KLF

I believe the Chrysler Windsor records were all lost in a fire years ago. Ken

One of our pioneer collectors out here was Paul Bolam. His main interest was in the brass era cars. One day back in the early 70's he was driving down a back lane and saw some car parts that looked pretty early. What he had discovered was the remains of a 1912 Napier T30 6 cyl . The car was totally dismantled but most of the parts were there. He restored what he had and made what was missing. These pictures were taken of it on the 1987 tour. He also found another 12 Napier T48 6 cyl touring that was a similar story.He restored it as well. I don't have any pictures of it. I believe one car is in England now and the other was sold into the USA. Napier was competing with Rolls Royce at the time. Both were high end cars. Vancouver had a Napier dealership and quite a number were sold.

Here's a picture of the 12 McLaughlin roadster taken in 1987 on tour. Vern Wellburn owned it at that time.

I took this picture of Newel Taylor and his 1912 Indian when we were on our Antique Tour in 1987. The bike was very original and in order to be in compliance with our helmet laws, Newel wore an original leather helmet. He usually stole the show when he had the bike out. He drove it for the full weekend tour. We were touring the Fraser Valley that year. Ken

The Mitchell was a 1912 roadster the Vern sold to Earl Tucker. The car is now in Australia and still being actively used. Vern also had a 1912 McLaughlin Buick roadster. That's in Dave Proctor's collection now. Also Vern had an 11?? Hupmobile roadster. That car is still in Vancouver. These cars may all have come from the Foster collection I'm not 100% sure. I've got pictures of them on film. I'll try to track them down and post them. Ken

My 1912 Oakland 40 was discovered in Atlin BC in the mid 50's. It had been used to power a saw in the mine up there. The back of the body was gone. It was brought down to the Vancouver area and kicked around for a few years. All the drive train was there but completely worn out. In the late 1970's it was for sale again for $1200. I badly wanted a brass car. Not realizing what I was getting into I bought it. With help I rebuilt all the mechanical pieces while at the same time advertising for 12 Oakland parts in the HCCA Gazette and in Hemmings. I got very lucky. Ray Grayber in California had the same car. His had the complete body but was quite rough. He decided to make a new body for his car and sold me his. He also supplied new fenders as I didn't have any. I met with Ray at the last Harrah's Reno swap meet to pick up the parts, the year Bill Harrah died. Harry and Jimmy Blackstaff on Vancouver Island did the wood, restored the body and painted the car. It was finished in 1987 and I've been touring it ever since. I estimate that I've got over 25000 miles on it now. It's been a very good car. Ken

I have this Canadian 1934 Dodge DT rumble seat coupe. It's mainly an original car that was sold new at Begg Motors in Vancouver. The DT models were made in Canada for the Canadian market. They were built on the Plymouth PE chassis. I first saw this car at Maynard's auction in Vancouver around 1980. I wasn't bidding but I sure liked the car. It sold to a Ward Air stewardess who thought it was cute! I chased the car for 20 years until she finally got tired of it. It's now got 89M miles on it and is a great car to drive. I love the Dodge styling in 34. The coupes had a lower roof line than the sedans. Almost looks like it's been chopped a bit! The wire wheels, the second tailite, the second wiper, outside horns, the chrome grill surround and the second sun visor were all options or possibly just came on the deluxe models. The pictures show the car when I had it on a movie set being shot in Vancouver. The license plates are movie magic at work. Ken

Well Keith. If you can handle my brother's Russell you shouldn't have any problem driving my 12 Oakland 40. Next time your in town come on by and take it for a spin!! Sorry you can't fly the Harvard.... Ken

My 1911 Model T was sold new in BC. It's a right hand drive car that Ford produced for BC and I believe, Nova Scotia. These were the only 2 Provinces that drove on the left side of the road. We did that here until the big change over in 1921. The original picture is an 11 T that traveled to Manitoba in 1912. I would have to guess that it probably went by train and was used there for a time. The original owners grandson gave me the pic. He said they were on an extended trip in Minnesota and Manitoba. I estimate there were about 200 1911 T's sold in BC that year. I wonder if...... No probably not! Can't seem to get the one picture the right way up....technology..... Ken Ken

I'm the older brother who was there when Dad picked up the Auburn from the original owners. The colours on the car are as close as Dad could match to the original colours. The paint was very faded but he found a few places where the colour had survived. Ken

My 1914 Premier has both battery cables going to the starter. It's a Remy system. I hadn't seen that before either. Great post. Love your car and the "project" Ken

Both my Dodges are Canadian Model DT. They are correct for my cars. I've seen other DT cars with the same handles. I think it is very unlikely that both my cars would have had all the handles changed to a much more uncommon DeSoto handle. That being said I'm not sure what the USA production used but the yellow 34 Dodge that recently sold on Ebay has the same handles as mine. Another pic of an American maroon coloured Dodge DR with the same handle Ken

Mine are different than Ian's. I have an original coupe and an original conv. coupe. Smooth handles, no ribs and cover over the screws. These might have been supplied on deluxe models and the exposed screws style on the standard models. My opinion only... Ken

I would expect nothing less of a Mercer! Show us some more pics of your car....please...

Thanks for replying. One was located at Hershey last year so It's no longer required. Ken

Wish I had been able to start with a car as good as yours. Here's a pic of it back when I got it. It was found in 1962 but wasn't touched until I bought it. I bought a complete but all apart body from Ray Graber in California for it. We had to do all the wood and a lot of rust repair but I'm very happy with the finished product. Ray was restoring a model 40 too. He built a new body for his. He took his on a trans continental tour after it was done! Don't know where that car is today. Ken

Hey Marty Here's a pic of my 12 Oakland 40 on tour about 10 years ago with my wife and I in it. We've been touring it since 1987 when I finally finished the 10 year restoration. Had it on tour last summer. It's been a great runner over the years. I've put over 25000 miles on it! Ken

Did you get my message Chuck?? Ken

I'll take it. Message sent Ken

My 1914 Premier Z2 is a T head. 415 cu.in. 2 valves per cylinder Ken

I just purchased this book last week. His daughter, Melanie, has a few new copies left. You can contact her at haroldnjo@cox.net $33 for priority or $29 media mail It's a good book that I'm still reading through. Learning lots! Ken

Thanks for the info Dave. I finally found a local instrument guy who soldered up the leaks. He says the metal is poor and it may leak again. No warranty. So far it's held up. I'll have to wait until the spring now to put some more miles on it. Ken

I checked with Detroit Spring and they had the drawings to make all the springs. Takes 2-3 weeks. Just over $300 each plus shipping. ESPO Springs couldn't help on this. Before I ordered new springs I did remove some leafs. On the fronts I took out 2 leafs. The rears were an odd situation. The car was sitting very high on the right side. I took out 2 leafs there and nothing on the left. Now the car sits level again. I was worried this would adversely effect the handling but after a run today it seems to handle fine and ride a lot better. I'll leave it this way and put some more miles on it before I decide if it's the way to go. Ken

I spent my whole working career in the fastener business in Vancouver BC. In 1976 I went to Alaska to try and get an order for bolts for the Alaska Pipeline construction. After talking to one of the buyers for quite a while he finally said that what he really needed was a good Canadian screw!! Naturally something else came to my mind. I thought I was being asked to supply a "perk" before he'd give me an order. It was the wild, wild west up there at that time. I finally realized that he was talking about the Robertson drive screws. It was a good sales trip as I came home with an order for about $100,000 worth of bolts. No perk was required. Ken

Not sure what a technical review is?? Owners manual maybe? Can't help on the speedo cable. Sorry Ken