wayne sheldon

FYI, Number one appears to be a model T Ford handle used from late 1914 into early 1920. They were of course originally kept on the engine and use a different coupler to engage the crankshaft. It looks like yours has a pin in the hole to be removable and used for some other car. That likely was done by someone needing a hand crank for some other car. The way to know for sure, would be to look for a very small hole right at the beginning of the first bend in the crank which would have had a small spring to push the handle away from the motor when not being cranked by hand therefore to avoid rattling against the running motor when going up hills (btdt). That little hole can be hard to find as it is small, often filled with dirt or rust, and there was no one specified location for it.

I wonder what they want for the Paige? The price given is for an Oakland, no pictures. I would consider it if it were within 600 miles? But SD? I suppose I could call, but I hate to do that if I cannot be a serious buyer.

I have used an electrolysis to remove rust quite a bit, with mixed results. It has done an incredible job sometimes, not so good others. One issue is that the electric current follows paths of least resistance in the solution. That means some paths, longer, bad angles, etc, do not de-rust as well as nice open direct paths. Moving anodes around can help some, but some corners just don't clean as well as other areas. I cleaned a cylinder block once (being very careful not to affect the bearings in the block). The only way to clean inside the cylinders was to put the anode into each cylinder individually. As I mentioned, bearings, soft metals can also be "plated away" by electrolysis just like it can by mild acids (I experimented with that myself before cleaning). I also had some issues with the battery chargers I used to power the electrolysis. I don't think they were quite adequate (but they were what I had available). I also found that keeping the anodes clean was very important. The gunk that builds up on them cuts the efficiency a lot. The small tank I used is outside, and with the chemicals involved, corrosion of electrical connections became a pain in the wazzoo. I brazed and soldered critical connections and still had problems. I desperately NEED to get back to work on my model T project (family got in the way and I haven't worked on it in nearly four years now ). First up is rusty fenders and side aprons. I think I will have to try molasses. As for acids. Muriatic acid is NASTY stuff. I have used a fair amount of it myself. Friends and I refer to it as the "fume bath" because of the nasty fumes it creates. The fumes alone can be DEADLY. Great care must be taken. Open space, you, and nothing valuable downwind. But it can remove really bad rust. It also has a nasty habit of accelerating new rusting when something is cleaned with it. Stopping the new rust can be almost as difficult as dealing with the old rust would have been. Phosphoric acid and/or solutions are much milder, but still pose some risks. Phosphoric solutions such as "Metal Etch" (if it is even still available) do help to control new rust and help paint to adhere to metal. As with many such things. Pay attention, listen, learn, and be careful.

I could go to a dollar ninety seven cents! Think that could work?

There is one of those sitting in a yard about a block from my house! It has been there deteriorating for about ten years now. Sad.

I have seen a lot of fatman steering wheels over the years. I think I have owned at least eight of them myself. But I have never seen one quite like that one! Really nice! I have never had a Neville either, but have seen at least a dozen of them up close.

TXSearsGuy, Boy. You really know how to hurt a guy. I have wished for years to attend the OCF, but finances and distance have made it out of my reach. This year it is IMPOSSIBLE for me! Bad enough that there will hopefully be more model K Fords running together there this year than have been in one place in nearly a century. Now I hear that more running Sears Autobuggies might be there also! Criminy! All kidding aside. That does sound WONDERFUL! The estimate of 240 Sears autobuggies still in existence surprises me a bit. How reliable is that number? I have visited the Sears website several times the past few years, it is very good, better than a lot of the small niche websites for specific marques. For whatever it is worth, I have come close to getting a Sears a few times. One fellow simply wanted a bit too much for the pile of pieces he had (and the engine was a broken mess). A couple were just out of reach financially. And another fellow went and died between offer and acceptance (he said he would take it, but the son wanted much more and held onto two cars for a couple more years before taking what I had offered from someone else for the one I could afford).

