Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1970-11-12, Page 22lousy shape. Sure a: strong battery is important. But the other parts of the engine have to be in top shape to start in this weather." Three Hours Late We stopped at the next house. A young housewife and her two children were shivering in the garage, wait- ing for us. "What's the matter, ma'am?" ,Paul asked. "My car won't start. My battery is dead. And the kids are three hours late for school," she said. The kids did not look as anguished as their mother. Paul connected the jumper cables from his truck to the engine. After a few sputters the car started. "Bring it in for a tune-up when the weather breaks," Paul shouted to her. She was already half way down the driveway and she didn't hear him. "They seldom do," said Paul, glumly, as he prepared to answer his next call. Pedal Pumpin' Patty Learning Way to Make Her Motor. Hum . By JODY CARR Pedal Pumpin' Patty was her name. A cool kid from Kingston who thought she knew what her car should do when she turn- ed the key. But Pedal Pumpin' Patty had -a bad habit, one she couldn't kick. She thought the harder she tromped on the gas, the faster she worked the pedal, the bet- ter Old Bessie ought to start. It was like with the • old church organ Patty played. If you want to get things movin', pump it up real good. It worked on the player piano, too, so why not with Old Bessie? One day Patty was on her way to recital, the big -one. Big. Dad Dalton, the cabaret owner from Dude Qity, would be there. If Patty played right, Big Dad would discover her. So Patty slid behind Old Bessie's wheel saying, "Come On, Bess, take me away from all this. We're gonna give a fine performance, and we'll be headin' for Dude City and fame and fortune." She gave Old Bessie a cou- ple of extra pumps for good measure, because it was a cold December night. But Old Bessie just groaned. Started smelling like a gas station. Then she wouldn't even groan any more. Young Tom Sharp hap- pened by just then, the clever boy who worked at Parson',s Garage. "You've flooded it, Miss Patty," he said ."Takes a good battery and ignition system to fire up the kind of raw gas you're pumpin' into that en- gine. Old Bessie's tired. Needs points and condenser. May- be spark plugs, You've just socked it to the Sid girl too hard this time." Too bad, Pedal Pumpin' Patty. Too much pedal and not enough kindness when it counted. Now you've missed your big chance at Dude City. When the chips were down, you had them all -on Old Bes- sie and she said, "Nope I" Bessie has plenty of com- pany. If any of you out there is a Pedal Pumpin' Patty, Peter or Paul, remember the stakes, Too much pumpin' and not enough attention blew Patty's big chance. • Don't blow yours. 8s—THE HURON EXPOSITOR, SEAFORTH, ONT., NOV. 12, 1970 PeopleWho Don't Take Care, Make Work for Us So Say the Men Who Man the Rigs That Tow Autos Out of Trouble, Adding Some Timely Advice ,(Editor's Notes. Last year the AAA answered close to 80 million road service calls. 01 that total almost 35 million were for "can't starts," the bulk of which were in winter cold or early spring rain. The writer accompanied one of the AAA road service drivers on his rounds in a major city. This is his report. By- CHARLES L. BARUCH The temperature outside was 5° above zero but the greet- ing we received from the motorist was even icier. "I've been waiting three hours for you. I missed my plane and will probably lose out on a $50,000 order," he snapped. It was amazing to me that Paul, the emergency road service truck operator, went, about his business of start- ing the man's car without retorting more than, "I'm sorry, sir. There were eight calls ahead of you. We're do- .ing all we can." It was the third day of a cold wave that stunned the city with temperatures rang- ing between 10° above and 10° below zero. Paul had been working between 12 and He said, wearily, "Sure it's 16 hours a day on the AAA cold: But even in this weath- road service truck, He'd al- er most people don't have ready lost count of the num- starting trouble. It's the peo- ber of calls for starting help ple who don't take care of he serviced. their cars. It's the people He had ruined one clutch who come into the station in on a truck, found sleep next September and who you 'ask to impossible and the steady 'How about a tune-up?' and diet of hastily gulped 'toffee they answer, 'Maybe later.' and cold hamburgers had They have the trouble. -"They'll spend more time waiting for a road service truck than it would take to do a thorough tune-up in the first place. Some of them lose more money in missed wages than a tune-up would cost. But the ironic thing is they'll end up getting the tune-up after they've had trouble." I asked Paul, "You talk about tune-up but most of them complain about a run- down battery." He smiled and answered, "Anybody's going to run down his battery trying to start an engine that's in soured his stomach. His sym- pathy for the stranded driv- ers had long since vanished. While accompanying Paul on his rounds, I had a chance to talk to him about the rea- sons this seemingly endless rush of calls for 'Starting help occurred. "Sure It's Cold" Keep a Wary Eye On Non-Motorist Motorists are not the only ones who use the streets and highways. Pedestrians often jaywalk, children hidden by parked cars dart into the street, cyclists sometimes ride as if they were in an empty field, and animals give little heed to' traffic. All such irresponsible be- havior is aggravated during bad weather, when people become more impatient. Keep your eyes moving to spot these potential emer- gencies. Don't depend on others to know the safety rules, Maintenance Hints For Windows, Windshields The following suggestions for auto glass maintenance are offered by Karl K. Alberti, auto glass replacement man- ager for Libbey-Owens-Ford. • KEEP WINDOWS CLEAN. A dirty windshield, rear window or sidelights im- pairs vision. Dirt accumula- tion may form a grit that scratches the glass when it is wiped. • KNOCK ICE OFF WIPER BLADES in winter, to main- tain the efficiency of the wi- pers. • REPLACE BROKEN OR CRACKED, windshields im- mediately. Clear, unobstruct- ed vision is important at all times. • NEVER USE ABRASIVE CLEANERS such as rubbing compound on the inside of the rear window if it is the defogging type. The lines on the glass surface carry an electrical current and damag- ing them can break the cir- cuit. • DON'T USE GLASS AS A HANDLE to slam door. This undue stress may break the glass. • INSPECT THE WEATH- ERSTRIPPING regularly to prevent scratches from worn- out stripping. If the rolling mechanism binds, have it in- spected and repaired to pre- vent the glass from rubbing internal door parts. • INN! liffillit mR WINTERIZE . . . 1—Anti-Freeze, Radiator 2—Hose Connections 3—Lights MNDERCOAT SPECIAL STOP SALT AND ' Steps- . . RUST 14.95 Ll—We 2—Undercoat wash under car car car 16.85 4—Wipers I3—Wash 5—Brakes 6—Tires Reg. SNOW 25% TIRES -TIRES 15" off off SUMMER 50% • SEAFORTH MOTORS „ 527-1750 SEAFORTH