Locomobile
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Posts posted by Locomobile
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31 minutes ago, padgett said:
that was on Autobiography: 5 minute of interest and 55 minutes of fluff, repeats, lawyers, and pills that "may cause death". 3X is good.
Exactly why I cancelled cable TV in 2007. The lady on the phone warned me ''You're gonna miss the Sopranos!" I laughed and replied ''Fahget about it''.
Now when I hear cable TV playing it's like a file on my nerve endings. Those that are used to it do not realize how abrasive and void of content it is. And too there is the continual social engineering drive.
Ron
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Around Detroit, with all the cars rivers lakes and people, these underwater finds are pretty common.
One that always sticks with me and when I tell it now people look at me like I'm spinning one, however I did run in to one aged gent that remembered it a while back and even had the newspaper clipping from it.
The very narrow mostly shallow Rouge river runs right past the Ford Rouge complex and out to the Detroit river. Around 1974 at the height of the environmental movement cleanup, the Rouge river was targeted by the Army Corp of Engineers. The Rouge was extremely dirty, it reportedly had a deep layer of toxic sludge at the bottom, and on the surface it always looked like black ink. The Corp came in and basically removed everything but dirt and lined the whole bottom with Concrete. It is much cleaner today with EPA control.
Near one of the bridges they were dredging out and found a car. It was reportedly a 1936 Chevrolet, there were three bodies in it! There was an old missing persons case from the late 30's, a man and two women left a bar in Melvindale (Known as "Smellvindale" as it's a suburb just west of the Rouge) and vanished. Apparently they drove off the bridge in the middle of the night and plunged in and the sludge came in around the doors and they couldn't get out. The river was so filthy no one ever noticed any oil or gasoline on the surface. Under water for 40 years just below the surface and millions people went past within a few feet and never noticed.
Ron
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My 1901 locomobile Style 3 was $900
Style 2 $750
Some I recall:
71 Cutlass $3800
71 Skylark $4350
Same year Pinto $1919
vega was around $2100
65 impala $1800
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Why don't we bring the matter full circle and in line with the status quo here. No steam cars were ever Presidents' vehicles and they did have a fleet of Pierce Arrows, but only drove the far superior Baker electric vehicle to virtue signal to their base 110 years later. 😁 That better?
Here ya go and this is a very reliable source of information.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/william-howard-taft-car_n_4803119
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24 minutes ago, zepher said:
That quote didn't come from that page? They mention Wilson had a Pierce arrow ten years later? I've ran across the first Presidents first car subject several times, not once was a Pierce Arrow ever mentioned. Some web articles are not accurate. The White steamer was highly regarded then as it is now. They were very good reliable cars.
Ron
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1 hour ago, TerryB said:
What president had the first White House auto? What make was it?
Taft, White steamer. The Whitehouse had a whole fleet. Some sources say Teddy Roosevelt but I'm pretty sure it was Taft
He had a valve under his seat he could open and blow steam out under both running boards to repel borders.
Ron
Looked it up, Taft had the first official President's car, a model M White steamer. Roosevelt had ridden in one as President, but they don't count it as first Presidents car.
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The big stationary hit and miss engines, they roll them around once on the cylinder prime, then back the engine up to a few degrees past top dead center, then hit the spark. A guy I know outside Detroit has a whole collection in several buildings, some of them are enormous.
Ron
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42 minutes ago, Ed Luddy said:
My 1st "Pony Car" was the same! 1967 Firebird 326 2 speed column shift. Slowww off the line but still had the look.
My buddy had a 68 Firebird with a Pontiac 400 jn it. Car was a dog, one day we set out to figure out why and found out. We knew it had high rearend in it, but we figured out It had a throttle restrictor on it from the factory, the back barrels were barely opening . We got rid of that and she'd run a hole in the wind. That was a great time to play with cars, late 60's thru the 70's
From what I remember about mostly stock cars and street racing was Mopar pretty much dominated that whole thing along with very few from the others, 68-9 Z28, the Mach1 429 Boss Cobra jet, were some of the fastest that I recall. 1970..it was pretty much over with.
Ron
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On 12/10/2018 at 11:56 AM, lump said:
And it also suggests that someone suspected that your dad's car was a Z28 or other high performance model, and was looking for a way to prove it. So perhaps it still had its original GM 4-piston disc brakes on front, 3/8" single fuel line, multi-leaf rear springs, rear bumper guards, and perhaps a factory tach with 6,000 rpm redline in the dash, among other features which are part of the Z28 pkg.
This being the case, you might want to try and get it bought BEFORE revealing that your dad first owned it...especially if he still has any documentation like a Protecto-Plate, build sheet, invoice, window sticker, or a service dept receipt with an imprint from the Protecto-Plate!
It's extremely difficult to prove that a 1968 Z28 is authentic without those things, unless it still has its original numbers-matching drivetrain in untouched condition. But the fact that your dad bought it new WOULD serve as irrefutable evidence...especially for him!
