that many of these cars are made of bet- ter materials than a lot of the medium-priced cars that were put on the market in 1910, and which have since gained in reputation and increased in price. Buy any of the above cars and you will in all events get your money’s worth. Buying a Medium-Priced Oar. — If you can 6 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR spend from $600 to $1200 for a car you will have over 60 different makes to choose from, and these include more than a dozen well-known names. These better kinds of cars should stand up well for four or five years and by that time you will either not need a machine or you will want a new one, especially if you are a stickler for style — though the design is not as apt to change either as fast or as radically in the next few years as it has in the past, but of course improve- ments will always be in order. To read what each advertising man has to say about all of the good points of his company’s car and all of the reasons why you ought to buy it would take half a lifetime, hence the best way is to pick out a car at your price, choose a style that you like, a type of body that meets your needs, a make that you know to be good, and see to it that the upholstery is twilled and not tufted and you won’t go wrong. Buying a High-Priced Car. — Doubtless you will say that a $1200 car is far from being high-priced, but, on the other hand, you will agree that a $9000 car is some expensive. One good thing about buying a high- priced car is that you can have your choice of 75 dif- ferent makes between these two extremes. When you buy a car costing between $1500 co $2000 you will have one that would do a King proud, but there are others. From $2500 on up you can have your pick of cars that include such famous makes as the Stutz, Lozier, Packard, Marmon, Winton, Pierce- Arrow, Locomobile, Simplex and the F. R. P. These and other high-priced cars are built of the fin- HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 7 est selected and most carefully tested materials and they are the last word in all that goes to make np per- fectly appointed cars. What’s What in Car Bodies. — As an aid in helping you to select the right kind of a body the fol- lowing table, which gives the different types of car bodies as officially defined by the Society of Automobile Engineers, is appended : Roadster. — An open car seating two or three. It may have additional seats on running boards or in rear deck. Coupelet. — Seats two or three. It has a folding top and full height doors with disappearing panels of glass. Coupe. — An inside operated, enclosed car seating two or three. A fourth seat facing backward is sometimes added. Convertible Coupe. — A roadster provided with a de- tachable coupe top. Clover Leaf. — An open car seating three or four. The rear seat is close to the divided front seat and entrance is only through doors in front of the front seat. Touring Car. — An open car seating four or more with direct entrance to tonneau. Salon Touring Car. — A touring car with passage be- tween front seats, with or without separate entrance to front seats. Convertible Touring Car. — A touring car with fold- ing and disappearing or removable glass sides. Sedan. — A closed car seating four or more all in one compartment. 8 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Convertible Sedan. — A salon touring car provided with a detachable sedan top. Open Sedan. — A sedan so constructed that the sides can be removed or stowed so as to leave the space en- tirely clear from the glass front to the back. Limousine. — A closed car seating three to five inside, with driver’s seat outside, covered with a roof. Open Limousine. — A touring car with permanent standing top and disappearing or removable glass sides. Berline. — A limousine having the driver’s seat en- tirely inclosed. Brougham. — A limousine with no roof over the driv- er’s seat. Landaulet. — A closed car with folding top, seats for three or more inside and driver’s seat outside. Buying a Car on Time Payments. — Nearly all dealers will sell you a car on what is called the deferred payment plan, that is, you pay 25 to 50 per cent down and the balance in eight or twelve equal monthly pay- ments, and you give your notes, promissory or secured, at 6 per cent interest, for the balance. Now the right way for you to buy a car at the present time is on the deferred or time payment plan, and this applies to you, gentle reader, whether you are a $20 a week grocery clerk or a millionaire, as you will plainly see if you will but read a little farther. The Opulent Man’s Way. — And why, you may wonder, should you with a barrel of cash on hand or in the banks, or better, its equivalent in stocks, bonds and other securities, buy a car on the deferred payment HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 9 plan and pay interest instead of paying cash and, per- chance, get a rebate. But there’s a reason and I hold it’s a mighty good one. When you buy a car of a dealer for cash the mo- ment he has your money and you have his car he loses interest in both you and the car. Should anything go wrong and you ask him to make it good, he will to all outward appearances he interested, but at heart it is a very negative interest and the result is that you are more than apt to get poor service and little or no satis- faction. ISTow you may say it isn’t fair and it isn’t business for a man to act that way and while your premises in both cases are true still it is simply unadulterated human nature, and you can’t change it, no, not even if you cut away that part of his thick ivory which presses against the convolution of his gray matter wherein re- sides his Christian training. But what you can do is to circumvent it by taking the proper precautionary measures when you buy the car. That is to say, make the first payment the dealer requires and then give him your notes for the balance, making the first one payable three months from the date of purchase if possible. Every maker and every dealer will tell you to run the car very gently at first because it is new, and that you must do so until the engine and other moving parts are tuned up. My idea is a little different in that when you get the car you ought to drive it at least 1000 miles a month, and by the time you have run it for the three months if there is any inherent defect it will be bound 10 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR to show up. Whatever happens to it see the dealer and you will find that he will take just as keen an interest in it as you do for he knows that unless he makes good and satisfies you that you will default in your payments for cause, and that he will have a second-hand car on his hands. Having thus run up the mileage to or more than the limit cited and tested it out when the three months roll around and your first note is due, if the car is satis- factory, take up all your notes and you will have paid the same price as if you had laid down the full amount in the first place, plus a very small premium, and you will know that your car is a good one. The Salaried Man’s Way. — And what has just been said above applies equally as well to the salaried man who buys a car. Not only this, but the deferred payment plan has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of men and women in moderate circum- stances to buy cars who could never have afforded them otherwise, just as the same plan has enabled these same thrifty, happy and independent folks to buy homes and to furnish them. The idea that it is poor policy for a person to huv that which he hasn’t the spot cash to pay for has, like Aristotle’s teachings that interest is sinful — long since been knocked in the head; so too the idea that it is wicked for anyone who has to depend on his daily toil for his bread to own a car is fallacious in every sense of the word. But what everybody has always admitted is perfectly all right and proper, though, is the pursuit of happi- HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 11 ness*; this being true, let me say that there is no vehicle besides the motor car and the aeroplane with which one can so successfully pursue happiness ; aye, what is more, it is one of the few ways in which one can actually catch up with it (unless something happens). I don’t need to tell you what a delight it is to spin smoothly and swiftly over long stretches of the country- side with those you love and who love you, stop at some quiet dell or by some babbling brook to eat your lunch and then roll up a comfortable mileage to get back home again. I tell you to do these things and to know nature is the finest kind of religion, and the motor car is a creed that has as many adherents, at least in spirit, as all the other formal religious beliefs put together. Go thou then and likewise hit the macadamized trail. Buying a Second-Hand Car. — The market is glutted with used cars of every kind and vintage, and you can buy some of these at prices as small as the tires of a good car are worth, and then on up to figures that are unconscionably high for the junk you get. Then there are all manner of people who have second- hand cars to sell from the individual owner who is leav- ing the city for a goal somewhere in France or a pole somewhere in the Arctics, to the regular used car dealer, and from the automobile broker to the high-grade com- panies who have what they are pleased to call rebuilt cars. Now when you buy a second-hand car you are taking a . far longer chance than you did when you bought the prehistoric quadruped of the genus equus in the long ago age that antedated Selden’s first self-moving wagon 12 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR in 1878, and for a considerable time thereafter. In those days you could at least look at her teeth and feel out her good and bad points. But not so with an auto- mobile, for while it may look well and run better on a demonstration there may be grave faults in it that neither you nor it will ever get over. Nor does it do any good to have a machinist look over a car for the defects are usually hidden from view and the only way to know its precise condition is to tear it down, examine every part and then reassemble it ; this of course is not practicable once in a thousand times, even if you were willing to pay for having it done. Be mighty careful, therefore, in buying a second- hand car of anyone for you do so at your own risk, or caveat emptor as the bill of sale will read, which means in cold-blooded American let the buyer beware , and that you buy it as is. Talk about injecting the hypo into an antediluvian selling plater to make her prick up her ears, take the kinks out of her knees and do a mile in something less than three minutes — why, it’s mere child's play as against the way a professional dealer doctors up a tin lizard and handles the sale of it. My advice is never to buy a second-hand car unless you are willing to spend an additional $50 or $100 on it to have it overhauled after it is yours for keeps. With high-grade cars like the Packard, Pierce- Arrow, Winton, etc., you take a smaller chance because they are made of the best possible materials to begin with and if you are looking for service rather than style HOW TO BUY A MOTOR CAR 13 any of these good cars that are less than five years old and can be bought for less than $500 is what I should call a bargain. To buy a rebuilt car of some big and well known com- pany is in my opinion entirely safe — probably because I have never had the actual experience of buying one in that particular manner — but in any case you will pay all that the car is worth. Still sticking to my original premise if you will buy a new and tested make of car costing from $1000 to $2500 on the deferred payment plan you can’t lose out. CHAPTER II LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR I am taking it for granted that you have never driven a car before but I am also assuming that you have al- ready bought a car and that the aforesaid car is a brand- new one. Lessons from a Demonstrator. — This being the case, you are ready to take your first lesson from a demonstrator ; that is, a man employed by the company to instruct a buyer how to run his car. You and he get into your car — they never teach you in a car that be- longs to the company — and naturally he takes the wheel and you’re off. He drives you to some wide and quiet street where you will receive your first lesson. If you are a wise gazabo you will cross the palm of his hand right away with a $5 bill, for then he will take great pains to tell and show you about your car ; his patience and ability as a tutor will be increased in the ratio of about 0 to 5, i. e., to infinity. How while the demonstrator is fully competent to teach you to drive the car at the same time if you know a little about it in advance he will be able to teach you in half the time and it follows you will be able to drive your car just twice as quickly. Hence it behooves you to read this book very carefully. 14 LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR 15 The Lessons. — In your first lesson tlie demonstrator simply shows you how to work the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals and use the throttle, spark and gear shifting levers. The next lesson he lets you take the steering wheel and you throw the clutch in and out, shift the transmis- sion gears, accelerate the engine — that is, you give it more gas — and learn to brake the car by means of the service and emergency brake levers. In the third lesson, if you are an apt pupil, he teaches you how to turn around and to back up, and finally he goes over the car and shows you where all the grease- cups are, how to oil the engine, all about the starting, ignition and lighting systems and then he drives you to your garage and leaves the high-powered machine for you to get acquainted with. Running the Car Yourself. — When you are alone together, so to speak, with your car, the best way is to get into it while the engine is dead, that is not running, and practice throwing the clutch in and out and work- ing the brake and accelerator pedals; the main thing is to learn to push the clutch out every time before you throw the gear shift lever, for if you forget to do so you will strip the gears, which means that a few teeth will be broken off them. If you will read the following chapters painstakingly you will know exactly how the clutch and transmission gears are made and how they work, as well as the carburetor which regulates the supply of gasoline and air that forms the explosive mixture, or fuel mixture as it is called, for the engine, and the ignition 16 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR system, which makes the electric sparks for explod- ing it. Knowing the action and operation of these de- rices it will be easy for you to understand why and how the pedals and levers control them, and hence it will he almost second nature for you to manipulate them. Now for Some Road Work. — What to Do First. — Having practiced with the pedals and levers until you are perfectly familiar with them you are ready for your 'premier as a driver. Before you start be sure to (1) fill the radiator with clean water; (2) fill the gasoline tank with a good grade of gasoline; (3) put lubricating oil in the engine; (4) turn all the grease cups once around, and, finally, (5) turn on the gasoline — every car has a pet cock for this purpose. If the gasoline system is of the pressure feed type be sure there is enough pressure in the tank. Just Before You Start. — The next few things to do are (1) to put in the ignition switch; (2) throw the gear shifting lever to the neutral position as shown in Fig. 5 — that is, so that none of the transmission gears mesh; (3) set up the throttle lever — this is usually the longest and the upper lever on the brass quadrant, or semi-circle, fixed to the steering post — to about 45 de- grees. The distance varies according to the make of the car. The demonstrator will show you the exact point to set it from the base of the quadrant as shown in Fig. 6 ; (4) advance the spark lever — this is usually the shortest and lower lever on the quadrant — that is, Fig. 5. — A. Top view of a ball gear shift lever. B. A gear shift lever working in a speed selector, or gate. LOW TO SECOND SECOND TO HIGH HIGH TO NEUTRAL NEUTRAL TO REVERSE Fig. 5. — C. Gear shifting table for a ball lever. 17 18 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR move it about 90 degrees 1 from the base of the quadrant, or semi-circle, and (5) flood the carburetor , either bj pulling out on the priming rod , which in the cheaper cars projects through the radiator, or by press- FOR THREE SPEEDS FORWARD FOR FOUR SPEEDS FORWARD Fig. 5. — D. Speed selector gates. ing the priming button on the dash in the better car; (6) close the switch. Next Start the Engine. — Now start the engine either by cranking it by hand or by using the self- starter, according to the kind of car you own. 1 Hera again the distance varies according to the make of the oar. 'OSmON OF THROTTLE AND SPARK LEVER FOR FAST RUNNING POTTLE LEVER POSITION OF SPARK LEVER FOR BEST RUNNING AT FI EDI UN SPEED THRO TTLE 'POS! T/ON OF THROTTLE EE VER LEVER FOR NED/Un PEED C POSITION OF THROTTLE ■x-EEVER FOR STARTING -AND SLOW RUNNING SPARK LEVER RUNNING POSITION OF SPARK EE VER FOR STARTING QUADRANT SPARK LEVER Fig. 6. — A. Eelative position of throttle and spark lever on semi- circle. B. Throttle and spark levers on quadrant. Fig. 6. — C. The throttle and spark levers on the steering post. 19 20 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR (1) Where a self-starter is used all you need to do is to push down on the starting switch with your foot and it will do the rest. (2) If your car is one that you have to crank by hand, grasp the handle of the crank with your right hand and keep your thumb and fingers on the same side and in the same way as shown at A in Fig. 7, and stand with your left side toward the car as shown at B ; turn the handle clockwise and push in on it until it meshes , that is, catches in the crank shaft of the engine, and then give it a quick half-turn up from its lowest to its highest position, when the engine ought to start. Should the repeated half-turns of the crank fail to start the engine give the handle a complete turn but in so doing be very careful on the down stroke because the handle may be kicked the other way by the back fire of the engine and you may get your arm hurt. LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR 21 If a magneto is used instead of a battery ignition system you can turn the crank around several times without stopping, or spin it as it is called, without dan- ger, provided the spark lever is not advanced too far. When the Engine Is Running. — After the en- gine starts (1) move the throttle lever down a little — see A in Fig. 6 — when the engine will run slowly; (2) move up the spark lever to give the engine more power and (3) if there is a lever or a button on the dash for the carburetor adjust it until the engine runs smoothly. You Are Ready to Go. — When the engine is run- ning smoothly then (1) release the hand or emergency brake and at the same time hold the car with the foot or service brake as shown in Fig. 8, and don’t forget to do it either. (2) Grasp the steering wheel on each side; (3) press out the clutch by pushing in on the clutch pedal with your foot — this disconnects the engine from the driv- ing shaft; (4) throw the gear shift lever from neutral to the first speed position as shown in Fig. 5, and (5) release the service brake with your right foot. (6) Now with the same foot press the accelerator pedal, see Fig. 8 again, which is connected with the throttle lever, until the engine picks up in speed; (7) let your foot up gradually on the clutch pedal when the clutch will begin to take hold and you will find your car slowly running along the road. How to Shift the Gears. — When the car has gained a little headway and you want to go faster (1) press the accelerator pedal to give the engine more 22 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR gasoline, and hence more momentum ; then (2) push out the clutch; (3) throw the gear shift lever over to second place, or speed as it is called, as shown in Fig. 5, and this will carry you along faster but with less power. Always be sure to press out the clutch before you shift the gears or you will strip off the teeth. When you shift the gears to the next higher speed don’t do Fig. 8. — A. Always press out the clutch before shifting the gear lever. B. Press the accelerator pedal with your right foot. it too quickly; neither do you want to wait until the car has slowed down after you have pressed out the clutch. After a very little running you will know intuitively when the speed is reached where you ought to change to the next higher gear. The load you carry and the kind of a road you are on taken together determine the speed gears you should use and the time to change them. On Direct or High Gear. — When you have ^hanged from second to direct, or high speed gear you can run nearly as slowly as you did on low gear — that LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR 23 is, if you want to; or you can run as fast or a little faster than the law allows; in fact, you can get any speed you want by simply pressing on the accelerator pedal more or less, which feeds the fuel mixture into the engine. In learning, drive your car quite slowly when it is on y/tcuuN pump- spark CONTROL HORN SUTTON THROTTLE CONTROL LEVER GASOLINE FEED REGULATOR LEVER OIL GUAGE SH LAMP SPEEDOMETER TAIL AND DASH LAMP IGNITION SUTTON CLUTCH PEDAL ACCELERATOR PEDAL FOOT BRAHE PEDAL CHANGE GEAR LEVER TO BE TTT CENTQffL POSITION TTTZVC.K-JC. TVMCN STARTING- nOTOR FIRST SPEED AMMETER COMBINATION SNITCH EMERGENCY DRAKE LEVER STARTER PEDAL UTCH SHIFTING SLEEVE GREASE CUP Fig. 9. — The fittings of the driver’s compartment of a Hudson Super-Six. high gear and you can do this by throttling down the engine with the throttle lever to the speed you want; but be careful not to throttle it down to the point where the engine labors or stalls altogether. To Slow Down and Stop the Car. — (1) When you are r unn ing along and want to slow down lift your foot from the accelerator pedal and press down on the brake pedal, when not only the brake but the engine 24< KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR will retard the car. When the speed of the car falls to less than 10 miles per hour press out the clutch. (2) To stop the car press on the clutch pedal and the brake pedal at the same time, and (3) if you are in danger of running into something pull the hand emer- gency brake back also at the same time with all your might. But this procedure is mighty hard on the tires, so avoid it if possible. See Fig. 9 and also A Fig. 75. (4) When you stop the car always see to it that the gear shift lever is set in the neutral position. (See Fig. 5.) How to Stop the Engine. — All you have to do to stop the engine is to (1) pull the throttle lever clear down to the base of the quadrant, and (2) turn the ignition switch key off. A better way to stop the engine is to (1) pull the throttle lever about half way down — in order to fill the cylinders with a rich charge — and then (2) turn off the ignition switch ; this will enable you to re-start your engine very easily on compression as it is called. Learning to Take a Curve. — Knowing now how to start, run and stop a car your next move is to learn to take a curve, that is, how to turn a comer. Since you turn the steering wheel in the direction you want to go 1 and as you turn it in proportion to the curve you want to take, it comes just as easy and nat- ural as pulling on the right or left line of a dinosaurus and saying gee or haw, and it’s not nearly as nerve racking either because you don’t have to swear at the 1 This means that the top of the wheel is turned in the direction you want to go. LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR 25 beastie at the same time. Practice turning left-hand corners as well as right-hand ones. Always slow down when you turn a corner for it is not only dangerous to take a curve at high speed but it is very hard on the tires as well. About Backing Your Car. — Practically all cars that are built at the present time have only one speed on which they can be reversed. To back the car (1) push out the clutch ; (2) throw the gear shift lever over to the reverse position as shown in Fig. 5; (3) accelerate the engine a little by pushing down on the accelerator pedal and (4) let the clutch in gradually. If you want to back straight away of course you must keep the front wheels straight, that is, in alignment with the rear wheels. To back the car either to the right or left turn the steering wheel exactly as you would to turn it to the right or left when going ahead, as the diagrams A and B in Fig. 10 show. To turn your car around in a narrow street in order to reverse your direction drive up close to the right- hand curb as shown at C, make a short turn and run up close to the opposite curb and at right angles to it; now throw the gear shift lever into the reverse position and then back the car until it is headed in the direction you want to go and far enough away from the curb to easily clear it when you go ahead again. When Going Up a Hill. — A gasoline engine is different from a steam engine in that it develops power only when it is running at a fairly high speed. Again the faster a car runs the more momentum it gathers, that 26 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR is, the farther it will run after the power is shut off. Bearing these two facts in mind when you are about to negotiate a hill, however long, or steep, or both, it Fig. 10. — A and B. How a car is backed. C. Reversing direction of ear in a narrow street. may he, give your car a good running start. When the force of the momentum has spent itself, and the moment the engine begins to lose power, shift the gear lever LEARNING TO DRIVE YOUR CAR 27 over to second speed. If the engine begins to labor when on second, shift the gears to the first speed notch. After a long climb has been made if you bring the car to a stop throttle down the engine and let it run for five minutes so that it will cool off gradually; by so doing you will find it will work much better when it is started again. When Going Down a Hill. — If you are not already running on high gear when starting down a hill throw the gear shift lever over to high, press out the clutch and let the car coast. Keep the speed of the car under control with the foot brake and use the emergency brake only if neces- sary. On reaching the bottom of the hill when the speed of both the engine and the car is the same let the clutch in again. Should the hill be a very steep one the engine can be used as a brake; to do this throw the gear shift lever into second just before you start down, switch off the ignition system, and let the clutch in very gradually; of course you use the brakes as before. When on Bad Roads. — Suppose in driving along you come to a bit of road that is bad, don’t try to run on your high gear but shift the gear lever over to second right away. Never hit a hollow or a bump end on but go over the rut or ridge very gently at a slant for then the springs won’t get the full shock all together but one at a time. Should the road be muddy, or sandy, the engine may commence to pound, or to run badly; the remedy for 28 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR this is to retard the spark by setting down the spark lever and you will quickly find a point where the en- gine works smoothly. What to Do When the Car Skids. — Driving over wet streets without chains on the rear tires is a dangerous procedure, but sometimes it can’t be helped. To keep the car from skidding take all curves very slowly and use your brakes very gently. Should the car begin to skid the rear wheels will slip sidewise and this is your cue to instantly turn the front wheels in the direction the car is skidding; if you do this quickly enough the car will skid but little farther. Sometimes when the brakes are put on too hard the car will take a notion to skid and also when the power is too suddenly applied; in either case the thing to do is to release the brakes and the car will right itself again. The Rules of the Road. — When you meet an- other vehicle on the road pass it on the right side as shown at A in Fig. 11. Should you overtake a vehicle and want to pass it, toot your horn and drive ahead of it on the left-hand side and as rapidly as possible, but without cutting in short ahead of it, as shown at B. When coming to a cross-road or a street where you cannot get a clear view of the road in both directions, slow down your car to a speed where you can easily stop it should there be another vehicle coming from either direction. When you want to turn your car into another street, or road, to the right keep your car as near the right- hand curb as possible as shown at C in Fig. 11. When d 1 §t- •ul i Si* OiS giS Q-0 / A is 0 \ i * I \ \ CQ Ihl iUi M a P. Cj £ bb ^3 H o u 1 6 I I Ar' v ^51* a i K ' * * «*. ^■S, S S* X I V K £ £ U L 29 Pig. 11. — Turning into another street 30 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR you turn into another street to the left you should go around the center of the intersecting streets as shown at D. The wrong way is shown at E. When you intend to turn to the right hold out your hand on the right side of the car and when you intend to turn to the left hold out your hand on the left side of the car so that those behind you will know what you are going to do. Also signal in the same way when you are slowing down or are about to stop. When nearing a railroad crossing throw the gear shift lever over into second speed and drive up cautiously to see if you are safe in making it and if you conclude you are, accelerate the engine so that there will be no danger of stalling it. When approaching frightened horses bring your car to a stop if necessary and sometimes you may have to stop the motor. Then if anything happens it won’t be your fault. To Equalize the Traction. — Always use tires of the same size and tires having the same tread on the rear wheels, and if you use chains use them in pairs. A difference in the diameters of the rear tires makes the tractive effort of the wheels vary and this makes the differential work all the time the car is running, thus causing needless loss of power and a useless wear- ing of the parts. CHAPTER III THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR Just as all gasoline motor cars of the passenger type have the same general design so also all of them are built on the same general lines and operate on the same general principles. This being true it is obvious that if you understand the construction and operation of any one car you will have a pretty good working knowledge of all the others and so the first thing you ought to do before you buy a car is to know something about one. The Main Parts of a Car. — A motor car of what- ever kind consists of five chief parts and these are: 1. The frame. 2. The running gear, or chassis. 3. The power plant. 4. The transmission mechanism, and 5. The body. The Running 1 Gear, or Chassis. — The word chas- sis 1 (pronounced cha'ze ) includes (1) the front axle; (2) the steering gear, which turns the front wheels; 1 This is a good old French military word and means the car- riage on which a gun is mounted so that it can be run in and out of a battery. 31 32 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR (3) the rear curie; (4) the wheels and (5) the brakes, all of which are mounted on (6) the frame. What They Are Made of and How. — The Frame. — This is the part on and around which all the other parts are built. It is made of a pair of channel section beams, or side members as they are called, and these are strongly braced by cross members and gusset plates to prevent it from weaving and twisting. The GRE./1SE CUP Fig. 12. — The front axle and steering knuckle assembly. best frames are made of chrome nickel heat-treated steel. The Front Axle. — This is usually made of an I beam section of vanadium steel — which will twist but will not break — and to the ends of which ball or roller bear- ing hubs are fitted; the hubs are swung on the axle by means of pivot jaws and the steering knuckles, as the swinging parts are called, are connected together with a connecting rod, all of which is shown in Fig. 12. The Steering Gear. — As shown at A in Fig. 13 the steering gear consists of the steering wheel, which oper- ates either a worm gear as shown at B, or a screw and nut movement as at C by means of a shaft which passes through the steering post ; this motion is transmitted Pig. 13. — B. Worm gear exposed, showing bearings and thru si C. Screw and nut gear. 33 34 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR to a 'pitman arm by the gear or nut ; in turn the pitman arm is pivoted to one end of the connecting rod while the other end is pivoted to the drag link which moves the steering knuckles. The way in which the front axle and the steering gear are fixed to the frame is shown in Fig. 14. The Rear Axle. — This is made up of a lot of parts, as shown in Fig. 15 ; first there are two steel axle shafts , one for each of the rear wheels, and these are usually roller bearing ; these shafts are enclosed in a tube called a housing, and the inside ends of the latter are welded to the differential gear case while the outside ends are joined to the brake flange plates. Rear axles are of (1) the semi-floating type or (2) the full floating type. These terms simply mean the way or method by which the weight of the rear end of the car is held up by the axle. With the semi-floating axle the weight is carried THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 35 first by the axle shafts and then it is transmitted to the housing. In the full floating type the weight is car- ried entirely by the housing. Both of these types are good and both are used in the best makes of cars. The Suspension. — By which is meant the manner and the means employed for securing the frame of the car to the running gear. This is done by using springs of various kinds and the best suspension is the one that absorbs the shocks of uneven roads to the greatest ex- tent for this not only makes easier riding but it saves the machinery as well. Five types of springs are used for motor car sus- pension and these are (1) half elliptic; (2) three- quarter elliptic; (3) full elliptic; (4) platform and (5) cantilever, all of which are shown in Fig. 16. The front springs are generally of the half or semi- elliptic type; these springs are fixed to the axle with axle clips and to the frame with bolts — as shown in Fig. 14; it will also be observed that the housing of the steering gear is attached to the frame. 36 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Over half of the rear springs used on cars are of the three-quarter elliptic type, with a sprinkling of full elliptic, a few half-elliptic and a very small percentage of the platform and cantilever types. Fig. 15 shows how the frame is mounted on the rear axle by means of three-quarter elliptic springs, and Fig. 16 shows how a cantilever spring is mounted. The Service and Emergency Brakes. — Fundamen- tally a brake is a friction device where a fixed surface rubs against a moving surface with the result that the moving surface is brought to a stop. On a railroad car a brake shoe presses against the surface of the mov- ing wheel, while in a motor car a brake band, usually lined with asbestos, presses against a brake drum which is fixed to the rear wheel. There are two kinds of brakes on every car and these are (1) the foot or service brake, which is operated by a foot pedal, and (2) the hand or emergency brake which is controlled by a hand lever on the side of the car. These brakes work inside and outside of a brake drum bolted to the rear wheel ; the foot or service brake con- sists of a steel band lined with a strip of woven asbestos and when you push the brake pedal it draws the band together and tightens it on the brake drum as shown at A in Fig. 17 ; hence a brake of this kind is said to be of the contracting type. The hand or emergency brake consists of a steel band covered with either asbestos or with a special kind of bronze, and this one works inside the brake drum so that when you pull the hand lever back the brake band THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 37 is spread apart and rubs against tbe drum as shown at B ; for this reason it is called an expanding brake. The mechanism of the service or contracting, and the emer- gency or expanding brakes is shown in detail at C in QUARTER ELLIPTIC 5EMI ELLIPTIC PLATFORM SPRING Fig. 16. — Kinds of motor car springs. Fig. 17, while that of the assembled brakes on the rear axle is shown in Fig. 15. The Wheels . — Three kinds of wheels are used on motor cars and these are (1) wood wheels; (2) wire wheels and (3) hollow steel spokes which resemble wood. When wood wheels or hollow steel spokes are 38 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR used the weight of the car rests on the lower spokes, while with wire wheels the spokes above the hub sup- port the weight of the car. Here are the claims of the makers of both wood and wire wheels. Wood wheels are cheaper, stronger and will stand more strain and rough usage ; they are easier to keep clean and can he washed in half the time, and REAR/NG- Fig. 17. — A. Sketch of external contracting or service brake. B. Sketch of internal e: panding or emergency brake. C. The parts of the brake assembled. lastly they are neater in appearance and will not rust. Wire wheels are lighter and more elastic; they save tires and gasoline; they possess great resisting strength and will stand severe shocks, and finally, they add to the attractiveness of a car. Kinds of Tires and Rims . — A rubber tire for a motor car is formed of two parts and these are (1) the inner tube and (2) the casing. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 39 The Inner Tubes. — The inner tube is simply a thin rubber tube with the ends joined together and fitted with a valve, as shown at A and B in Fig. 18 ; this is placed inside of the casing and when the latter is put on the rim of the wheel the valve stem sticks through a hole in the rim and felloe. It is then pumped up with RUBBER CAP Fig. 18. — Kinds of tires and rims. A. An inner tube with valve. B. The valve of an inner tube. air and this keeps the casing hard and yet makes it elastic. The Casings. — There are two types of casings used and these are (1) the clincher as shown at C and (2) the straight bead as shown at D. The bead on a plain clincher casing is made of soft rubber while the bead on a straight bead casing is made stiffer and is often re- inforced with wire. The Rims. — There are three types of rims made for motor car wheels and these are (1) the plain clincher 40 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR rim as shown at E, (2) the quick detachable rim as shown at F, and (3) the demountable rim as shown at G. The Clincher Rim. — For a plain clincher rim a clincher bead casing only can be used and you will see from the clincher casing shown at C that the beads TREAD OF HEAVY CLOSE WOVEN COTTON, CLINCHEi BEAD RUBBER NON SKID TREAD TREAD COVERING OF RUBBER BEAD CORE OF RUBBER OR WIRE STRAIGHT BEAD Pig. 18. — C. A clincher casing. D. A straight bead casing. slip under the curved sides of the rim shown at E. This type of rim is to he found only on cars of the vintage of 1910 or before, and a few present cars of cheaper make. To take off a clincher tire the air must be let out of the inner tube and the valve stem pushed up into the casing as far as it will go. The bead can then be forced in from the curved side with a tire iron and when this has been done all around the tire can be pulled off. The Quick Detachable Rim. — A cross-section of a quick detachable rim is shown at F. The way it is constructed makes it easy to take off and put on a tire as against the clincher type. It consists of two clincher rings, or they can be straight bead rings, and a third THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 41 and outside ring which can only be taken off when the tire is deflated. CURVE SIDE TO HOLD CURVED BEAD OF TIRE FELLOE R/HO-5 TO HOLD TIRE OH BA HD THI5RIHC- COHES OFF A 'EXT ' 'OUTER RING) \ - SPOKE E FELLOE Fig. 18. — E. A clincher rim. F. A quick detachable rim. To take a tire off the inner tube must be deflated first and the valve stem pushed up into the casing as DEMOUNTABLE RIM WHICH CARRIES THE TIRE Fig. 18. — G. The demountable rim. far as it will go ; this done, the third and outside ring, which is cut at one place, can then be easily taken off. 42 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR After the third ring is off the clincher, or straight bead ring can be slipped off and then the tire. The Demountable Rim . — A later device to help the impatient motorist on his swift way is the demountable rim. In this type the tire is put on a separate rim which may be either of the clincher or straight bead type ; this demountable rim can be taken completely off of the rim fixed to the felloe when a new rim with a fresh tire can be put on in its place. In this way a tire can be changed in a few minutes and the punctured tube or blown-out casing can be repaired when you get home. The demountable rim is held in place by a removable rim band bolted to the felloe of the wheel as shown at G ; when the nuts are taken off of the rim band the lat- ter can be slipped off and then the demountable rim which carries the tire. The Removable Wheel . — The last word in getting over tire troubles is to remove the whole wheel with the tire on it from the hub and replace it with a new wheel and tire. This can be done with wire wheels only. About the Power Plant. — The power plant of a motor car means the engine and all the auxiliary parts that have to do with the initial development of the power. Engines for motor cars are built with 4, 5, 6, 8 and 12 cylinders, and develop from 20 horse-power which is used in the cheapest cars to upwards of 120 horse- power in the larger touring cars. The engine is usually a self-contained unit, that is, THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 43 all its parts are built in or on to it and the whole plant is then bolted rigidly to the side and cross mem- bers of the frame. The design, construction and opera- tion of engines will be taken up in the next chapter. The Transmission Mechanism. — Between the crank shaft of the engine and the axle shafts of the rear-axle, which set at right angles to the former, there are several mechanical devices interposed, the purposes of which will be seen presently, and these when taken together are called the transmission. The transmission includes the following devices (1) the clutch; (2) the transmission gears and their con- trol; (3) one and sometimes more universal joints ; (4) the propeller shaft , and (5) the differential gears. The Clutch. — The purpose of a clutch is to enable you to connect and disconnect the engine from the pro- peller shaft, as the main driving shaft is called, at wilL The reason a clutch is needed is because a gasoline en- gine can only develop power when it is running at a fairly high speed, as I think I mentioned before ; hence when starting your car the engine must be gently and gradually connected with the drive or the engine will stall because it is overtaxed. There are two general types of clutches and these are (1) the friction clutch and (2) the magnetic clutch. Friction clutches are used on all cars except those of one make and this is the Owen, which uses the magnetic clutch. Friction Clutches. — So called because a surface fixed to the crank shaft of the engine and another surface fixed to the driving shaft of the car will, when pressed 44 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR together hard enough, cause the first one to turn the second due to the friction between them. There are two types of friction clutches, namely, (1) the cone clutch and (2) the disk clutch. The cone clutch is the most popular and is shown at A in Fig. 19. It is formed of a conical recessed mem- ber fixed to the crank shaft of the engine — the flywheel a P AND OPERATING- n U MECHAN/5NJ Fig. 19. — A. How a cone clutch works. B. Cone clutch and operating gear of an ordinary ear. is generally used for this part of the clutch — and a cone which is secured to the drive shaft ; the latter is usually made of aluminum or pressed steel and faced with leather. Of course when the cone is pressed into the recessed flywheel the friction between them will make the cone revolve. By letting the cone into the recessed member very gently the former will revolve slowly at first and then faster and faster until both are turning at the same speed. