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Terry, this is beautiful stuff. One thing to keep in mind...a target audience can be very small. Yet if that audience is ALSO very intensely interested in a subject, it becomes possible to produce a written work which will be very popular, and with very strong...but very limited demand QUANTITIES. But as I said before, it is entirely possible today to produce very, VERY small quantities of nice quality books. This is MUCH more feasible today than it was 10 years ago. Let's stay in touch. This is very close to my field of expertise, and I'll try to offer some suggestions here and there, as you need it.

Note too that your spark plug is "rebuildable." See how it has two hex surfaces? In the old days, they would disassemble spark plugs and rebuild them...as they did MANY parts which are now one-piece disposable units. Indeed, they even sold kits to rebuild your batteries...for cars, flashlights, and LOTS of applications. Things were different, then.

LOVE old photos like this! I note that this fuzzy old photo has been retouched, the old fashioned way. In my line of work, we used to retouch photos with an airbrush for clients quite often. This work looks a little bit amateurish. Notice the heavy dark lines outlining the right front fender and the radiator. Normally we tried to make it hard to be able to tell that we had "improved" a photo at all. It looks like a little better job has been done on the outline of the outer rim edge of the right front wheel. Notice how fuzzy nearly every part of the car is. My guess would be that the photographer must have been shooting with a setting which gave him a very narrow depth-of-field (maybe a low-light situation?) Perhaps then he or she tried to focus on the driver's face, which would be a natural choice. Yet it looks like the trees and leaves in the background are much more in focus than various components of the car, so it's possible that the focus was off a bit. Anyway, the photographer wouldn't have known about that until he/she ended up looking at prints in the darkroom. What an awesome car.

I'll offer a wild shot-in-the-dark-guess. Back in 1960 or so, my parents had acquired a very uncommon Grant Six roadster, and eventually came to believe it was the last remaining 1921 Grant Six in the world. They were newbie car collectors, with very little expendable cash. But they thought that, since the car was apparently so very rare (1921), that maybe it would be valuable one day, and so they should restore it correctly, and spare no expense. They began an exhaustive search for a parts car. The ONLY place they found one was in New Zealand, of all places. They corresponded with a Mr Black over there, who apparently had a 1921 Grant Six chassis. My parents bought it, and had it shipped here from there. Later they met a man who had been a lifetime employee of the Grant Motor Car company. He told them that many Grant cars were exported to New Zealand. So, with this in mind, I thought I would just suggest that perhaps this car could be a Grant Six? I have nothing more than that to go on, but I figured I would offer it up, just in case. Attached is a photo of a 1922 Grant Six touring car which my parents found in Michigan, and photographed in 1961. I have several pix of it, but this angle is similar to the OP's photo. I note that the rear window is totally different, but I assume that may not mean much in touring cars, which likely have replacement tops. Frankly, the dark OP's photo and my weak eyes don't work together well for comparing the two. I'm very interested in this contribution. I hope it might help solve the mystery.

Like JV, I have written and/or edited several books on the automotive hobby; primarily for Amos Press, back when they were publishing CARS & PARTS magazine (I think they were actually publishing them through Classic Motorbooks). Anyway, I believe it may be easier today than ever before to publish books, with all kinds of options being available. Indeed, today you can even publish nice, hardbound book in very, very small quantity. This may not hold true, however, if you are planning to produce a "coffee table book" with gorgeous, studio quality photos and oversize pages, etc, etc. The first thing which must be done is to decide WHY you are making this particular book, and for which target audience. One could make a very nice educational book which would satisfy the needs of collectors and restorers, but which would hold little appeal to people who love to look at antique objects in beautiful photography. Car collectors have seen hundreds of "coffee table books" on vintage vehicles, containing only basic, generic information, but loaded with fabulous photos (our well-meaning family members buy them for us at holidays ). But many serious hobbyists might be more concerned with facts, figures, and other detailed, informative information. So first figure out which target audience will MOST want/need your book, and how they will enjoy or use it MOST. Then you can decide how to proceed. Writing publishing automotive books and/or magazines is a huge, complex subject, but these are my initial thoughts and opinions on the subject.

Clearly, BOTH sides of these life-stories are true. A lifetime in the hobby has shown me that a tremendous percentage of folks who buy project cars never get them completed and running. And, a large percentage of that group feels regret and remorse nearly every time they look at the heap in their garage, covered in boxes and clutter. (Ask me how I know!) Too often they end up losing money on the project, one way or another. So from a practical point of view, starting out with a rough project car is not a good choice, especially for a newbie. Conversely, many folks really, really like taking on a project as rough as that old Pierce, especially if other people tell them it would be a mistake to attempt it. These folks don't worry too much about whether or not it would have been more financially practical to buy a running car. They simply enjoy putting the super-complex "puzzle" back together. I have even known a few guys like this who typically sell their "dream project" after they get it done, because they are anxious for a new project. Nevertheless, giving newbies advice from both perspectives is our right; and even the moral duty of those of us who have gone before. If you haven't ever restored a rough old vehicle before, there is simply NO WAY you can possibly understand the magnitude of the project, and the time, money, equipment, shop space, skill, tools, and tenacity required to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

