Finding Troubles and Fixing Them Fast: Voices from the Past Part Il Editor’s Note: A reader recently sent us a copy of Motor magazine…dated January 1934. The huge publication of nearly 300 pages is packed with stories celebrating the “milestone” 30-year history of the automotive industry, tech notices about newfangled turn signals, and other treasures in advertising and article formats. We thought this early form of tech networking was a revealing look at the automotive repair industry in its infancy. Enjoy. Circuit Breaker Trouble A car was brought in with generator trouble. The fuse blew out about every two or three days. The generator had been rebuilt elsewhere to remedy the trouble and this man was recommended to me. I tested the car on the road and found the generator working normal at all engine speeds. When I examined the circuit breaker I found the lower point, which connects with the battery terminal, loose and the fiber insulation between the lower part of the point and the base of the circuit breaker burned away. This permit- ted a metal to metal contact causing a short circuit at the slightest vibration or bump. I installed a new circuit breaker which eliminated the trouble.—Howard Dettinger, Prop., Howard’s Service Station, Philadelphia, Pa. Brakes Too Tight The owner of a Chevrolet Standard Six stated that opening the throttle after throttling the engine down to five miles an hour caused the engine to clatter as though it were being run without water. The tank had been filled with cheap gasoline. I drained the entire fuel sys- tem, refilled it with a first grade gasoline and checked the octane selector, but with no results. I then jacked up all four wheels and gave each a spin. They seemed free enough. I tried the car on a slight grade to see if it would roll freely. It would roll but would not gather momentum. Backing off a half turn on each brake adjustment, giving about two inches pedal play, cured the trouble.—Land G. Bryant, Schenectady, N.Y. Stops Squeaks To eliminate squeaks in the saddle of the rear cross member on Model A Fords drill the 3/32 inch hole through the cen- ter of the tie bolt to within 1/2-inch of the head. Then drill from the outside of the bolt through to the center at the top of the hole. File the bolt slightly on the side where the hole comes through. Install a Zerk fitting over the bottom of the bolt and grease with black gear grease. This will lubricate the spring and cross mem- ber where the saddle fits so close.— Russel Groom, Talbott, Bilgere Co., Decatur, III. Mixture Too Rich The owner of a Chrysler complained about poor gasoline mileage, poor speed and no power. The exhaust analyzing showed that the mixture was too rich at intermediate speed. As it still read the same after the regular tune up, I changed the intermediate jet. Not being able to get the size wanted I decided to repair the one in the B. & B. carburetor. I filled the hole with solder, drilled it with a .010 inch smaller drill, and put it back. I had guessed right for the analyzer read okeh (sic) and the performance of the car on the street proved it.—Frank Kehringer, Jackson Heights, N.Y. See Part Ill in the April Issue.