Modeleh

I would just like to say thank you to the AACA and the moderators who provide and maintain this great forum, you are all doing a fine job and the evidence is in the popularity of this site. Now if the squeaky wheels could just go somewhere else for their grease, don’t go away mad, just...

I would replace the HO lamp holders with t8 tombstones rather than replacing the fixtures. Search amazon for lamp tombstone. Beautiful shop BTW, you’re a lucky man to have found it.

There’s an ass for every seat. What I mean by this is the car hobby is large enough to accommodate a nearly unlimited imagination to modifications. Some people will love what you have done and others will cringe. It’s my personal belief that the less modifications you make, there will be a larger number of people who would actually want to own it.

I would say the boiler water level gauge on 1899 Locomobiles which was located on the right side of the driver below the seat. It was viewed through a mirror on the toe board that faced back to it. Also the boiler pressure and fuel tank pressure gauges. I’m sure other steam carriages that predate 1899 would likely have similar instruments but I have no experience with anything older. sorry just realized the original question was asking for first speedometer and tachometer.

Thanks supercargirl, I enjoyed the article.

Not exactly a dream car, but I found this Dodge postal van this year and had to bring it home. As I’ve said before it’s amazing how many rare and unusual vehicles can be found on Vancouver Island. This one had been stored inside for over 30 years. My plan is to make a personal food truck, a home for my popcorn machine, hotdog machine, and mini donut machine. I plan to give it a Disney look with sleepy eyes and call it Dough-mater

What a great photo! Looks like your typical carpenter trying to be a mechanic. I’m sure similar displays are still being performed by carpenters today! Almost looks like there’s another saw laying lengthwise on the hood. Perhaps he’s trying to straighten a bent steering component or pop a suspension part back into place. Whatever he’s doing he’s got the attention of the little chubby kid to the left who looks like he’s getting ready to throw a rock at the car.

Good point regarding the high horsepower trend of the latest EVs. My father, a long time (3 different) Prius owner recently bought a dual motor Tesla. He’s in his 70s. Being an electrical engineer these cars are right up his alley, but like many engineers he views the world differently than regular people, often missing the obvious. I really doubt that he even realizes that the absurd power of the Tesla results in a rather inefficient car, the whole reason he was driving the Priuses for low cost per mile use. Would the Tesla be more efficient and have a longer range if it had a smaller engine and thus a lighter car? Yes but they’re selling these things on the performance, the zero to 60 times and so on. Would they be as popular if they were focused strictly on efficiency? I doubt it. This Mustang EV is jumping on the same bandwagon. My daily driver is a 1990 VW 1.6 diesel with 69hp. A car built with efficiency in mind. I paid $1500 for it 5 years ago and it has cost about $400 in maintenance for about 100,000 kms of use. Cars like this aren’t built anymore so I will try and keep it going as long as I can. So many consumer products now are energy wasteful. More power than needed to do the job. Houses used to have 100amp main services then 200, now many are built with twin 200 amp panels. Maybe efficiencies of certain things has got better over the years but it seems like most of us are using way more energy than necessary.

I use straight pine sol in mine. It’s a very good carb cleaner and also will strip paint. I found this trick on a motorcycle forum a few years ago and apparently model toy soldier collectors use it for removing paint without damaging the details of the tiny models.

I live on the west coast of Canada but I just had to put my two cents in and recommend strongly to make the trip to San Antonio. It’s a wonderful city and I think it’s a must see for everyone to visit. Lots to see and do and if the car turns out to be a dud, the trip was still worth it. We stayed at the Drury hotel on the Riverwalk, which was a state bank building built in 1929. They even have a Model A sedan in the grand Art Deco styled lobby. Take your wife on a trip and just happen to go view an old car for sale while you’re there, you can’t lose.

One other feature of the monkey wrench is the hammer pad designed into it on the back side of the jaws. The bottom picture of bloo’s post shows that. I use a Ford wrench daily in my job as a millwright and often have guys want to borrow it, they are useful for holding hydraulic cylinder rods and clevises in tight spots where the angled head of a combination wrench or crescent wrench just won’t fit.

The TV auction shows seem to favour the word “tribute” over fake, recreation, kit car, replica, etc. I agree with the previous post that said if the car never left the factory that way then it can be described by any one of those previously mentioned terms. And I agree that they are not necessarily disparaging terms. In some ways it allows an owner to enjoy a car that otherwise may be too valuable to use in a less careful manner.

Another seller who won’t put a price on something. Looks like a nice replica. https://calgary.craigslist.org/cto/d/calgary-1935-auburn-boattail-851/6992513012.html

I recently became an Edsel owner. Pretty solid, mostly original car. This car has electric wipers. I’m a little confused with what was originally available as some 58s have vacuum wipers. Another thing I read somewhere is that the early 58s could have electric wipers but then they went to vacuum? Maybe I have that backwards I can’t understand why they would go back to vacuum. Then some say that the cars had either the wiper motor under the dash or under the hood. My car has the electric motor under the hood near the master cylinder. Does anyone know the story?

