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The Brussels Post, 1974-05-08, Page 18Obviously Doug Mitchell, author of the accompanying article, is uniquely fitted. to write for his considerable readership of British car owners who like to service and repair their own cars, because he practices what he preaches, witness the above photo of him at work on his own. But he does not hesitate to recommend the services of professionals when maintenance problems require facilities and skills beyond the reach or ca- pacity of the do-it-yourselfer. and engine wear up due to dilution of the sump oil. An engine which reaches its full running temperature quickly is better all round. To encourage this, I recom- mend fitting an adjustable radiator blind, especially for winter driving., If you do, I also recommend fitting a temperature gauge if you haven't one already to avoid over-cooking it! Right Tyre Pressure Another very simple maintenance job which re- pays handsomely, is keep- ing the right tyre pressures. If' they are too high or too low the treads will wear more rapidly and, believe it or not, the extra drag from soft tyres will increase fuel consumption. But without doubt, the biggest factor in keeping down gas bills is your right foot. It has been proved over many Economy Events that light acceleration cou- pled with good traffic anti- cipation will result in sav- ings of 25 per cent and more. So treat the gat ped- al as if it had an egg on it! One thing you must do — or have done — regularly is an engine oil change. The usual interval is 6,000 miles, but if a car is used mainly for short runs about town, I would halve that period. Nibble at Vitals On short trips the engine never really gets warmed up, and by-products of combustion collect in the sump instead of being boiled away through the exhaust. Acids form and nibble away at the vitals severely reducing engine life. It isn't possible in a short article like this to cover more than a few main points of car care, so I have concentrated mainly on the fuel economy aspect. The things which I have men- tioned are all easy to do yourself, and if you do even just one of them, you will reap a benefit. WATCH YOUR BATTERY Hot, dry summer days are particularly hard on batter- ies since fluids evaporate more quickly. Be sure to check your battery often. WE HAVE A LARGE STOCK OF RADIALS - BELTED AND 4 PL Here are some examples of sale prices. G 78 x 15 Whitewall Poly — $20.0 GR 70 x 15 Steel Radial — $62.50 INSTALLED and BALANCED FREE HAUGH TIRE SUPPL 2 6 7 VICTORIA ST. (HWY 4S) CLINTON — PHONE 482-9796 Get set for summer travel. 04NINIP.O. DO YOU WANT CAREFREE SUMMER DRIVING? THEN SEE. US NOW FOR IGNITION TUNE-UP —WHEEL BALANCE FRONT END ALIGNMENT — TIRE ROTATION BRAKE RELINING — LUBRICATION — ETC. We Have Excellent Class "A" Mechanics at Your Disposal an They Use Genuine Chryco All-Make Parts — Spark Plugs - Ignition Parts - Tires Batteries - Shocks - F -- Exhaust End Parts Exhaust Parts - Accessories - Etc. ROWCLIFFE MOTORS Seaforth Ahd Area Dodge, Dealer SEAFORTH, ONTARIO. .PHONE 527467 How They Care for Their Cars Abroa Automobile Maintenance Matter Of Personal Pride in Britain By DOUG MITCHELL Any dry Saturday or Sunday in the residential streets of British towns you. will see them. Legs sticking out from under a time ex- pired heap, a torso bent over an engine compart- ment, or maybe a young couple adding a final gleam to shining bodywork. The typical British mo- torist is tending his pride and joy. Old or young, they all have one thing in com- mon — they love their cars. And in many ways they are right to do so. A car, any car, given the atten- tion it needs will respond like a healthy dog and run well. Neglected, it will be- come dull and lifeless. We are very economy minded in Britain ; and es- pecially boast about the number of miles we can squeeze from each gallon of fuel, and economy begins with a well tuned engine. Probably the most impor- tant thing in tuning is to make sure that the ignition system is working proper- ly. Some people will leave things to themselves until, one day, the engine refuses to.start, but long before that happens fuel is being wasted by not being fully burned. Plug Check Advised An electronic engine di- agnosis is not expensive. and if carried out every 5,000 miles, any weak spots can be located and rectified before they develop. Con- tact breaker points in the distributor are usually changed at 5,000 mile in- tervals but I prefer to change mine every 3,000. They cost little and the benefits are sure starting and better combustion. A simple thing which will cause an over-rich carbu- retor mixture and, there- 'fore, high fuel consump- tion, is a dirty air cleaner. This will restrict the air in- • take so that excessive fuel is drawn into the combus- tion chambers and, in addi- tion to high consumption, performance will be down Virtually any malfunc- tion in the carburetion and ignition systems contributes to gasoline wastage. If the carburetor is improperly adjusted, one of two con- ditions may exist. Either there .s too much or too little gasoline in the fuel/ air mixture. If there is too much gaso- line, the excess fuel will not be converted to power but will eventually escape from the engine in a raw state. This not only wastes the fuel but contributes to air pollution. In some cases, a too-rich carburetor setting will cause engine flooding and an even greater waste of fuel. CONTRIBUTING THIS ARTICLE IS DOUG MITCHELL, Editor of "Popular Motoring," a monthly journal for British motorists, many of whom like to service and repair their own cars. With a too-lean carbure- tor setting and with too little gasoline in. the fuel/ air mix, you hamper engine performance. Thus, you must step on the accelera- tor harder to get sufficient power to operate. So, more gasoline is wasted. Other carburetor-related defects that waste fuel in- chide malfunctioning auto- matic choke and dirty air cleaner. If the choke is stuck, you'll be getting too much gasoline in. the air/ fuel mixture. If the air cleaner is dirty, then the air supply will be restricted, again creating a too-rich mix. In either case, you're dumping excess raw gas in- to the engine. Poorly Timed Engine Means Loss Of Power; Demands More Gas Other conditions that anti-pollution devices and waste gas include poorly set poor compression due to ignition timing. A poorly bad valves or other engine timed engine Means loss of defect. engine power so more gaso- To detect and correct any line is needed to provide of these gas wasters, bring power necessary to operate. your car into your favorite Other engine power rob- service outlet for a tune- bets and fuel wasters in- up. Don't be surprised if the elude clogged PCV valve, fuel you Save all/lost pays plus other ,nialfUnctioning for the cost of that tune-up, BRILISELS Po8t, MAir 8, 104 Improperly Adjusted Carburetor Contributes to Wasting Gas9line You won't have to worry about tires this summer if you take advantage of our SUMMER TIRE SPECIALS NOW ft•••••••••••••••••••#••••••••••#•••••:#04444#440•••••••*••••••,•••••••••;••••••444•4~~4v.4.