1912Staver

Was that a " name brand " hitch ? I see the label but it is not one I am familiar with. Mind you apart from Reese I am not very up on hitches. So much offshore junk out there these days! Just a general observation , I am not implying you cheaped out on your new hitch. Greg

That tail light looks like a unique item as well. Possibly even more " one of a kind " than your headlights. When old cars were junked people tended to hand on to things like dash clocks, magneto's and headlights. But few bothered to save tailights. Greg

The other thing , not just the fear of something new, is the electronic complexity of electric cars. Many of us on the forum are quite hands on. And with time some of us can even grapple with basic repairs on reasonably modern cars. But from what I have seen on things like Tesla's they are truly loaded with electronics. All new vehicles have a ton of " mystery box " components. But I get the impression things like Tesla's, E Mustangs, and most likely E Corvettes take things to a new level. New car buyers seem to have accepted that they will be forever tied to the dealer for repair and servicing. I still search out very simple cars that I can maintain and repair myself. I can't see an electric ever fitting that requirement. Keeping things simple and affordable is why I have a very simple laptop and no cell of any kind. If worst comes to worst it is very cheap to replace. My wife and son have cells, apart from the sky high plan rates in Canada there is the added problem of broken screens , short battery life and loosing the blasted things. Over the last 5 years they have spent way , way more on their phones than I have spent on my laptop and very basic WI Fi. Greg

Interesting car , but almost certainly a homebuilt creation of a talented amateur builder. And a road car in the style of a speed record car, not an actual record attempt car. Or as Matt suggested at one time , a movie prop car. Greg

The only aspect that really raises my blood pressure is the tax payer supported rebates. In Canada at least they are significant. A further case of average people with little enough disposable income already giving a big leg up to a ; in many cases, rather high end product and rather high end buyers. If a Tesla or E Corvette warms your heart by all means splurge, but on your own dime if you please. Yes , in areas where hydro power is the main source of power they do make a measure of sense. But a good many regions are still using thermal power plants. The overall efficiency may not be quite as good as you suspect . Lots of heating losses in transmission lines and transformers. I am pretty middle / middle class since retirement. I still view a $10,000 daily driver outlay as substantial. I would not possibly be able to be involved with old cars if I bought a " cheap " $30,000 electric. It would suck up all my extra $. Since retirement I drive far less than I used to , I would be driving the electric wonder a decade or more past my death in order to make up the extra cost of the car on fuel savings. I don't hate electrics . But unless the price comes dramatically down there most likely won't be one in my future. Greg

I am a bit puzzled at how electrics are " recognizably superior ". Many study's show little if any environmental advantage to electrics if the entire package is examined. Harm of creating and disposing of the battery, and the overall carbon footprint of the root power source. They seem to me to be two fold in advantage, and both are rather hollow from my point of view. #1 , they let affluent soccer moms have a clear conscience regarding their extravagant life style. # 2 ,They give affluent A type guys a clean conscience " hot performing car ". Doing their part , and reaping a serious tax payer funded incentive at the same time. If you can come up with the price of admission , why not I guess ? Greg

Impressive indeed , but at the same time shockingly expensive. Even more so here in Canada. If personal vehicles continue on this track probably the majority of us will be public transit riders 20 years from now. I get a real laugh when I see new vehicles in the $25,000 - $30,000 class described as " inexpensive ". That price point will utterly consume the disposable income of many households. The days of a new or newer big 3 entry level car within the reach of almost any household are indeed long behind us. Greg

Peter is a great guy. He very generously let me drive his previous Brass car ; 4 Cyl Cadillac, 2 years ago. A real thrill, and yes cars from this era are quite unique in their road manners. Great video Keith! Greg

Hubcaps are Dodge Bros. The dump box would not have been made by the truck maker. Almost all trucks over 1 ton were sold as a " cab and chassis ". The buyer then went to the many specialist truck outfits and had whatever additional equipment { flat deck , van body, dump box , etc, } installed. A few of the most popular set ups ; flat deck for example, might be a factory option. But almost always they were built by an outside Co. Someone who is involved with vintage trucks might want the dump box, particularly if it is a well built unit. But flatdecks are more popular , not too many people using antique dump trucks. Hard to tell if what's left of the truck itself is REO Speedwagon or something else, perhaps Dodge as the hubcaps indicate. The rear end and wheels will be of value to the right person. Greg

So not just specific to late production White cars , but additionally only with Rubay as a body builder ! No wonder the headlight Guru has never seen them before. Greg

I was wondering about that rope in your photo's Ed. I wasn't sure if it was a filler strip or just a length of rope you were using to work the tire off the rim. Are all 6 of your rims this style or just the two spares ? Greg

