Chapter I: Foreword

Much of the material, here assembled for the first time, has been printed in the automobile section of New York City newspapers. It has stood the scrutiny of the wisest men in the automobile trade and has been read eagerly by owners within the sphere of the newspapers’ limited circulation; some of it has been reprinted in papers all over the country, which is evidence enough of its practical value.

The publication, however, has been without sequence and all of it has not appeared in any one paper. Moreover it has been reassembled and rewritten and much has been added to round out the story of the automobile and to adapt the material to the use of everyday men who do not understand or care for the more technical works.

It should not be taken as the last word concerning the auto. That will not be written until after the automobile has been driven out of business by the airplane or something else and is as obsolete as the oxcart of a century or two ago. There is nothing new in the principle of the gas engine, but new appliances and new methods are constantly being invented and discovered.

All that is herein contained is the result of years of experience at the Automobile School of the West Side Young Men’s Christian Association, New York City. This was one of the pioneer schools and for fourteen years has turned out more than 1000 trained drivers each year who know their engine and working parts thoroughly. Last year the number was nearly 2500. Naturally in handling these thousands of bright men the instructors were stimulated and themselves learned as they taught. The consensus of this ripe experience is given here.

Lest there be misunderstanding, it were better said at once that if the reader has come to this book to learn how to be a garage mechanic, how to qualify as an expert in automotive technique, or how to learn common sense, he should at once seek another source of information. This book makes no pretensions of teaching the last word in automobile repair. But if the automobile owner desires to have a working knowledge of his car, to know how to find and overcome the ordinary ills and troubles to which it is subject, and how to diagnose and prescribe for it when it begins to wheeze or squeak or groan or knock, let him read on. The book is for him.

In other words this is not a _sine qua non_, but a friend in need; it is not a know-it-all, but a first-aid treatise. It is a leaf—several in fact—from the book of experience, relating not to the engineering problems of the automobile, but to the things which the engineer overlooked or could not solve, and which the ingenuity of men who lay no claim to the title of engineer, has enabled them to learn so that they may take a bucking auto and make it feed out of their hands and stand without hitching.

One of the first essentials of an automobile is that it shall go, and that no amount of perversity shall prevent the owner from “driving it back home under its own power.” Anyone may be towed in, if there is a horse or another automobile handy; the wise owner will prepare himself to avoid this. Except for serious breaks of parts, or forgetfulness which permits oil or gas supply to run out, there is seldom reason why the average owner should not “get out and get under” to find out what the trouble is and, having found it, to remove the cause and start the engine. It usually should take only a few minutes. System in locating trouble and knowledge of what to do to remove the trouble are within the compass of all; if there also reside within the individual a few grains of common sense, his problem is simplified, his troubles are lightened.

Let it be said also that this book does not in any way pretend to supersede an automobile school for the owner who desires to make all his ordinary repairs, and do more puttering about the car than the average owner cares for. All owners would save the cost of instruction many times over and repay the lost time by taking a course of instruction in a reputable school. Many Y. M. C. A. branches all over the land have well equipped schools, and there are many others in the cities; there are also many where time spent would be wasted. There are several in one of our large cities where the expense is very small, but it is dear at any price. The “course” consists largely in putting the student to work in a garage as an apprentice, where his instruction is confined to verbal orders of how to repair a car which comes in. In time, of course, the student comes across a large variety of troubles, depending upon the character of the garage trade. Meanwhile the garage-auto-school proprietor permits the student to pay for the privilege of doing the repair work at the institution. No wonder the course is advertised as unlimited!

It should be understood that this book does not pretend to tell all the troubles attaching to automobiles and how to end them; but it covers the general run of difficulties experienced on the road and a close study of its pages and an application of its advice will make an owner who has the least mechanical genius independent of the garage man, with his delay and extravagant charges; at least it will enable him to get to the home garage in most cases, where repairs may be effected with a minimum of expense and annoyance.

Upon this basis and with this understanding, the automobile owner may safely pin his faith to what follows and plunge at once into its depths without fear.

