HERE AND THERE, February 1933

HERE AND THERE

The Value of a Clean Sump.

UNDOUBTEDLY one of the essential points to be considered if a long life is desired from an engine is that the lubricating oil should be free from any foreign matter. Unfortunately, in the process of running-in, a considerable amount of fine metal is bound to find its way into the sump as the bearings and pistons wear their working surfaces, and if this is not removed it will reduce the life of the engine from the start.

It is very doubtful whether any engine lasts so long as a Rolls-Royce, and it is interesting to know how the Derby firm get over this difficulty. Before the engine is fitted into the chassis, it is run in for five hours, during which period 500 gallons of oil are passed through the engine each hour, so that at the end not a trace of foreign matter is left in the sump.

The cost of economy.

In the article” Roads” by Mr. E. Wingrove Keer which appeared in our January issue, the writer stressed the importance of ” tarring ” and dressing roads as a means of saving money by holding together road surfaces which would otherwise break up during the winter months. Another aspect of the danger of the abandonment of this annual dressing was brought up the other day by Mr. R. Harrison, Secretary of the National Federation of Granite and Roadstone Quarry Owners, namely, the risk of skidding. “One of our north country owners, he stated, “reports that in a single night in a small area around his home 40 people were injured and one was killed in a series of skids. Four house

fronts and two bridges were demolished the same night and an ambulance carrying the injured to hospital was ditched.”

And yet motorists pay £62,000,000 per annum in special taxation !

A Useful Diary.

Sporting motorists will find a good deal of useful information, as well as room for a log of expenses, in the “My Car” Diary published by Messrs. Sternol, Ltd., the oil people. An interesting feature for competitors in Continental rallies is the French, German and Italian dictionary of car terms. ” My Diary” can be obtained at bookstalls for 1/-, or 1/2 post free direct from the publishers, Sternol, Ltd., Royal London House, Finsbury Square, London, E.C.2.

Sorry, Mr. Hess !

In the results of the London-Gloucester Trial which appeared in our January issue, we omitted to include the winner of the Special Silver Cup for the 850 c.c. class, Mr. Alan C. Hess, who drove a J.2 M.G. Midget.

The Cape Town “Metropolitan Big 200.”

Normal colonial motoring itself is sometimes so rough as to put British reliability trials in the shade, but when a trial is organised in the Colonies the conditions are difficult to imagine. The recent Metropolitan” Big 200″ organised by Cape Town motorists was no exception to this rule, and the cosmopolitan nature of the cars entered made the event of the greatest interest. Gold medals were at a premium, for only two cars got through without the

loss of marks, a Singer Nine Sports in the light car class, and a Ford in the heavy brigade. The Singer Nine is gaining a good reputation for trials work, and deservedly so, for in this South African trial the second car lost 10i marks.

Sports Cars in Canada.

The fame of the M.G. cars has spread far and wide, and it is not surprising that a demand for them should have arisen in the Dominions and Colonies. In Canada young Englishmen who have been used to small sports cars at home can never be satisfied with large American roadsters, and they will now be able to purchase an M.G. from a new Canadian firm specially formed to handle the M.G. distribution in Canada alone. The firm is Empire Sports Cars, of Montreal, and although they have only had the agency for a short time they have already placed a substantial order with the M.G. Company.

U.S. Racing Drivers on the Screen.

An American reader tells us that an interesting film was omitted from our article “The Car and the Cinema” in our December issue. This was a talkie called “Endless Channels,” a propaganda film made by the Perfect Circle Piston Ring Co. of Hagerstown, Ind., U.S.A., which contained some excellent sound shots of the Indianapolis race, and a series of racing stories recounted by eight of the finest U.S. drivers, namely, Peter de Paolo, Louie Schneider, Louis Meyer, Dave Evans, Ralph Hepburn, Tony Gulotta, Russell Snowberger, and Shorty Caution.