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Gunsmoke

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Everything posted by Gunsmoke

  1. Nice looking project, you might ask administrators to move topic to another forum such as Restoration projects and retitle to "1922 Chandler Restoration" where you can continue to show progress over the next few days, months, years, decades, all in one thread.....LOL
  2. These type leaf springs are engineered just the way they are to provide comfortable, safe and durable performance. De-arching can usually lower car without changing the engineering very much at all, however a 10 ply spring is a lot to de-arch. However removing leaves does alter the original engineering, and weaken the assembly as well as affecting ride quality, and depending on leaf(s) removed, may cause a leaf above it to snap in a pothole encounter. I would never suggest removing any of the top 3 leaves. If it were me, and removing a leaf or 2 got me to where I wanted to go, I would be removing the lowest and 3rd lowest of plies since they don't contribute as much to the ride comfort and flex the least during a rough ride. As most on here know, the Departments of Motor Vehicles typically frown on any changes to original suspensions for safety reasons. Finally, it is important to retain the spring clips to ensure springs stay in alignment and act as a unit during operation.
  3. nice photo, tail light configuration remined me of 1930 LaSalle
  4. I see the 1941 Mercury had a crease above windows on door post, so I'm thinking most likely a 1940 thru 1946 Ford Co. product. Might be Canadian and as such may have had some sheet metal variations?
  5. I have a couple of Chrysler ignitions with what I believe are likely original BASCO keys, although they are slightly different. The first one is a Briggs and Stratton key stamped J 286 (with key ring attached) and came with an original Chrysler combined ignition/coil as shown (not sure if it is 1930 or 1931). The second key is also Briggs and Stratton, and came on a similar but not identical Chrysler ignition, but this key has no number, slightly different shape, suggesting it is a copy of an original. My guess is you are looking for a key similar to BASCO J 286 shown. However, you need to be more concerned with what ignition lock you have to fit it in, so your existing key should tell you if either is a match. Most locksmiths can make a proper key for your ignition, but finding the proper BASCO blank may be a challenge. Hope this helps. BTW, if you were interested in buying the above mentioned BASCO Key and ignition/coil as shown, let me know. The ignition piece can be easily removed from the coil and used on a similar coil, but the button that protrudes through the cowl may be lightly different. The ignition on my Roadster came without a key and I had a Smith make a pair, but he had nothing similar to BASCO blanks. I've added a photo of my newly made keys which were cut to suit an original CD8 Ignition, note as Greg says below it is cut only on one side.
  6. Any one who has undertaken the task of "fully" restoring a 90 year old car, or has footed the bill to have others do it, knows several important things. While the initial condition of the car is a key factor, there are important other factors, such as the quality of the original make, completeness of starting project, availability of factory original parts, availability of brand specialists, the standard of fit/finish expected by owner, and the sheer number of pieces and complexities of the vehicle. Some owners will gladly prefer a shiny new Repo door handle at $45, rather than pay $500-$1000 to have an original restored and re-chromed. Some owners would prefer a $3000 overhaul of a running engine to perhaps 75% of it's original HP, while another wants a full factory spec engine at $50K+. Some will consider "naughahyde' upholstery at $1500 purchase price while another demands meticulously matched leather at $20K. One owner will settle for sandblasted spoke wheels with patina pitting and paint, another will require al new spoking. I could go on, decent re-chrome or touch-up versus mirror finish, period correct harness materials right down to connectors versus modern basics, reasonable "fit and finish" versus "perfect fit and finish etc. Most well heeled and knowledgeable owners understand you "get what you pay for". and they know where to get it. They also know some cars are worth a seemingly extravagant investment as the car and the company it will keep is exceptional. On the other hand, most ordinary cars we drive or restore can never rise to the "exceptional" level as they were never that from the outset. Lately I see owners expending $40K to restore a 1931 Chevrolet, another spending $100K to restore a lovely car like a mid '30's Auburn. Next door I see an owner spending $250K to restore a 1969 Roadrunner. I don't judge any of them, they have the car they want and are spending as much as they think is reasonable. As for the Duesenberg that is the subject of this thread, no doubt the owner could spend $100K, or $500K, or $2M restoring it, and in the end it will depend on his/her wishes, their resources and the company he plans for the car to keep.
  7. I agree with VC that both are circa 1909 Cartercars, and we do see several variations, rear seat, tank on running board, windshield, side lamps, etc, not to mention background mural. Interesting that driver and passenger look like same people, just switching places. Could these be staged for a dealer selling Carter cars over a couple of years? Some other reason same 2 guys wanted a staged photo?
  8. Oh my, you are testing our tolerance! Based on door configuration, if a Chrysler, likely started life as a 4 door sedan like this one, with a full frame, chopping off the top was not a big deal. Pull off bowtie on front, that may expose grill and help with establishing year/model.