It has been a LONG time since I saw the "excuse My Dust" movie., But I remember that I loved it when I did see it! ( both times!) However, I was always a Red Skelton fan, even though most of his movies didn't showcase his real talents very well, I thought this one worked very well for him. As I have said before, I was a strange kid. I wanted to own, restore, and drive antique automobiles since I was about five years old. Just loved the old things. On my Grandmother's bookcase, was some sort of a farmer's almanac and resource guide from about 1910. In it, was an advertisement for the Sears Automobile. I was about ten when I discovered that, and when we would visit my grandparent's place, I would usually look at that advertisement in that book (wish I had that book, some "adult" probably threw it out). From that point on, I have wanted and read about Sears high-wheel automobiles. By the time I saw "Excuse My Dust"? I knew what the car was in the movie. I also noticed several things about it, or should I say "them". The Sears was in one way unlike most automobiles of that configuration. The hand crank for starting the car was on the FRONT of the car, whereas most high-wheel cars crank from one (and in a few cases, either) side of the car. At least one of the Sears cars used for the movie, was a good and proper Sears. It clearly could be seen that the hand crank was in the front, where it is supposed to be. At least one of the cars, was modified (I did not then know how much?). It did NOT have the crank in the front (I noticed that detail the second time I saw the movie, I was maybe sixteen at the time). At least two of the cars had a fake hand crank installed on the side of the body, for Red Skelton to spin when he was supposed to be starting the car. A couple years ago, one of the cars was offered for sale on eBad. It was a mostly correct Sears, with a few minor changes for the movie. The seller gave quite a lot of details concerning the car, what was correct, and what wasn't, and its role in the film. About a year ago, I was in Reno, and went through the old Harrah's collection. The Philion was still there, and as nice as I remembered from seeing it when Harrah was alive.

Yes the wheels were accessories. Available in a variety of sizes to fit Fords and most other cars large and small. They are much more popular on model Ts today than they were when the cars were anywhere near new. Original era photos show only a very small percentage of model Ts with wire wheels in the '20s, and even fewer during the brass era. After-market wire wheels were available from the beginning of the automobile, and right on through today. However, back in the day, few owners would pay the price for them to go onto a model T. Many other manufacturers offered wire wheels as an option when the cars were new, including Dodge. Steel disc wheels were slightly cheaper, and a few more of those found their way onto Fords, especially speedsters. The cheap fake steel discs that mounted onto the wooden spoke wheels were more popular for the model Ts. I often joke that there are probably more brass era model Ts on the road today with wire wheels than were on the road with wire wheels during the brass era. Black era model Ts may not be quite so extreme. However, there are still proportionally more wire wheels on those than there were in the '20s. Still and all, they are a neat accessory and people like them. Thanks Keiser31! I, like so many people on here, enjoy seeing the pictures you capture and share.

Morton and Brett was one of a few companies that offered a kit very similar to that. Morton and Brett sold quite well (I once saw a photo of a stack of more than a dozen crated kits delivered to a dealer!). That may be a Morton and Bret bodied model T. The Morton and Brett body was also sold under a couple different marketing names, including Speedway. I am not sure of the exact corporate structure. Unfortunately, they seem to have a very low survival rate. I don't know why that is. But Mercury, Paco, and Faultless bodies were built in similarly low numbers, and quite a few of each are known to survive. I have seen serious estimates that nearly fifty Mercury bodied model Ts survive (and personally have known almost ten of them myself). I have personally seen at least four Paco bodied Ts, and two original Faultless cars (one owned for more than fifty years by a long-time good friend, now owned by a grandson). In my over fifty years, I have only seen one surviving original Morton and Brett, and heard of only a couple others. It appears to be a sort of a "bobtail" (a short boat-tail). Possibly a Morton and Brett model 6 (I am not that smart, I had to look in my "Model T Ford in Speed and Sport" book!). However, I suspect that it may not be a Morton and Brett body after all that. The cowl does not look right. Morton and Brett generally had a significant up-sweep at the back of the cowl. This car does not appear to have that. I believe there were some Morton and Brett exceptions to that detail, but on a quick look did not see any identified. In that same book ("Speed and Sport), on page six, are original era pictures of four speedsters, one of which looks very much like this body (car has wire wheels). Unfortunately, it is not identified there. One other interesting thing I notice about that car. The wheels appear to have flat steel discs put over the wooden spoke wheels. These "poor-man" disc wheels were a fairly popular accessory back in those days. The really cheap set had only four discs, one for the outside of each wheel. The deluxe set had eight steel discs, one for each inside and outside of all four wheels. I can't be sure (due to the sharpness of the angle and the photo), but I think I can see the spokes on the inside of the left front wheel, indicating that this may be the cheap set. A wonderful photo to be sure! Thank you for sharing it here.