I wonder if any of the White trucks with electric lights in this same era used these lights? 1918 was still very early for commercial vehicles to have electric lights. But they were an available option with most of the leading truck makers like White , Mack , Autocar and Packard. Greg

That's very interesting. I was under the impression that the filler strip was suitable for regular use. That puts my rim situation in a bit of a pickle. 27" rims are rare and expensive used and really expensive new. I thought I was extremely lucky when I found the 3 I have to go along with the pair of type E rims I already had. I might end up on 25 " Buffalo wires after all. Greg

How important are the two counterbores at the gear end ? What threads into the 1.25 " thread ? Could these counterbores be reduced in size { use a smaller diameter fastener }and then leave enough shaft material that the gear could be a seperate , pressed on part ? Just thinking of a way to avoid doing it all in one piece. Possibly turning the gear into something that can be purchased from Boston Gear or similar. Greg

Point taken. Yes, small one off jobs are not likely to be taken seriously by a big aerospace shop. My friend used to do all his own motorcycle fork legs when he worked at the aircraft shop. But as time went by they were bought out by one of the very large ,German turbine company's. Even as shop foreman it became very difficult to get " home jobs " in and out under the radar. He has retired 5 years ago and sold off his Jag's and most of his racing M.C.'s . Still a couple of Parilla's and a Manx Norton. But mostly racing Pigeons these days. A really low stress/ low budget retirement. Greg

Even that one looks overpriced. Greg

I am a bit surprised that none of them live up to your standards. Some of the marine parts I have seen repaired this way are amazing. Think hydraulic winches for anchor chains, { the winch weighs about 15 tons } C.P prop systems with up to 24" shafts and 20,000 Shaft H.P. Also a good friend who is by far the best machinist I know spent a number of years in the aviation industry grinding re - hard chromed landing gear legs and turbine parts. All the way up to 747. He worked for a major overhaul shop here in Vancouver. They were good enough that they even did U.S. Military contract repairs on engine { turbine } components. They did their own chroming in house , but the marine jobs I have seen used one of the Vancouver area commercial hard chrome shops. There must be someone in your area certified to handle marine or aerospace work. No slight on Joe but that gear on the shaft is a serious complication. I have seen several repairs on components like the ones below done with hard chrome. Greg

I now see why the gear and shaft are one piece. That sure is one problematic shaft ! I would be very tempted to have the original ground undersize and hard chromed / ground to finished size as a repair. Over the years on ships I have seen a number of complicated hydraulic system parts saved with a hard chrome / precision grinding operation. Greg

Any idea what auto show this was taken at ? Very ritzy location. A great group of Whites plus a rather interesting looking race car or speedster on the floor above. Greg

We had very similar hardware on the commercial walk in coolers / freezers on the ship I worked on. They always have loops for locks to prevent after hours pilferage. Greg

The exhaust passes through a cast in jacket around the main air passage, Some early carbs used a water jacket for carb heat and were connected to the engine water jacket. The Marvels on Buicks however used exhaust heat. No mixing of the exhaust gas with the intake air. It's the flex pipe partially hidden by the vacuum tank. Greg

Yes , I have seen rope used as well, but I was impressed by the improved solution of the factory made ; just badly deteriorated by age, filler ring I removed from this rim. The outer ring is removable and definitely reversible but the inner is one piece with the main band of the rim and needs a filler on that side only , to use with a straight side tire. On these slightly later style rims only one side ring is removable, the outer. On the earliest version both side rings are removable. Greg

I take it you are referring to the green new deal. It is part of a major party agenda or at least a splinter group of that party and yes it is scary to say the least. We have the same movement here in Canada as well. All party's have a few troubling issues but this one is a potential threat to our hobby without a doubt. Greg

Just keep in mind Keith , you are only dealing with what many would consider " newer cars " regarding the O.D. and ring and pinion changes. Otherwise I do generally agree with your post. Many " Old" cars; even early Classic era cars, can benefit from a final drive ratio change for higher speed situations. And aftermarket ,high speed ring and pinion gears are probably more common than you think in the " big boy " cars. Some cars had good brakes when new , and some were lacking braking power even in the 35 M.P.H. world of the past. Just look at how popular things like Rocky Mountain brake conversions are with the Model T guys. And they have been on the market since the 1920's . Never one size fits all, at least not in my world. But yes, lots of ill informed people out there. If you are ever passing through the Mainland try to stop in. My house rebuild is a bit less chaotic these days. Greg

In a pinch I can always fill the clincher shape with lightweight epoxy, it's not like I am ever going to want to use these rims with clinchers. Greg