When an older car is used as daily transportation, there can be problems if a serious accident happens. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea. I drove a 1930 Model A sedan to work every day, year 'round when I was a young sheet metal worker (1970's), and later a 1940 Ford pickup truck. But when any traffic accident happens, insurance companies immediately start investigating to see if they really have to pay anything or not, and if so, how little can they possibly pay. If someone else is at fault in an accident, their insurance company will take note of the fact that your vehicle is being driven as daily transportation. Then they will check NADA or other pricing guide for used cars, and try to determine the value of your vehicle as a used car. I don't know how that would turn out with a car from the 1930's or older, but with cars from the 1960's or 70's, for example, it can be disastrous. A friend of mine had a beautiful Riviera (1969, maybe?). A driver rear-ended him sitting at a light. She was cited, and pleaded "No contest" in court. He admitted that he was not injured in any way. Then her insurance company offered him, like, $200 or so for his car. He fought it for a while, but ended getting nothing like what the car was worth. Keep in mind that insurance laws are totally different in every state and/or commonwealth. Do some investigation in your own state. And keep in mind that whatever an insurance agent tells you MAY NOT BE ACCURATE, with respect to what the insurance underwriter will actually do after an accident. If you read your policies, you will likely find disclaimers stating something to the effect that, "...this written policy shall be the entire agreement between the partes, and no verbal or written information provided by agents, etc, can override it..." Of course, I'm no attorney. You should consult one who is very familiar with insurance law in your area. Having said all that, I LOVE the idea of driving my old cars for transportation, just on rare occasions. I do this to, "test and tune" the vehicle to be certain it is ready to drive to car shows, etc. My historical vehicle coverage allows for that.

Agreed, except the A-body cars, like Dart, Valiant, Duster, and a few others, which used a 5 on 4.25" bolt circle, if I remember correctly. Most Ford wheels from that same era will also fit.

I believe Coker Tire came out with J78-15's a few years ago. They were never a big seller, even back in the day. We sold lots of H-78's and L-78's, but the J-78's less often.

Love the look of that thing. I would like to put something like that out back of my hunting cabin in Southern Ohio, as yard art. Then plant flowers around it.

IF I remember correctly from my tire-buster days, that car would have had J-78 X 15 tires on it. It's simply a larger, taller tire than smaller cars used. Modern equivalent size would be about 225R15. Keep in mind that tires of significantly different total height from the ground will change the readings from your speedometer.

I second the concept of updrafts avoiding flooding. Over the decades that I've been going on old car tours, I can't tell you how many, many times I have seen cars puke a puddle of gasoline when they stop, slow down, start up, or sit and idle. But I also agree that gravity was important for getting fuel to the low-stationed carburetor, where engine vacuum could easily draw it inside the intake manifold.

Well done, Davenport!

Great info, Stude. Thanks for that.

Arun, Sorry, I've never dealt with that on a Chrysler product before. But I'm sure there are lots of guys here who can provide expert advice. You might also try posting just that specific question on the Chrysler Products forum, further down the AACA Forums page. Mopar guys are sure to hang out there. Good luck!

"So much for the old phrase we were all told about years ago, "You can have that new Model T Ford in any color, as long as it's black."

Wow, what a collection! The person who accumulated all that stuff must have had no interest in restoring or driving any of that stuff. Just wanted a museum, I guess! I got a chuckle out of that 1961 Ford labeled as a 1966... Not many similarities there! LOL

Good luck sorting out this project. You might actually enjoy "solving the puzzle," if you force yourself to adopt an attitude that it is a challenge which you are undertaking, to see if you can solve the puzzle. You'll just have to make sure you really did finally get it right, before you head out on a long trip in your new friendly automobile...especially if you plan to take family or friends along with you for the ride! Cheers!

Like I said, get some shop manuals for this car. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches. Attached are specs I scanned from a 1954 MOTORS manual. In the TUNE-UP SPECS chart, you'll note that it lists all Chrysler cars as POSITIVE GROUND, right up through 1954. Under the Generator specs, you'll also notice that Chrysler used BOTH 6 volt and 12 volt systems in 1954.

Arun, Don't get too hung up on that battery cable only fitting on the negative side. Odds are very good that it's been replaced over years of service. Get a shop manual or Motors or Chilton manual for your car, and keep it handy. You need to be able to look up specs like this at your finger tips...even during a power outage, or whatever.

Well done, Dictator!

I use an electric fuel pump on my 4 cyl Hupmobile, and I do need the regulator. Otherwise, the carb will flood at idle (as carbking Jon suggests above). With this setup, I have driven the car all over the state of Ohio, for decades. (By the way, Jon KNOWS vintage carburetors.)

Welcome. I'm sure some of our members have questions about that.

One of my clients obtained a license from the Chrysler Co to reproduce brand new all-steel Willys coupe bodies. He was going to make the 1940-41 versions, which uses the same cab, but different front body panels than 37-39 models (I believe). He asked me to help try to find good original body parts to be used as patterns...but we had no luck. Complete steel cars with all body panels are going for massive prices, and even individual body parts are priced like they were made of inobtainium. I can see why drumyn was willing to work so hard to bring back this shattered shell. Nice work!

Terry, I will be very interested to see your book when it is completed, and will enjoy the process of your working on it. RIght now I am very curious about the first catalog cover which you featured in your last post. That cover date SEEMS to be 1944, to my old eyes. But the illustration style, and the featured vehicles, suggest a much, much earlier date. By the 1940's (during WWII), planes were developing so fast, motor vehicles were styled "pointy" and aerodynamic. These vehicles look like the date ought to be 1914 or 1924, maybe? But those numerals sure don't look that way. What is the story there? Cheers!