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 45 A stiff spiral spring forces the cone into contact and keeps it there unless it is compressed by pushing in on the clutch pedal when the cone is pushed out and so comes the saying “push out the clutch.” A cone clutch of a car is shown at B. Disk Friction Clutches . — Clutches of this type de- pend for their operation on the friction produced by a number of circular rings of sheet metal, called driving disks , which are fixed on studs and connected with the crank shaft of the engine, pressing against a like num- ber of circular rings of sheet metal called the driven disks, which are mounted on the drive shaft, and so that they interleave as shown at C in Fig. 19. A spiral spring keeps the disks on the drive shaft in close contact with the disks on the studs which are keyed to the flywheel of the engine except when pressed out by the clutch pedal. CRANK SHAFT OF ENGINE c DRIVEN DISKS FIXED TO DRIVING SHAFT Fig. 19. — C. How a disk clutch works. 46 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Two kinds of disk friction clutches are used and these are (1) the dry plate disk clutch and (2) the oil im- mersed disk clutch. In the former the disks, which are keyed to the inside of the flywheel, are covered with woven asbestos cloth and these work against the soft steel disks which are keyed to the drive shaft. These plates run dry, that is, they are not immersed in oiL A Chalmers dry plate clutch is shown at D. In the second kind the disks secured to the flywheel are made of steel plates as are also the driven disks, but the latter have a large number of holes in them into which corks are forced. The whole clutch is then immersed in oil. The Magnetic Clutch . — In the magnetic clutch mag- netism is used to form the connection between the crank shaft and the drive shaft instead of friction. The principle of the magnetic clutch is clearly pic- THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 4? tured at E in Fig. 19. Suppose that a horseshoe magnet is mounted so that it can he revolved by a crank and a piece of soft iron is mounted so that it can be rotated between the poles of the magnet; now if you turn the crank the iron will turn with it for it is held to the poles of the magnet by magnetic attraction. HORSESHOE Fig. 19. — E. How the magnetic clutch works. F. How the magnetic clutch works on the Owen Car. Place this arrangement in a car as shown at E ; re- volve the magnet by means of the engine and connect the piece of iron to the propeller shaft when the torque, that is, the turning power of the engine, will be transmitted to the propeller shaft by the magnetic force. Instead of a steel magnet use an electro-magnet so that you can make it as weak or as strong as you please. 48 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Now when you want to change speeds you only need to change the strength of the magnet and if you weaken it there will L?a slippage between it and the iron, and Fig. 20. — A. How a universal joint works. in this way you can get any speed you want without friction clutches and without transmission gears. The Universal J oint . — Since it is impossible for the propeller shaft, which is bobbing up and down all the UWFRSAL JOWT OfACHE V ROUT CAR Fig. 20. — B. The universal joint of a Chevrolet Car. time the car is running, to be directly connected and in alignment with the rigid crank shaft of the engine a universal joint is used to couple them together. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 49 Now a universal joint is a coupling that permits both of the connected shafts to turn no matter what position they are in. In its simplest form it consists of a TJ- shaped end on each shaft and these are secured with pivots to the ends of an X as shown at A in Fig. 20. Fig. 20. — C. A universal joint of a Pierce- Arrow Car. The universal joint used in the Chevrolet car is shown at B and the kind that is used in the Pierce-Arrow car is shown at C. The Transmission. — Since a gasoline engine must run at a very high speed and a car runs anywhere from 0-f- up to 50 miles — a little more when the constable isn’t looking doesn’t matter — these differences must be equalized and this is done through what is called the transmission. The purpose of the transmission, then, is to reduce the speed developed by the engine before it is trans- 50 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR mitted to the propeller shaft as may be required, and hence it follows that the smaller fast moving force of the engine is changed into a slower but more powerful force before it is transmitted to the propeller shaft. Transmissions are of two general types and these are (1) those using change gears and (2) those using fric- tion wheels. Change gear transmissions can further be divided into two classes, namely (a) those with slid- ing gears and (b) those with planetary gears. Sliding gear transmissions have three or four forward speeds, while planetary gear transmissions are usually limited to two speeds ahead, and both kinds have one reverse speed. Sliding Gear Transmission. — Now let’s take a three speed forward and reverse transmission such as is used in nearly all medium-priced cars and find out just how it works. To begin with we’ll consider the forward speed gears first, that is, those that propel the car ahead, and then we’ll look into the reverse speed gears. Suppose, by way of illustration, you fasten a small gear on the end of the crank shaft of the engine and a large gear to a counter-shaft so that the gears will mesh as shown at A in Fig. 21. It must be clear now that the crank shaft, or clutch shaft as it is called be- cause it connects with the clutch and which in turn con- nects with the crank shaft of the engine, will make the counter-shaft revolve, though not so fast and in the opposite direction. Now set a third, or main-shaft , in line with the crank shaft and put a small gear on this one which you can slide on it and yet so that it will revolve with it ; one way of doing this is to make the shaft square and the hole in the gear square. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 51 Key another and second gear on the counter-shaft so that it will turn with it; if now the sliding gear on the main-shaft is shifted over so that it will mesh with the second gear on the counter-shaft as shown at B, of course the power will he transmitted from the engine to the counter-shaft and thence to the main-shaft, which CLUTCH SHAFT TO ENGINE (0 SECONDARY SHAFT CLUTCH SHAF7 to ENGINE .<0 to. FOPWRRD^ 1 — * ^ REVERSE' TO MAIN DRIVE SHAFT T7A IN DRIVE SHAFT REVERSE GEAR CLUTCH SHAFT TO ENGINE feUSS & FORWARD MAIN DRIVE D/RECT DRIVE SHAFT Fig. 21. — A, B, C and D. Diagrams showing how forward and reverse transmission gears work. is direct connected to the propeller-shaft through the gears, and the speed at which the latter revolves will depend on the speed of the engine and on the relative sizes of the change gears. By using gears of different ratios three or four speeds may be had. In looking at any picture of a transmission just hear in mind that there are two separate and distinct shafts 52 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR in the gear case for forward speeds, and you will have no trouble in understanding it. When the car is running on second gear and you shift the gear lever over to direct , or high speed, the end of the main-shaft is forced into the end of the clutch shaft and locked there so that the engine is direct connected with the propeller shaft as shown at C ; this is the reason only two pairs of gears are needed for a three-speed transmission and three pairs of gears are needed for a four-speed transmission. To reverse the direction of the propeller shaft a fourth shaft, called a secondary-shaft , but which is really only a pin, which has a gear that meshes with one on the counter-shaft and another gear that engages a gear on the main-shaft, is used. It is hard to show this second- ary-shaft in a picture when the other two shafts are seen because it is directly under the counter-shaft, but the diagram shown at D will give you the idea of it. THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 53 The sliding gears are shifted along on the propeller shaft by means of a shifter yoke which fits into grooved disks as shown at E ; the shifter shaft is secured to the yoke and the gear shift lever is fastened to the shaft. The transmission assembly , as the shafts and gears are called, are enclosed in a transmission case made of PLANET GEAR Pig. 22. — A. Diagram showing how a planetary transmission gear works. cast aluminum and the case is then partly filled with fiber grease or some other gear compound. Planetary Gear Transmission. — In this kind of trans- mission all of the gears are in mesh all the time. The scheme is shown at A in Eig. 22, in which the driv- ing gear is fixed to the clutch-shaft and the four small planet gears turn on spindles fixed to the ring plate; these mesh with the driving gear and also with the large internal ring gear. 54 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR A br £ ak e band is fixed around tbe plate carrying tbe small gears so that tbe plate can be stopped from turn- ing when only tbe small gears will revolve. A brake band is also fixed around tbe ring gear so that it can be stopped from turning. A change of speeds is bad as follows : Fig. 22. — B. Planetary gear transmission used on the Ford Car. "When bigb speed is wanted tbe brake bands are loose and all of tbe gears revolve together ; for low speed tbe brake band around tbe ring plate is tightened so that it cannot turn and this forces it to revolve in tbe same direction as tbe driving gear but at a much slower speed. To reverse, tbe brake band around tbe ring gear is tightened and then tbe ring gear revolves in tbe op- posite direction to tbe driving gear, though much slower. Tbe Eord, which is shown at B, and all other planetary transmissions, work on this principle. Friction Wheel Transmission.— This type of REVERSE DRUM . BUSH/NG .SLOW SPEED DRUM BUSHING DRUM THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 55 transmission consists of a large wheel, or disk, fixed to the end of the crank shaft and a smaller wheel secured to the propeller shaft ; now when the small wheel presses against the large disk, as shown at A in Fig. 23, it is made to revolve by the rolling frictional contact be- tween them. By changing the position of the driven wha^i on DRIVING PI 5 K Fig. 23. — A. Diagram showing how a friction transmission works. the surface of the driving disk a wide variation of speed can be had and by moving the position of the small wheel from one side to the other across the center of the large disk both forward and reverse speeds can be had. This transmission also serves the purpose of a clutch. It is used in the Metz and the Lambert cars as shown at B. The Propeller Shaft . — This shaft couples the trans- mission gears with the differential through a universal joint. It should be made of vanadium steel, heat- 56 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR treated, as this alloy will not break under torsional stresses but will simply bend. The Final Drive.— Last of all of the running gear is the final drive, that is, the means which trans- mits the power direct to the rear wheels. There are TO ENGINE WHEEL Fig. 23. — B. The friction transmission of a Metz Car. two types of final drives and these are (1) the center- shaft and (2) the side chain drive. With the exception of three or four of the cheaper cars which use the chain drive the center-shaft drive is used on all passenger cars. The Differential. — The reason a differential gear is used is that when the rear axle of a car goes round a THE VARIOUS PARTS OF A CAR 57 curve the inside wheel moves faster than the outside wheel and the gears must not only drive the wheels LEFT HAND DIFFERENTIAL GEAR LEFT HAND AXLE SHAFT PROPELLER SHAFT DRIVING PIN GEAR CASE \aEIN DIFFERENTIAL Lg - — ^ PINION RIGHT HAND H AXLE SHAFT PIN GEAR CASE RING GEAR R/GHT HAND, DIFFERENTIAL GEAR DIFFERENTIAL PINION Fig. 24. — A. Diagram showing how the differential gears work. timkenbearin- bearingadjust HE NT BEARING LOCK RING GEAR- DIFFERENTIAL GEARS DIFFERENTIAL GEAR CASE TIMKEN BEARING BEARING LOCK BEARING ADJUST- MENT NUT ■REAR AXLE. HOUSING Fig. 24. — B. The differential gears in their housing on the rear axle of a Chalmers Car. hut at the same time allow them to run at different speeds. The differential works like this: A driving gear is fixed to the end of the propeller shaft and this meshes 58 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR with and drives a ring gear. To the ring gear is fixed a differential gear case and this turns with it. There are four differential gears, and one of these is secured to one of the axle shafts and the other to the other axle shaft as shown at A in Fig. 24; the upper and lower differential gears are pivoted to the gear case and these mesh with the gears fixed to the axle shafts. Now when one of the rear wheels runs faster than the other, the pivoted differential gears not only re- volve on the pins in the gear case, hut they turn at the same time around the gears on the axle shafts. In this way any difference in the speed of the rear wheels makes < 2 - c2H- -z^. ci- < %- ,0l> :^r" ^fc^ L UtfHS 33113dOVd O73w£^ no ■W/Or- '■^l/AZ/j 59 Fig. 26. — The parts when assembled make a car. 60 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR the differential gear on one axle shaft turn inde- pendently of the gear on the other axle shaft. The differential gears in the housing on the rear axle are shown at B. The Chain Drive . — Occasionally the rear wheels are driven by chains on sprocket wheels like those on a bicycle. Where this is the case either a differential or a friction transmission must also be used. The Car Body. — The bodies of cars are made of wood, iron and aluminum. Wood is very little used except where special bodies are made to order. Pressed sheet iron is largely used in the cheaper cars and pressed sheet aluminum in the better makes of medium grade cars, but some of the high grade cars axe now using aluminum cast in sections which are riveted together; the shell thus formed is backed with wood and it is then given 15 or 20 coats of paint. A cast aluminum car body backed with wood is shown in Pig. 25, and an assembled car is shown in Pig. 26. CHAPTER IV HOW THE ENGINE WORKS The power plants of nearly all motor cars are gaso- line engines, though some of them have electric motors and a very few use steam engines. The reason the gasoline engine is preferred is be- cause the power is obtained directly inside the cylinders, whereas with the steam engine a high pressure boiler must be used and it is, in consequence, very hard to keep the joints from leaking. Both the gasoline and the steam engine are prime movers , but electricity as it is produced today is a secondary power, that is, it must be generated by some other power first, and this limits its range of useful- ness. The Gasoline Engine.— All gasoline engines used in motor cars are built and work on the same funda- mental principle, namely, that an explosive gas, called the fuel mixture , made by mixing air with gasoline, is drawn into the cylinder, where it is compressed by the piston and then ignited by an electric spark, when the resultant explosion forces the piston down and so pro- duces power. As there is only one explosion to every other down stroke of the piston in the cylinder, and no explosions on 61 62 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR the up strokes, there is only one power 1 stroke to every two revolutions of the crank shaft on a single cylinder engine; to obviate this bad feature four or more cylin- ders are used, and the pistons are so placed that there is a power stroke for every half turn of the crank shaft to which they are all connected. In this way the power developed is continuous, or practically so. The Parts of a Gasoline Engine. — The easiest way to understand how a gasoline engine is made and how it works is to consider a one-cylinder engine first. In this case the engine is built up of (1) a cylinder open at one end and closed at the other, in which (2) a piston moves to and fro, and this is connected to (3) a connecting rod, which in turn is connected to (4) a crank shaft; then there are (5) a pair of timing gears, one of which is fixed to the crank shaft and the other to (6) a cam shaft , w 7 hich, when it revolves, opens and closes (7) a pair of valves at the right moment to let the explosive fuel mixture into the cylinder, and to let out the burnt gases. To supply the cylinder with the proper mixture of gasoline and air (8) a carburetor is connected between the gasoline tank and the inlet valve in the cylinder head and finally, to explode the mixture (9) an ignition system is employed, that is, a high tension electric cur- rent is used to make a spark. 