1912Staver

I agree that it is a less than ideal way around the problem. But if only a small amount of material needs to be removed it can, with care work. You do need to find a piece of round stock that is a close match to the I.D. of the bushing. Slightly larger is ok as long as it just ends up as a slight interferance fit. But slightly too small and things won't work. Bushing will stop turning when file pressure is applied. I always hang on to small pieces of cold rolled round stock. I have a whole bin full of odd off cuts. You never know when one will be just the right thing for a job. It's also why it has taken 7 months and still counting to move my house and shop to the new place. So much " stuff " accumulated over the last 45 years or so. But only 3 lathes , none of which work at the moment. All are partially dismantled for moving. I am going to hire a small crane truck to move the things too big /heavy for my cherry picker and car trailer. Biggest lathe, milling machine , Lincoln Ranger welder etc.

If you have one with the correct I.D. and slightly too large an O.D. you can always use a drill press and a file to carefully reduce the O.D. to what you need. Just take your time and frequently measure until you get down to the size you need. A lathe is quicker and more accurate, but it is just a pilot bushing after all. I am assuming we are dealing with a bronze or similar bushing and not a bearing.

Brass era stuff can indeed be very low demand. During my recent move I scrapped a number of very low demand 1915 Buick parts. Rear ends and rear springs for a C55 / D 54 , 55. { the big 6 Buick }. No one around here has one of these machines much less wants a " spare " rear end housing or rear cantilever springs. They are much larger / heavier than the far more common model 44, 45 series cars. Way to heavy to justify shipping. Any survivors are probably at least several hundred miles away. I have the bones of a 1914 B 55, but the springs are 3/4 eliptic rather than cantilever as was fitted for 1915 and 16 so of no use for my basket case. It all came to me in one pile. One of the early old car hunters in this area gathered up all the big 6 stuff he could find in Western Canada decades ago. I ended up with the leftovers once one car was " sort of " pieced together. I could have held on to the springs and housings for another 20 years, but pretty sure they would have ended up in a bin anyway. I did keep the roadster C 54 springs. They are probably rare enough that someone , someday might want them. Still have the rear tin and rear doors for a C55 as well. Not sure why I kept it, but at least it is light and easy to move. It will probably end up as scrap some day as well. Touring rear 1/2's are rare due to the number of tourings converted to light trucks over the years. But once again no one needs one within a reasonable distance as far as I know.

I would be at Hershey every year except it is on the East coast and I am on the West coast { Pacific North West }. Its not just the air fare, what do you do if you find something larger than what will fit in a backpack ? Swap meets really only work out if you can drive a truck there { and preferably have a trailer along as well }. 2800 miles each way, not really a practical situation.

Always a great event. Been several years now since I was able to attend.

Side view.

Many / most of us become our own " pickers ". Millions upon millions of rare parts out there, but aquiring them makes no sense unless you know someone who needs them. Most people who need really rare stuff { like me } litterly spend decades searching swap meets, ebay and club adverts for missing pieces to our puzzles. Eventually quite a few give up and just make { or pay to have made } the needed part. If I can't find something in 30 years of looking how is someone { a picker } going to have any idea of where to find one ? In the case of my Brass Era basket case all I have to I.D. things is a so-so copy of the factory parts book. { came from Harrahs library decades ago }. Without access to my car to take measurements of hole spacing on the frame for example no one would ever know if that's the right part , or just one that is superfically similar. For example I have been looking for one of these headlight forks for at least 25 years. Looked at nearly 100 " similar " forks. But still no match. If you can find a " picker " who can produce results on parts like this my hat is off to you .

May sound silly but did you check a G.M. dealership parts counter ? Basic parts like pilot bearings are often available for a long time. It may fit other G.M. engines as well as your T.A. Worth a try unless you already have.

Hope springs eternal I guess. But I don't think anyone has ever really "sorted out " one of these turkey's. Lotus Europa's were the same sort of situation. But the concept had enough going for it that clever people spent decades coming up with ingenious " fixes " for all the built in shortcomings. In the end the best fix for a Europa meant throwing away everything but the body and fitting a " Spyder " or " Banks " aftermarket chassis. Both superbly engineered if pricy . And fitting a Toyota 4age powerplant. Then fact lived up to the fantasy. 1100's and their kin are no Lotus. Really who would bother to do anything to one except perhaps maintenance.

