hugh.venables

Thanks for your information Jon. The Hygrade springs have all disappeared from eBay, not sure if the listings expired or were withdrawn. I had a private message from someone looking for a spring for a 1932 Pontiac V8. Would you be able to supply one? Hugh

I doubt it Roy. I suspect it would be too big but it will be difficult to find out for sure without trying one. From a part number point of view 1931 was the first year Oaklands and Pontiacs shared the radiator surround. Have you tried advertising for one in POCI and OPW? Someone out there will have one. Good luck, Hugh Venables

Ahh Jon that’s fabulous. Thank you so much. The seller is asking $24 for each one. They are on eBay. What a shame there are no 24-117 for 30-31 Oakland but I see there are some 24-214 Pontiac V8. There are no 24-115 for 26-29 Oakland either. Have you pondered whether the ‘32 V8 jets and spring are a better setup for 30-31 V8? Do you have an opinion of these Hygrade springs? Can we help the seller out with what the other springs suit? Hugh

A couple of years ago a 1925 Oakland owner and his wife towed a small caravan around Australia doing I think about 130,000 miles in the year. John Cox the owner likes to tell the story of the gear box rebuild at a caravan park along the way. He rang a friend who sent him a good useable set of gears and he rebuilt it himself on the spot. There was another traveller in the same park with a relatively modern Landrover Discovery that also suffered a gearbox failure but they had to send away across the country for a second hand box from a wrecking yard and pay to have it fitted at a cost of thousands of dollars compared to the almost zero cost of the Oakland box. This Oakland has compression ratio booster blocks bolted into the cylinder head. We also have a couple that have been towing a caravan all over Australia with a ‘34 Pontiac for the last 30 or 40 years. And last year three members of the Vintage Drivers Club and their wives travelled from Melbourne to Darwin and back towing a van and two camper trailers with an A model Ford, a 1928 Chev and a 1926 Rugby. The Rugby has a modern 4 cyl engine and the other two are lightly modified and all run 12V electrics for modern electric trailer brakes. It’s doable if you’re prepared to have a go.

Hello knowledgeable ones, does anyone have an ancient catalogue from probably the 1930s for Hygrade Products. There are quite a few Marvel carburetor air valve springs on eBay at the moment with Hygrade part numbers in the range from CP280 to CP288. Marvel air valve springs control the mixture throughout the entire speed range and are crucial but over the years misguided folk have often stretched, snipped and substituted springs rendering the carburetors useless. Hugh Venables Melbourne Australia 1930-32 Oakland Pontiac V8 enthusiast

What a very informative thread. But only about the 6 cyl. Did Northway make the V8 for the 1916-17 Oakland model 50? Who made the Chev and Olds V8s at about the same time? I think these three engines were all very different. Oakland didn't reintroduce a V8 until 1930. All 1930 and 1931 Oaklands used this fascinating engine. It was not the same as Oldsmobile's Viking engine. What would have been a 1932 Oakland was rebadged as a Pontiac V8 when the Oakland name was dropped at the start of 1932. Hugh Venables, Melbourne, Australia 1930-32 Oakland Pontiac V8 enthusiast