1 On a single cylinder engine there is 1 power stroke to 2 revolu- tions of the crank shaft; 4-cylindcr, a power stroke every % revo- lution of the crank shaft; 6-cylinder, a power stroke every 1/3 revolution of the crank shaft; 8-cylinder, a power stroke every % revolution of the crank shaft; 12-cylinder, a power stroke every 1/6 revolution of the crank shaft. HOW THE ENGINE WORKS 63 In an engine made for motor car service where from four to twelve cylinders form the power plant, there are added (10) a distributor to send the electric current into each cylinder in turn and at the instant it is needed; (11) a cooling system to keep down the heat of the cylinders and (12) a lubricating system for oil- ing the moving parts of the engine, all of which will be described in separate chapters. How the Engine Works. — The operation of a single cylinder engine can now he followed easily, and there is very little more to understand about a four- cylinder engine on up to a twelve-cylinder engine. In Fig. 27, A, B, C and D represent the same cylinder with the piston in different positions at differ- ent time intervals during which the crank shaft has made two complete revolutions. To begin with let’s suppose that the inlet valve is open as shown at A, that the piston is moving down and that the fuel mixture is being drawn into the cylin- der; the moment the piston reaches its lowest position the inlet valve is closed as shown at B and the piston then moves up and compresses the fuel mixture. At the moment the piston reaches the top the spark is made and ignites the gas, when it explodes as shown at C, thus driving the piston down ; hence this is called the power stroke. When the piston reaches the end of its power stroke the exhaust valve is opened, and when the piston again moves up it pushes the burnt gases out of the cylinder as shown at D. From the above cycle of operation, as these four move- ments of the piston are called, you will readily see that 64 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR there is only one effective stroke and, consequently, only one effective half turn of the crank shaft in two revolu- tions on a single cylinder engine. Now to get an ef- fective stroke for each half turn of the crank shaft so that the turning power, or torque as it is called, is con- tinuous, four or more cylinders are used and the pistons Mp PISTON A (crankshaft B the The suction stroke compression STROKE STROKE Fig. 27. — How a single cylinder engine works. A, B, C and D represent the same cylinder during two revolutions of the crank shaft. on all of them are connected to one crank shaft as shown in the diagram, Fig. 28. The Use of Multi-Cylinders . — In a four-cylinder en- gine there is a slight break in the effective power at the end of each power stroke of the pistons because each one must come to a full stop at the ends, or dead cen- ters . , of its stroke before it can reverse its direction. HOW THE ENGINE WORKS 65 To lap over these breaks and make the turning power continuous six cylinders are often used. An eight- cylinder engine gives four power strokes to each revo- Fig. 28. — Diagram of a. multi-cylinder engine showing how the pistons are connected to the crank shaft (firing order of the cylinders is 1, 2, 4, 3). lution of the crank shaft, and a twelve-cylinder engine gives six effective strokes. How the Valves Are Worked. — To make the inlet and the exhaust valves open and close at the right in- 66 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR stant timing gears are used as shown in Eig. 29. The small gear is keyed to the end of the crank shaft, and the other gear, which has twice the number of teeth on it as the small driving gear, is keyed to the end of the cam shaft. Two cams are mounted on the cam shaft for each pair of valves, since there is an inlet and an exhaust INTAKE STROKE EXHAUST VALVE CLOSED IN TAKE VAL YE OPEN \ COMPRESSION STROKE INTAKE VALVE CLOSE £XHAUSTValve d exhaust valve closed intake VALVE closed 'EXPLOSION STROKE intake valve closed EXHAUST VALVE OPEN .EXHAUST STROKE VALVE STEM CRANK SHAFT ■ CAM 5HAFT CONNECTING- ROD PUSH ROD ■LARGE TIME GEAR SMALL TIME ~~ GEAR EXHAUST CRANK SHAFT Fig. 29. — Timing gears, cam shaft and valves of a Ford engine. valve in each cylinder. The various positions of these cams as they turn with the cam shaft are shown in the diagram Eig. 30, during the four strokes of the piston. The cams working the inlet and exhaust valves are shown as mounted on separate cam shafts in order not to confuse, but they are more often all mounted on the same cam shaft. Timing the Valves. — To make the engine efficient it stands to reason that the inlet and the exhaust valves must open and close at precisely the right moment. But HOW THE ENGINE WORKS 67 the right moment does not mean that the valves must open and close when the piston is at the exact end of its stroke, or on its dead center as it is called, but on the contrary, they must open and close a little before and a little after the end of the strokes and this is called the lead and the lag of the valves. Thus in order that the burnt gases can be pushed out with the least resistance possible by the piston on Y *y >o kj<0 I Si >o d S 125 126 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR different oils and greases that are on the market the severest tests. Consequently he knows better than any one else the lubricants that are best suited to his machine. And whatever make of lubricants the car manufacturer tells you to use, use it and no others, no matter what the oil dealer or the garage man may say to the contrary. Further, when you buy a car you will get a lubri- cating chart with it, as shown in Fig. 56, only larger. This chart is a top view of the chassis which shows at a glance where (1) either oil or grease is to be used; (2) how much of the lubricant is to be used and (3) how often it is to be used. Make your lubricating chart in- structions a fetish and your reward will he great in the days when your neighbor’s car is in the scrap heap. CHAPTER VIII HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS To keep the cylinders of the engine from getting too hot two general types of cooling systems are used and these are (1) cooling with air , and (2) cooling with water. A combination of these two systems is used on all cars with but two exceptions. The Air Cooled Engine. — In this system the en- gine is so designed that the cylinders are cooled off by forcing a current of air directly on them. fl ^ 1 ^ RING CYLINDER. MB CYLINDER Fig. 57. — A. Air cooled cylinders. B. Air cooled cylinders. To make the cylinders radiate the excess heat as rapidly as possible, parallel metal rings as shown at A in Fig. 57 or radial ribs as shown at B are cast on the outside cylinder walls. The stream of air is set up by a 227 128 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR fan, fixed to the rim of the flywheel as shown at C. The Franklin and the Eagle-Maccomber are the only ; cars using the air cooled type of engine. Fig. 57. — C. A Franklin air cooled engine. 2,220 cubic feet of air flows over the cylinders every minute. The Water Cooled Engine. — The water cooling system may be divided into two classes and these are (a) the thermo-syplion system and (b) the pump circu- lating system. In the water cooled engine the cylinders are jacketed, that is, each cylinder has another one cast around it, leaving a space between them, as explained in Chap- ter IY and shown at A in Fig. 32, and cold water is forced through this space around the cylinders either by the action of the heat itself or by means of a pump. Whichever scheme is used the water is made to flow through a radiator usually set in front of the engine, HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS 129 and this cools the water by the air striking it as the car runs along. The construction of the different kinds of radiators will he described presently. The Thermo-Syphon System. — It is well known that when water is heated it rises to the top of the ves- sel and it follows, conversely, that the cold water will stay on the bottom, and this is the principle on which the tliermo-syphon cooling system works. This is be- cause cold water is heavier than hot water. Fig. 58. — A. Diagram of the thermo-syphon system. The jacketed cylinders are connected at the top and the bottom with the top and bottom of the radiator as shown at A in Fig. 58. When the cylinders heat the water enough it rises to the top and flows from the en- gine through the upper pipe to the radiator ; now when the air strikes the radiator it cools the hot water at the top and this falls to the bottom when it flows through the lower pipe back into the jacketed cylinders again. As the cold water flows into the cylinder jackets it pushes up on the hot water and the latter is forced 130 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR through, the upper pipe to the radiator and so the cir- culation of the water around the cylinders is continu- ous. Over one third of the cars now made are equipped with the thermo-syphon cooling system. The system F/LLEJZ Fig. 58. — B. The thermo -syphon system on an Overland Car. as applied to the Overland car is shown at B in Fig. 58. The Pump Circulating System. — To make the water circulate around the cylinders without regard to the heat developed, a pump is used as shown at A in Fig, 59. The pump is driven by a counter-shaft which is geared to the crank shaft; the pipe connected to the lower part of the radiator is coupled to the intake of the pump; the outlet of the pump is joined to the bot- tom of the cylinder jackets and the top of the latter is HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS 131 connected in turn to the radiator. The pump system of a Buick car is shown at B in Eig. 59. W/)TFR filler Fig. 59. — B. The pump circulating system on a Buick ear. Kinds of Water Pumps. — There are two types of pumps used for circulating water systems and these are (1) centrifugal pumps and (2) positive , or force feed pumps. 132 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR The Centrifugal Pumps. — There are various kinds of centrifugal pumps, hut the cross-section of the one pictured in Fig. 59 shows the principle on which pumps of this kind work in general use on cars today. This simple and effective form of pump consists of a num- ber of curved blades mounted like the spokes of a wheel on a hub and these fit snugly to the sides of the pump case and its circumference so that there will be as little leakage between the blades and the case as possible. The water is led into the pump at or near the center of the case and it is thrown out by the centrifugal force of the blades, as they revolve, into the discharge pipe which is connected to the jackets. Positive , or Force Feed Pumps. — There are two kinds of these pumps in general use and these are (1) the gear , or tooth wheel pump, and (2) the rotary pump. The first is made exactly like the oil pump shown in Fig. 54. The second consists of an eccentric mounted on a shaft in a casing and when the eccentric revolves it presses against the circumference of the casing and in this way it forces a certain amount of water into the discharge pipe. These pumps are found usually on the higher priced cars. How the Radiator Is Made. — The radiator is an arrangement, made up of a large number of small pipes in or around which the water heated by the cylinders flows; and on or through which the air to cool it blows when the car is running. There are many different radiators on the market HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS 133 but all of them may bo classified under two general heads, namely, (1) the tubular radiator and (2) the cellular, or honeycomb radiator. The radiator that has the largest surface exposed to the cooling action of the air gives the best results, but the cost, strength, Fig. 60. — Tubular and cellular radiators. weight, likelihood of leakage, and ease of repairing are also factors that must be taken care of in the design of radiators. The Tubular Radiator.— In this type a large number of parallel tubes, which are open at both ends, are soldered to the top and to the bottom of the radiator as shown at A in Eig. 60. In some radiators the tubes are set vertically, and in others they are set horizontally, the former way, though, being the most common. Then parallel disks or spirals of sheet metal are sol- dered on each tube about % of an inch apart and as the 134 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR water flows through and heats the tubes the heat is ra- diated by them and therefore the tubes and the water in them are cooled by the air striking the disks or spirals. The Cellular Radiator. — This type of radiator is made up of a large number of small short tubes set par- allel with each other and horizontally ; hence these tubes are only as long as the thickness of the radiator and are soldered to a front and back plate drilled full of holes as shown at B in Fig. 60. When water is poured into this radiator it fills the spaces between the tubes and the air blowing through the latter cools the water circulating around them. A cellular radiator is less likely to be damaged than a tubular radiator and it is much easier to repair, espe- cially if you are on the road. The Combination Fan and Water Cooling Sys- tem. — In addition to the radiator cooling system a fan is used to augment the circulation of the air on nearly all cars. The fan is usually set just hack of the radiator and it aids materially in sucking the air through it and this cools the water much more rapidly. The fan is often mounted on an adjustable arm the lower end of which is fixed to the block of the engine by means of a stud. The common practice is to drive the fan by a belt from a pulley on the end of the driving shaft. It can also be driven by direct gearing or by a silent chain. Keeping the Cooling System in Good Order. — The Radiator. — (1) Fill the radiator with clean water, HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS 135 pouring it through a strainer, and keep it full. Use soft water as hard water generally contains lime and other impurities. (2) When the radiator is empty, or nearly so, do not pour cold water into it. (3) Drain off the water in the cooling system at least once a month by opening the drain cock, or plug, at the bottom of the radiator, and fill it with clean water; (4) when dirt is allowed to accumulate on the outside of the tubes of a tubular radiator or inside of the tubes of a cellular radiator it forms a film on them that keeps the heat from being radiated and this may cause the engine to overheat; always keep the outside of the radiator washed clean. (5) To thoroughly clean the radiator inside, uncouple the hose connections and flush it out by means of a gar- den hose connected with a hydrant so that the water under pressure will flow from the bottom through to the top; this will remove all rust and scale that may have accumulated inside and this must he done every three months to make the cooling system effective; finally don’t use a potash solution to clean the water cooling system; instead dissolve one pound of sal soda in a gallon of water ; fill the cooling system with it, let the engine run an hour and then drain it off while the motor is still warm. Adjusting the Fan . — The belt should be kept tight enough to prevent it from slipping on the fan pulley, but it should not be too tight. The right adjustment can be made by moving the arm that carries the fan and tightening up the bolt that holds it to the engine block. 136 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Taking Care of the Pump. — On each side of the pump on the shaft you will find a grease cup and this should he given a turn occasionally. Should the pump begin to leak around the shaft screw up the stuffing box but not too tight or the shaft will bind. What to Do When Winter Conies. — If a car ia not properly taken care of in cold weather very serious damage may result. When you put your car in the garage if the temper- ature is 40 degrees above 0 Fahrenheit or less, draw off the water in the cooling system, for if the tempera- ture should drop to 32 degrees F., the water will freeze in it and this may put holes in the radiator tubes and even crack the cylinders. When you stop your car in cold weather don’t let the engine stop, but throttle it down to keep the water warm. If the radiator is fitted with ventilating doors, close them; if not, then cover about half of the lower part of it with tin or cardboard. When Zero Weather Sets In.— When the tem- perature drops to the freezing point draw the water from the circulating system and fill it with one of the following anti-freezing solutions: For Temperatures from, 32° to 15° Above 0° Use 15 per cent 10 per cent 75 per cent Wood Alcohol Glycerine Water 100 per cent HOW THE COOLING SYSTEM WORKS 137 For Temperatures from 15° Above to 0 ° Use Wood Alcohol. 20 per cent Glycerine 15 per cent Water 65 per cent 100 per cent For Temperatures from 0° to 10° Below 0° Use Wood Alcohol 25 per cent Glycerine 15 per cent Water . 60 per cent 100 per cent For Temperatures from 10° to 20° Below 0° Use Wood Alcohol 50 per cent Glycerine 25 per cent Water 25 per cent 100 per cent Add enough alcohol to make up for the amount that evaporates. CHAPTER IX HOW THE LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS WORK Every passenger car now made is equipped with elec- tric lights and, with but very few exceptions, with elec- tric starters. How in order to have electric lights as well as to start the engine without cranking it by hand a storage battery is needed, and this being the case the most natural thing in the world was to make it also serve as the ini- tial source of current for the ignition system as de- scribed in Chapter VI, and this is what is meant by the three-in-one system. The Electric Lighting System. — There are three chief parts to the lighting system of whatever make, and these are (1) the storage battery , (2) the dynamo to charge it with and (3) the automatic cut-out. The Storage Battery. — How the Battery Is Charged. — Each cell of a storage battery will develop a ; pressure of about 2 volts and the amount of the current, or amperes, delivered by it depends entirely on the size of the plates. About 90 per cent of the cars now made are fitted with a 6 volt battery, 8 per cent have a 12 volt battery and the others have a 24 volt battery. The battery is charged by means of a small dynamo geared, or belted, to the crank shaft of the engine. Xow 138 LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 139 when the pressure, or voltage, of the dynamo when run- ning at full speed, is greater than that of the storage bat- tery some of the current will flow into the latter and charge it. But should the dynamo fall off in speed, and hence in voltage, the current from the storage battery will flow hack through the coils of the dynamo unless the circuit is broken. To automatically close the battery circuit when the dynamo is delivering its full voltage, and to open the circuit when the voltage is less than that of the battery, an automatic cut-out , or switch, is provided and this is what is meant by the terms floating a storage battery on the line and floating on the line principle. Testing the Battery. — There are three simple ways to test a storage battery and these are with (1) a test- lamp; (2) a voltmeter and (3) a hydrometer. To use a test lamp, see A, Fig. 61. Hold one end of the lamp wires on the positive battery terminal and the end of the other wire on the negative terminal and if the bat- tery is all right the lamp will light. Each cell should be tried out separately if the lamp does not light when the whole battery is tested. To test the battery with a voltmeter, see B ; hold the ends of the wires on the + and — terminals of each cell of the battery, and if it is in working order the volt- meter will show about 2 volts. A hydrometer, see 0, is an instrument which is floated in the battery solu- tion, or electrolyte, and the depth to which it sinks shows the specific gravity of it. The solution of a fully charged battery in good condition will generally have a specific gravity of between 1.275 and 1.300, and the cells of 140 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR a battery should not vary more than 15 or 20 points. The Dynamo. — How it is Made . — A dynamo is made like the low tension magneto described in Chap- ter VI, but instead of having permanent magnets a soft A TEST AND TROUBLE LAMP OUTFIT A VOLTMETER FOR TESTING BATTERY CELLS A HYDROMETER FOR TESTING THE ACID OF A STORAGE BAT- TERY Fig. 61. — A, B and C. Apparatus to test the storage battery. LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 141 iron core wound full of wire is used; when a current flows through the coils of wire the iron cere, or field magnet as it is called, becomes strongly magnetic. The field magnet of a dynamo can be wound in three different ways, and these are (1) series wound, as shown at A in Fig. 62 ; (2) shunt wound as at B, and (3) com- pound wound as at C. Now the voltage and the current * ^-5£P/£5 CIRCUIT c A COMPOUND WOUND DYNAMO Fig. 62. — A, B and C. How dynamos are wound. (amperes) of a series wound dynamo decrease as the load of the outside circuit — that is, the power taken by the lights or the storage battery — is increased. The voltage of a shunt wound dynamo increases as the current in the outside circuit decreases and the other way about, and so if a dynamo has both a series and a shunt wound field magnet, namely, a compound winding, it will give a more nearly constant voltage at all loads, and this is the kind of a dynamo that is used for motor car work. 142 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR The Automatic Cut-Out. — An easy way to close a circuit with an electric current is to use an electromag- net. An electromagnet consists of a bar of soft iron on which is wound a coil of copper wire. If a current is made to flow through the coil and a flat piece of soft iron, called an armature, is brought near the end of the electromagnet it will be attracted to it. How the Cut-Out Works . — If now the electromagnet is made to close a pair of spring contact points, just as it does in the vibrator of a spark coil, and the contact points are connected in one of the main line wires be- tween the dynamo and the storage battery as shown at A in Fig. 63, while the coil of the electromagnet is con- nected across the main wires between the dynamo and the storage battery, it is clear that when the dynamo begins to develop current it will energize the electro- magnet; this in turn will attract the armature and so close the main line circuit when the current from the dynamo will flow into