Bill Noble

here's some pictures of a very similar item, but with a different end where the button goes - I've had it for decades, I always thought it went over the brake handle on some thing but who knows .... anyone?

interesting, it appears (without a schematic of the 1910 White) that the valving on my mystery device is similar or maybe even identical to what is on the White.... what is so odd is that I can't find any reference at all to this device if that is what it is. I suppose this could be the only one in existance but Robinsons Automotive Service must have sold them or installed them or they would not have ordered gauges with their information on the face, no? thoughts?

you could be right, but those grooves in the housing line up exactly with the screws on the side of the gauge that hold the bezel in place, and they are plated inside so they weren't made after the fact (see photo). I looked for about an hour in the library of congress phone book collection, it only goes back to 1932 but between '32 and '48 I found no "Robinson's Automotive Repair" although there are a plethora of people named Robinson in the white pages. I couldn't find anything going back to the 20's but it may be out there. I think this thing, except for the missing pieces and stuff, is not modified, and is as sold.

I guess I could see this gauge being in the line between A and S in figure 1 but if that were the case, what would it be strapped to? diagnosing fuel flow problems in this system might well be something that would be aided by a special tool like this.... what's the aproximate year for cars with one of these systems, pre '20's? maybe if we can guess a year range then I can look for diagnostic equipment in that range of years. this article is great though, thanks I found a video explaining the system .... but no diagnostic equipment (yet)

I am certain this thing predates WW2, it might predate WW1. AC was very rare before the 50s or late 40s.

AC gauges are generally pressure, whether the coolant is freon, amonia, or some other substance, and the valving isn't right I figured out the two needle valves... the short one goes in the top and meters air from the small opening that faces the back of the unit (second photo), hte longer needle valve closes or opens flow into the port to the right side of the valve from either the air or the left side hose/tube. I still don't know what it does but maybe that helps

if it were that, what are the two glass sight tubes for? I have a selsyn tool to balance the SU carbs on my morgan, the tool measures air flow with a little ball in a tube but I'm pretty sure that isn't what these things are - the tubing is way too small for even the idle air flow of a cadillac 12 or 16 (or 8). I don't think those dual carb setups had test ports for connecting a gauge after the carb, right?

Joe - thanks, interestingly I have some other gauges with that "moon on the pointer" design - that could establish the age, but it won't establish what hte piece of equipment was for. And also, note that the gauge on ebay has the vacuum inlet on the back of the gauge whereas this one has the outlet, (or is it an inlet - vacuum is soooo confusing) on the top of the gauge and that slotted screw I believe (but have not confirmed) is a valve to either slow down the gauge response or to have it hold a value. That screw is well stuck and I have chosen not to mess with it. maybe the thing it straps to is a hand operated suction pump? tht could make sense, and the needle valve on top admits bleed air? so then it could be for looking for leaks in vacuum operated fuel systems. there must be someone who can remember seeing such a thing in an old catalog or something

ha! well that's most assuredly true - it definitely straps to something that is slightly smaller in diameter than a babyfood jar, that's why I think "steering column" - but it doesn't have to be that of course. since all I smell is dust, that doesn't really help much. You could be right that it was strapped to something else, perhaps a cannister of magic liquid of some kind - Marvel mystery oil, brake fluid, top oil, something like that. Hydraulic brakes came in about the time this gauge would have been new - the late 20's and early to mid 30's.

well, I guess it's not impossible, but then how to expain the nomenclature on the gauge face? I can see that such a thing might have a medical application but in the past the gauges have been marked accordingly. and this gauge is quite old, it's of the right age to go with the rest of the unit.

for 40 years I had a policy with JC taylor that covered 5 or 6 cars, then a few years ago they just cancelled, refused to renew saying that all cars they insure (in my area, Los Angeles, at least) must be in a "4-sided locked garage". The only car in the garage is my 36 cad, one of the less valuable ones but the one I've been working on for a bunch of years. I suppose I could rent a garage or space in a garage but then it would be a inconvenience to get to the cars and I wouldn't be able to work on them if I wanted to. I have tried every other classic car insurance company with the exact same result - "sure we will cover you" followed by "they are in a garage, aren't they?" any suggestions?

well it's been 13 years and this thing is back in front of me - let's see if anyone can come up with a improved guess..... what is apparent is that the curved base probably did sit on the steering column, the chrome sides with the threaded holes held brackets, you can see the outline, so the screws didn't hit the column, the bracket went around the column and was aligned by the "shelf" above the hole. you can see that there was somethign screwed to the back and that it might have been round - or there was nothing there and something scratched it. you can see the bleed hole for the center needle valve. the picture at the top of this thread shows the object as a whole, these just show pices about which there is speculation. I also have in the pictures what the gauge looks like removed from the chrome part, and how they used a piece of wood as a spacer (you can see the wood, and the outline of where it sat at the bottom of the assembly. the whole thing just smells dusty, not oily or of gasoline.

No, the gauge is not marked in PSI, if I suck on it, the pointer moves to higher values, so it is measuring vacuum -- I suppose I was being carless when I said PSI - you are right that it must be In Hg. This really is a very odd thing, and I'd sure like for someone to recognize it. maybe its something hugely valuable and rare and will make me rich - maybe it's just a cool old gauge but whatever it is, it originally had some specific purpose. by the way, if it helps, the OD of the thread on teh remainign fitting is 0.375 inches. I removed the gauge to see if there were any markings behind it - all I found was a small scrap of wood with a dusty smell that was presumably used as a shim. there is a little blackening on the OD of the outlet copper tube where it was inside the fitting to the needle valve - oil? hard to tell - the tube I'm calling inlet (on the left) seems clean Were there any old cars where it would make sense to let oil into the intake manifold? it could be for that purpose, I suppose

well, one thing that makes me think it isn't for oil pressure is that the gauge is a vacuum gauge - I tested this by sucking on the "outlet" and sure enough, the gauge shows increasing numbers as the vacuum increases. My speculation is that it's associated with a vacuum oiler of some kind but someone must know what it is really. keep them guesses coming.

This gauge came from deep in a drawer in a friend's basement - it is chrome plated brass, the gauge face says Robinson's Automotive Engine Service Los Angeles", the Gauge itself is a US Gauge Co vacuum gauge calibrated 0-30. There are two needle valves at the top, the upper one ports air in through a small hole in the back of the valve, the other one presumably controls flow from left to right. there is a sight glass on each side (one is missing) - the curved part on the bottom looks like it would fit on a steering column. So, what the heck is this thing? I'd swear I've seen one of these, but as they say, memory is the second thing to go This is probably older than any car I have - my oldest is 1936 - I'd sure like to know what it was used on and exactly what it was for - I'm sure someone here knows. Note that there is an attached file, if you can think of other information that would help, let me know