My interest in 1908 - 1912 or so cars has nothing to do with styling . I find the construction of cars of this time frame most interesting. Machines in the true sense of the word. Once Ford really got going with Model T mass production all the other makers had to more or less follow suit. Castings gave way to steel pressings riveted or spot welded together and a certain amount of design elegance was lost. Then a few years later the whole styling cycle became a major influence on sales , rather than the underlying quality of mechanical design and construction. In my opinion something was lost over the years. But I still am drawn to post war British sports cars. A great combination of looks and function. Jag XK series cars, MGA's, Morgans and so many other less common makes and models. Early Mustang GT's also have their place in my world. Funny, I could afford a reasonably nice one in High School, but not these days. Really enjoyed my 1966 Fastback as a teenager. I just can't see paying $30,000 - $40,000 for a mass produced pony car. But that is what they all seem to go in recent years.

My high School girl friend had one as a first car in 1974. It was a fright then. And it was a low mile, one owner car before her ownership. We always used my MGB when we went anywhere together. Poor suspension, and a dreadfull gearbox . Not to mention a haven for tin worms.

With most old British bikes { except the cheap lightweights } the main problem is usually who worked on it last. Generally well engineered machines. Take it apart , check everything , renew as necessary and carefully re- assemble. Usually great from that point on for a long time. Austin 1100's and varients were turkey's from the start. Give me a Morris Minor any day. Even a A40 Farina.

Not to rain on anyones parade , but those front drive Austin 1100's and upmarket Vanden plas sedans were amongst the worst British cars of the 1960's. About the only thing worse was the larger 1800 "land crab ". I pity the poor young lady. Hope she does not get turned off on vintage cars in general from the ownership of this lemon. I am a pretty dedicated British car guy , but I wouldn't take one of those things if it was given to me.

The newer ones I tried were much lighter than that. The old ones were as you say. Here when it snows it often turns to rain . 5 or 6 inches of snow then a downpour . Often overnight when you are sleeping. Not a good thing to wake up to. The snow turns to a big sponge and before you know it you have 1/2 a ton of weight on the structure. Folds up like cheese. The old ones would take it.

The newer they are the thinner the tubing gets. The ones from about 10 years ago were quite strong. The new ones are very weak. Any larger snow load will crush them. Waste of money if you live in an area with snow

Perhaps the one that ended up on Vancouver Island ? Recovered in the late 1970's - early 1980's by a gent from Montana. Then as far as I know to a well known Brass Era guy nearby. There could not have been very many Great Arrow's in British Columbia. This is perhaps the only one.

With those wheels I am thinking it is British. Looks like the photo was taken at the hollow tree, Stanley Park , Vancouver B.C. Canada. Quite a few British cars in the Vancouver area in the early days of motoring.

For a tiny fraction of what this GTO will sell for I would buy one of these and have something I was not afraid to take out of a vault let alone out on the track. As fast or faster in the right hands as well. I could spend the rest of my life learning the care and feeding of a Chevron. But as a mere mortal I have to make do with my Lola S2000. There was a time when dual purpose cars made sense { road driveable race cars } and GTO's were as good as any. But they really don't make very good road cars, and as race cars lots of far cheaper cars will eat them for lunch. Most Chevrons for example. I really don't understand why they command such absurd prices these days. And I am a dyed in the wool vintage racing guy. Just finished doing a post mortem on the broken, highly modified " hill climb " engine that was a throw in when I bought the Lola. Someone spent a LOT of money { by 2 litre Ford standards anyway } to build a highly developed engine. Dropped a valve and did much damage. Lots of Cosworth parts { rods, pistons ,cam etc } in the mix, but it is just a iron head SOHC engine { with really big ports }. Looks like it spent a long time on someones flow bench . I expect it put out close to 1600 Cosworth power. Dry sump, twin Weber 45's and every other part breathed on. The knife edged crank is a work of art. It may be savable with the addition of a bunch more $ .

