Real Steel

Actually, poop and urine are all detrimental to paint. Dust does preserve paint. It blocks the suns UV rays. but if it gets wet, it holds the moisture onto the paint longer which, of course, is not so good.

I have or had both of those vehicles. If it was me, I would buy the correct NOS key blanks (ebay or other sources), then go talk to a lock smith.

Call me crazy, and no disrespect to The 55er, but the parts in photo 3 look too small to fit inside the wheel caps. I've never seen them, so I'm not an expert. To me they look like they fit inside a distributor cap tower (maybe?). Or are they too large to fit there? Anyway, the cleats and the center contact tip would promote good contact with the spark plug wire. On top of that, it may also be a spark booster. Again test this with an ohm meter as I posted earlier. Go from the center tip to one of the cleats. If you get several thousand ohms, then yes, its a spark booster. If so, the material itself is providing the resistance needed to boost the coil potential.

The first photo is probably a spark booster. Its basically a resistor that allows the potential to build inside the ignition coil before discharging. I'm not sure about the second photo, but it may also be a spark booster. This one may have a physical gap inside which accomplishes the same thing as above. But heck, it may be a resistor type also. You can verify this with an ohm meter. You would probably get several thousand ohms on the resister type spark boosters, and infinite ohms of the gap type.. Admittedly, its been decades since I did an ohm check on spark boosters. But, photos 1 and 2 also look a lot like radio interference reducers. So...are we all confused now?

Its interesting that the original post was at 8 PM on a Saturday night. I had a guy with a happy voice respond to a Craigslist ad at about 8 PM on a Saturday night. I think neither one of us understood what was going on.

Looks like lawn art to me. Especially if you hate your neighbors.

Dusting? I drive a 90 year old Barn-Find. Whats 'dusting'? Seriously though, I did use a similar duster a long time ago on my 1940 Cad with a super nice paint job. It sometimes left 'something' on the paint, like a streak of some sort. I stopped using it because I wasn't sure where this was headed. I sold the car, so I cant testify as to the lasting affects.

I still own just about all the classic Hot Wheels (1930's Cadillacs, Cords, Duesy, Talbot, etc) made in the 1980's. I only collected the classics that were bone stock. I was a grown man with kids, collecting Hot Wheels like I did in the 60's. Gotta love it.

Just that moment my kids walk in, "oh dad, you know you're the only one that can hear that babbitt rod knocking!"

Since he thought its worth 100K, did he then take out his wallet and offer 50K? I'm sure he could have made a killing.

Its interesting to note that this ad does not make mention of 'Balloon' tires. Therefore I would guess that this sign is a bit older than the shocks shown in post #1.

Hi everyone. I came upon this pair of 1920's Lincoln shocks. Lincoln is the manufacturer of the shocks and they were made for all cars; these are not specifically for Lincoln motor cars. They are marked with patent dates or 1919 and 1921. I'm familiar with Gabriel Snubbers of the 1920's, and these are very similar. The Gabriels that I had a few years ago were very 'experienced'; they were caked with mud, had broken webbing straps, and they were very greasy. These Lincoln shocks are the opposite. The inside of the sheet metal covers are gloss black, while the outside is satin black. The inside mechanisms function properly and the recoil springs work well, although the old grease is slowing the action down a bit. It appears that the outside of the covers were repainted by someone, but the inside look excellent...dare I say NOS unused? There is only one bolt hole to mount it. It shows the same mounting method in the 1920's Lincoln advertisement. Is this typical for these shocks? Did the shocks need 'adapter plates' to fit them to a specific application, or was that left to the installers own imagination? I know that the Gabriels came in Senior and Junior models, is that the case with these Lincolns also? Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advance!

Obviously your area does not have fuel containing ethanol and a bunch of anti-pollution ingredients. Its this same junk in the fuel that causes the rubber tips on the needle valves to deteriorate. Even Viton tips degrade over time, albeit they last a bit longer than rubber. I've rebuilt carbs for some people here in California. I do it mostly as a favor, I don't sell parts. When I take them apart those carbs tend to show issues with the needle tips, and they also have an odd yellow-like powered substance on all the fuel-contacting components (after the fuel is removed and the carb has dried out). These are carbs that were running on California fuel for only about a year. Naturally , not all carbs show the exact same symptoms, but I do see a trend. When possible, I rebuild using a 2- ball type float valve, and I emphasize the use of Marvel Oil in the gas. Its a method that has worked for me for many years.

Yeah, I liked it on my 1940 Cadillac too, and my 1936 Chevy, and my 1953 Ford, and my 1929 Hudson, and my 1925 Dodge Brothers, and my 1930 Ford, and there were some more. A couple of those I had to make adapters though, because I couldn't find the valves anywhere...too many people just tossing them out I guess(?).

Have you run them on other cars? Which cars, and were did you get them? I think there are folks out there that want to find them too.

Its important to pick the correct orifice size when purchasing the valves. Most folks cant do that correctly, then they end up blaming the parts supplier. This is a very familiar tune to all the suppliers of parts out there. Like I said, its an awareness problem.

