wayne sheldon

And two cars in light colors with unusual highlighting! Interesting for certain. Looks like high quality workmanship.

Good advice John B!

I don't know how many are "still around"? But it was in the news a week or two ago, one of them was in a rollover crash on I think a Midwest freeway.

Just for the sake of understanding, The Sears engines for 1909 into 1911 were two cylinder opposed, with the cylinders set straight across from each other. They had about three variations of that design with pistons and/or connecting rods offset onto the crankshaft. The last of the 1911s and 1912 engines had a much better design with the cylinders still opposed, but the cylinders themselves were offset so that the pistons and connecting rods could be centered and straight rather than being offset. In practice, having pistons and rods offset didn't work very well. Even at low compression and low speeds, the offset stresses caused big problems in relatively few miles. Early Sears engines were prone to breaking connecting rods and punching holes in the crankcase. Many early Sears cars had their engines replaced over the years with the 1911/'12 version. In the "for whatever it is worth" department? My unknown builder early gasoline carriage has a very unusual engine, light weight, long stroke, no builder's name on it at all, atmospheric intake, water cooled, and no crankcase. The flywheel, crank pin, and connecting rod all operate out in the open. The connecting rod itself is like no other I have ever seen. What appears to be two piece brass pieces slip together to encase the crank pin held together by two steel bolts. The brass (or maybe bronze?) pieces are attached to a steel tube which attaches to the piston with a steel knuckle. The whole piece does not appear to be adequately strong, and if I ever get to trying to reassemble the engine, I will likely make a more substantial connecting rod and bearing. I would also add a layer of Babbitt. Why did I mention this? The "bearing" is just the brass (bronze?) casings on the steel crank pin.

A really fine looking machine! One of my low-buck restorations years ago, I had a second hand set of whitewall tires. I spray can black painted the white walls, and turned them painted side in on the rims. I drove the car that way for several years and it looked good. I suspect you will do better than I did?

A slightly different approach to a "chicken coop"!

It is a good one! I really enjoyed seeing it again. Thank you.

"A moth agoo, i couldn't not spill eng-eninjeer? Now i are 1." Used to be an inside joke amongst real engineers.

Bloo, did you pick that up from the MTFCA site a few years ago? It has been awhile since I have seen that photo. (I am almost positive that is the photo i saw years ago on their site?)

I find a lot of the European cars of the 1930s to be quite fascinating! Certainly newer than my usual interests, but they are so different and that somehow makes them very interesting. I don't know how good or bad they really are as automobiles? But thy sure are fun to look at.

Oh I like that Buick!

The Nickel Age Touring Club I used to tour with often, had a few members with model 34 Marmon automobiles of the earlier 1920s. A couple tours I went on had as many as three Marmons on a single club tour! (Talk about something one doesn't see very often!) I don't know offhand when it began, but around 1920 through the 1920s Marmon had a "speedster" series of automobiles in sportier versions of both touring cars and roadsters. The speedsters had slightly lower lines than the regular models, and some of the "touring cars" were only four passenger (but really sharp looking!). There were three 1921 or 1922 four passenger speedsters (touring car sort of?) in the club. Wonderful cars!

I agree! I really hope you can return it to the once great car it was and should be again. That said. you have to do what is best for you. Most of the pieces you mention needing fall into the category of "do the best as you can" fabrication. So few Terraplanes exist in a nicely restored state, that this could be a really special car if done right. Quite a few really rough Terraplanes have been shared lately in the not mine for sale section. Most of them have practically no chance of being restored. But this one looks really doable.

Nickel! Nickel! Nickel! Buick did not begin using chrome until late in 1928! The Nickel Age Touring Club used to be really strict about no chrome on Nickel Club tours. Besides, it looks so much nicer. What is a little bit of polishing once in awhile?

I wish I could help. Some of my youth was growing up on my grandparent's ranch outside Empire. I used to know a bunch of people in the area, but do not recall that name or this particular car. While I am a bit saddened that it did not survive as an intact torpedo tourer and be restored as such? I must say that it appears to be much better done than I would have expected. It should be an incredible brass era tour car, and welcomed almost anywhere. A very good friend used to have a 1914 Hudson 6-54 seven passenger touring car. Huge incredible machine!