Springtime maintenance for the car looks at using thinner lubricants for the engines the fan belt may have also been disconnected during the winter months and it is a perfect time to reconnect it. Also make sure one has removed the radiator muff for the spring. Whilst the winter is quite a reverse, pop on the radiator muff, ensure there is antifreeze in the coolant and thicker lubricants for keeping the engine nice and warm.
Most manufacturers issue a chart giving a list of the parts requiring lubrication and the distances when this becomes necessary… this chart should be fastened to the wall of your motor house on a white sheet of paper and a line should be drawn across the paper opposite each part to indicate when the next fill up is required to correspond with mileage – such as every 500 miles oil is required. Oil I the gear ale should be applied every 2000 to 3000 miles. Can you imagine this today? We simply await the red light on the dash, use the dip stick and top up with the cheapest on offer at the petrol station. And do we need to get started about petrol? Mixing the Ethol at the chemist? Despite Bertha Benze at the turn of the century enjoying such a task, today we line up, fill up often pay at the pump and drive off.
Often a good thing to carry in the car is a petrol filter. Whilst our Lady columnist is loathed to carry too many unnecessary accessories in the car on journeys, a petrol filter is a must. Our lady mentioned that it is not really worth fitting a gradient meter, a ‘mere toy’ she writes, attached to the speedometer employed to know as to when to change gear. Today, our modern cars often have an arrow pointing up or down for the direction of which gear you ought to be achieving, or perhaps when we took our driving lessons (something that was not required in the 1920’s of course) one would have been taught to know when and how to change gear, by simply listening to the engine in conjunction with the speed of which one is travelling. Other accessories to hold in the glove compartment (instigated by Dorothy Levitt) might be a set of Witworth spanners in a tool roll. For starters, we are now metric as Witworth, BSF and AF are all defunct in a modern car, and would we really get under the car now if it broke down? Thank heavens for the AA. Our passion for the maintenance of a car if it ever was one, has become a negated chore to go to the car wash or get a service if a light on the dashboard – now media console, tells you to do so. The Inspection Lamp, wired in to the car especially in the winter months should it be necessary to look for any faults with the car, may not be entirely useful today, except to find ones house keys.
Next time we look at road sense…