and charge the bat- tery. But when the dynamo slows down the current gets weak in the coil of the electromagnet, the spring flies back and opens the contacts and the dynamo is auto- matically cut out from the storage battery. Because the current in the electromagnet is apt to get weak momentarily even when the dynamo is running fairly fast a second coil is wound around the first coil on the electromagnet and this is connected in the posi- tive main line, or feed wire, as shown at B. As soon as the contact points are closed by the current flowing LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 143 through the first, or shunt coil as it is called, of the magnet the current begins to flow through the second, or series coil, and this strengthens the electromagnet and so prevents the contact points from breaking apart, un- less the speed of the dynamo falls too far below the normal. How the Output of the Dynamo Is Regulated. — Be- sides the cut-out above described there is another pair of contact points, called the regulator points , which are opened and closed by another electromagnet connected in circuit with the field wires as shown at C. When the points are drawn apart a resistance is cut into the field circuit and as the current must then flow through the resistance it prevents a further increase in the out- put of the dynamo. How the Current Is Measured. — To know to what extent the battery is charged, how much current it 144 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR is delivering and whether the system is working prop- erly, an ammeter, see A, Fig. 64, is used. The ammeter measures the amount of current in am- /7M METER Fig. 64. — A. A double scale ammeter. peres and it is connected in the circuit as shown in Fig. 65, that is, in the negative feed wire between the dy- namo and the storage battery. It usually has a double GU7S5 TUBE Fig. 64. — B. A fuse is an electric safety valve. scale , one side being marked charge and the other side discharge. When the needle is at rest on 0 it shows that the battery is not receiving any current and that it is not delivering any current. When the needle swings over LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 145 to the side marked charge it shows the actual amount of current that is generated by the dynamo and which is either charging the battery or is being used for light- ing and ignition purposes. When the needle swings over the side of the scale marked discharge it shows the amount of the current that is being pulled by the lamps and the ignition system. Fig. 65. — Wiring diagram of a lighting and starting system complete (Gray and Davis system). How the Lamps Are Wired Up. — While it amounts to exactly the same thing in the end there are two systems used for wiring cars and these are (1) the one-wire system and (2) the two-wire system. In the one-wire system a single wire is run from the battery to the lamps and the return connection is made through the frame of the car as shown in the wiring dia- gram Fig. 65 ; this is called also the grounded system. In the two-wire system the return connector is an insu- lated wire. 146 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR Why Lamps Are Connected in Parallel. — The lamps are connected up in parallel , that is, they are connected across the field wires, as shown in Fig. 65. The reason this is done is because the voltage which each lamp takes is just about that which the battery can develop and each one pulls just the amount of current, or am- peres, it needs to light it. Then again if one lamp bums out it does not affect the others as it would if they were connected in series. The dash and the tail lamps, though, are usually connected in series so that if the tail lamp bums out the dash lamp will also go out and so indicate it. Lamps Have Two Sources of Current. — When the car is running over 10 miles an hour the lamps are fed directly by the current generated by the dynamo and when the car is running less than 10 miles an hour the lamps are fed by the battery. How the Lamps Are Protected. — To protect the lamps from burning out a fuse , see B Fig. 64, is con- nected in circuit between each lamp and the one next to it and the positive feed wire. For this reason all of the wires of all of the parts are led to a junction box fixed in some accessible place. The Sizes of Wires to Use. — Use standard automo- bile wire or cable of the following sizes: For wires connecting the dynamo to the battery and to the junction box use No. 10 wire Brown and Sharp gauge. For junction box to head lamps use No. 12 B. and S. gauge. For all other lamps and horn use No. 14 B. and S. gauge. How the Horn Is Wired Up . — The magnet, or motor, LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 147 which operates the horn is wound for the same voltage as the lamps and it is also connected in parallel with them as shown in Tig. 65. The Electric Starting System. — All sorts of schemes have been devised to start the engine without having to crank it by hand and these may be sifted down into four general types, namely, (1) compressed air ; (2) gas; (3) mechanical, and (4) electrical. Compressed air and gas starters are entirely out of use and so need no description. As far as I know, and I have examined the specifications of 159 passenger cars, the Ford is the only one that is not equipped with an electric starter; there are several mechanical start- ers on the market for Ford cars, but as space is at a premium, let’s stick to the more general electric starter. The Electric Motor. — Away back in the early days of electric lighting when the dynamo was as frisky as a short tailed calf in fly time, some one acciden- tally found that when an electric current was made to flow into the coils of a dynamo the armature would re- volve and so the electric motor came into being just like Topsy. The Electric Starter. — Now all there is to an elec- tric starting system is the motor and the storage battery with a starting switch in the circuit between them as shown in the wiring diagrams, Figs. 65 and 66 ; when- ever the switch is closed the current will flow through the coils of the field magnet, the armature will re- volve and so develop power. How the Drive Is Made. — The main thing to know about an electric starter is (1) how the electric 148 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR motor is connected with the engine so that it will start it, and (2) how after starting the engine it is discon- nected from it. MOTOR FIELD MAGNET 5 j/j R t/HC SWITCH jL tm STORAGE battery 'armature Fig. 66. — Wiring' diagram of an electric starter. One way it is done is like this : The flywheel of the engine has teeth cut on its rim, making it a gear as shown at A in Fig. 67. A small gear is fixed to the Fig. 67. — A. The electric starter complete. Starter gear out of mesh but ready to be automatically screwed into the fly wheel gear. LIGHTING AND STARTING SYSTEMS 149 shaft of the motor so that it will mesh with the flywheel gear in order to start the engine and to demesh auto- matically after the engine has started. Look at B and everything will be clear. A sleeve with screw threads cut in it is mounted on the shaft of the armature; a small gear weighted on one side and which has threads cut on the inside of it screws on Fig. 67. — B. The motor drive of an electric starter. the sleeve like a nut on a holt. The sleeve is secured to the armature shaft by means of a strong stiff spring, one end of which is fastened to the shaft with a bolt and the other end is fastened to the screw sleeve with a screw. How the Drive Works. — Suppose now the en- gine is stopped and you want to start it; the gear on the sleeve of the armature shaft is demeshed from the flywheel gear as shown at A. Now when you press down on the starting switch it closes the battery and motor circuit and the armature shaft begins to spin ; the inertia weight of the small screw gear keeps it from re- 150 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR volving with the shaft with the result that it screws its way along the threaded sleeve until it meshes with the gear on the flywheel. When the screw gear reaches the stop collar it must, of course, turn with the sleeve ; by this time the electric motor will have reached its highest speed and, hence, is developing its greatest power, and as the screw gear is smaller than the flywheel gear in about the ratio of 1 to 10 it exerts a tremendous leverage and so turns the crank shaft around with it. The purpose of the spring connecting the sleeve to the shaft is so that the strain on the armature shaft will be eased up a hit ; the teeth are beveled and this with the cushioning effect of the spring lessens the chances of the teeth of the screw gear being stripped or the shaft sheared off. When the engine has been started and the speed of the flywheel is high enough it makes the screw gear re- volve faster than the threaded sleeve; this causes it to move endwise out of mesh and in this way the engine is prevented from driving the electric motor. Thus the screw gear is demeshed automatically from the flywheel gear and being weighted it is held to the sleeve in this position until the switch is opened and the electric mo- tor stops. The above device is the Eclipse-Bendix drive and is largely used for both passenger cars and motor trucks. Various other means for meshing and demeshing the starting motor and flywheel gear have been devised, but the one described will serve to show the fundamental principles underlying electric starters in general. CHAPTER X WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR There are some things you can fix on your car when it goes wrong and others you had better let a machinist attend to. It’s pretty hard to draw the line between the things which you can set to rights and those which are a me- chanic’s job, but I am assuming that you are the average motor car owner and that the mechanism is new to you. So let’s hop to it. When Your Car Stops on the Road Finding the Trouble. — If there is nothing broken on your car the trouble must be with the engine. Look for the cause as follows : (1) See that there is a supply of gasoline in the tank. (2) That there is plenty of lubricating oil, and (3) That there is enough water. Finding there is a full complement of these liquids, the trouble then must be either : (1) In the fuel system, or (2) In the ignition system. See if the gasoline pipo Hue is clear by flooding the carburetor and if it is, then you are reasonably sure the fault is with the ignition system. In this case see that : 151 152 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR (1) The switch is on; (2) The battery is not run down; (3) The connections are tight; (4) The wires are not broken ; (5) The vibrators of the spark coil are not stuck; (6) The contacts in the timer are clean; (7) The spark plugs are not broken, and (8) That there is a strong enough spark. When you have attended to these few several little things, crank your car and go ahead. The Things You Ought to Carry.— The Tools You Should Have. — The following kit of tools, see Fig. 68, will he found useful in making road repairs: (1) a machinist’s hammer; (2) large and small screw driv- ers; (3) a 6-inch and a 12-inch monkey wrench; (4) a cold chisel; (5) a couple of flat mill files; (6) a key puller; (7) a pair of 6-inch combination pliers; (8) a pair of long nose pliers ; (9 ) several open end wrenches ; (10) one tire repair outfit; (11) a wrench for spark plugs; (12) a wrench for hub caps; (13) a wrench for valve caps, and (14) an offset screw driver. The Implements You Need. — ( A ) A jack; ( B ) an air pump for inflating tires; (C) a grease gun; ( D ) an inspection lamp ; ( E ) a tire caliper ; (F) a starting handle, and (G) a set of tire applying levers, or irons. Supplies That Come in Handy. — (a) Extra fuses; (b) an ignition resistance; (c) a fan belt; (d) a can- vas, or rubber pail; (e) hose for the air pump; (f) a can of lubricating oil ; (g) a can of cup grease ; (h) bat- teries; (i) insulated wire; (j) spark plugs; (k) valve springs; (1) cotton waste; (m) one extra casing in a WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 153 tire cover and (n) two or three inner tubes well wrapped and put in a box for protection. How to Repair a Tire While You Wait. — Be sure to include in your tire repair outfit (1) a box of 'permanent puncture plugs and (2) either a box of ce- mentless patches or Goodrich self-vulcanizing patches. Repairing an Inner Tube. — For Nail Hole Punc- tures . — A small puncture such as a nail bole can be quickly and easily fixed by using a puncture plug as shown at A in Fig. 69 ; push the plug into it and it will seal up tight without the use of cement. For Small Cuts and Punctures . — Where there are 154 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR small cuts or punctures too large to be plugged, then use a self-vulcanizing or cementless patch as shown at B. To put either kind on, scour the tube off with a bit of waste dipped in gasoline all around the hole for a cou- ple of inches. Rub the cleaned surface with emery cloth to roughen Fig. 69. — Quick repairs for the road. it and clean again with gasoline; now pull the muslin from the patch and rub the surface of it with a bit of waste soaked in gasoline ; this done, press the patch flat on the tube over the puncture and put it in the casing. If it is a self-vulcanizing patch the heat developed by running will vulcanize it. For Larger Cuts and Punctures . — The Goodrich tire people sell what they call a clinch patching outfit and where the cuts and holes are too large or ragged to be repaired by an ordinary patch you can fix it with far less trouble and in much less time with this outfit than if you carried a portable vulcanizing set with you. WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 155 Repairing a Cut in a Casing. — If the casing is cut or has a gash in it, clean the dirt out with a stiff brush and wash it clean with gasoline; next roll up a bit of plastic 1 and force it into the cut until it is even with the casing. If the hole is a large one put on a thin coat of cement first and then force in the plastic. Repairing a Blown Out Casing. — If the blowout is not large use a blowout patch as shown at C ; this is made of duck molded to the shape of the tire and is put on inside of the casing and between it and the inner tube. The tire sleeve is made of rubber and fabric and this fits over the outside of the casing and is held fast by hooks under the bead, or rim ; it is shown at D. Tire bands are made of leather or rubber and these are laced on over the casing as shown at E. Should any great in- jury happen to either your inner tubes or casings, have them vulcanized by some reputable repairer. Fixing the Radiator. — A Stuck Radiator Cap . — This is often caused by the heat of the radiator expand- ing the ring on which the cap screws. Soak a piece of waste in cold water and hold it on the ring until it cools off, being careful that the cap is not cooled off by it. Stopping Up a Leak. — If the leak is small it can he plugged up with chewing gum, but if it is of consider- able size put a cork in it, that is, if the holes are getat- able; solder the holes up as soon as you reach your garage. There are lots of fillers on the market, but it is 111 Plastic” is the trade name of a tire filler and it can be bought at any supply store. 156 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR poor practice to put anything into the radiator for this purpose. Leaks in the Gasoline Pipe. — If the leak is small it can he stopped by plugging up the hole with a bit of common brown soap, and then wrap a piece of electri- cian’s tape around it to hold it in place. Another way is to cut a strip of inner tube about two inches wide and three inches long, wrap it around the break and wind a layer of soft iron or copper wire around it. When the Water Pump Leaks. — If the leak is at the joint where the flanges are bolted together it shows that the gasket has rotted away; tighten up the bolts and if this doesn’t stop it drive a thin, sharp- pointed stick into it, then when you get home put in a new gasket. Putting on a New Fan Belt. — A fan belt is liable to break any time. In putting on a new belt the best way is to rivet the ends together ; a laced belt is almost sure to pull apart unless it is done by a man who knows the trick of it. Fixing Spark Plug Troubles. — Leak Around the Spark Plug . — If a spark plug is not in tight enough the leak will cause a loss in compression. You can tell if there is a leak by squirting some oil on the plug around the threads when the leak will cause it to bubble. If the leak is a bad one the escaping gas will make a hissing noise. Screw up the offending plug and if it still leaks it shows that the threads are worn and the way to ffx it is to put in a new one. To Clean a Spark Plug . — Scour the points with a toothbrush dipped in gasoline. If the soot is heavy, WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 157 scrape the points off with a knife blade, or a spark-plug cleaner, and wash them out with alcohol or gasoline. If the deposit is very heavy use a jeweler’s file and file off the opposing points until they are bright. To Loosen Screws and Nuts. — When a screw is hard to loosen screw a monkey wrench to the flat blade of a screw driver as shown at A in Fig. 70; hold it A TIGHT SCREW A LOCK WASHER Fig. 70. — A couple of good kinks. down hard with your left hand and turn the wrench with your right. This will give you the extra leverage you need. Always use the largest screw driver the screw will take. A nut that is stuck can he loosened if it is possible to heat it a little; if not, put two thin wrenches on it as shown at C and the extra leverage will usually be enough to loosen it. How to Make Nuts Hold Tight. — A nut that has a tendency to work loose and come off can he made to hold by putting on a lock washer , as shown at B, that is, a a spring washer under it, and then screwing it up tight ; another way is to screw a second nut on top of the first 158 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR one. To absolutely prevent a screw or bolt from loosening it is possible, in some places, to bore a bole in the end of it and put a cotter pin in it. When the Clutch Acts Up. — A Clutch That Slips. — When you have trouble with a cone clutch that slips it is because the leather on it is oil soaked. This may be remedied temporarily by washing off the leather with gasoline and then rubbing some fuller s earth well into it. A Clutch That Binds. — A fierce clutch, as it is called, is caused by the leather becoming too dry; it can be eased up by rubbing castor or neatsfoot oil on it. To properly fix the clutch the adjusting nuts on the inside of the cone should be screwed in or out as the case may require. What Not to Do. — Don’t keep on running along when you hear a strance noise about the car, but stop and find out exactly what causes it. Then fix it right there ; run into the nearest garage or beat it back home as the exigencies of the case may demand. When Your Car Is in the Garage When the Valves Need Grinding. — How to Test the Compression. — Unless the valve heads are made of tungsten steel the heat of the engine will warp them and this makes the valves leak, when of course the com- pression will be poor. A more common cause of poor compression is the car- bon deposit which collects on the valve seat, and this in turn is due to using too rich a fuel mixture, or too much WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 159 oil, or too poor a grade of the latter. When the loss of compression is due to any of these causes, it is time to grind the valves. To know when this is really needed, crank the engine slowly by hand and you can easily feel if there is a pis- ton that works with too little resistance on the compres- sion strokes and also which cylinder it is in. GRINDING TOOL IN BITSTOCK VALVE PIN POP A VALVE REMOVER A RATCHET HOLDS IT IN WHATEVER POSITION IT 15 PLACED LEAVING BOTH HANDS FREE TO REMOVE THE VALVE PIN SPRING TC L/FT YAL\ e. VALVE HEAD PLUG OF WASTE SEAT Fig. 71. — A and B. How to take out and grind a valve. How to Take Out the Valves. — The first thing to do is to (a) drain off the water from the cooling system; (b) take off the cylinder head ; do not disturb the wir- ing and lay it in a clean place; (c) then take off the valve covers; (d) take out the valve by using a valve lifter tool, see A Fig. 71, and (f) put a plug of waste in the port between the valve and the cylinder as shown at B in Fig. 71, to keep the abrasive from falling in- side and cutting the piston and cylinder. How to Grind the Valves. — Get or make a grinding 160 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR paste of fine emery, No. 120, or ground glass, and oil — you can buy it ready made — and tbin a little of it down with a few drops of kerosene and lubricating oil. Rub the mixture on the bevel edge of the valve seat with your finger, then set the valve head in the seat and turn it around to and fro with a grinding tool set in the chuck of an ordinary brace as shown at B, with just enough pressure to hold the valve in the seat. Lift the valve from its seat from time to time so that the abrasive will be equally distributed over the bev- eled edges, and do not turn the valve more than a quar- ter way around at a time or you will be very apt to scratch the edge of the valve seat. Don’t forget to take out the waste when you are through. How to Tell When a Valve Is Seated Right . — To tell when the valve you are grinding seats properly, wipe the abrasive off clean and mark the beveled edge with a soft lead pencil as shown at A in Fig. 72. Now seat the valve and turn it back and forth ; if all the pencil marks are rubbed off you will know the valve fits the seat perfectly ; if not, continue the grinding operation. This is a far better test than to use Prussian blue. Stretching and Replacing Valve Springs. — When a valve spring is weak, especially if it is an ex- haust valve spring, the engine will not run with its ac- customed smoothness; this is caused by a part of the compressed fuel charge escaping, which of course weak- ens the effect of the explosion. To detect a weak valve spring put the blade of a screw driver between the coils of the spring while the engine WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 161 is running. If the engine runs faster or smoother it shows that the spring is weak and needs stretching or, better, a new one. To stretch a spring remove it from the valve stem, L£AD PfMOl /7/?RK 5 ilium f\ l r Fig. 72. — A. Testing the seating of a valve. B. Stretching a valve spring. put the blade of a large screw driver between the first two coils at one end and turn the screw driver on it just as you would a nut on a screw as shown at B. This will stretch all parts of the spring equally. 