- I've sourced them from eBay as NOS. - I also made 'adapters' to make other Grose-Jet valves fit my application. - Some specialty suppliers carry new ones, ie: for Ford Model A Zenith carbs. The original Grose-Jet valves are getting scarce. Many vintage owners don't even know these valves were available at one time, or know that repops are available for some cars. Due to this awareness issue, there aren't many being made anymore, and because there aren't many out there, there are few people spreading the word. Its a vicious circle. If I had the capital, I would create a company to serve the vintage car market...its all about proper advertising and social media (like this forum). After the word got out, the valves speak for themselves. I've never worn one out or had it leak. Here is an application chart from the original Grose-Jet company: http://www.97330.com/GroseJet_id_sheets/D&G_valve_mfg_co_inc.html Good luck finding a valve for your application!

I usually use a 2-ball Grose-Jet type float valve. They don't leak, even with low head pressure. I'm using one now on a 1930 Ford pickup (uses a gravity feed fuel tank), and I recently used the same type of valve on a 1924 and 1925 Dodge Brothers cars (uses a vacuum tank feed). I've used these types of valves since the 1970's. I surely miss Mr Grose and his D&G Valve Manufacturing Company, but there are other manufacturers out there today that make the same type of steel and brass 2- ball float valves.

Trying a different angle here: Second-sourcing key components for products is just good business practice. It could be that Packard was considering Zenith for their cars, but that's a risky change for a company with a reputation like Packards. They would be much more willing to play with a smaller product line, like the Marine division, rather than risk the flagship car division. This same practice is used in almost every business that exists today, so its not so hard to imagine Packard doing it too.

I agree with you Lump, its hard to even find any photos on the internet of cars with an after-market Winterfront (exept the 1932 Fords). From what I can tell there are a few reasons for their scarcity.: 1. They have terrible mechanical hysteresis. Lack of oil on all those moving pivots makes it even worse. 2. They were slow sellers, especially during the great depression. Then they had poor survivability on top of that. 3. Owners of vintage cars today want to keep their cars "pure" (despite the many non-factory restoration parts on their car). 4. Some folks aggressively push their opinion that they're ugly and useless. I don't really 'need' a winterfront on my pickup, especially here in southern California, even though my truck always runs too cool (never higher than 160 on the hottest summer days). In the winter, my pickup runs darn cold, which of course, is not so good for the motor. Sometimes I have to use radiator air dams just to get anywhere near a decent temp. However, I do like to tinker and fiddle with vintage tech and skills that are nearly lost. The after-market winterfronts were not unusual in their day, yet today they are almost unknown, and as you pointed out, they're not really acknowledged by the collector car crowd.

T Thanks for your almost unbelievable in-depth perspective. I don't mind original period correct accessories, IMHO. I like rare oddball antiques, both on and off a car, IMHO. Ever meet a 1932 Ford owner with a Pines Winterfront...he likes it, IMHO. You must have many wall-hangers, but I tend to finish and use my stuff, but thats just IMHO. I would never, ever let someone else's opinion influence what I drive or what I like...otherwise I would drive a Prius, IMHO

I've been tinkering with a very decent original Pines Winterfront radiator shutter assembly for my 1930 Ford pickup. Its not ready for installation yet because I'm not a big fan of the massive mechanical hysteresis in this thing. I've been toying a bit with springs and adjustments and I'm getting close to finishing it. As I think about mounting it this winter season, I wonder who else is running a Winterfront type system. Now, I'm not talking about the automatic or manual shutter systems that were installed at the factory on several prewar cars, but I am talking about the add-on systems typically made for just about all cars by Pines and other manufacturers. Who is running an after-market Winterfront-type shutter system?

What the blazes is all that oil doing in the clutch of my Hudson??

If you are using an OEM-type 3-coil mechanical regulator, then this may apply. If you are using a more modern solid-state regulator, then never mind. It sounds like the 3rd coil (battery cut-off) may be sticking closed, or has another method of maintaining contact (conductive debris at the points or something similar). It could also be that the coil spring tension is adjusted slightly off. If this is what's happening, the battery would stay connected to your generator after you turn the engine off. This causes the GEN light to go on. Please be aware that if this is whats happening, your battery could be draining...fast. This is a real fire danger. When the RPM is low, the 3rd coil points should open if your generator output is too low, so again, the GEN light will go on. Fickering is very common for these type of systems. That's my guess at this point, so- 1. Until you know for sure what the problem is, and because it could be a fire hazard, disconnect the battery when the car is not running. 2. Open the regulator case and visually inspect the coil contacts (points). Does the 3rd coil tend to stay closed? Is there any debris? 3. If faulty, fix the issue, but only if you know what you are doing! Otherwise, get another regulator. Diagnosing via internet is slippery slope. Electrical is even tougher. Good luck.

Well then. ..that answers that. Ask a silly question, and get a, well...you know. I'll be leaving now to play with my stem.