  9. Got a chuckle when K31 posted pics of the '31 Chrysler CD8 rear tub. As an indication of how scarce these pieces are, a friend of mine eventually bought that tub and brought it from out West to Maine in pieces as he primarily wanted the deck cleats for his Dodge DC8 Roadster. I bought the rear quarters and deck from him in 3 pieces and rough as they were. they were invaluable in enabling me to complete the rear tub for my CD8 rebuild. I still have the rear deck panel if anyone needs one!
  10. Hmmm.., then what would you call it? Serves a purpose I suppose, sort of like a "pushup bra".
  11. While pondering the "Unsafe at Any Speed" catch phrase coined by Nader as a pseudo expert/opportunist, his thesis has largely been dismissed over time as unreasonably alarmist, and perhaps self serving. While he focused on the early Corvairs, the 30M plus VW Beetles sold worldwide are a testament to their acceptance by the motoring public as a good, safe car, especially as a low speed A-B means of transport. Having owned a '59 Karmann Ghia back in the '60's powered by a Corvair engine, I understand the unusual driving characteristics of such a combo, especially the light front end. But I loved the car's performance, look, and rarity, and never encountered an issue in 4 years of driving. However, such an anecdotal story does not mean it was safe! More critical for all of us is who is rated today as making the safest cars? One recent report places the top 15 companies for safety as : Genesis, Volvo, Tesla, Mazda, Subaru, Ford, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Hyundai, Audi, Honda, Toyota, VW, and Nissan. Note some ranked for their luxury models only. For the mass produced cars most of us might buy, the top 7 leaders are: Mazda, Subaru, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, VW and Nissan. My question is. Are many of us really influenced by such ratings?
  12. I must confess that I have rarely if ever seen a "limo" that looked good. In the vast majority of cases, they are assembled by taking a nicely designed car and chopping them in half, adding a center section, lengthening the chassis, and perhaps even raising the roofline, adding some bells and whistles (fake landau bars for example), larger wheels. None of the resulting modifications from a styling viewpoint, usually have been run by the original designer. The buyers/owners usually don't care, they buy them for prestige. There have been exceptions where a designer was intimately involved, a few Rolls Royce customs, the Bugatti Royales perhaps. So, the OP Cord fairs pretty well by comparison, there have been thousands of ugly limousines.
  13. Thank you Mr C for taking the time to photograph and share your show. some very nice stuff.
  14. I now see after some Google work, Washington Island is part of State of Wisconsin, who knew! Long way from Pontiac Mi.
  15. While the old quote "All real estate is local" may be a truism, it will only apply to old cars in a limited way. A better truism is "Supply and Demand". In any transaction, both supply and demand affect price. A 1948 Buick is not likely anyone's dream car, but for a Buick lover, it might be high on a list of favorites. Depending on the model (4dr sedan or convertible), condition (1 or 10), and proximity to home (5 miles, 1000 miles), it might be in demand for a small group. On the supply side, in any given area, there are usually lots of older "common" cars available at a price, and condition and rarity often rule. This supply/demand formula can be broadened considerably for rare and highly sought after cars (let's say the $100K +market), when the marketplace becomes no longer just local, but national or international. But that is a different playing field for most of us.
  16. Hmmm.. maybe 1929/30 era Pontiac, perhaps from Pontiac Michigan! think I can I see Pontiac winged Rad Cap.
  17. See this interesting light on Ebay, titled as shown in my post, figure someone on here will be able to ID what it may have been on. Looks like a high end car. Bidding currently at $6.79!!
  18. When I had my 1931 Chrysler CD8 Engine (240CI) out of the car I pulled head off as the valves at 7/8 cylinders were stuck, and also to assess whether to consider a full engine rebuild. Since everything except valve train seemed OK, I decided to attend to valves (clean, reface valves, lap in seats, hone guides etc and reset/adjust. While at it, I knocked out the frost plugs in block and thoroughly cleaned out coolant channels in both the head and block. Some passageways were completely blocked, others narrowed, and I took about 1.5-2 cups of debris, some rust, mostly accumulated mineral from water etc. These engines were known for getting hot at back end of block (7/8 cylinders), and later coolant routes were added in later editions of this engine. After removing all the accumulated crud, a good flush removed anything else. Also flushed radiator. New frost plugs and gasket and eventually 50/50 coolant added and engine ran well and at normal operating temps. I don't know much about the larger 380CI Imperial engine, but assume the overall design is similar, so you may want to check to see if there are any signs of hot spots on block when warmed (in particular at back end of engine), perhaps a sign of coolant passage blockages.
