1912Staver

You would have to have a death wish. A couple of the local fuel guys have been killed from blowups over the years. Like riding a bomb ! Locally money never seems to be a problem for this segment of motorsport. Most of the guys around here at least seem to have some " alternate " income connections. Greg

A good friend almost bit the dust on a Z1. Went around a long line of stopped traffic at a rapid clip. Big mistake, the traffic let a taxi work it's way from a side street to make a L.H. turn. My friend hit it broadside going at least 50 - 60 MPH. Totally his fault, but at least he recovered from his injury's . Came very close to loosing a leg but the surgeon decided to take a chance and attempt to save it. Six weeks in hospital and months of rehab. I visited him as soon as non family was allowed , what a mess .He went back to racing cars, swore off M.C.'s. A co- worker raced a H2 powered sidecar rig. A crazy French Canadian, his name wasn't Yvon Duhamel but it might as well have been. It was hard to keep the race spec H2 making power in longer events. They rebuilt it with a GS 1100 engine, just nut's. bags of power and reliability as well. Greg

Had lots of bicycles , but almost no little street bike { 90's,125's etc} time before the Norton bug bit. A good friend splurged on a 2 year old 850 Commando, so I did the natural thing and found a slightly neglected 750 for a very reasonable price. Friend was working on drill rigs so he could afford to splurge. I had just graduated High School and was a auto mechanic apprentice so not much extra cash. The Greeves was bought around the same time, came with 2 Villers 34 A's one with a Greeves head and barrel and the second one out of a Cotton Cobra so their head and barrel.. Villers only built them with small fin iron barrels at the time so the dirt bike factory's had to make their own for serious use. But the Starmaker was the best thing I ever did to it. Looking back being a learner rider on a 750 Combat might not have been a smart idea. I survived OK but my friend on the 850 was struck by a hit and run car driver. He walks with a limp to this day. His Norton had a fair bit of damage but insurance fixed it. It still lives in one of my sheds but looks a bit rough these days. I keep suggesting to my friend a spruce up is in order. He says his riding days ; like mine, are about over. My Norton is still a nice bike all these years later. Dunstall clip on's and rear sets, didn't they all have them ? Greg

B 50's even more so. I didn't like mine that much and sold it on. I had the CR 250's by then and they lasted out my dirt days. By my mid 30's the ground had rushed up and smacked me one to many times. Had a liquid cooled CR 125 for a while but my 210 lbs was too much for it in loose ground. Out of all my dirt bikes the Greeves is the only keeper. The various YZ's went quite a while ago. Had a second model YZ 250 { first monoshock } but I sold it when it was still reasonably new and had a fair bit of value. It was too much of a pure Moto bike for my recreational riding. Parts were expensive and needed too often for my liking. Also a MX 175, not a bad bike. A slightly watered down YZ 125 chassis with a less stressed 175 in place of the full race 125. I liked it a lot better than Honda XL's / XR's. Once again the Honda weight problem. Greg

I had a couple of CR 250 M's around the same time. In fact I still have them but they are on their way to a new owner once I gather up all the parts of the one that is apart. A great engine in a so so chassis. Light{ for a Honda } and well engineered. I think my 10 years older Greeves had a better chassis than the CR. And once I put a Starmaker in it almost as fast. Greg

I probably like Water Buffalo's as much as any two stroke. But they are a bit chunky, like many Japanese machines of the 1960's and 70's. Had a Suzuki 400 twin for a while, not a bad effort. Suzuki's first 4 stroke as I recall. But I always came back to British machines. O yes, also a diversion into Yamaha for a bit. A air cooled RD 350 or two and a TD 3 swapped to a Honda XR 500 engine . The TD engine broke a long time ago. Parts were non existant so the 4 stoke Honda fit a local " any single , open race group " Thing was a bullet, and even handled reasonably well. Yamaha's race shop knew what they were doing by that time. That huge double sided front drum had been swapped to a disk by the time I owned it. I believe it is back to TD power these days for modern vintage racing. I also had a TR 350 , but it had been crashed and was apart when I owned it. It went with the TD as a package. I heard they are both back on the track these days. Those Yamaha 2 stroke race engines are simple but a riders fright. They tend to seize just when you least expect. I am glad mine had been converted to the Honda. Greg

It looks like it might be for a 1920's Wolseley with Rudge Whitworth wire wheels. Greg