162 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR To Remove Carbon from the Cylinders. — You can tell when there is carhon in the cylinders by the en- gine backfiring, by knocking and by a lack of power when taking a hill on high gear. To remove the carhon deposit take off the cylinder head and take out the inlet and the exhaust valve caps ; Fig. 73. — Scraping out the carbon. now turn the crank shaft over until the pistons you want to clean are at their top dead centers when you can reach the heads of the pistons as shown in Fig. 73. You can buy scraping tools especially formed to enable you to get at the piston heads and cylinder walls in the easiest way. When all of the carbon is scraped loose turn the crank shaft until the exhaust valve of the cylinder you are working on lifts and then scrape the carbon into the exhaust passage; now when the engine is started the carbon will be forced out by the exhaust gases. To be WHAT YOU CAN FIX ON YOUR CAR 163 sure that none of the loose carbon sticks between the valve head and its seat, brush them carefully and wash clean with kerosene. Putting in New Piston Rings. — To take of vorn piston rings easily you can get a tool made for the pur- pose, or a pointed tool can be used to lift the erd of the ring from the groove. Two kinds of piston rings are used and these are (1) cast iron rings and (2) soft steel rings. An iron ring can be expanded and then slipped over the head of the piston into its groove or seat. To insert a steel ring lay it on the head of the piston and press down on one end until it slips into the groove, but do not expand it ; this done, work the ring around as though you were screwing it into the groove. If it is to go into the second or third groove, thread the end into the next groove and screw it around as be- fore. In putting on the rings be mighty careful not to dent or kink them. How to Adjust the Brakes. — If the brake rods get out of adjustment the brake hands and the drums may make contact with each other; this causes the brakes to drag and hence there is a loss of power. Always adjust the brakes on the road so that they will pull equally on both sides, for if the brake on one side or the other drags, the car will have a tendency to skid. The brakes can be tightened up by means of tumbuckles on the brake pull rods, and they can be adjusted by means of nuts at the after ends of the brake rods. How to Make Good Gaskets. — A gasket is a thin, flat ring or other shaped piece of packing made of 164 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR rubber, leather or other material and this is placed be- tween two flanges which are bolted together to make a water- or a gas-tight joint. Gaskets made of ordinary rubber packing are of lit- tle service in gasoline engine construction, for hot water rots and the hot gases bum them away. It is better to use asbestos packing which has a brass or bronze wire mesh. After marking out the shape of the gasket needed on the asbestos packing, using either the flange itself or a paper template for a pattern, you can go ahead and cut it out with a cold chisel and a hammer. Replacing Broken Parts. — Every motor car company issues a Price List of Parts, and you should have one of these lists so that immediately a part is broken on your car you can find the correct name, the number and the cost of it, and you can send direct to the factory for it if you want to. You will be able to make almost any small replace- ment yourself, but if it is some large part that is broken, you can let the machinist send for it and, knowing the price, he can’t overcharge you, at least for the material. CHAPTER XI WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST Again taking it for granted that you are like the great majority of motorists in that you are not a natural bom meehanie and further that you have neither the time, the inclination nor the equipment to make a repair of the more difficult kind, the next best thing to know is when you really need a machinist. When You Have a Breakdown on the Road.— Should some part actually break when you are on the road and your car lie down on you — though you may be on top of it — don’t give up the bumboat , for where there’s life there are a lot of alternatives (correct, ac- cording to John Stuart Mill and Gladstone). And here are a few of them: (1) wait for a passing driver, or a chauffeur, to help you out; (2) telephone to the nearest sales agent who handles your make of car and have him send his service man to you; (3) walk to the nearest garage and get a trouble shooter to go back with you, and (4) drink an auto cocktail, i. e., a glass of gasoline with a dash of oil and a nut in it and it will put enough pep in you so that you’ll think you’re going home at a speed of 50 miles an hour. How if you let every willing man-at-the- wheel that comes along tinker with your car it won’t cost you any- thing, but it won’t be worth a tinker’s dam either when 165 166 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR they get through with it ; on the other hand, if you send for an expert you must expect to pay Charlie Chaplin’s price for the service rendered, and, finally, if you follow the last horrible example you’ll never get to the office next morning in time to open the mail. The answer is, know to a dead certainty that you can’t fix your car yourself before you call in outside help. After Your Car Is in the Shop. — About 60 cents an hour is the rate usually charged at a garage machine shop for the time of a skilled mechanic while he is working on your car. And this would not be half-bad if he worked all of the time on your car that you are charged up with, but instead he helps Bill tighten a nut on that dinky road- ster next to him and shows Jim how to set the timing gears on that big berlin over there. Besides, he has to answer a couple of dozen questions which everyone asks him from the boss on down to the washer and when he hasn’t anything else to do he spins a yarn or two just to pass the time away — your time — and the time stamp ticks merrily on and you can’t dis- pute its record. The only way to get 40-60 is to make the boss ma- chinist give you a fiat rate, that is, fix a price for the labor to be done, then at least you’ll know in advance what you’ll have to pay and this way is always the cheapest in the end. Of course if he won’t make a flat rate then you’ll have to do like the other three-fourths of the car owners, and this is to suffer in silence. Then there are the parts needed to make the repairs and here again unless you know exactly what the re- WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST 167 placements are and what they cost, your hill will he in- itiated until you feel like going straight up and wish all the others would go straight down. And now I’ll turn you over to some kindly disposed garage foreman for your shop repairs. Work on the Front Axle. — When the front axle gets bent it should be straightened cold, though the co mm on practice is to heat it and then straighten it, which is much easier. If the axle is broken it can be welded together cheaper than you can buy a new one. Straightening- the Frame. — If you should be so careless as to let some other car run into you and the frame of your car is bent it can be straightened by heat- ing it with an oxy-acetylene torch and hammering it back into shape. Both the axle and frame are made of heat-treated steel and when they are heated to be straightened they are never quite as strong as before. Repairing the Radiator. — When a radiator is jammed and leaks badly it takes a radiator specialist and a shop where there is a tank of water and an air compressor to test it and then a bath of melted solder to dip it in in order to get a really satisfactory job done. Timing the Valves. — To time the valves of an en- gine so that it will deliver its maximum power is gen- erally a job that should be intrusted to an automobile machinist who knows his business. Especially is this true if your engine is a 6, 8 or a 12 cylinder model, for it requires a pretty intimate knowledge of valve timing to do it the right way. Adjusting the Connecting Rod Bearings. — The 168 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR oil must be drawn off and tbe oil pan taken off of the engine so that the crank shaft and connecting rod can be reached. The connecting rod bolts have to be loos- ened and one or more of the thin metal strips, called liners , or, in the parlance of the machinist, shims, must be taken out from between the hearing caps — an equal number from both sides — until the proper adjustment is had. To make the crank-pin of the shaft fit the bear- ings accurately the latter must be scraped and this is a job that takes a real machinist the best part of a day to do. The bearings must not be made too tight, but the nuts on the bolts which hold them together must be put on tight or there may be a couple of hundred dollars’ worth of damage done in a couple of seconds. New bearings can be bought already made, so don’t let a machinist tell you that he has to cast them. Adjusting the Crank Shaft Bearings. — Always have a machinist adjust the crank shaft bearings because it is a most particular job. The oil pan must be taken off as before and the flywheel jacked up; the nuts must be unscrewed from the bearing caps and enough shims taken out on both sides to bring the caps close enough together to make them fit the crank shaft journal, and if needs be these must be scraped. The bearings must not be too tight, but they must be bolted in tight. New bearings can be bought from the maker of your car. Should your engine begin to knock, if it is the wrist-pin , or gudgeon pin to give it its right name, connecting rod or the main bearings that cause it, you must have them taken care of at once. WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST 169 Regrinding and Reboring Cylinders. — -When a cylinder becomes worn by tbe angular pressure of tbe piston on its lower stroke, or it has been scored by a broken piston ring, it must be reground or rebored, or else a whole new block of cylinders must be put in, and tbe latter is often tbe cheapest and it is certainly tbe best way. To regrind tbe cylinders an emery wheel so mounted that it is carried automatically around on tbe inside wall of tbe cylinder is used. To rebore tbe cylinders, either an engine lathe or a reboring machine is used. Some repair shops have what is called a rehoring tool for re- boring small cylinders and with which a very ordinary mechanic can do quite an accurate job. Don’t let anyone induce you to have the cylinders reground or rebored unless he shows you with a pair of micrometer calipers that they actually need it, and then figure the cost of the job as against a new block of cylinders. Rebrazing Loose Parts. — By brazing is meant the joining of two pieces of metal with hard solder. The rear axle housings and torsion tubes of many cars are riveted and then brazed. Once in a while the vibration, of the rear axle jars the brazing loose and this not only lets the grease leak out, but if it is not rebrazed at once the rivets are liable to give way under the strain and then the housing will have to be re-riveted. Welding Broken Parts. — "When a large metal part breaks it is usually much cheaper to have it welded than it is to buy a new one. By welding is meant the joining of two pieces of metal by heating them until 170 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR they are soft and then forcing the ends or edges of the pieces together. There are two processes used, for welding and these are (1) the oxy-acetylene process and (2) the electric process. In the oxy-acetylene process acetylene gas and oxygen gas are mixed in a torch and the flame produces a white, or welding heat. In the electric process a heavy electric current heats the metal at the junction to the welding temperature. In either process when the weld- ing temperature is reached pressure is applied and this joins the soft parts into a complete union, or weld as it is called. Rims, brake levers, crank, propeller and cam shafts, connecting, steering, brake and extension rods, step and lamp brackets, steering levers and knuckles, axles and yokes, valve heads to stems, anchor bolts, broken cast- ings and forgings of any kind, and cracked cylinders and jackets can all be welded as good as new, nearly. Putting New Leather on the Clutch. — When the leather on the clutch is worn down so far that it will not hold after it has been fully expanded by the adjust- ing nuts, it is time to have a new leather put on, and it takes a good man to do a good job. As the old leather is riveted to the steel cone the riv- ets have to be cut off inside with a cold chisel and when a new leather is riveted on, it must not only hold tight but it must be perfectly smooth and the rivets must be sunk lower than the surface of the leather, a courder- bore being used to enlarge the holes. A new leather cut to shape and size can be bought from the factory. Fixing the Steering Gear. — The steering gear WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST 171 will remain in adjustment for a long time, but finally it will begin to show the effects of wear and tbe steer- ing wheel will have too much play or back lash as it is called ; it is all right for a steering wheel to have a cou- ple of inches play, for it steers better than when it only has a play of about one inch. To adjust the play the front part of the car has to be jacked up and the adjusting nuts can then be tight- ened up. The bushing must also be adjusted and there are a lot of other things that must be done; con- sequently it is the better way to let a man who draws a salary as an expert fix it for you. Taking Care of the Universal Joints. — It is not very often that the pins of the universal joints break, for the shearing stresses to which they are subjected are carefully calculated and to this is added a large safety factor. After long usage, however, the bushings may become worn, when of course they should be re- newed. About the Transmission Gears. — The transmis- sion ought to be looked into at least every season and the gears cleaned. If any of the gears are worn too much or are stripped new ones will have to be put in. In ordering new gears try to get nickel heat-treated steel gears, as those made of carbon steel and case hardened will give you poor service. Occasionally the linkage between the gear shift lever and the sliding block gets out of adjustment and this must be attended to. A Twisted or Broken Propeller Shaft. — If the shaft is of ordinary carbon steel it may be sheared off 172 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR through, some defect in the steel, but if it is of vanadium steel it will twist when the stress becomes too great. If the shaft is broken it can be welded together, hut if it is twisted it can easily be straightened and it should be straightened cold or its hardness will be destroyed. Testing the Differential.— The differential should be tested every season and you can do this yourself as follows: jack up both rear wheels so that they will run freely; place the gear shift lever in one of the speed notches; now release the emergency brake and turn one wheel one way and one the other, and if they turn in opposite directions freely it is all right, other- wise it is all wrong and must be overhauled. If the differential is kept well lubricated it will be a long time before any play or backlash in the gears will be noticeable. The joint pins in the propeller shaft may wear down until they get loose and this will pro- duce a knock in the differential. New pins cost very little, but the cost of the labor of putting them in will make the bill large enough to suit you. Should the gears strip have chrome nickel heat-treated steel gears put in if possible. Relining the Brakes. — When the brake linings get worn so that they will not hold they must he re- placed. The brake linings are made of asbestos fiber and this is riveted onto the steel brake bands. To take off the old brake linings the rivets have to be cut off with a cold chisel. The Johns-Manville Company, 41st Street and Madison Avenue, New York, makes a good line of brake linings. Overhauling Your Car. — And now finally to keep WHEN YOU NEED A MACHINIST 173 your ear good as new and in fine running order the engine should be overhauled every three years. This means that you will put your car in the hands of an automobile machinist and he will go over every part of it carefully and see that every nut is tight, that all the parts are in adjustment and that all the bearings are in good shape. The best time to have your car overhauled is in the winter, for then the repair shops are not so busy, hence the machinists will take more pains and the job will cost you less than if you wait until the vernal equinox , to wit, the coming of spring, to do it. CHAPTER XII HOW TO RUN YOUR CAR AT THE LEAST COST To get the best service and the most mileage out of a car at the least possible cost you must begin to think about economy before you ever buy one. And then after you become the proud possessor of the coveted machine you must take the proper care of it, for eternal vigilance is also the price of economical opera- tion. On Extra Seating Capacity.— I didn’t mention it over there in the first chapter on How to Buy a Car, be- cause it was too near the front of the book for such an elemental and sordid suggestion and I don’t want you to follow it unless you really have to. But to get down to brass tacks one of the most ex- pensive things that the ordinary motor car owner goes up against is to have a five, or a seven seated car when there are only two or three in the family. To hard from one to five extra passengers every time you take a spin or make a trip is a mighty costly piece of business and to have the extra seating capacity and then not do it makes a fellow feel pretty cheap and puts him in the tightwad class among his less fortunate neighbors. If yours is a family of two or three it will save you more dollars than you would ever believe to have a car just large enough to seat them and then there are 174 HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 175 no hard feelings, for no one expects you to do the hand- some thing. Of course if you have a safety deposit box full of first and refunding 5 per cent gold bonds, Series A of the United States Rubber Co., and you are a phi- lanthropist to hoot, why then my argument falls flat. What Speed Economy Means. — Over in the first chapter I also told you to drive your car to the limit for the first three months, but you will recollect that I did not say to drive it like a speed demon. To speed up your car to 30 miles an hour or faster means that you will increase the cost of running it rather than to economize in its operation; indeed, it is far better to keep an even speed of say 20 to 25 miles an hour, especially if your car is a small one. Running at high speed is not only hard on the car but it very often results disastrously, and for the average person it is neither conducive to pleasure nor to eco- nomical motoring. How Tire Economy Is Had. — The Size of Tires to Use . — It is the cheapest way in the long run to use the largest casings that can be put on the wheels of your car. Suppose as an illustration the wheels of your car take 32 x 314 inch casings, then it will take 32 x 4 inch casings, and though the latter cost a little more, they will stand up under the wear and tear at least a third better. By all means use the oversize on the rear wheels where the friction is the greatest. When the rear cas- ings are pretty well worn transfer them to the front wheels where the friction is not nearly as great. And 176 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR always use a non-skid tread because the tractive effort is better. The Proper Inflation of Tires . — Always keep the tires pumped up bard ; it is when tbe tires are soft that Fig. 74. — A and B Tire inflation. tbe rubber is cut away, and punctures and blowouts hap- pen. Keep your tires inflated with a pressure of 20 pounds per square inch of cross section when they are hot, that is, a 4-inch tire should be pumped up to 80 pounds pressure. The best way to gauge the pressure is with a tire caliper, see Eig. 74, as this is easier to use and more accurate than a pressure gauge. Stick HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 177 to the following inflation table, winter and summer, and your tires will be right : 3 inch tires 3V 2 inch tires 4 inch tires 4^/2 inch tires 5 inch tires 5V 2 inch tires 6 inch tires 60 pounds pressure 70 pounds pressure 80 pounds pressure 90 pounds pressure 100 pounds pressure 110 pounds pressure 120 pounds pressure If you have neither tire calipers nor pressure gauge, pump up the tires until they stand up straight under the weight of the car when there are no passengers in it. And don’t forget that 90 per cent of all tire trouble is due to under-inflation. How to Be Good to Your Tires.