Good luck.
Digging back in my memory here. didn't they use the special 302cid displacement engine in those, had like 16:1 comp ratio? That 68Z was a very desirable car amongst us teenagers, rare to see one, most were just stock Camaro's. I had a 67 Firebird with a 326, fun car, but a dog off the line with that two-speed. Ghetto cruiser.
Ron
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On 12/9/2018 at 3:23 PM, Cravensvt said:
I'm hunting for my dad's 1968 Camaro. I have the invoice from when he picked it up from the dealer. So I have the serial number but no details from the car after he sold it in 1970.
Any suggestions on where I should start my search?
Thanks!
That information apparently exists somewhere, but authority or ability to motivate the state to access it may be nearly impossible. Very often, FBI link very old crime suspects to particular vehicles if they still exist and even collect forensic evidence. The states in my experience, keep everything, the key is finding it.
A 68 Camaro in Ohio, probably rusted away and scrapped. Even if you could get the state to help, I'd put the chance at finding it in the 5% range.
Your might try writing an article for the Cleveland paper, a nice human interest story. That would most likely get the right parties looking into it if they are willing.
Ron
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On 7/3/2018 at 2:07 PM, Matt Harwood said:
I hate hearing stories like that, but apparently it's common. Wealthy guys with unreasonable expectations seem to stiff their restoration shops all the time. Why would they do that? Those are the very guys you will need to keep your car healthy and burning that bridge can close a lot of doors in the future. In this hobby, knowing people is how things get done and perhaps more importantly, good relationships get things done sooner. I have a good friend who is a restorer of some note and he amazes me with the tales of very wealthy guys who have him restore their Packards and Stutzes and then stiff him for thousands of dollars. What's up with that? I guess that's how rich guys get rich, but burning those bridges is very short-sighted in this hobby. Whenever I take anything to a shop to be serviced, I pay immediately and I don't haggle over the price. I want a good relationship and paying an honest guy an honest buck for his efforts doesn't seem like an extravagant way to do it.
On the other hand, perhaps it's time for restoration shops to stop letting cars leave with outstanding bills. NOTHING leaves our shop without PAID IN FULL on the invoice. Maybe it's different with sales vs. service, but after just one experience like that, I'd move finished cars to a different location and only let them leave once the bill has been paid. There's no credit in this business.
I agree fully. I've been in the retail tooling business for 20 years, nothing is shipped, released or delivered, and sometimes even built until its paid for. I bent the rules once for a very well known and respected college on a seven thousand dollar order, it took me six months to get paid. Never again.
If they want credit, go to the bank, that's their business.
Ron
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54 minutes ago, bryankazmer said:
Naphtha launches were not uncommon in the early 1900's - some were converted to run steam instead. I know of one still used in upstate NY.
I'm not sure about that, I've been attending steamboat meets for many years, twice in upstate New York at Waterford and Whitehall, been in countless museums, I know of most of the steamboats and steamboaters in the country and even abroad mostly in the UK. I know Rainer Radow in Hanover Germany who keeps a global steamboat register and check it periodically.
I know of one at the Henry Ford which hasn't been on display in many years, now two with your accounting. My understanding is they were first developed in the UK by Yarrow and then here in the states by Ofeldt, the father of the steam jenny. They were a short lived venture due to the many accidents.
Coincidentally, my Locomobile has an Ofeldt boiler. Boils water.
Ron
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1 hour ago, capngrog said:
I think you adequately explained why the "Naptha launches" were "very rare".
Cheers,
Grog
Poor demographic study and prediction on their part, it turns out there was not an abundant share of the market that was compliant with enduring explosion and instantaneous incineration simultaneously.
Ron
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To add to this subject and address the notion that because some company built something, it must have been safe. Around 1900 there was a company that built "Naptha launches". These were basically a small steamboat. Instead of water in the boiler they used gasoline or alcohol, because it boils faster and expands more than water vapor. I cannot imagine sitting next to this "boiler" filled with gasoline and a raging fire going underneath it. The gasoline in the "boiler" also fueled the burner. There were reports of many fires. Just a good footnote on early manufacturing to keep in mind.
The Henry Ford museum has one of these very rare launches in their archive, Hopefully.
Ron
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9 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said:
And most every car made since the 80s has an electric motor with sparking brushes driving the in tank fuel pump. 😉 Never heard of issues with explosions. Way above the explosive range. BTW, you can be standing in an area so rich in gas (typically Methane or Natural) and still breathe just fine. Just don’t let the guy near the change over to explosive area light a cigarette!😳
That's a good point, the difference here is we're injecting air into the tank. Most likely what I wrote above does not apply once I seen the pressure was in the 2 psi range, that is barely over atmospheric. Some of our steam car fuel tanks run as high as 160 psi, so it is quite a bit different situation and different contingency.
After wrestling many different steam car burners on gasoline, kerosene and white fuel, flammability range is narrow.
