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Page HILLS SPECTRUM Wednesday April 16S Get your muffler installed properly By DAVID Herald Special John Harrison knows what he Is Tor the past years and In mutllcr shops for the past three years Mr Harrison Is a mechanic at the Thruway Muffler centre he says the most common problem he runs into Is bad installation We have a lot of problems with bad installation he said They rattle and leak Its a daily thing Mr Harrison blames this problem on people being In ihc automotive business loo long and putting In too many hours They put In hours a week In some places he said they get frustrated and just want to get the job done Fortunately for customers Mr Harrison docs not have this attitude The way 1 look at it is If I do It wrong the first time its going to come back he said because of the muffler guarantees A second common problem with mufflers Mr Harrison said is the normal rotting of the muffler thai takes place He said however that there is nothing that can be done lo give mufflers a longer life This leads into the subject of guarantees They arc guaranteed because people pay for a muf fler and ihey want It to last he When the mufflers are made they arc made fairly cheaply as the makers have to sell them to the dealers who In turn have to charge for labor and hardware If the muf flers were made ex pensively the price would be high and people would feci robbed Mr Harrison said The average life for everything in the system Is three years he said but tail pipes dont last quite so long Mr Harrison explained the life the muffler system varies according lo the conditions affecting the car such as climate and how much the You will get some parts that will last only a year and there Is also defective workmanship he said of muffler parts They now have stainless steel systems that will last the life of the car but Ihey cost four to five times more than a regular system or ap proximately 000 the mechanic said For those who may be In the market for a new muffler or muffler system Mr Harrison gives a few warnings You dont always need a whole new system he said Be aware of spect the car and how thorough the Inspection is You have to go by in tuition Ill give people a break as much as possible Mr Harrison said I let people know how long a port Is going to last and if they don t mind coming back In six months to get it replaced I wont mind fixing It when It com sin He explained this way people can wait for the part to wear out and dont have to spend extra money Im mediately If everything is done right It will suit the customer and myself he sold Car dealers sales doing just great With spring making its way In slowly auto dealers are gearing up for he warm weather selling boom Georgetown and Acton dealer ships arc all reporting great sales so far for the spring but most have dif ferent reasons for their success A sales representative at Georgetown Honda said their sales are going well because people are looking for small front wheel drive People arc getting away from the big luxury rear wheels he said they want the small luxury front wheel drives However over at Hyundai they feel sales arc up people with old clunkers that broke MS during the cold weather need Its also the summer fever for new cars said Tim Allan Hyundai want new cars so they gooul and buy hem Meanwhile at Achilles Motors in Acton said their are selling so well because everyone knows ore very advanced In technology Although a majority the com antes have not seen a trend in car they sell a car which is a favorite with the These range from sports cars to mid sue Capital Ford reports the Mustang Is the biggest seller presently because of the value package Personalize your car with options Manufacturers offer many in teresting useful options to address the special needs of buyers The Hamilton Automobile Club recom mends that consumers should evaluate all factoryInstalled options before deciding to buy a car off the lot from a dealer Even dealers with large lories seldom have exactly what a buyer wants Also most optional equipment is cosier lo install in the factory than after the car Is built For Instance some motorists prefer a spare tire that matches the tires on the car On many Chrysler Corn Ford Motor Co vehicle models a conventional full sized spare lire is optional at a cost of Also some General Motors Corp cars including with front wheel drive can be ordered with a higher drive gear ratio often at no additional cost This option gives low postered care slightly quicker acceleration In any type of The drawbacks of a higher feeor ratio arc slightly increased gas con sumption and engine noise If excess engine noise is a pro blem some cars have optional sound insulation packages costing between and 160 This is offered on some basemodel Chrysler vehicles in ad to the Renault Alliance Smokers and others who might like better ventilation in their cars can purchase pooling front vent windows for about MO on some Ford and Mercury models Motorists purchasing Ford Thunderbirds who dont like to check the engine oil old fashioned messy way by opening Hie hood can purchase a dashboard light In addition to spending extra monev on options new car money by can sometimes save removing equipment radios Buyers who plan to Install their own stereos con save about B0 by taking the radio delete if available The explains these arc only a few of he long list of specific factory options available on North American cars Whether it is next car or vour next hamburger theres a good chance that can have it your way Service your engine Servicing your cars engine at least twice a year will keep It at peak performance The Hamilton Automobile Club points out an lunc car can use per cent to per cent more fuel Check jour owners manual for specific Instruc tions and keep the following points In mind Spark plugs must be In good tion Ignition liming should be properly adjusted and the engine idling speed set to specification ex fast Idling wastes gasoline The automatic choke should func properly one that sticks wastes The carburetors air fuel mixture should be adjusted properly Check the oil level each lime you Try the antilock brakes for greater driving safety Have you ever jammed on the brakes to stop quickly only to have the wheels lock up and the car skid helplessly you lose all steering control Happily modern technology has come the rescue The lock broking system a new braking device in Europe prevents wheels from locking up even If the driver hita brakes with all of his might while driving On on Icy road Antilock brakes are now available on some cars sold In Canada The Hamilton Automobile Club ex plains how the antilock braking system works A computer control pumps the brakes up to is times per second halting the locking and skid ding of the wheels The wheels keep iUTjilng allowing Keep with it which gives the customer many extras lhat are not usually on the car forthe bask price The Ford rebate another reason for the Mustangs success Ben VanDoom at Georgetown Toyola said the Corolla GTS Is the most popular This is because of performance and dollar value he said It Is the least expensive of the sports cars and the quickest The Stellars are the most popular right now by a mile said Mr Allan Hyundai Country The car is well appointed and people arc impressed with and handling Most of the dealers arc finding that a broad range of people are buy Ing their cars and not just one specific group Georgetown Toyota is the excep tion to this rule as they are finding that many more women are now buying Is cars Overall trade ins at the dealer ships are less frequent than straight buys The dealers reasoning for this trend Is people are getting smarter and selling I heir own curs Another reason which the Honda represent alive gave was people who have small cars have their friends neighbors and relatives waiting to buy them purchase a tank of fuel or at least once a month Change the oil at least twice a year under normal driving conditions inflate tires properly under inflated arc a safety hazard and can cut fuel economy by as much as per cent pir pound of pressure below the recommended level Follow the car manufacturers recommendations Take care of car care incidin tals con affect fuel use For ex ample a defective radiator mostat can waste gasoline by ding the engine warm up time or decreasing the engine operating temperatures Malfunctioning automatic brake adjusters can create brake drag which also wastes fuel with The driver feels only a slight pulsation of the brake pedal when the system pumps brakes If the system fails a warning light on the dashboard alerts the driver and the brakes operate in a standard fashion until repaired The system is not foolproof For example if driven too quickly the car still can go Into a skid and spin while going around corners Also a car with antilock brakes will not stop as quickly on slick pavement as It will on a dry road The says manufacturers are currently working on even more advanced systems that In addition to the feature would eliminate wheel spin while ac celerating rim toa INC Your Car it Guaranteed Control against rust on your car increased re sale value Lower maintenance costs Easy lemoval for re installation Rusl control a day every day r Computerized ensure and operation system HOW THE RUST WORKS The rust preventer uses integrated circuitry to impress a DC current cars body and support structure This direct current is supplied by the cars battery and impedes the process by which away and destroys Iho melal components Only a very small amount current is needed so Rust will not harm your battery KfttStf 8772425