— As you value a two-dollar bill, don’t put the brakes on suddenly, for this locks the wheels, slides them over the roadbed and scrapes off both the rubber and fabric as shown at A in Fig. 75. And here are a few extra donts which, if you heed them, will save you many extra dollars. (1) Don’t drive fast around comers and (2) don’t start or stop too quickly, for the first causes the wheels to skid, and the second makes them slide. (3) Don’t let your brakes get out of adjustment or an extra strain will be put on one of the tires and (4) don’t let your wheels get out of alignment or your tires will soon be ground to pieces. (5) Don’t throw in your clutch too quickly as this puts a great strain on your tires and (6) don’t drive in the car tracks as they scrape the rubber off the sides 178 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR of the casings. (7) Don’t let oil stay on the tires, as it rots them, and (8) don’t let them stand in the water for the same reason. (9) Don’t let the tires remain in a place that is more than 55 or less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as both heat and cold deteriorate the rub- ber, and (10) don’t let the tires stay in the light when Fig. 75. — Abused tires. they are not to be used for some time, for this also has an untoward effect on the rubber. (11) Don’t let the weight of the car rest on the tires if it is not in use, but jack it up, and (12) when you take the tires off wrap the casings in strips of paper, muslin or burlap. (13) Don’t take the inner tubes out of the casings when putting them away, but pump enough air into them to keep them round, and (14) don’t put on the tires until you have scraped off all the rust. HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 179 cleaned the rims thoroughly and given them a coat of shellac. On the Use of Chains . — Any chain will injure a tire but some chains are more injurious than others. Never fasten the chains to the spokes, hut let them run loosely, for the least injury results from chains that have play enough to work around the tire as this distributes the strain to all parts equally. See B, Pig. 75. Keep Your Tires in Repair. — (1) Inspect the tires after every run for small cuts and fill them with plastic as shown at C; (2) cuts, bruises and punctures of any size should be immediately vulcanized and (3) when you put on the tires use plenty of soapstone between the tubes and the casings, as this greatly lessens the friction between them and keeps them cool. About Buying New Tires . — Nearly all tire compa- nies guarantee their tires for 5,000 miles against blow- outs, blisters and rim-cutting, but usually there is so much red tape and so many strings to the guarantee that it isn’t worth anything. The best guarantee is to buy good tires in the first place. Now there are many good tires on the market, but from experience I can say use Goodrich tires — especial- ly their Silvertown cord tires — or United States tires and you can’t go wrong. Practicing Economy in the Water System. — To keep the engine at a temperature where it will work with the highest efficiency, see that the radiator is full of clean water; there is a strainer in every radiator filler and always pour the water through it. Drain off the old water once a month through the drain 180 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR cock, flush, out the radiator with the garden hose every three months and clean out the water ackets every year. Water system economy costs nothing but it will save you a great deal. How Fuel Economy Is Obtained. — There are three things that make for fuel economy, that is, the highest mileage per gallon of gasoline used, and these are (1) to always use a good uniform grade of gaso- line; (2) to have the carburetor adjusted to give the right fuel mixture, and (3) preheating the gasoline or the fuel mixture. To get a good uniform grade of gasoline buy either Gulf, Texas or Standard Oil Company’s gasoline ; there are doubtless other equally good grades on the market, but I know the ones I have named above to be all right. If there is an agent in your vicinity who sells the make of carburetor you are using, have him adjust it should the engine seem to fall off in power. Heating the gaso- line or the fuel mixture is the great economizer, so have a preheater put on your carburetor. How to Secure Ignition Economy. — Whether you use a battery or a magneto, see that the timer is in adjustment and keep the spark plugs clean. If the ignition current is generated by a magneto and the spark will not jump a full Yg inch, send the magneto to the nearest service station of the maker and have it fixed. A weak spark will cause much loss of power. When the battery system is used go to bed with the battery on your mind. If you would hold whatever small change you have, then (1) keep the plates covered by the battery solution, (2) keep the battery as fully HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 181 charged as possible and (3) have the specific gravity of the battery from 1.275 to 1.300; as long as the bat- tery is fully charged it can’t freeze, and when you put your car away either turn the battery over to a service station or give it a fresh charge once a month without fail. By remembering these things you will have igni- tion economy with a big E. How Oil Economy Is Worked— The necessity for using the best oils and grease was pointed out in the chapter on How the Oiling System Works. Above everything else see to it that your car is properly lu- bricated and by this I not only mean that you should use only the very best quality of lubricants, but that you should never make a run until every working part of the car is fully supplied with oil and grease. Your instruction book will tell you what oils and grease you should use and your lubricating chart will tell you where, when and how to use them. If you would save money and trouble do these three things, (1) lubricate; (2) lubricate and (3) lubricate. And don’t forget that when running over country roads much more oil is used than on city pavements and conse- quently supply the engine with additional oil and turn up the grease cups often. About Saving on Your Starting and Lighting System. — As you have seen in Chapter IX there is very little chance of saving anything as far as the starting and lighting systems are concerned, except the storage battery, the economical operation of which was briefly described under the caption, How to Secure Ignition Economy. 182 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR The dynamo for charging the battery and the motor for starting the engine are so constructed that it is very seldom anything gets the matter with them. How to Practice Engine Economy. — When you get your car don’t try out the engine by racing it, that is accelerating it when the car is stopped and running it spasmodically at high speeds. There is never a time when you need to do this and it causes a lot of wear that you will be called on to pay for a couple of years later. Your Private Economy Service Inspection.— By this I mean that you should institute a service in- spection of your own for the fulfilment of these two ideas, (1) to keep your car tuned up to concert pitch and (2) to effect as large a saving in its operation as possible. At the end of the first 500 miles and every 1000 miles thereafter inspect the following items: TABLE OE INSPECTION ITEMS 1. Lubrication of all points shown on chart. 2. Clean out oil reservoir; refill with new oil. 3. See that oil pump works; no leaks. 4. Oil reservoir gasket. 5. Examine for carbon; spark plugs. 6. Adjust tappets and check clearance. 7. Grind valves if needed. 8. Valve cover plate gasket oil tight 9. Water pump glands tight. 10. Pump shaft and coupling secure. 11. Oil hood lacing; hood sockets tight. 12. Clutch in adjustment. 13. Adjust fan belt tension and inspect fan bearings. 14. Carburetor throttle adjustment. HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 183 15. Motor secure in chassis; all motor bolts. 16. Transmission main shaft end play. 17. Rear axle pinion adjustment. 18. Rear axle drive shafts tight. 19. Rear wheels tight on taper. 20. External brake adjustments. 21. Internal brake adjustments. 22. Universal joint covers tight. 23. Steering worm thrust adjustment. 24. Steering worm wheel end play. 25. Steering arm tight on taper. 26. Control levers on steering wheel. 27. Drag link adjustment. 28. Tie bar adjustment tight. 29. Front wheel bearings adjustment. 30. Tighten properly spring clips. 31. Spring shackle bolts tight. 32. Lubrication of spring leaves. 33. Rims applied properly. 34. Body bolts tight. 35. Oil door hinges, locks and set bumpers. 36. Repair top curtain fasteners. 37. Clean car thoroughly. 38. Generator clutch alignment. 39. Generator bolts secure. 40. Starter adjustment secure. 41. All generator connections tight. 42. Clean lamp connectors. 43. Distributor head cleaned. 44. Rotor button tension moderate. 45. Ignition resistance in circuit. 46. Examine contact breaker. 47. Test circuit breaker. 48. Commutators in good condition. 49. Check charging rate. 50. Examine water cooling system. 51. General condition of engine. 184 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR 52. Battery terminals and ground connections tight and clean — specific gravity correct. 53. Inspect spring bolts and rangers. Pry leaves apart and apply graphite grease. Your Company’s Service Inspection. — Some of the companies have estahlished service inspection sta- tions where you can take your car and have an experi- enced man make the inspection scheduled in the above list of items every month and without cost to you. The company whose car you own guarantees it on the condition of adequate maintenance on your part. If a part breaks because of a defect the company will replace it without cost to you, but if it breaks through any fault of yours you have to pay for the replacement. Keeping Your Car Spick and Span. — Not only do you want your car to run like a real automobile and at the smallest cost for up-keep, but if you are like the other 999 per cent of owners it must have class as well. Cleaning the Top . — To keep a car looking its very best it must he washed in a certain way. Always clean the top first. A mohair top can be brushed off while a pentasote top should he sponged off with clean tepid water in which a little ammonia or castile soap has been added and then rub it dry with a chamois skin. Washing the Body . — Next wash the body of the car and to get the dirt and mud off without marring it let a gentle stream of water from the garden hose, from which the nozzle has been taken off, flow all over it, be- ginning at the top and working down. Wait half an hour for it to soak into the dirt and go all over the car HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 185 again the second time with the hose, when the dirt will be entirely washed away. Never rub the painted surface of the body with a chamois, or anything else, until every particle of dirt has been washed off. If there are grease spots on the body wash them off with Ivory soap and water applied with a chamois and rinse the latter frequently; then wash off the soap with the hose. This done soak a soft chamois in clean water, wring it dry and wipe all of the surface from the top down — never with a circular motion — with the slightest pres- sure and let the film of water that remains evaporate. Washing the Running Gear . — Finally wash the run- ning gear, the mud guards and hood with cold water before the mud has had time to dry on. Wash off the film of grease with Ivory soap and wash off the suds im- mediately; should soap fail to cut the grease use full- ers earth and water. Wash off and dry with a chamois as before. Have a chamois for the body and one for the running gear and never switch them. By follow- ing the above directions your car will look almost like new for a long time to come. Some Useful Recipes— A Good Body Polish . — This polish will make an old body look as if it had just come from the painters. Mix 1 gallon of turpentine, 1 pint of paraffin oil, 3^ ounces of citronella oil and 11/2 ounces of cedar oil. Use a little at a time and rub it until it is thoroughly dry. This is far better than mix- tures of linseed oil and kerosene or linseed oil and tur- pentine. A Fine Leather Polish . — Beeswax dissolved in tur- 186 KEEPING UP WITH YOUR MOTOR CAR pentine to the consistency of thin cream makes a fine polish for leather upholstery. To Clean Cloth Upholstery. — Beat the cushions to get out the dust ; grease or oil can he removed by scour- ing it with chloroform and it will not leave a circle after it evaporates. Ivory soap and water put on with a woolen cloth can also be used. To Clean Nickel Plated Parts. — Rub them up with lamp-black, or powdered rotten stone, mixed with a little oil and put on with a soft flannel rag. To Clean Aluminum. — Wash the aluminum foot boards with a strong solution of hyposulphate of soda and water, which will dissolve the aluminum tarnish, and then wash off with water and dry. To Clean Lamp Reflectors. — Don’t touch the lamp re- flectors until they become too dull through long service to be useful. When they get dusty blow the dust out. Polish old reflectors on which there are spots or which are tarnished, with red rouge and put it on with a chamois skin dampened with alcohol. Wipe this off with another chamois and dry rouge which will give the reflector a high polish. In polishing a reflector press very lightly on it and give the chamois a circular motion. Old reflectors can be re-plated with silver and burnished, when they will be as good as new. To Clean Off Road Oil. — Rub with a soft rag dipped in crude oil ; after it is dry dampen another rag with water, sprinkle on a few drops of alcohol; rub off the polished film and give it a final polish with a dry rag. To Clean Off Grease on Frame and Brakes. — Rub off HOW TO RUN CAR AT LEAST COST 187 with a rag dipped in clear turpentine and polish with crude oil. Don’t let the turpentine stay on any longer than necessary. To Clean Windows. — Wash with equal parts of soapy water and wood alcohol. To Clean Celluloid. — Wash with a piece of soft cheese cloth dipped in vinegar. A Good OH for Door Hinges. — Mix a little powdered graphite with linseed oil. To Keep the Windshield Dry. — You can prevent the drops of water from clinging to the windshield in rainy or snowy weather by going over the glass with a solution made of 1 ounce of water, 2 ounces of glycerine and 1 dram of salt. Dampen a piece of gauze with it and wipe the glass from the top toward the bottom with it. Storing Your Car for the Winter. — Should you want to store your car for several months, run it into the garage, then drain all the water from the cooling system, take off the radiator cap and run the engine un- til it is thoroughly heated so that every particle of water that may be pocketed in it is evaporated. Drain off the gasoline; take off the tires, clean the rims and give them a coat of shellac varnish. Put up the top; fasten on all of the curtains and cover the whole top and body with a slip made of muslin. INDEX Accelerator control of carbu- retor, 87 Accelerator pedal, how to use, 22 Adjusting the brakes, 163 Adjusting the fan, 135 Advancing the spark, 108 Air compressors, 86 Air cooled engine, 127 Air heaters for fuel mixture, 86 Air pressure fuel feed sys- tem, 86 Air pumps, for pressure feed systems, 87 Aluminum, cleaning, 186 Ammeter, 144 Amperage, dry battery, 94 storage battery, 132 Anti-freezing solutions, 136 Aristotle’s teachings, 11 Asbestos packing, 164 Assembly, rear axle, 35 Auto cocktail, 165 Automatic cut-out for chain- ing system, 142 Automobiles. See Motor Cars Auxiliary air valve for car- buretor, 81 Available power of fuel, 93 Axle, front, 32 clips, 34 rear, 34 work on front, 167 Axles, floating type, 34 Babbitted bearings, 71 Backlash of steering gear, 171 Back pressure, 109 Battery, dry, 94 power of a dry, 94 storage, 95 to test a, 95 See also Storage Battery Bearings, adjusting the con- necting rod, 167 adjusting the crank shaft, 168 Belt, putting on a new fan, 156 Berline body, 8 Blended casinghead gasoline, 89 Blowout patches, 154 Body, of a car, 31 motor car, 60 washing the, 184 Bodies, what’s what in car, 7 190 INDEX Body polish, a good, 185 Brakes, emergency, 36 how to adjust, 163 how to use when ready to go, 21 make car skid, how, 28 relining, 172 service, 36 Brazing loose parts, 169 Breakdown on road, what to do, 165 Broken parts, repairing, 169 replacing, 164 Brougham body, 8 Buying a cheap car, 3 Buying a high-priced car, 6 Buying a medium-priced car, 5 Buying a motor car, 1 on time payments, 8 on the deferred payment plan, 13 the opulent man’s way, 8 the salaried man’s way, 10 ways of, 2 Buying a new car, 3 Buying a second-hand car, 11 Cam gears, 71 Cam shaft, 71 Cantilever springs, 37 Car bodies, 60 Cars. See Motor Cars Carbon, how to remove, from cylinders, 162 Carbon scraping tools, 162 Carburetion, a lean mixture, 82 a rich mixture, 82 what it means, 88 Carburetor, accelerator con- trol of, 87 auxiliary air valve for, 81 check valve, 85 construction and operation of a real, 81 how it is coupled to the en- gine, 83 how it is made and works, 80 simplest form of, 78 priming pin of a, 84 Stromberg, 84 testing the, 90 throttle control of, 85 Carburetor float, 81 Carburetor float chamber, 81 Carburetor float valve, 81 Carburetor needle valve, 81 Casing, repairing blown out, 155 repairing cut in, 154 Casings and inner tubes, 39 Cuts in inner tube, repairing, 153 Caveat emptor, 12 Cylinders of engine, 68 cycle of operation of, 63 firing order of, 67 jacketed, 129 reboring, 169 regrinding, 169 removing carbon from, 162 INDEX 191 Cylinders of engine, water jacket of, 69 Cellular radiator, 134 Celluloid, cleaning, 187 Cementless patches, 153 Centrifugal pumps, 132 Chart, your lubricating, 124 Cheek valve of carburetor, 85 Chain drive, 60 Chains to prevent skidding, 28 Chains, use of, 179 Chassis, 31 Circuit breaker, mechanical, 106 spark coil system, 105 Circuit breaker box, 109 Cleaning aluminum, 186 Cleaning the body, 184 Cleaning celluloid, 187 Cleaning cloth upholstery, 186 Cleaning off grease, 186 Cleaning lamp reflectors, 186 Cleaning nickel-plated parts, 186 Cleaning off road oil, 186 Cleaning the top, 184 Cleaning windows, 187 Clinch patching outfit, 154 Clincher rims, 39 Clover leaf body, 7 Clutch, cone, 44 disk friction, 45 dry plate disk friction, 46 friction, 43 lubricating cone type, 123 Clutch, lubricating oil disk type, 123 magnetic, 46 oil immersed disk friction, 46 Clutch that binds, to fix a, 158 Clutch that slips, to fix a, 158 Clutch pedal, how to use, 22 putting new leather on, 170 Coefficient of horse power, 75 Cold test oil, 120 Compound wound dynamo, 140 Compression, how to test, 158 Compression cups, 112 Cone clutch, 44 lubricating, 123 Connecting rod, 70 Connecting rod bearings, ad- justing the, 167 Cooling system, adjusting the fan of, 135 how it works, 127 keeping in good order, 134 pump circulating, 130 taking care of the pump, 136 thermo-syphon, 129 what to do when winter comes, 136 combination fan and water, 134 pumps for, 131 radiators for, 132 Cooling systems, anti-freez- ing solutions for, 136 192 INDEX Coupe body, 7 Convertible coupe body, 7 Convertible sedan body, 8 Convertible touring car body, 7 Coupelet body, 7 Cracked gasoline, 89 Crank pin, 71 Crank shaft, 71 torque of, 64 Crank shaft bearings, ad- justing the, 168 Critical temperature of fuel mixture, 89 Deferred payment plan, buy- ing on the, 13 Demonstrator, the, 14 how to treat, 14 lessons from, 14 Demountable rim, 42 