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Show AUTO UPKEEP CALLS FOR LABOR (By JI. A. TARAXTOUS.) Labor is tho most expensive thing for which tho owner must pay in connection con-nection with maintenance of tho average aver-age motor car. In most repair Jobs the cost of materials is about half the labor charge. This Is largely due to difficulty In reaching parts of a mcch anism in order to get at the part dc-, sired. Much has been said about tho economy econ-omy of lighter cars In tire wear, gasoline gas-oline consumption, consumption of lubricants, lu-bricants, etc, but there aro other advantages ad-vantages of lightness and simplicity which arc equally important from an economy standpoint. To tho unltlatcd the amout of time spent Dy inc niccnanic in merely getting get-ting a part to pieces so that he can work on it and putting It back together to-gether is appalling. Lightweight parts will reduce the difficulty because they can be lifted moro easily, and because the springs, bolts, studs and other fastenings arc easier to loosen and remove re-move and similarly easier to replace and tighten. Large, heavy parts require largo bolts with long threads. These aro hacd to turn, both because the larger threaded surface causes more friction fric-tion and because they aro of necessity brought up tighter. Much of the dismaying dis-maying assortment of tools required for motor car service could be ro- duccd In the. case of the light car bo-causo bo-causo smaller screws, bolts, etc., are easier to handle than ordinary tools. A considerable amount of tho extra labor in repairing, heavy chassis is duo to the nocesslty of helpers for tho mechanics me-chanics to lift out tho heavy pacts. Lifting an engine out of a chassis, or tho cylinder block off tho crank-house, crank-house, removing tho clutch from the flywheel, taking out tho transmission, etc.. are operations that could easily e accomplished by one man on a light car but require two or moro nicn on most cars of today. Not only to the shop repairs docs this advantago of light yelsht extend, but to ordinary road repairs as well. On many of the heavier cars of today with domountablo wire or steel disc wheels, changing tires becomes an arduous ar-duous task which Ih beyond tho power of most women operators, who aro becoming an Increasing factor. Similarly, Sim-ilarly, Jacking up an axle on a heavy car is often difficult. TVhon mlrcd In mud or snow, a heavy car is helpless Indeed, since Its resistance to towing is so great that trront cHfflnnltv nftpn nxnp.rioneofl. while a light car may easily be towed or even pushed out of a bog where traction has momentarily been lost. The light car, furthermore, is less liable to become stalled in soft ground or snow, because Its weight doe3 not causo it to sink so deeply. Ono may make machinery heavier, using larger parts to stand tho additional addi-tional strain, but unfortuatcly steal does not correspondingly toughen or harden to tako tho additional strain, and It is for this reason that bolts or unts arc moro apt to loosen upon heavy cars than on light ones. It is imposslblo to mako a large machine . as simple as a small one, and so in heavy cars there are usually moro parts to receive attention than on the light ones. The coming of lighter cars than we are accustomed to today will bring with it easier and cheaper maintenances mainten-ances than heretofore. If these lightweight light-weight cars are built as well and as carefully as those of greater weight, which they undoubtedly will be for the most part, they will require less mechanical attention and repair. |