Show present day car owners need not fear winter driving the modern automobiles almost complete independence of weather conditions may account for the skeptical looks on the faces of the younger generation when some old timer recounting life as it was lived 40 years ago tells how the forerunners of motor cars were laid way in the barn at the first approach of winter there to remain abandoned until the return of spring plenty of people still in middle life can remember the technique clearly all four wheels were jacked up to take the cars weight off the tires frequently the wheels themselves were removed and the axles and any other exposed metal smeared with grease to prevent rusting lamps were drained of oil and cleaned radiator cocks were opened and as a final precaution a tarpaulin or an old sheet was thrown over the whole car to keep out the dust up to rather recent years prospective buyers of automobiles have been inclined to defer such buying until spring the idea being to spare their new cars the wear imposed by winter driving today the public has awakened to the fact that fall automobile buy is a sound investment in cold lather I 1 ather motoring satisfaction one by one the problems which made winter driving difficult have been overcome by the engineers better cooling systems in conjunction with improved antifreeze anti freeze solutions better lubrication systems and better lubricants more powerful starters all weather brakes and any number of other advances have taken away the terrors of cold weather operation As a result the very few people who used to put off their buying until spring now advocate fall buying as a means of getting new engine new battery new brakes to use through the period when driving conditions are less than ideal those who plan to drive their 1 jaent I sent cars through cold weather re e no such problems as existed in the early days however they can at the cost of a little inexpensive attention equip their cars for completely satisfactory i old weather running I 1 first and foremost of course is the matter of antifreeze anti freeze solution radiator and cooling system item should be flushed before this is added to be sure that they are free of rust corrosion and sludge crankcase lubricants should be changed to the grade recommended by the manufacturer and the same is true of the grease in the transmission and the rear end then the whole car should be greased with a lubricant of the right grade for winter cars not equipped with heavy duty generator and automatic voltage control should have their charging rates stepped up to offset the heaviest drain on the battery which cold weather always brings about remember that the lights are in use much later in the morning and much earlier at night than in summer in addition to which heaters and defrosters def rosters are an added electrical load moreover the fact that the engine turns over harder in cold weather results in harder work for the starter and heavier current consumption see that battery cables ignition harness distributor points coil and spark plugs are all in first class shape remember that if such units fail at all it invariably and logically happens at the most inopportune moment when the weather is coldest or wettest and the demands on them consequently greatest A small expenditure either for an individual check of these units or for the overall over all job of putting the car in shape for winter driving is a regular item on the motoring budgets of more and more wise drivers for those who want to go the I 1 whole route immunizing their cars completely against the rigors of cold weather one step still remains winter is hard on car fin ish A thorough application of wax before cold weather is really under way will do much to protect the surface and preserve the good looks of the car |