H. C. B.
C. A. S.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I.—WHAT TO DO ON PURCHASING A CAR 1

II.—SOME THINGS TO AVOID 7

III.—WHAT AN AUTOMOBILE IS 12

IV.—WHAT MAKES THE ENGINE GO 21

V.—EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES 26

VI.—IF WELL “SLICKED” THE ENGINE RUNS 33

VII.—WHERE LUBRICATION IS NEGLECTED 39

VIII.—SOMETIMES THE CAR SMOKES 46

IX.—THE CARBURETOR AND ITS FAILINGS 51

X.—GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A GALLON OF GAS 58

XI.—THINGS WHICH MAKE GAS BILLS HIGH 63

XII.—CARE OF THE TIRES 69

XIII.—SKIDDING MAY BE MINIMIZED 76

XIV.—“CAN’T-SLIP HEELS” LESSEN SKIDDING 84

XV.—AVOID NEWLY OILED ROADS 90

XVI.—WATCH YOUR BRAKES 93

XVII.—WHY THE AUTO STEERS EASILY 101

XVIII.—THE ELUSIVE “JUICE” 108

XIX.—PUTTING THE KICK IN THE SPARK 116

XX.—WHAT’S THE TROUBLE WITH MY BATTERY? 123

XXI.—WHY GEARS STRIP 130

XXII.—THE GEAR-SHIFTING BUGABOO 137

XXIII.—THE MUFFLER 143

XXIV.—YOUR BEARINGS 149

XXV.—DRIVING THE CAR 156

XXVI.—WHERE EXTRA CAUTION IS NECESSARY 178

XXVII.—AN AUTO FURNACE FOR WINTER 184

XXVIII.—THE COOLING SYSTEM IN WINTER 191

XXIX.—OVERHEATING THE ENGINE IN SUMMER 197

XXX.—SOME OTHER HOT-WEATHER TIPS 203

XXXI.—HOT-WEATHER TIRE EXPANSION 209

XXXII.—GUARDING AGAINST FIRE 214

XXXIII.—DON’T RUN AWAY FROM A FIRE 220

XXXIV.—DEATH IN THE GASOLINE 224

XXXV.—SHIFTING GEARS ON HILLS 229

XXXVI.—KEEPING THE CAR SLEEK 236

XXXVII.—SOME THINGS A TOURIST SHOULD KNOW 244

XXXVIII.—LITTLE KNOCKS ARE HARDLY BOOSTS 251

XXXIX.—SOME OTHER CAUSES OF KNOCKING 255

XL.—CHASSIS KNOCKS 262

XLI.—KEEPING DOWN THE AUTO UPKEEP 267

XLII.—HUNTING TROUBLE 272

XLIII.—MORE TROUBLE 280

XLIV.—DON’T TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED 285

XLV.—BLOWING YOUR OWN HORN 294

XLVI.—WOMEN AS DRIVERS 300

XLVII.—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 308

XLVIII.—THE GOLDEN RULE OF MOTORING 317

INDEX 331

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

SECTIONAL VIEW OF A MODERN AUTOMOBILE
WITH FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE _Frontispiece_

CHASSIS PLAN OF THE SAME AUTOMOBILE 14

SECTIONAL VIEW OF A FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PARTS CONNECTED
WITH LUBRICATION 34

REAR WHEEL AND BRAKE DRUM REMOVED,
SHOWING EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL BRAKE
BANDS AND MECHANISM 98

THEN HE WENT TO SCHOOL TO LEARN SOME
MORE ABOUT HIS CAR 125

DIAGRAM OF THREE SPEED AND REVERSE GEAR 132

BLOCK OF STEEL, AND THE GEAR WHEEL WHICH
WAS HAMMERED FROM IT 138

BRAKE LEVERS AND LINKAGE, SHOWING EQUALIZING
ROD AND SPRINGS 246

SHE IS ACCUMULATING KNOWLEDGE OF AN
INTRICATE MACHINE—AND SHE IS FASCINATED 305

Putnam’s Automobile Handbook