TheYorkBell
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Posts posted by TheYorkBell
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Really hope you can find someone to take this, would hate to she it goes for scrap. I’d grab it in a heart beat just to save it if I wasn’t 800mi + away.
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Try calling John Fowlie @ Big M Automotive out in CA. He specializes in Forward look Mopars and probably has what you need here.
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1 hour ago, playswithbrass said:
Simcoe County Museum in Ontario? If that is the Barrie Bell
The one Restorer32 is talking about is the original Bell to be found (the one used for reference in restoring the Barrie Bell). The original is still in York someone in a private collection.
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14 hours ago, Restorer32 said:
Who owns the '17 Bell we restored now? We lost track of it.
I’m not sure. I was told by a friend of mine that it’s still in York as he had transported it to a show for the guy a few years ago. I don’t remember if he told me the name though.
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This thread was created to allow for all of those who are interested to follow along in my research and restoration efforts for my 1918 Bell Motor Car.
How this project all started:
I was scrolling through Facebook one day in may 2016 when I came across photos from an upcoming estate auction posted in one of the car groups I follow. There were some interesting old cars in the photos, but what stuck out to me was the photo of the data tag for a Bell Motor Car of York, Pa. This caught my eye very quickly being that I have lived most of my life in York.
The post I had stumbled upon had no link to the auction listing and was eventually taken down for some reason, so I had to do some digging before I found the original auction listing - June 25th, 2016 in Mifflinburg, Pa., only a couple hours from me - I had about a month to wait to see if I could make the car mine (and come up with as much savings as possible as I was 22 and still in college at the time).
I found out a couple weeks prior that my family had a prior engagement up in New York on the same day as the auction (upsetting to me as I really wanted to be there in person). So, June 25th came and there I was, in car on the way up to New York with my family, instead of at the auction. Luckily for me though, the auction had live online bidding (such a saving grace)!! I was watching on my phone from the start, praying that the Bell lot would not come up when I had bad signal - when it got close I loaded the auction on both my phone and my dad's phone, just in case one stopped working, I had made up my mind that this car was going to be mine. Then finally, the Bell lot came up. Initially, bidding jumped right over my pre-bid amount. I watched as I'd click bid and then be out bid again, so I put in the max I could afford and hoped for the best. The hammer call came across the online bidding and then the screen moved onto the next lot - I frantically clicked back to see the result, I had WON! I was so excited and couldn't wait to see my site unseen purchase when we got back!
Next week came, auction items paid for, it was time to pickup my car! With my worn out 76 Dodge D100 and a borrowed trailer I travelled up to Mifflinburg to collect my winnings (Yes, I also bought a really smashed MG from the auction and we did not do great with weight distribution on the trailer).
Now here we are 7 years later and unfortunately the car does not really look any different from what you see in these photos. However, I have been able to track down a few parts such as an engine/transmission and a radiator emblem.
And though this project has not made as much progress as I would have liked in the last few years it has enabled me to meet some really great, knowledgeable, and encouraging people and I think that's part of what makes this hobby so great!
More info/updates and pictures to follow.
**Please see my other posts regarding parts I am looking for (just search "Bell Motor Car" in the forum search) - right now I'm concentrated on finding a good donor chassis**
Thanks for following along in this adventure!!
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Figured I'd bump this post back up to the top - have learned a lot over the last few years, but still a lot I don't know.
Biggest thing we have found out is that my Bell appears to be a 1918 model manufactured after The Bell Motor Company acquired the Pullman factory and much of the leftover goods at the bankruptcy sale. This leads us to believe my Bell is actually made from a leftover 1917 Pullman car body (the photo below from the Library of Congress shows a 1917 Pullman and the body is spot on for my Bell).
With all that being said I am looking for some more photos/literature to help me figure out the most accurate way to piece this car back together. I am looking for an original copy of the 1918 Bell Sales brochure (or at least a high resolution copy of one) like the one I have attached in the photos (sold on ebay years ago). If you are or know the owner of this piece of ephemera PLEASE reach out to me.
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I have created an Instagram Account to begin posting updates of my research and restoration progress. If you would like to follow look up TheYorkBell_1918 (https://www.instagram.com/theyorkbell_1918/) on instagram and give us a follow. For those of you not on social media who would like to follow the car's progress - I will be creating a post here on the forum that I will update as well.
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Hello All,
I am still looking to purchase a chassis for my 1918 Bell Motor Car Project.
What I am looking for is an era correct chassis (that is as complete as possible). I would prefer to stay away from cars that are mostly complete/repairable projects as I do not want to ruin a good car in order to fix mine. Any questions please comment below or send me a private message.
Required Characteristics of the Chassis are:
- Era correct
- 114" Wheel Base
- Straight/Flat frame rails (no bump up over rear axle)
- Include front and rear axles with hubs
Preferred Characteristics (but NOT required):
- Cantilever Style rear springs (picture below for reference)
- Rolling Chassis/ Has Wheels
- Steering assembly
Thank you in advance for any help/leads.
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On 9/8/2023 at 3:53 PM, TheYorkBell said:
Thank you, I just sent you an email. Much appreciated!
Just sent a follow up - I found someone local to you who could pick up for me sooner than I could.
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3 hours ago, wmtunate said:
Seems like we're both in the same boat. We both don't have a high enough post count to send each other a message. You can contact me through my CL ad though. https://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/pts/d/plymouth-1918-dort-touring-car-frame/7663530084.html
Thank you, I just sent you an email. Much appreciated!