Differential, when car is run- ning, 30 testing the, 172 what to lubricate with, 124 Differential gear, 56 Dinosaurus, the, 24 Diseases of the engine and how to cure them, 73 Disk friction clutch, 45 Disorders of the ignition sys- tem and how to treat them, 109 Distributor for a magneto ig- nition system, 104 Distributor for a multi-cylin- der engine, 100 Distributor system, the, 105 Dominant idea, the, 1 Drive chain, 60 final, 56 Driving, on bad roads, 27 how to take a curve, 24 to prevent car skidding, 28 road rules, 28 Dry battery, 94 Dual ignition system, 105 Dynamo, automatic cut-out for, 142 compound wound, 140 how output is regulated, 143 how made, 140 series wound, 140 shunt wound, 140 Dynamo for charging storage battery, 138 Economy, how to practice, 182 how to secure ignition, 180 fuel, how obtained, 180 oil, how worked, 180 speed, 175 in starting and lighting sys- tems, 181 tire, 175 in the water system, 179 Economy service inspection, private, 182 Eight cylinder engines, 77 Electric charging system, automatic cut-out for, 142 INDEX 193 Electric current, how meas- ured, 143 Electric fuse, 146 Electric horn, how wired up, 146 Electric lamps connected in parallel, 145 how wired up, 145 how protected, 146 sources of current for, 146 Electric lighting system, 138 Electric lights, 138 Electric motors, 61-147 Electric safety valve, 146 Electric spark ignition, 94 Electric starter, 147 motor drive for, 148 Electric starters, 138 Electric starting system, 147 Electric welding process, 170 Electrotype for storage bat- tery, 96 Emergency brakes, 36 Engine, advantage of multi- cylinder, 76 air cooled, 127 babbitted bearings for, 71 cam gears for, 71 cam shaft for, 71 connecting rod for, 170 crank pin for, 71 crank shaft for, 71 cylinders of an, 68 diseases of, and how to cure, 73 distributor for a multi- cylinder, 100 Engine, exhaust gases of, 68 firing order of cylinders of an, 67 gaskets for, 73 gasoline, 61 gasoline system of an, 78 how it is built, 68 how to calculate horse pow- er of an, 75 how a carburetor is coupled to an, 83 how to start, 18 how the valves work, 66 how it works, 61 how to stop the, 24 inlet and exhaust valves for, 71 manifolds for, 72 muffler gear of, 68, 73 multi-cylinder, 64 oiling the, 112 parts of a gasoline, 62 piston of, 69 piston or wrist pin of, 70 piston rings of, 69 piston speed gear of, 76 power stroke of an, 63 power strokes of multi- cylinder, 62 scored cylinder walls of, 119 shims for connecting rod of, 70 six-cylinder, 77 timer for a single cylinder, 99 timing gears of an, 66 194 INDEX Engine, timing the valves of, 66 twelve-cylinder, 77 water cooled, 128 what to do when it knocks, 110 what to do when started, 21 what to do when it won’t stop, 110 what to do when it won’t start, 73, 91, 109, 121 when action is irregular, 74, 92 when explosions occur in the muffler, 75 when explosions are regu- lar but weak, 74 when it hisses, 74, 110 when it misfires, 74, 92 when it overheats, 75, 122 when it races, 92 when it smokes, 73 when it stops, 122 Engine economy, how to prac- tice, 182 Engine hisses, how to get rid of, 122 Engine lubrication, kinds of oil, 119 Engine misfires, what to do when, 110, 122 Engine smoke, how to get rid of, 122 Engines, eight cylinder, 77 latest word in, 76 lubricating systems for, 113 Equalizing tractor, 30 Exhaust gases of engine, 68 Exhaust and inlet valves, 71 Fan, adjusting the, 135 Fan belt, putting on a new, 156 Fan and water cooling sys- tems combined, 134 Final drive, differential, 56 Firing order of cylinders, 67 Fixing the radiator, 155 Fixing spark plugs, 156 Float for carburetor, 81 Float chamber for carbu- retor, 81 Floating type of axles, 34 Float valve for carburetor, 81 Force feed lubricating sys- tem, 113, 116 Force feed pumps, 132 Formula for calculating the horse power of an en- gine, 75 Frame, 31 straightening the, 167 what it is made of and how, 32 Friction clutch, 43 Friction clutch disk, 45 Friction wheel transmission, 49 Front axle, 32 Fuel charge, how it is fired, 94 Fuel economy, how obtained, 180 INDEX 195 Fuel feed system, air pres- sure, 86 gravity, 86 vacuum, 87 Fuel feed systems, 86 Fuel losses, table of, 93 Fuel mixture, 61, 78 air and gasoline heaters for, 86 critical temperature of, 89 lean, 82, 89 rich, 82, 89 when there is a decrease in power, 92 when there are explosions in the muffler, 92 when the engine misfires, 92 when the engine races, 92 Fuel power of gasoline, 93 Fuel power, where it goes, 93 Fuel system, testing the car- buretor, 90 troubles with, and how to fix them, 90 what to do when the en- gine knocks, 91 what to do when the engine stops, 91 what it is, 78 when the action of the en- gine is irregular, 92 when the engine won’t start, 91 when the explosions are regular but weak, 91 See also Gasoline Fuel Sys- tem Fuller’s earth, 185 Full force feed system, 116 Fuse, 146 Gaskets, 73 how to make, 163 Gasoline, air pressure feed system, pumps for, 86 about buying, 89 available power of, 93 blended casinghead, 89 cracked, 89 specific gravity of, 90 straight refinery, 89 synthetic, 89 Gasoline carburetor, how a nozzle forms a jet, 78 simplest form of, 78 Gasoline engine, 61 parts of, 62 Gasoline feed system, grav- ity, 86 air pressure, 86 Gasoline fuel system, what it is, 78 See also Fuel System Gasoline fuel feed systems, 86 Gasoline fuel mixture, 78 fuel power of, 93 Gasoline heaters, 86 how to buy, 89 hydrometer for testing, 90 Gasoline pipe, stopping leaks in, 156 Gasoline system, air and gas- oline heaters, 86 196 INDEX Gasoline system, how carbu- retor is made and works, 80 how it works, 78 how the spray is formed, 78 lean mixture, 89 rich mixture, 89 Gasoline system of an engine, 78 Gasoline tanks, 78 vacuum feed system, 87 Gauge, oil pressure, 119 Gear, when running on high, 22 shifting when started, 21 steeling, 32 transmission, planetary, 53 transmission, sliding, 50 Gear compound, how it is made, 123 differential, 56 Gear oil pump, 118 Gear shifting table, 17 Gear shifts, 17 Gear water pump, 132 Gears, cam, 71 changing, 22 how they mesh, 123 replacing transmission, 171 transmission, 43 transmission charge, 49 Geared dynamo for charging storage battery, 138 Gravity fuel feed system, 86 Grease cups, 112 cleaning off, 186 Grounded electric system, 145 Grounded, primary coil, 103 the spark plug, 99 Gudgeon or wrist pin, 168 Hisses, what to do when the engine, 74, 122 Hollow spoke wheels, 37 Honeycomb radiator, 132 Horn, electric, how wired up, 146 Horse power of an engine, how to calculate the, 75 Horse power of engines, 42 How to adjust the brakes, 163 How the automatic cut-out works, 142 How the auxiliary air valve of carburetor works, 82 How to back a car, 25 How to buy gasoline, 89 How to buy a motor car, 1 How to calculate the horse power of an engine, 75 How the carburetor is cou- pled to the engine, 83 How a carburetor is made, 80 How a carburetor works, SO How the cooling system works, 127 How to crank a ear, 20 How to cure diseases of the engine, 73 How the differential works, 57 How to drive a car, 15 How to drive on bad roads, 27 How a dynamo is made, 140 INDEX 197 How electric current is meas- ured, 143 How the electric motor drive works, 148 How the engine is built, 68 How the engine is oiled, 112 How the engine works, 61, 63 How to equalize traction, 30 How to fix troubles with the fuel system, 90 How the frame is made, 32 How the friction clutch works, 44 How a friction gear trans- mission works, 55 How the fuel charge is fired, 94 How to be good to your tires, 177 How the gasoline system works, 78 How to get rid of engine hisses, 122 How to get rid of engine smoke, 122 How to go down hill, 27 How to go up hill, 25 How the ignition system works, 94 How the lighting system works, 138 How the magneto works, 102 How the magnetic clutch works, 47 How to make good gaskets, 163 How a nozzle forms a jet, 79 How the oiling system works, 112 How to prevent a car from skidding, 28 How to prevent engine from misfiring, 122 How a planetary gear trans- mission works, 53 How a radiator is made, 132 How a real carburetor is made, 81 How a real carburetor works, 81 How to repair a tire, 153 How to run your car at the least cost, 174 How to seat a valve, 160 How to shift the gears, 21 How a sliding gear trans- mission works, 51 How to slow down a ear, 23 How a spark coil is made, 97 How a spark coil makes a spark, 97 How a spark plug is made, 99 How a spray of gasoline is made, 79 How to start the engine, 18 How the starting system works, 138 How to stop a car, 23 How to stop the engine, 24 How a storage battery is charged, 138 How to take a curve, 24 198 INDEX How to take care of your ear in winter, 136 How to test a storage bat- tery, 139 How to treat a demon- strator, 14 How the universal joint works, 48 How to use clutch pedal, 22 How the valves work, 6 Hydrometer for testing gaso- line, 90 Hydrometer for testing stor- age battery, 139 Ignition, electric spark, 94 Ignition disorders, what to do when engine hisses, 110 when the engine misfires, 110 when the engine overheats, 110 when explosions occur in muffler, 110 when the explosions are regular but weak, 110 when engine knocks, HO Ignition distributor system, 105 Ignition economy, how to se- cure, 180 Ignition system, advancing the spark of, 108 circuit breaker for a spark coil, 105 disorders of and how to treat them, 109 Ignition system, distributor for circuit breaker, 107 distributor for a magneto, 104 distributor for a multi- cylinder engine, 100 dry battery for, 94 dual, 105 high tension magneto for, 103 how it works, 94 how the magneto works, 102 interrupter for a magneto, 103 mechanical circuit breaker for, 106 spark plug, 97 storage battery for, 94 timer for a single-cylinder engine, 99 vibrator spark coil, 94, 97 what to do when engine stops, 110 what to do when the engine won’t start, 109 why the spark must be fired, 108 Ignition system magneto, 101 Ignition systems, kinds of, 94 Implements you need, 152 Inflating tires, 176 Inlet and exhaust valves, 71 Inner tube, how to repair an, 153 INDEX 199 Inner tube, repairing cuts and punctures in, 153 repairing large cuts and punctures in, 154 Inner tube patches, 154 Inner tubes and casings, 39 Interruptor for a high ten- sion magneto, 103 Irregular, -what to do when action of engine is, 74 Jacketed cylinders, 129 Junction box, 146 Keeping a car spick and span, 184 Kinds of cars to buy, 2 Knight engine, 77 Knocks, what to do when en- gine, 75, 110 Lamp reflectors, cleaning, 186 Lamps. See Electric Lamps Landaulet body, 8 Lead and lag of valves, 67 Leak around spark plug, to fix a, 156 Leaks in gasoline pipe, stop- ping, 156 Leaks in radiator, stopping up, 155 Leaks in water pump, fixing, 156 Lean fuel mixture, 82, 89 Learning to drive your car, 14 Lighting system, how it works, 138 Lighting system economy, 181 Limousine body, 8 Lock washers, 157 Lubricating the universal joints with, what to, 124 Lubricating the differential with, what to, 124 Lubricating chart, your, 124 Lubricating the clutch, cone type, 123 oil disk type, 123 Lubricating a motor car, 112 See also Oiling Lubricating oils, what made of, 121 Lubricating schedule, your, 124 Lubricating the transmission, 123 Lubricating system, force feed, 113, 116 splash circulating, 114 splash and force feed, 115 straight splash, 113 Lubricating systems, kinds of, 113 Lubrication, cold test oil, 120 kind of oil to use, 120 oil pressure gauge, 119 oil pressure, 118 oil pump, 118 Lubrication troubles, what to do when the engine hisses, 122 when the engine misfires, 122 200 INDEX Lubrication troubles, what to do when the engine overheats, 122 when the engine smokes, 122 when the engine stops, 122 when the engine won’t start, 121 when the explosions are weak but regular, 122 where to buy oil, 121 Magnetic clutch, 46 Magneto, high tension, 103 high tension magneto in- terruptor, 103 how it works, 102 low tension, 101 Magneto ignition system, 101 distributor for, 104 Manifolds for engine, 72 Mechanical circuit breaker, 106 Misfires, what to do when en- gine, 74, 110, 122 Motor car bodies, how built, 60 what’s what in, 7 Motor car, buying on the de- ferred payment plan, 13 buying a medium-priced, 5 buying a new, 3 buying a second-hand, 11 buying on time payments, 8 how to buy, 1 how to drive, 15 Motor car, how to slow down, 23 how to stop, 23 keeping it spick and span, 184 learning to drive a, 14 lubricating, 112 opulent man’s way to buy a, 8 overhauling a, 172 parts of, 31 salaried man’s way to buy a, 10 storing for winter, 187 transmission, 43 ways to buy a, 2 what to do when ready to go, 21 Motor car dealers, 9 Motor car demonstrator, 14 Motor car driving, what to do first, 16 Motor car engines, 42 Motor car lessons, 15 Motor car power plants, 42 Motor car road work. 16 Motor car springs, 37 Motor car wheels, 37 Motor care, rebuilt, 13 Motor cars costing less than $1,000, table of, 4 kinds of, to buy, 2 Motor drive for starter, 14S Muffler of engine, 68, 73 Muffler, what to do when ex- plosions occur in the, 75, 92, 110 INDEX 201 Multi-cylinders, advantage of, 76 Multi-cylinder engines, 64 Needle valve of carburetor, 81 Nickel-plated parts, cleaning, 186 Nuts, to loosen tight, 157 to make them hold tight, 157 Oiling the engine, 112 See also Lubricating Sys- tems Oiling a motor car, 113 See also Lubricating Sys- tems Oil, cleaning off road, 186 cold test, 120 kinds to use, 120 where to buy good, 121 Oil disk clutch, lubricating, 123 Oil for door hinges, 187 Oil economy, how it is worked, 180 Oil pressure, 118 Oil pressure gauge, 119 Oil pump, how made, 118 One wire system, 145 Open limousine body, 8 Open sedan body, 8 Overhauling your car, 172 Overheats, what to do when engine, 75, 110, 122 Oxy-acetylene welding proc- ess, 170 Parallel, electric lamps, con- nected, 145 Parts of a car, 31 Patches, blow out, 154 cementless, 153 inner tube, 154 self-vulcanizing, 153 Patching outfit, 154 Petroleum, 121 Piston of engine, 69 Piston pin, 70 Piston rings, 69 putting in new, 163 Piston speed of an engine, 76 Planetary gear transmission, 53 Platform springs, 37 Plugs, puncture, 154 Polish, a fine leather, 185 a good body, 185 Positive feed pumps, 132 Power plant, 31, 42 Power of a dry battery, 94 Pressure gauge, oil, 119 Prime movers, 61 Priming pin of a carburetor, 84 Propeller shaft, 55 twisted or broken, 171 Pump, circulating water* cooling system, 130 centrifugal, 132 gear, 132 taking care of the, 136 toothed wheel, 132 202 INDEX Pump, water, what to lubri- cate with, 124 Pumps, fixing leaks in water pumps, 156 for air pressure feed sys- tems, 87 positive or force feed, 132 rotary water, 132 Pumps for cooling systems, 131 Puncture plugs, 153 Punctures, repairing nail hole, 153 Punctures and small cuts, re- pairing, 153 Push rod, 72 Quick detachable rim, 40 Quick repairs for the road, 154 Radiator fillers, 155 Radiator, fixing the, 155 cellular, 134 how made, 132 keeping in good order, 134 repairing the, 167 stopping up a leaky, 155 tubular, 133 Radiator cap, to loosen a stuck, 155 Rear axle, 34 Reboring cylinders, 169 Rebrazing loose parts, 169 Rebuilt cars, 13 Recipes, some useful, 185 Reflectors, cleaning lamp, 186 Regrinding cylinders, 169 Relining brakes, 172 Removable wheel, 42 Remy ignition system, 108 Repair an inner tube, how to, 153 Repair a tire, how to, 153 Repairing blown out casing, 155 Repairing broken parts, 169 Repairing cut in casing, 155 Repairing cuts in inner tube, 153 Repairing large cuts and punctures in inner tube, 154 Repairing nail hole punc- tures, 153 Rich fuel mixture, 82, 89 Rim, demountable, 42 quick detachable, 40 Rims, plain clincher, 39 Rims and tires, 38 Road rules, 28 Road work, motor car, 16 Roadster body, 7 Rotary water pumps, 132 Rules of the road, 28 Running gear, 31 washing the, 185 Salon touring car body, 7 Schedule, your lubricating, 124 Scored cylinder walls, 119 INDEX 203 Screws, to loosen tight, 157 Seating capacity, extra, 174 Sedan body, 7 Selden’s self-moving car, 11 Series wound dynamo, 140 Service brakes, 36 Service inspection, private economy, 182 your company’s, 184 Shaft, propeller, 55 Shifting the gears, 21 Shims, for connecting rod, 70 Shop practice versus sharp practice, 169 Shunt wound dynamo, 140 Six cylinder engines, 77 Skidding of cars, how to pre- vent, 28 Sliding gear transmission, 50 Slow down a car, how to, 23 Smokes, what to do when en- gine, 74, 122 Spark, advancing the, 108 Spark coil for ignition, 97 Spark coil ignition system, 94 circuit breaker for, 105 Spark plug, to clean a, 156 how it is made, 99 Spark plug leak, fixing, 156 Spark plugs, fixing, 156 Spark and throttle lever po- sitions, 19 Spark, why it must be timed, 108 Specific gravity of gasoline, 90 Speed economy, what it means, 175 Speed of a piston, 76 Speed selector gates, 18 Spring, cantilever, 37 platform, 37 Springs, all kinds, 34 replacing valve, 160 stretching valve, 160 Splash circulating lubricat- ing system, 114 Splash and force feed lubri- cating system, 115 Splash lubricating systems, 113 Soapstone, on the use of, 179 Start, what to do when en- gine won’t, 73, 109, 121 Starting a car, by cranking, 20 Starting motor economy, 181 Starting with a self starter, 20 Starting system, how it works, 138 Steam engines, 61 Steering gear, 32 fixing the, 170 Steering gear assembly, 34 Stop a car, how to, 23 Stop, what to do when en- gine won’t, 110 Stops on the road, when your car, 151 204 INDEX Stops, when engine, 122 Storage battery, 95 how it is charged, 138 to test a, 96 Storage battery electrolyte, 96 Storing your car for the win- ter, 187 Straight refinery gasoline, 89 Stromberg carburetor, 84 Supplies that come in handy, 152 Suspension, 35 Synthetic gasoline, 89 Table of cars costing less than $1,000, 4 Table of fuel losses, 93 Table of gear shifts, 17 Table of inspection items, 182 Table for tire inflation, 177 Tank for gasoline, 78 Toppet, 72 Testing storage battery, 139 Test and trouble lamp for storage battery, 139 Thermo-syphon cooling sys- tem, 129 Things you ought to carry, 152 Throttle control of carbure- tor, 85 Throttle and spark lever po- sitions, 19 Throttle and spark levers when engine is running, 21 Timer for single cylinder en«= gine, 99 Timing gears, 66 Timing the valves, 66, 167 Tire, laced band for, 154 repairing while you wait, 153 Tire caliper, 176 Tire don’ts, 177 Tire economy, how it is had, 175 Tire inflation table, 177 Tire sleeve, 154 Tires, buying new, 179 how to be good to your, 177 keeping them in repair, 179 non-skid, 176 oversize, 175 proper inflation of, 176 size to use, 175 Tires and rims, 38 Tools you should have, 152 Toothed wheel pump, 132 Top, cleaning the, 1S4 Torque of a crank shaft, 64 Touring car body, 7 Traction, how to equalize. 30 Transmission, 31, 49 change gears, 43, 49 friction wheel, 49, 54 lubricating the, 123 planetary gear, 53 sliding gear, 50 Transmission assembly, 53 INDEX 205 Transmission gears, replac- ing, 171 Transmission mechanism, 43 Trouble, finding the, 151 Troubles of the oiling sys- tem, how to get rid of them, 121 Tubular radiator, 133 Twelve-cylinder engines, 77 Two- wire system, 145 Upholstery, cleaning cloth, 186 Universal joint, 48 Universal joints, taking care of, 171 what to lubricate with, 124 Vacuum fuel feed system, 87 Valve for carburetor, auxil- iary air, 81 check, 85 float, 81 needle, 81 Valve, electric safety, 146 to tell when it is seated right, 160 Valve guide, 72 Valve head, 72 Valve springs, replacing, 160 stretching, 160 Valve stem, 72 Valves, of an engine, 66 how to grind them, 159 how to take them out, 159 Valves, how to test compres- sion, 158 inlet and exhaust, 71 of a Knight engine, 77 lead and lag of, 67 timing the, 167 when they need grinding, 158 Vibrator spark coil, 97 Vibrator spark coil ignition system, 94 Voltage of dry battery, 95 Voltage of storage battery, 138 Voltmeter for testing storage battery, 139 Washing the body, 184 Washing the running gear, 185 Water cooled engine, 128 Water and fan cooling sys- tems combined, 134 Water jacket of cylinders, 69 Water pumps, kinds of, 131 what to lubricate with, 124 Water system economy, 177 Ways to buy a car, 2 Weak explosions, what to do for, 74 Welding broken parts, 169 What to do, before you start, 16 when action of engine is ir- regular, 74, 92 when car skids, 28 206 INDEX Wiiat to do, when engine ex- plosions are regular but weak, 74, 91 when engine hisses, 74, 110 when engine knocks, 75, 91, 110 when the engine misfires, 74, 92, 110 when engine overheats, 75, 110 when the engine races, 92 when engine smokes, 74 when engine won’t start, 73, 91, 109 when the engine stops, 91, 110 when explosions occur hi muffler, 75, 92, 110 when the explosions are regular but weak. 110 when ready to go, 21 when there is a decrease in power, 92 What you can fix on your car, 151 What not to do, 15S What’s what in car bodies, 7 When your car is in the garage, 158 When you have a breakdown on the road, 165 Wheel, removable, 42 Wheels, 37 Why the spark must be timed, 108 Windows, cleaning, 187 Windshield, to keep dry, 187 Winter, how to take care of your car in, 136 storing your car for the, 187* when zero weather sets hi, 136 Winter weather, anti-freez- ing solutions for, 136 Wire, proper size for electiic lamps, 146 Wire wheels, 38 Wiring up electric lamps, 145 Wood wheels, 3S Wrist pin, 70 Zero weather, when it sets in, 136 (5) 00 i Cord