They are great driving cars. And you’re right about complicated, it took me a long time to get my 62 Convertible sorted out. I learned a lot from taking on that project, like next time do a simpler car! Looks like you’re doing a great job of looking after it.

Packard here in nice condition. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/cto/d/valyermo-1955-packard-400/6990127773.html

Too many to choose from. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ctd/d/anaheim-1940-ford-standard-sedan/6999484594.html https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/los-angeles-1955-pontiac-2-door-wagon/6995309434.html https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/cto/d/chino-1941-pontiac/6997434542.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/orange-1961-ford-pickup-unibody-short/6998487674.html https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/whittier-1950-ford-shoebox/6999347731.html https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/cto/d/pasadena-1963-ford-falcon-all-original/6999702935.html A few of my choices to ponder. California has a great supply of nice old cars.

Yes that’s what we are having to do. Just that it’s easier said than done but that’s how the lions share of the restoration was done. Sorry I don’t have a photo of one as we don’t have any to photograph or copy. For those who aren’t familiar with igniters they are essentially like a set of large ignition points that fit into the cylinder each one operated by a pushrod from a camshaft to a trip lever on the igniter mechanism to open and close the contacts to create a spark gap. Most engines were converted to spark plugs early on like the similar 1907 Fiat of the Larz Anderson collection. After finding out about that car I was hopeful we would have a similar system to copy but the curator told me it was converted to spark plugs around 1911 and the original parts weren’t saved. I guess my comment was more about the notion that any part can be found given enough time and money which is optimistic but I don’t believe to be true.

We’re still looking for 4 igniters for a 1906 Zust if anybody out there has any they’re using as doorstops please let me know. They are a 3 bolt pattern that mounts to each cylinder. The eureka moment was finding a low tension Bosch mag with Oil printed in three different languages on the lube cap, not an easy thing to stumble upon in British Columbia. Searching since 1980, running out of time! 😂

Yes, exactly why I used the Corvair as a comparison. The supply exceeds the demand just like Model A sedans particularly 4 doors. Someone commented that the four door A is more desirable than the Tudor, I have to disagree with, again nobody is hot rodding 4 door As but lots Tudors are still getting butchered. Also few people are restoring Fordors right now because there’s just so much extra wood in them and it’s cheaper to just buy one done, there’s lots around and little demand. The OP has proven that with his experience trying to unload his. Long story short, bodystyle matters. Unless you’re talking about a Doble or something like that, as Jay says you have to take what comes available and be lucky to find it. This is not about young people not liking old cars or the country being broke, it’s about trying to sell something with very little demand and average condition for a price that the market simply won’t bear.

Something I don’t think was mentioned yet is the fact that a significant demand for early Fords comes from the hot rod crowd. It seems the OP is valuing his Model A alongside coupes, roadsters and pickups. To a novice hobbiest that seems reasonable however you have to understand that Fordors are not desirable to hot rodders or even people who like improving the performance of a stock looking car. Model AA trucks suffer the same fate to a lesser degree but the cabs are still favored by hot rodders so they are arguably more desirable than a Fordor. Think of your car like a four door Corvair. People might get a kick out of seeing it but few want to own it. When the entry price is cheap you can still have the same amount of fun in the hobby just don’t expect much at sale time.

This thread is making less and less sense. How are you possibly running a 6hp motor on 110v single circuit? That’s nearly 4500 watts draw. If you plan to run a hot tank off a propane or gas generator it’s going to have to run continually for hours on end it’s going to be expensive and you’re expecting a lot from that old unit.

You’re better off getting a variable frequency drive from Amazon. I bought one for my 3 phase wheel balancer it was less than $300. It allows you to use 240v single phase input with 3 phase output of whatever hertz you want thereby allowing you to vary the speed of the motor. For instance you could have a variable speed drill press or bandsaw motor and not have to mess with belt sheaves for speed changes. Takes a little knowledge to get it wired up but not too bad. Go on Amazon and search Huanyang VFD. I just had an Onan 6.5kw with 201hrs since new short out the windings in my motorhome. Needless to say I’m not a fan of them.

A friend of mine who’s into old motorcycles soaks rubber parts in oil of wintergreen to soften them. I have never done it myself but if you google search “oil of wintergreen to soften rubber” there’s a recipe to dilute with water to make a soaking solution. I think he gets the oil from a health food store or that section of a drug store. Maybe those seals could be saved. I’m part Ukrainian and my wife is Dutch/Scottish what a combination. Trying to breathe new life into old junk is a bad habit but it can be rewarding.