Not a big fan of the Squariel's. Unless you are talking a Healey Healey 1000 / 4. Otherwise they are tank's . Give me a Red Hunter any day. My 1972 Norton is very trouble free. I have owned it since nearly new. It was an Interstate when new. I switched the tank and seat for a Roadster decades ago. The interstate tank is huge, pushes your legs uncomfortably wide apart. Being an 1972 750 Interstate it has a Combat engine. I changed the main bearings to the later style " superblend's " many years ago as a precaution. Only time it has needed anything other than regular maintenance. Really a great bike !! I know Norton and BSA both made some dogs , but I have had very good service from both. Most of my BSA's came apart soon after I bought them to correct hap hazard repairs. Most had gone through several owners before me. But once they are put together by someone who knows one end of a wrench from the other { me } they are as good as 99% of the other machines of their era. You just have to approach them with a brain , not a hammer. 1949 BSA 500 single Competition model { B34 } I cheated and replaced the Iron lump with an alloy top end , 1953 ZB 34 GS engine years ago. Transforms the bike. I still have the 1949 B 34 engine on a shelf so it can be turned back to factory if someone in the future want's to. 1954 BSA Gold Star 500 1955 BSA Road Rocket { my favorite } 1949 TR 5 Trophy { my token Triumph } And several others over the last 45 years. Most with new owners these days The B34, Road Rocket , and 750 Commando are keepers Greg in Canada

That Studebaker must have been a very light duty, city delivery, 1/2 ton or so truck. Little more than buggy wheels. It would be a very interesting item, do you have any photo's of the whole vehicle ? Greg

That overhead intake, side valve exhaust looks like REO. Uncommon arrangement but REO liked it. Greg

The hard part for a big speedster of this era is the chassis. The parts all look to be for quite a wide frame. I would guess at least a 2 ton truck. The only way to build a speedster out of these parts is if you already have a large HP, circa 1906 - 08 chassis gathering dust. Pretty few and far between these days. Finding a suitable truck chassis won't be easy, but I suspect far easier than finding a similar era large car chassis. Greg

Sorry , a bit newer than I thought at first glance . Left hand drive and center gear change so probably more like 1914 - 15. Those 3/4 rear springs threw me a curve ball. B 34 Buick ? Reo ? Greg

That looks well worth saving ! Where is it ? Need some photos with that top frame moved off . Looks like 1910 - 1912 era. smaller to medium sized car. Keep us posted. Greg

If the wheels still exist they will most likely be wood spoke / fellow , large diameter wheels with narrow shrunk on hard rubber tires. Posibly dual tires on the rear but still quite narrow. Cast spoke wheels are somewhat common on British and European trucks of this era but wood dominated in North America. The hard rubber tires and very low road speed is unfortunately a serious limiting factor to actually driving trucks of this era today. They are a remarkable artifact, but too slow even for most brass car events. Usually 10 - 12 M.P.H. vehicles. Greg

Most will be chain drive so that's a good start. Most likely a as F&J suggests a very basic and quite possibly flimsy appearing frame structure. I would expect fairly small section steel channel , possibly with riveted heavy gauge sheet metal connection gussets. And quite likely a sub frame mounting for the power unit. Greg

Now you just have to find a chassis to use the bodywork on. Many early trucks ended up as wagons of one sort or another so there are some rolling frames out there. But most will be a bit newer than what your parts appear to be. Looks like a great start, the bodywork is often the hardest part to find for a very early vehicle. Greg in Canada

P Peugeot is quite popular outside of North America. Older Fiat's are of course junk, I don't know anything about the latest generation except they seem to have sold a lot of cars over the last 5 years or so around here. I really liked driving my couple of early 1970's Fiat 124's , but the body crumbled at an early age. Much the same with the Alfa's I was at one time involved with. Great chassis engineering with a very fast rusting body. Greg

Hi Brad, I am afraid that even at what is surely a very decent U.S. market price by the time you factor in transport 1/2 way across North America, all the border costs , and exchange on our very limp $ it just adds up to a out of reach price tag. I agree about the value of a running car vs even a very desirable " project status " car. A running 4 wheel brake car is far more desirable to me than my project 2 wheel brake car. My 1918 project has been dormant for a decade now. An early nickel car , the worst of all regarding value and usability. When I first bought it almost 30 years ago I was thrilled to finally own a " antique " car. But as time want on I realized the drawbacks of this forgotten era of automobile history. Too new { until very recently } for brass car events, too old , slow and under braked for regular vintage car events. A potential money and time pit. Interesting , but very flawed in todays hobby. I have noticed a small number of body sheet metal differences between my 1918 McLaughlin and U.S. Buick panels. Mostly the doors. But I agree, after about 1914 the McLaughlin body's were most likely produced in the U.S. The 1914 and older cars had Canadian built body's on most models. Far more wood than the U.S. Buick counterparts. Cash !! in Canada you say ! what a novel idea. I didn't think anyone in Canada had any cash left, certainly no one facing Lower Mainland prices. If I ever snag a 1924 - 26 McLaughlin to mount my emblem on it's going to have to be either a B.C. car or at least a Western Provinces car. The exchange is a deal killer. Greg

It would be nice to bring this one back home. I even have the correct rad emblem sitting in a desk drawer. Problem is our $ is in the ditch plus with the virus I can't even pick up my parts order that is 1/2 hour away at my Washington State address. It looks like the border will be shut down until January at the earliest. I am starting to be glad I didn't buy any U.S. property. The border is a inconvenience at the best of times, these days it is looking more like the Berlin Wall. Greg

