Car Geek

If you can't find any place very local try Wengers of Myerstown, 251 S Race St, Myerstown, PA 17067. It's not too far from Lancaster, price is great and their turnaround time is very fast.

The Buick Heritage Alliance has a copy of that Instruction Book in their collection here at the AACA Library. Are your pages as white as they appear in the photos or do they have more of yellowish color? Is the cover paper somewhat textured? How about the spine staples - are they showing any sign of rust?

I had that same conversation and I am very happy with the Carter. One day I hope to make a lamp out of my old Marvel carb. Here's a picture of my modified throttle linkage. I'd be curious to know how quickly (if at all) an engine loses it's prime after it's been run. I let my car sit all winter and I never re-prime the lines before the spring startup. Of course, before my 1st start after rebuild, I primed my lines at least 4 times because I wanted to be certain there was oil in there!

Gary, did you prime your oil lines yet? I primed mine with a cordless drill with a cold chisel in the chuck. You could use the long shaft of a straight-slot screwdriver too, but I didn't want to destroy a screwdriver and the cold chisel I used had a nice, wide blade. Counterclockwise would be the correct rotation direction.

Doug, I see that you are local so the easiest thing to do would be to visit us in person. When you arrive you simply tell us what you're looking for and we will track it down. If you don't already have a list of PA manufacturers, we can get you one. Our library is a closed stack system so we will pull boxes and folders for you. Our literature files will contain sales literature, ads, manuals, photos and usually some periodical articles as well. Our Dunwoodie files will contain a large amount of periodical copies from contemporary sources. In addition to traditional automobile manufacturers, we will also have files on race events, tracks, coach builders, auto shows and more. You can stay all day if you'd like, we are open Monday-Saturday 8am-4pm. The only thing you will pay for when you visit us on site will be photocopies or scans. Visiting the library is pretty painless. See you soon! -Chris Chris Ritter, Librarian AACA Library & Research Center

Joe, see the attached pictures. The black & white image comes from the 1937 & 1938 Fisher Body Manual of Construction and Service. The other photos are of the actual package shelf. This shelf was given to me by a man who purchased it for his 1936 Buick -- it didn't fit. For '37 and '38 applications I believe the entire shelf replaces the existing flat plywood between the cabin and trunk. I haven't looked to closely yet how it attaches. The gray wood attached on the back of the shelf was just used when the shelf was shipped to me. I haven't seen any Buick literature from 1936-1938 that shows the shelf as an option in business coupes. I think I've seen a picture in '37 Pontiac literature but I can't track it down at the moment. -Chris

I cut an old inner tube to fit on my '37.

Hi Matt, no luck at Bob's and when I reach out to Dave I do it by postal mail. I was hoping for a quick turnaround. Today I've been emailing a clip manufacturer and I think they may be able to help me out. Thanks!

Hello, I am looking for round open wire circle clips to secure the bushings in my 1937 Buick Special u-joint. Diameter of the bushing is .950” and the clip channel is measuring .088” wide with a .042" depth. I believe the wire clips should have an inside diameter of .866” and a ring width of .088”. I only need four – can anyone recommend a vendor who might carry these? I've already tried NAPA, Fastenal, MSC, Grainger, McMaster Carr. One transmission supply company will sell me the whole u-joint assembly but not just the clips. I suppose I could buy music wire, a pin and make my own but..... Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it. -Chris

John, I appreciate you looking out for me but, as Tom (TG) pointed out, it's cool to be a "geek" these days. I've been called much worse! :-). Call me whatever you want but I do know that I am lucky to be part of a great team spreading the word about the old car hobby to an international audience. I can echo Tom Cox's comments too that all constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as we think about future seasons. All of the episodes for season 1 are fully edited and composed as Velocity requested, and, spoiler alert, there's more music in future episodes! If the music is THAT distracting just start dancing - you can thank me for the exercise next time we meet at an AACA event. Thanks to everyone for watching and supporting the show! Chris

+1 on Fastenal. Fast, friendly & affordable.

PM Sent :-)

Kaycee -- give the library a call. We can easily get you a copy of that brochure. (717) 534-2082 -Chris

K8096, if you ever get a chance to take a picture please post the modern day photo here for comparison. I love "then & now" shots.

Bob, the "Pomona" photo also has the same "Banning" banner hanging in the street. Interesting & I will update the Greyhound binder. There is a '37 Buick in front of the Austin terminal. I believe the Pomona/Banning photo features a '36 Buick.

I recently found a scrapbook containing photographs of Greyhound Bus terminals. Most of the photos were undated but the cars can certainly provide great clues. There are a few pictures shown here and each was interesting to me because of the architecture and the cars in the background. See all 20 images here: http://cargeekjournal.com/?p=1845 Austin, TX (1937): Cleveland, OH (undated): Pomona, CA (mid-1930s): San Antonio (undated): St. Louis (1929):

In this undated photo we see Pierce-Arrow workers working in and around a body jig. Photo is part of the Pierce-Arrow Society holdings housed at the AACA Library, Hershey, PA. http://cargeekjournal.com/?p=1732

Hi Denny, The library does not have records on individual vehicles so we would have no way of giving you a history on your car. What we have includes sales literature, shop manuals, technical bulletins, photographs, etc. If any of this is interesting to you simply fill out the Research Request Form on our website www.aacalibrary.org -Chris

As a side note, my library did some research for an auction company that was selling the original Founders Week Cup back in 2009. Here is the trophy listed in their catalog. The trophy sold for $110,000+ buyers premium.

Yes, here I sit with egg all over my face. That car is indeed a Lozier racing in the first Fairmont Park Motor Race in 1908. I originally found the picture in our Vanderbilt Cup file. The back of the photo reads "Acme Car" and upon close inspection of the handwritten race note it read "Fairmont Park". I then tracked down Michael J. Seneca's book The Fairmont Park Motor Races: 1908-1911 and found the same photograph on page 34 with a caption that reads "Ralph Mulford's No. 17 Lozier kicks up the dust as it speeds along the park course". Acme did have an entrant in the 1908 Fairmont Park race & it was driven to second place by Cyrus Patchke. The Lozier finished 3rd. Attached here is the cover of an original program for the second Fairmont Park race and also a page showing the 1908 winners. Sorry for the screw up & thanks for keeping me honest!! -Chris

That's right 89tc, the races were on Long Island.

A 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen is pulled out of a barn in Ocala, FL, March 1, 1948.

Yeah, I found the guy on Ebay but Collectors Auto can provide the same stuff for $40. Still pricey in my opinion but that is part of the fun I suppose.

Liberty Bond rally in the Dodge Brothers factory, circa 1918.

Hi Frank, see the attached image. It will give you the info you are looking for plus a whole lot more! -Chris