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11 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:
Chic-fil-a is a great tip, and Jersey Mike's would be awesome, they are both generally considered "safe" gluten free restaurants, something Mrs. Mack absolutely must have. We are likely bringing our own food for the most part, for that reason, but the Chic-fil-a tip is something we will check into. Do you know if they are in the Giant center or a truck?
Last time I was there Chick-Fil-a was setup in a truck out in front of the Giant Center.
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Hello, I'm very interested in this frame for my 1918 Bell Motor Car project - Could you please private message me (its saying I can't send you a message) as I'd rather not post my phone number out on the forum.
Thank you,
- J
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Hey everyone! I'm looking for a chassis for my early car build. Does anyone have anything they would be willing to sell? This is what I'm looking for:
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Era: 1915-1920ish
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114" Wheel Base
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Cantilever style rear springs
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The more complete the chassis the better (no body needed, I do not want to tear apart a restorable car)
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The closer to York, Pa the better but I am willing to travel or arrange shipping if needed
Please message or comment with what you have. Thank you all in advance!
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Hi Tom,
I was not able to make to the auction but I did bid on the items online, however I bid as much as I could afford and lost both lots, not sure who ended up winning them, I just know it was a floor bidder.
As for the restoration, I have not made much progress, I recently purchased a home so most of my funds have been tied up in that. Hoping to get some things sold off this year and focus more on the Bell. I will probably create another thread documenting progress on it once I have time.
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57 minutes ago, ksbortner said:
Its a real shame the Bell car will be leaving York. Another piece of York history gone. First the Meisenhelder, then 1908 and 1910 Pullmans and now the Bell.
It is sad. On the bright side, I live in the York area so my Bell will be staying local. And I've already decided if I moved out of the area I would try to put the car on loan at the York Industrial Museum (provided it is complete enough at that point to do so).
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1 hour ago, Restorer32 said:
The York Industrial Museum, now the York Heritage Trust, has nothing Bell related. We picked their brains while restoring the Barrie Bell. We even tramped thru their warehouse. I knew there were some early parts stashed there but they turned out to be Sphinx parts (another York built car) and were of no use. Fred Rosenmiller may be of some help but I believe we have copies of everything he might have. When we began the restoration of the York Bell we contacted Harrah's Museum. They still had a research dept then. They sent us a letter listing owners of 5 Bell automobiles. All 5 were the previous owners of our car. There is a Bell radiator emblem in the Smithsonian, several in the Swigert Museum and Fred Rosenmiller had 2, one we used on his car and another in very bad shape. I've never seen any others. Your best resource, quite honestly, and I don't mean it to sound like I'm bragging, is me. You need to call Fred and find out who now owns the Bell and see how amenable they are to your taking pictures, making measurements, etc. Yours may be a different year and model but lacking any additional year specific info the only thing you have to go on is the car we restored.
I talked with Fred briefly before leaving Hershey. He told me the current owner is in negotiations with the Boyertown Museum as they are looking at purchasing the car. I did not get much other information from him as he was busy packing things up into his trailer.
I appreciate all of the help you have given me thus far, and I'm sure I will have more questions for you in the future as this project progresses.
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1 hour ago, F&J said:
The Big Book by Kimes/Clark shows what must be incorrect model number designations. That book shows two digits in each model which is the year. The mystery tag shows more of an "cylinder count and HP" ?
From what I have found it appears from 1916-1919 model years the model number was designated by the last two digits of the year. Later models were designated by three digit number the first being the number of cylinders. The second two I am not so sure about, it doesn't appear to be horsepower as the ads I have found say the car had 36hp. I have also found an ad for a Bell "four-thirty" that furthers my assumption that it's not referring to horse power.
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10 hours ago, dibarlaw said:
Have you tried the York Industrial Museum? Many people who know Pullman's may have information about the Bell. I am in Chambersburg. Please keep us informed.
Hi dibarlaw,
Thank you for the reply, I have been to the museum but that was before I had actually purchased the car. I am planning on going back to see if they have any resources or information that may help.
44 minutes ago, TerryB said:I think Restorer32 on this forum has restored one. Send him a PM.
Terry
Hi Terry,
Thank you for the reply. Yes, he has (provided he is who I believe he is). I have already talked with him and he gave me all of the information he had, albeit not much more than I already had due to the fact that there is little info available. The Bell he worked on is also a different model than the one I have so I unfortunately cannot just look to it to figure out how mine goes back together.
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Hello All.
Over the summer I purchased this Bell Motor Car at an estate auction in Mifflinburg, Pa. There is not much in terms of parts to the car. I have the body (minus one door), the seats, most of the top frame, and what I am hoping is one front and one rear fender that actually belong to the car. I have also recently purchased a 4cyl Herschell Spillman engine for the car. I am looking to put this car back together so I am looking for any information or pictures anyone may have as I have pretty well exhausted my search online. First things first, I need to figure out what the exact year of the car is so I can have it titled properly here in PA (we are thinking it's a 1921 model, but I would like to be sure) . I have attached a picture of the data plate which reads Car No: 14102 Model: 4 32.
Some background info on what I have found so far. The Bell Motor Car company was located in York, Pa and existed from 1915-1921. The company was more of an assembler than a producer (they built the bodies and bought the rest of the parts (engine, trans, etc.) elsewhere). There are two other Bell cars known to exist, one up in Barrie Ontario Canada (as Barrie Carriage company was licensed to produce Bell bodies), and one in York, Pa. Both of those cars are 1917 models and the bodies are slightly different from the one I own. I have found some old ads and some information surfing the web but not much solid information to go off of so if anyone out there happens to have some old pictures of the car, factory, old ads, or any pertinent information please let me know.
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Cadillac LaSalle late 1920s chassis
in Parts For Sale
Posted
Looks like it’s in southern Wisconsin