I have been fortunate to know (or have known) more than a dozen Locomobile owners, ranging from steamers to the early '20s behemoths. Only ridden in a couple of them, and not yet driven one. I have been on many tours (years ago) alongside the cars, and they are impressive to follow to say the least. I only ever saw one fail to complete a tour. That was due to it having been recently put back on tours by its new owner, and two of the rather old tires failed. It just by chance happened to be a couple miles from the owner's home (tour was nearly 300 miles total!), so he drove home and finished the tour with his Wills St Clair. The funny part about it was the tour began with two Locomobiles, and one Wills St Clair, then finished with one Locomobile (a Sportif) and two Wills St Clairs. The worst thing about touring with a big Locomobile is having to buy the gasoline. Their mileage stinks! But if you can afford to buy the car? That may not be so bad. Several people I know drive their Locomobile more than any other car in their collection. If a person can afford one, and had the opportunity to get one? For either Horseless Carriage or Nickel Age touring? You can't beat a Locomobile.

Just for kicks and giggles, I googled "flying goose radiator ornament". Along with a few hundred other image results (at least half totally not what I asked about), was one almost exactly like the one Jean pictured. Unfortunately, the link provided by google went to a totally different nude goddess ornament that had been reported sold on eBad. Gotta love the computer and gamer mentality. Anything that works well, eventually they will get around to screwing it up. That is why I had to get out of cutting edge technology about fifteen years ago.

If we do not remember those that came before us? Why should anyone after us ever care that we were here?

The real value of all our antiques is how they connect us to our past, our culture, and all the history that brought us to where we are today. Hopefully, we can learn enough from that to continue to move in positive directions. It is the understanding that we can get from them that is most valuable.

Thank you for your continuing updates and reports! A wonderful vintage road/speed car, doing what it was meant to do. I continue to check in here from time to time. Again, thank you. And a beautiful countryside to enjoy pictures of as well!

Nice to see! For whatever reason one chooses to sell a collector car? Having it out and about is one of the best ways to sell it. Nothing says "this car is worthwhile" quite like it being driven and enjoyed. That should be good for the car, and for you. Thank you for posting the picture!

Most model A Fords were not black. They came in a wide variety of color combinations which varied from body style to body style, and to some extent year to year. Even whether the car was a standard or deluxe model changed the color choices for some body styles. It has been a long time since I played around with such modern cars. But years ago, there were a couple very good books available from most of the parts suppliers that gave a very good breakdown of which colors were available on which cars and when. One such book used to come with nice color chips to help. Although color chips are notoriously unreliable at conveying to the human eye how such a color will appear on a broad canvas of a car body. I believe some of those books are still available.

I absolutely agree that it is a highly modified model T Ford engine, and most likely was intended for or used in an airplane. Most likely a small Pietenpol. I don't know how many were built way back when, certainly not many by automotive standards. However apparently more than most people would think. There is also a restored plane (that I believe was flown a couple decades ago!) on display in the model T Museum located in Richmond Indiana. The Museum is the result of the combined efforts of both major national Model T Clubs and their many members that donate time, money, and treasures to a worthy cause. I am not begging for donations, just passing on more information about a little-known area of model T and automotive history. There also is a Pietenpol association with an annual fly-in. Most of the flying planes are model A engine based slightly larger models. But I have read reports in several years of their fly-ins, and usually a couple of the smaller model T based planes also participate. That is an incredible engine! It definitely needs to be preserved and displayed in some good place.