For my own practice with the fuel systems I work with, I will continue to adhere to what I wrote above.
Ron
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3 hours ago, capngrog said:
To overly simplify such an analysis, one considers both the frequency of occurrence of an event and the severity of the consequences of the occurrence of that event.
In my case, I always factor in my historic luck:
"If it can happen, it will happen'' 😃
Ron
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The safety contingency of venting pressure from the fuel tank in the event of a fire is a bad idea. What is above the liquid in a pressurized fuel tank is fuel/air mixture - flammable gas, if vented to atmosphere and there is source of ignition - and there is, it's going to ignite. It would be luck if that's all that happened, if the fuel/air mixture is proper inside the tank, the tank is going to explode.
A pressurized fuel tank is essentially a bomb and it needs to be treated as such.
Simply shutting off/isolating the source of fuel is the best plan.
Ron
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10 hours ago, edinmass said:
The Packard uses a pressurized gas tank to deliver fuel to the carburetor. While going down the road, the float partially sunk.....causing gas to overflow the carburetor......and something ignited it. It took a LONG time to get the fire under control. Six large fire extinguishers were used to finally get it out. The problem? The car was shut off.....but the pressure in the tank kept pushing fuel making it almost impossible for the extinguishers to get ahead of the fire. The only way to stop the pressure would to be open the gas cap.....
Or shut the valve on the tank manually. Our steam cars use pressurized fuel tanks as well.
A couple of points:
Always have a manual fuel shut off easily accessible.
Always be aware to close it in case of a fire
Never open that valve more than necessary
Install metering jets beyond a screen in the valve to limit the flow
Do not use copper fuel lines, they are illegal per the DOT. instead use cunifer or stainless braided
If the car has an electric system, hide an electric fuel lock underneath that operates with the ignition system on and off. He could have simply shut the car off and the fire would have been out.
-Ron
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On 1/26/2021 at 1:42 PM, alsfarms said:
Here is a link to the huge Locomobile literature collection now held by the Bridgeport Public Library. They are very nice and helpful to deal with. If you need or want anything listed give them a try. The list is extensive!!
Al, thank you for info
Ron
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8 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:
In ebay world, this does not make any difference. The last time sold anything on ebay I also had that notice and ebay refunded all of the money and the buyer kept the item. I got no recourse. I have not sold on ebay since.
It's like putting a ''fragile'' sticker on a package, you're just asking to get it drop kicked. Ebay will always side with the buyer no matter what.
-Ron
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2 hours ago, trimacar said:
It’s rated as 8 year, 10 year, 12 year foam, as that’s the outer life of most foam since it’s made for furniture.
Thats why furniture foam should not used, it's very poor quality. I only use high density marine grade about four times as expensive and I'll gonorreah ya it'll last longer than ten years. I've seen fifty year old cushions in boats that were still in good shape.
3 hours ago, trimacar said:Cotton and horsehair will last 100 years, foam, less than two decades.
Have a look at this one. I have another original horsehair seat in worse shape than this. Horsehair and cotton rots, falls apart and falls down under the leather, very well known issue. If the seat is used a lot it gets all out of shape. You're probably looking at seats that were redone recently.
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1 hour ago, Rusty_OToole said:
Upholstery shops use a serrated bread knife. Or an electric carving knife if you have a lot to do. Sometimes you have to glue different thicknesses of foam together to get the right contour. Or put a layer of soft foam on a layer of harder foam if there are no springs underneath.
I use an electric meat carving knife, works great, mine gets hot if used for a long time, cuts very straight as long as its not pushed, let it float in.. If you want to form boughts or any shaping, put a new 36 grit sanding disc on the Makita, be careful, she's hungry. I use high density foam which probably helps shaping. Do it outside very messy.
-Ron
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4 hours ago, Big Beat said:
It was an '82.
Totally different car. The early ones were unstoppable.
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Just received an email from them.
Get ready for some "real" Face-to-Face time
Friday, July 23 - Motoring Tour-
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My old car does not like this cold weather
in General Discussion
Posted
I worked in a gas station in Dearborn when I was a teenager, it was really a garage, gas was secondary. A lot of old timers would come hang around in the morning and drink coffee with us. By the front door we always kept a galvanized pitcher with a spout full of water, for a car that might come in overheating etc.
One of the old guys that cut teeth on the model T told us they used one of those for their oil. In cold weather they'd drain their oil in it and take it in the house, at work the same thing. They said if they didn't, it would never start.
They used to give us little trinkets they had laying around the house, old ''Ford'' oil cans which I still have. Another model T thing was the little magneto wrench set. They are made like a hinged feeler gage set, although one of the tools is a small open end wrench, then one leaf to set the mag and another to set the plugs, I've always assumed that is what each is for. They've been rolling around my machinists box for 40 years.
One of them had a like new 1910? Ford Torpedo roadster. He would drive it up occasionally.
Every morning there was a revolving group of them there, learned a lot from them.
I'm rambling😁
Ron