Wonderful cars, but I sure would not want to pay for an engine rebuild these days. They make my Aston Martin fantasy look like a Kia in comparison. For a fraction of the price of a 904 I would probably chose a Chevron, a B8 compares very favorably to a 904. In regards to price, performance , and maintainability. Just as eligible for any historic event you would think of. But built to be campaigned by privateer's not a dedicated team. Usually 1600 BMW power, capable but vastly cheaper than a 4 cam. Greg

Not being a Corvette guy I find any of the regular drum brake cars somewhat unappealing. The big brake cars seem to go for much more $ than I could ever spend. It really only seems to make sense to me that if you have a Corvette that you are going to drive it like a sports car. Greg

One personal observation regarding your point about restoration shop employees owning similar cars. When I started at a restoration shop I found that over time my enthusiasm for my own cars and projects dimmed. It was increasingly difficult to have the same sort of work as employment and recreation By switching to a related but different career the balance between work and home worked better for me. Everyone is different, it obviously works well in your case. Greg in Canada

The other advantage of coming from a large project workplace is the ability to plan , undertake and execute multi faceted projects. Tools like critical path project management train your mind to think abstractly on complex projects. It looks like a somewhat chaotic situation to the average person ; like my wife, but there really is a longer term method to the short term madness. Not nearly as many resources on a personal project compared to on the job, but all the basic organization is the same. Just the timeline stretches out to reflect the difference in spending power. I also have a car hobby partner. He is a project manager at a local Engineering Co. He lives in a Condo and we co operate on tools , equipment etc. I have a reasonably large yard so it was not an inconvenience to allow him to erect his 2 buildings in my yard. We have both been fans of pre- fab , semi portable structures. I had always hoped to re- locate to a larger piece of land so I have only bought bolt together structures to this point in time as has he. But the local property price bubble has dashed any hopes of a 2 - 5 acre setting. Next spring we are going to re- locate his storage building to a piece of Commercial land he bought 2 years ago. I will need the space for my 30 x 60. It helps to have friends with a structural engineering background. He is currently drawing up my working shop so I can go through the permit process. It's going to be a conventional Frame construction, 30 x 40 basic box on a concrete slab. I have been socking away cash for a few years now, by the time I am ready to start I should have at least 3/4 of the cost in cash. The bolt together buildings are paid for , they just need assembly. Greg

The Otto is a reasonably small car. This one looks larger to me, but it could just be the camera angle. If I recall correctly the Otto also uses parallel leaf springs. Greg

Yes, I understand exactly what you are saying. It's a unfortunate fact that many of us will run out of time before all of our projects are finished. But it is a process , not a destination. More practically the two bolt together buildings are quite straightforward , one took a week to dismantle so two weeks to reassemble. The larger one took 3 weeks to dismantle so 6 weeks - two months to get it back up. { 30 x 60 so a useful size} The thing I like about it is only 7 foot high walls { plus the 8 inch I beam hight } so despite being a reasonably large building it does not stick up too high. Keeps the neighbors happy. The small one needs a basic foundation , the larger one was built on a steel I beam base and I already have a blacktop pad to assemble it on. Of course a concrete pad would be ideal but a lot more cost. As a storage building the blacktop will do at no additional cost. Lots of work but I am used to large projects at my former career. 3 decades of medium speed marine diesel engine operation and overhaul. Here is a photo of the sort of engines I used to be involved with. This pair is a shore power station .We used the same engines as main propulsion. Its hard to get a good photo of things this large in a ship, everything is so crowded compared to a land instilation. A ship has a huge amount of equipment in a very small space. 4 of us would take one down and reassemble in about 6 weeks. Heads and fuel pumps would be done by others ashore in our company shop but we did everything else onboard. The last ship I worked on had 4 engines about 2/3 the size of these older English Mirrlees units. Much bigger turbos than shown here . I have lots of photos but it is hard to visualize as there is so much machinery in a small space. The one on the flatbed is sister to the four I used to work on, but you had to see the whole engine room to really appreciate the sheer amount of machinery. The big square box at the top front is a charge air intercooler, the turbo is on the other side but just as big. I have had these apart and together several times over the years. We normally did a major on one engine and heads on a second { of the four} every two years. Alternate years were drydock years . Lots of different tasks those years. Biggest job was about 10 years ago. Starboard inner ran away at start up. Emergency shutdown failed , engine ran for 90 seconds before it let go. A really big mess. 3 million $ damage just for parts . Turbo way overspeed and the compressor wheel blew up, but luckily the exhaust turbine stayed together. And no one was hit by any of the flying chunks of metal. Every moving part of the engine was scraped except the flywheel. The manufactures did some calculations on the max rpm the engine hit and decided the flywheel was still safe. Greg