  19. I've always enjoyed reading thru this now longish thread. I've long followed the Gerald Wingrove work (and had his books). So far I see about page 1-54 devoted to opening topic, the Continental, then 5 pages on an Olds Tornado, a further 5 on the Avanti, and now a Cadillac. At 94 pages and still going, might I suggest a separate thread for the Cadillac? I suspect the Moderators could divide it out from the rest with a suitable heading and short introductory note. Alternatively, could the topic title at least be changed to include "and an Olds Tornado pg 55, Studebaker Avanti pg60 and Cadillac V16 pg 65. Thanks.
  20. How does it look now? I think this is as advertised, hard to tell from one photo how well front fenders have been cleaned up. Relatively speaking, looks much better, and not a big job to finish considering what one might pay for the car at auction.
  21. I've always been puzzled by the sheer extravagance and frivolousness of the MOPAR rearends of the time, who was in charge of sketching out and developing these obviously expensive yet impractical concoctions. Since all such contraptions were typically one year (and even one model) only, the specialist shops making all the chrome and glass pieces must have been kept pretty busy. such foolish excess. Must be a real challenge to restore any of these.
  22. Pulled these off my FB page today, thought they were all interesting. The first shows the dominance of the Big 3 in mid '50's, the second shows the utter madness of MOPAR in late 1950's when lipstick and earrings sold cars.
  23. This is the best summary I could find about this famous car and the Florida event and it's subsequent re-creation. Sounds well researched, so guessing it about covers anyone's questions. While acknowledging the current car's "re-creation" nature, I think it is wonderful that Mr Chamberlain back some 75 years ago had the insight to acquire the original engine, and the patience and effort to extensively research the car's chassis and engineering. He also had the means (money and factory) to build a chassis and the other components that would be a suitable "habitat"(their words) for the old engine. Will be interesting to see what it brings at auction and whether it wil eventually be displayed for public viewing, and occasionally run in vintage events. DESCRIPTION Chassis number 1 of 1 Engine number L48 Motor The Edwardian Giant, 1904 Napier L48 ‘Samson’ was one of the most successful racing cars of its era setting many speed records and winning many races. In 1905 at Daytona Beach, Florida, USA it set the World Land Speed Record of 104.65 mph. It was the world’s first successful six-cylinder engine racing car an important point to note in that it led to the production of six-cylinder engine road going cars. This incredibly important and impressive car has about 74 metres of copper tube wrapped around a copper and aluminium dome. In 1906 it also established a women’s world land speed record when Dorothy Levitt, “the fastest girl on earth” drove it at 90.88 mph over a flying kilometre at the Blackpool Motor Race Meeting, UK. The record-breaking and revolutionary six-cylinder engine of the Napier L48 was replaced with a larger engine in 1907 (and the tired original chassis then broken up and disposed of in 1908) and the original engine was no longer needed. In 1912, the industrial ceramic manufacturers from Melbourne, Fred and Percy Cornwell, who loved fast cars and boats, took delivery of the engine. It was shoe-horned into a state-of-the-art racing-boat they had commissioned. The lightweight, 15 litre engine powered Nautilus 2 to many race wins including the Motorboat Championship of Australia, the E.C. Griffiths Cup in 1914 and 1915 (reportedly reaching an incredible speed of 137kph). The Napier L48 engine remained in a corner of the Cornwell brothers’ factory until discovered in 1950 by Bob Chamberlain, the wealthy Australian industrialist. Chamberlain purchased the engine, originally with the idea of cleaning it up and displaying it but changed his mind. He resolved to recreate the Napier L48 car around the original engine using the considerable resources of his tractor manufacturing factories. After much forensic work and extensive research and the recreation of many parts to rebuild the car, the restored engine was run for the first time in July 1982. The Napier L48 nicknamed Samson attracted worldwide interest when it was completed. Few recreations of Edwardian racing cars had been made and none of the quality of the Chamberlain car. Accomplished motor sport journalist Bill Boddy wrote in Motor Sport magazine in 1988: “Whether or not you approve of the modern reconstruction of old cars, you must concede that this is the recreation of the decade. Modifications made were in keeping with the ethics of a highly experienced engineer intent on providing a habitat for a decidedly historic engine, and had the task not been undertaken there would now be no 1904 Napier L48.” It was sold in April 1993 as part of Bob Chamberlain’s estate at a Sotheby’s auction in Melbourne to Peter Briggs for display at the York Motor Museum in Western Australia. The car has subsequently raced and won at the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb in the UK and was a class winner at the celebrated Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winning the Automobile Quarterly prize for the most historically significant car at the event. It is exhibited by Mr Briggs at the Sydney Harbour Concours in March 2022 and offered for sale to a new custodian.
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