I used to rather like vintage F cars and P cars until they became stupidly expensive. Now they are just trophy cars for the uber rich. Much like trophy wives they are now the last thing I would ever get involved with even if I struck it rich on the lotto. Wonderfull things when 40 or 50% of car people could afford them. Now that just the top 1/2 of the 1% are the only ones that can join the club you might as well be drooling over a super yacht.

Absolutely true for the younger generation. But most of the British sports cars appeal to an older demographic. People that are generally in a reasonably stable and perhaps even affluent situation. Most of the British cars leaving the area could just as well find a local home. Aston Martin's and similar will always chase the money, wherever that leads to. But the "ordinary " cars have just a good a chance of staying put as finding a long distance new home. For the Morgan I previously mentioned I am sure the seller expected a big payday at the end of the auction. I am happy to say he was no doubt quite dissipointed in the hammer price. Had I known about the car { local advertising and a realistic asking price } I would have quite possibly given it a home myself. But seller greed led to the car ending up who knows where and probably lots of extra trouble and cost to the seller compared to a local sale. And a Vancouver area since new Morgan leaving the area probably forever. All that local history lost to greed. Same for the MGB GT that my new next door neighbor just sold. He owned it since new { 1967 } and advancing age made selling it necessary. But for some reason a family member told him he would do a lot better selling it to a Washington State buyer. So off to the Seatle area it went. Not a mention of it being for sale locally. And the BIG payday , about the same as or perhaps even slightly less than what someone in the Vancouver area would have paid. And thats before the trouble and cost of an export sale is factored in.

I watch BAT frequently. But mostly for British cars that are relatively close by. Lots of Vancouver B.C. area cars end up on BAT, often with no attempt to sell locally. My last TVR purchase was similar except that time I bought it off ebay { back when ebay was still reasonably good. } I don't know why people are reluctant to list locally. Do they really think that after factoring in brokerage and shipping people are really going to pay that much more than a local guy ? I have seen a number of pre war cars that looked interesting on BAT. But distance has so far been a deal killer. Still looking for a scruffy , driver Morgan to keep my scruffy MGA company. Missed one on BAT a few months ago. Vancouver area Morgan all its life , listed on BAT and no other place by a well known " go for the jugular " local dealer. Car sold quite cheaply. I expect they could have done better with a local buyer. I was busy with moving and did not see it until the auction had ended.

Dang, if I could just learn to live in a old camper van I too could own a Lozier. Except if I was living in a van my wife would be my X wife and that would mean I was still only 1/2 way to Lozier ownership...never mind.

I am afraid 75K U.S. is a whole lot of money to most Canadians. That's about 2 years pre tax income for me, and as far as retired people in Canada go I am actually pretty well off. If I can spend 10 % of my gross income on my hobby I am doing well. So that 75 K represents 20 years hobby spending for me, plus interest if it is a lump sum purchase { like a brass car }. I don't think I have 20 active years left. Carying on with my Staver 40 HP restoration is about the only game I can afford to play. I expect even Stateside most households would have trouble swinging a 75K hobby purchase.

I don't doubt your experience Ed. But It seems to me 40 - 50 HP cars are still generally holding their own price wise. Pretty sure most are still a fair bit more expensive now than in 1983. Or are you thinking strictly in inflation adjusted $ ? . 20 - 30 HP , non - Ford cars do seem to be dropping. Unfortunately they still have to fall quite a bit more before I can look at a "driver ". My house purchase back in January blew a big hole in my overall finances. I expect any 40 HP car is still going to be double or more the price of a 20 - 30 HP car. That gap is almost impossible for many of us to bridge. When I look on the HCCA site I am still seeing generally strong prices. Are none of these cars selling ? Also , brass era parts prices seem to be as strong as ever.

With race cars it does not seem to effect value nearly as much as with road cars. { as long as no one died } Major shunts just seem to come with the territory when dealing with vintage racers. It's nice to have one that isn't a ground up { chassis plate up } rebuild , but if you are actually going to use it on the track chances are quite a bit of the car is going to be much more recently fabricated than the original build date anyway. But I get the impression a driver death does effect things to some degree .