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Show uu NECESSITY IS II GOOD TEACHER "The trouble with most of us." writes Harold F. Blanchard in an article ar-ticle in the corrent Motor Life, "is that we are somewhat awed by ihe automobilo. au-tomobilo. "Although we understand how it I works, we have not the same easy familiarity with it that we assume with the family lawn mower or sewing machine, and the difference in complication com-plication does not wholly explain why this should be. There is something imponderable im-ponderable about the clever combination combina-tion of parts which go to make up the modern machine. However, it is well that we should stand in awe. If we didn't we should be getting into trouble trou-ble with the mechanism at all times. Nevertheless, when some unusual circumstance cir-cumstance arises it is well to overcome over-come this feeling long enough to pull the mind out of the rut and find the remedy that the emergency demands. "A wild young motorist who was never so happy as when traversing the sparsely settled mountainous districts dis-tricts of the South waa coasting silent-lv silent-lv into a valley one day, when he heard a" tiny squeak issue from under the hood, and then the engine stalled. Investigation In-vestigation revealed that the distributor distribu-tor brush had broken and had been ground up. It was forty miles to the nearest town and once there, it would be a case of wait until a new part was received from Atlanta. He concluded that the machine "simply had to bo fixed, there was no other way out of it." So he Ashed -around In his tool box until he found a stiff pieco of wire He bent it to the desired shape and secured it solidly in the brush holder in such a way that it just touched the distributor segments. He started the engiue, and it ran with fair regularity, missing only occasionally, and without further trouble he waa able to get home. ' i "An owner who had driven his ear to the humrait of a mountain in the Appelachian system late in the afternoon after-noon found darkness upon him with a rrfr.ptlv rood pair of acetylene head lights and no ditches. Attempting to return without lights was out of the Question because the road waa steep, rough narrow and tortuous, as it zigzagged zig-zagged for seven miles down to the base. Suddenly the solution dawned on him. He soaked some waste in gas-dine, gas-dine, placed it on the end of a stick, itnd removed iho spark plug, bringing the waste close to the points. Then he turned on the switch and cranked in-engine, in-engine, and directly he had light. This process need not be dangerous if carefully care-fully done. "A car with a broken steering gear was brought safely to town from somewhere in the wilds of New Mexico Mex-ico with the aid of two planks, some rope and two men who acted as steersmen. The plank were tied to the frame at the front, and extended back so that the flat side of each touched a front wheel The free end of each plank was in the hands of a man on ihe running br.ard. An inward pull on th' light plank would apply pressure to the front part of the right front Wheel and the car would run to the left. Thus the car was steered by one man or the other pulling in on his plank, his partner easing away at the same time. "Too much speed and a high stone in the center of the road temporarily brought a car to grief by bending its front axle. Tho nearest blacksmith shop was miles away, not to mention the distance to a garage. Fortunately, a ruilroad track was near at hand. Tho axle was removed, placed just inside one rail and separated from it by a block of stone at each end. A short length of log was placed against tho other rail in line with the bend in the axle. The base of the Jack was placed plac-ed against the other end of the log, and the head of the jack then almost reached tho axle. A few powerful strokes on the Jack handle and the axle was forced back into its original shape. ingenious and interesting are tho ways of avoiding driving on a flat tire Rope if it is available, may be stuffed into the shoe with fair success. GAM or hay may also bo used, and sand and dirt are also hailed as substitutes. "A hot radiator makes a very satisfactory satis-factory steam vulcamzer which has helped many motorists out of trouble when there was a puncture to fix The water should be just boiling. It requires re-quires a Little judgment to say when tho tube is done, but even a second clasB job, or possibly a second attempt is better than driving on a flat tiro. Cementlcss patches are preferable, but boiueumes they aro not available." |