The Huron Expositor, 1980-04-03, Page 27c's":7T
OAR CARE
EC!
ON, 10 -vi
BY A,...t4010. Mow
A fe*yea-rs ago,
Chatelaine inagaie ,pub,
lished 4aartiele written by a
Mair whe ovitned Sever4I
driving .schools In.
VAncouver., After taking his
Wife out In one of his
cornOny's ears for two
lessons, he. gave up and
tUrned hit pupil over ,to one
pf his instructors, •
Nothing it harder on 4 car
than haVing a husband teaeh
hit wife how to drive it:It's
also hard on a marriage! I
have discovered through
bitter , experiencethat
husbands will say things to
that_they_would
pot utter to any other living
creature.
My first lesson was
supposed to be under the
hood, but my husband soon
progrested' to, lesson two
' When he discovered that.,
Mechanically,. 1 was
hoPelettly inept. I didn't
•
on7t forget to
If the whitewall tires on your
.car look More like graywai Is, be-
ause" of winter' s'salt.arul, slush,
it's time to add them to the
, spring eleaning,list for your car.
It's an easy job to„scrith them
up,041 tilake_them good-looking
agaie.7
Several': packaged cleaners::
know a distributor from a
carburator, or a fan belt from
'a batterY cable.
Starting a car was easy -
only once did I try with the
trunk key in the -ignition.
Learning to shift gears
smoothly was more difficult.
Knowing D. was sitting
betide me waiting 'for me to
do totnething terrible. to his
beloved automobile OulY
made me live up to his worst
expectations. The gearshift
lessons usually ended 'with
rite ,.in tears behind the -
slammed bedroom door, arid
D. .sitting in stoney silence
over self -cooked meal of
burned bacon,ancl„teorched.
eggs. -
When 'I could -filially
synchronize my right hand. '
;on the shift and my left Mot
on the clutch, the next step
was stopping and starting on
hills. This was more tricky,
' During my third tr.., there
was a tremendous POVVWW
spring elean
,
are commercially available, but
a steel wool scrub pad or a stiff
bristle brush and ' kitchen '
' cleanser will to just as well.
One caution, however: Don't •
use gasoline, kerosene or other '
petroleum -derived products be-
cause they will discolor the
-whitewall and could deteriorate
When D. had turned' from ,
red to green to white' and
regained the Use Of his vocal
cords he informed ine
-(aniong other things) that I
had, just blown the head
gasket, Thus ended the
eighth lessen,
BACKING UP
Backing uP was a whole
new, ball . game. At first I
would sit behind the wheel
and say to myself "I want the
rear to go M the left, so I
must turn the steering wheel
to the left'? I got mixed up
, oneday and removed 1 six
pickets from the fence at the
side of our driveway.. The
kids couldhardly wait for
,their father to get hOrrie: for
once the tables were turned
'and, they had something to
; :tell Dad about Mum.
By the.tirne wiriter came, I
• determined- to 'hang up ny
beginner's permit 'Until
spring.1 broke rnY vow one
hitewall, tires
the, rubber.
After- you've cleaned the:
sidevvalls, inspect the tires for
Cuts or other damage and re-
move stones from the tread, Fi-
nally, ,check the air pressure.
Underinflated tires can waste up
to one'gallon out of 20 gallons of
gasoline. ' •
morning the car was stuck in
the snow. in the Osiveway,
arid• D. asked me 19 Operate
the ear while he pushed,. We
soon developed a rhythm; I
pressed the accelerator while
he pushed, we each paused
for a moment, then roar -
'push, rest, in ,,unison. Our
efferts Were futile. The car
refused to budge. Finally D.
sagged against the driver
-
side door, exhausted. He
happened to glance into the
car, and to his horror dis-
covered:that the car bad been
in neutral the whole time.
Luckily, he was too worn out
to say anything,
------- • - ,
„ •
Before I tried my driver's •
tett, we:moved to Newfound-
land. D. decided he would
rather pay in cash .for my
driving lessons than 'sacra -
lice his Mental and physical .
health. He also took into his
calculations the Amount he
figured he would save in
bodyshop and. Wiecbanics'
'bills'. MY instrueter, an 9ff,
duty member of the 5t,
John's Constabulary,
ProMPOY took me into down,
town St, John's. '
'From Water
Street, the main thorough-
fare that parallels the har-
bour, all perpendieillar
streets run sharply uphill.
Preston Street is the
ateepestito naturally it hid a
diabolical policeman ,stalion-
ed half:way up who delighted
in stopping vertical traffic -to
allow the horizontal to breeze
through,
ENUOURA,PING..
'My sergeant was
determined that he would
.
each me how to stop and .
start on hilis and what
better place than Freston
Street! '!0.K. &love, let's
go",' he said encouragingly.
With me Manipulating the
hand brake and clutch while
he worked the foot brake and
accelerator, We Cbligge4 3aP
to the policeMan,, cameto
shaky halt, tiled desperately
to cOntimie, ,gave ep, And
backed. ignsmirniously down
the hill to -Water Street,
I prefer 'not to discuss
parallel p4r1eing4 I have been
known to fie up traffic both
ways on a busy.street for ten
minutes While trying to
maneuver 4 Volkswagen into
a space big enough for a
school us. I like three space
par1rt drive into the first
'spa raighten tip ,in the
seconcLatirt „come, to rest in
the-tbird::-The-Oolrtmlble-is,
that kind is hard to find.
. We are constantly
admonished not. to drink and
drive, D. states that trying to
'teach a wife to drive it
enough' to drive a Man to
drink. That's a.. sobering
,thought.
'
en ar watc e
Automotive service experts will Insist that the best way to ensureoptimum ,
car performance fele have preventive Maintenance on a regular basis: Know -
Ing when each system .needs attention is the key to effective Car Care:.
This Car Care .Ciyi;,esks you to be a calendar watcher and determine the
right time to schedule maintenance; under normal, wear and tear.
1 The cooling system should be flushed
and new antl-freeze installed:
A. Every 12 months
B. Every two years
C_Every-three years __,-
2. Wheell should be aligned and balanced:
A. Monthly
B. Every six months
C. Annually
3. An engine tune-up is recommended:
A. At least twice a year -
B. At least once a year
O. 'Every 18 months
4. Usually, the tranismiulon linkage should
be adjusted:
A. Every six months
B. Every year
C. Every 30 Months
5. 011 filters should be changed:
A. Every two months
B. Every six months
C. When the oil is changed
6. Normal effective life Of windshield wiper
' blade's is:
A. Six months
B. One year
C. three -years --
7. Shock, absorbers should be replaced
A. Annually
B. Every two years,
C. Every 36 months'
•
8., Expected fife span of the exhaust system
(muffler, and pipes) is:
, A. Two years
B. Three years
C. Four years
9. Tire pressure' shquld be checked:
A. Twice a day
B. At least weekly
C. Every six months t
,
10. Major brake service Is usually needed:
\ A. Annually
B. Every., 24 months
C. Every three yearsV
3 1? _•71Et..le .1. jaMgUv
W
planned
A Royal.Bank Loan can help you get the car yon
little sooner than you'd planned. 'Wehave flexible interest
rates affcl a,friendly.and helpful :.§taff to, Serve you. .
When you succeed...we succee
Phone 8137-6017
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