The front and rear brakes and handbrake needed adjusting every 3000 miles, you had to keep the battery topped up with distilled water as it evaporated and you had to check the tyres’ pressures periodically and rotate them about the car as their treads wore.
Under the bonnet, the carburettor’s main filter needed frequent cleaning; you had to fit new sparkplugs every 10,000 miles; the cylinders needed decarbonising every 5000-8000 miles; valve clearances had to be kept track of; the fanbelt wanted tightening every now and again; the clutch needed adjusting after 1000 miles; the distributor had to be lubricated; the oil filter needed cleaning every 1000-2000 miles; and you had to keep the oil level up. Christ, it was a full-time job!
Astrology emblems on your car’s bonnet
Mascots were a common accessory in 1930; we estimated that 20% of cars bore one. “Even among hardheaded business men there is a vein of superstition,” we explained.
“The idea is that the magical properties of images and emblems are expressive of certain active principles in nature, and when use is made of such things, they become a focus for the rays of the heavenly bodies and infuse vibrations of their nature into the atmosphere of the owner.”
Well, duh. You can pick going by your birthday or profession. It’s double lucky, then, we suppose, to fit an eagle if you’re a cinema manager born in early April…
British cars win the race against the Blue Train
Rail had for decades been the way to do big distances, and one of the most famous services was Le Train Bleu, which took the rich from Calais to the Riviera.
So what better publicity stunt for a car maker than to outrun it? In January 1930, Rover triumphed where several had failed with its new Light Six, arriving 20 minutes ahead after 20 hours almost non-stop.
Two months later, a margin of two hours was achieved by an Alvis Silver Eagle. And then, most famously, a Bentley Speed Six arrived in London minutes before the big loco reached Calais.