ERA, Thank you for the additional history of this fine automobile. I look at some listings of interesting and early cars for sale because I like them, and enjoy reading about them. I wish I could be in the market for such cars, but that is not likely to happen. I rarely comment on "for sale" advertisements, but when I saw the name, and recognized the face in the two older photos, I wanted to say something about it. I feel the specific history of such an automobile adds so much to it. All antique and true classic automobiles help to connect us to our own histories, and help us develop an appreciation for what we have today. Very special cars with specific histories do so even better. Good luck with your sale! Also, I hope you are doing well with your MS. I have had several friends with that condition. One I lost many years ago when he died way too young from a rare early onset form of the illness. A few others, have done very well and are continuing to enjoy moderately active full lives in spite of the disease. I bid you to do so well also. And believe me, personal attitude is very important. Be well!

For whatever it is worth, the 1910 two cylinder Fuller (with Davis engine) that I used to have had Mott front and rear axles that looked a lot like these. I no longer have the car, so I cannot go measure them. I sure wish I did still have that car.

Incredible automobile! And such a piece of history. The one, the only, Raymond Mays from the famous (and almost unbelievable!) photograph driving the three wheeled Bugatti! Everyone reading this should make the connection and know what I am talking about.

Interesting touring car rear body section. It may be pretty tough to identify. Likely somewhere between 1914 and 1925 based upon the style and construction. Medium to large size car based upon door and fender relationships. The body was steel over wood framework, with a wooden "tack strip" over the top of the body steel for the upholstery (and maybe folding top?) to tack onto. Is there any more of it? Front section or rear doors perhaps? Are the bottom areas of the metal salvageable? Way back when, it was common for cars more than a few years old to have the rear section of the body removed and replaced by a simple box for an early day pickup truck. This may be the cast aside rear section of such a truck. Even if the actual manufacturer of the body section cannot be identified? It still may be of some value. There would have been dozens of cars with similar body lines and dimensions that such a section could be adapted for a good quality restoration. And when I speak of "value", I generally refer to the historic value, its usefulness in completing a restoration of a historic vehicle. The dollar value, with some exceptions, is usually very small for parts like those.

Keiser31 probably just walked in the front door!

oldcarfudd, Yes they did! They were also more of a long oval shape, and slanted, but the '16 (brass radiator) and early '17 (black radiator) both had small framed glass windows in the sides of their folding tops. I think such windows are quite distinctive and a mark of that short era that should be fully preserved whenever possible. I have a good friend that has a Pierce Arrow (1918 I think) that has small triangular shaped framed glass windows in the side of the rear top. They are said to be original from when the car was new, and he is quite proud of them. As for all the various TV show people hawking their "classic cars"? I met Jay Leno many years ago. He is a true to his heart antique automobile guy, and extremely knowledgeable! I wish I could have gotten to know him more. (He and I talked antique cars , his and mine, for more than five minutes before I realized who he was!) All of the rest I have seen on TV, in person, or in interviews? I wouldn't care to ever meet again. And I rarely ever watch their shows.

Daytona Olds? I am familiar with the Oldsmobile Pirate, but this is not it. The Pirate used two Oldsmobile one cylinder engines joined together. This car appears to have a longer wheel base relative to track and wheel size, as well as lower and substantially different suspension. I have seen several original photos of the Pirate, and although there are similarities (mostly early, spindly, and crude) with a single centered seat, none of the Pirate photos I have seen looked like this. There were a few similar early racing cars built, but none as famous as the Pirate. Did Oldsmobile build a different car called the Daytona? I certainly don't claim to know everything (although I wish I did know everything). I used to like several threads on the HAMB. A lot of excellent discussions of early racing history. But I haven't been back since they "upgraded" their site a couple years ago, and my limited "not quite a DSL line" could no longer handle the downloads. (I hate computer people!)