Jack Bennett

While I am not familiar with the term “flowable grease”, that in itself is not surprising. But what is surprising is the number of types of grease manufactured, the multitude of uses grease is prescribed for, and the singular word “grease” is used to describe it all. My books prescribe “steam oil” and “semi-liquid grease” for general use in my antique cars, which vary in age from 1923 to 1929. But, I have had conversations with t some highly placed individuals in the lubricant business, as well as talking to the folks at places like Meyers Old Dodge and Snyder’s regarding the purchase of “steam oil” or “semi-liquid grease” and the reply has been unanimous……..”Stick with 600W or 1500W and you can’t go wrong regardless of the age of your collectible cars. Of course only a idiot would think it’s OK to put 600W or 1500W in the transmission of my 1951 Plymouth, but, any idiot who thinks it is OK deserves to have their transmission destroyed. I personally think that the cost of a quart of 600W or 1500W has a lot to do with the tendency of “frugal” antique auto collectors to stray into untested territory regarding the type of lubricants to use in their antique gear boxes. I have heard that mixing some number of tubes of grease, mixed with some amount of 90/140 gear oil will stop the leaks from a 1923 Dodge transmission or differential. I also understand that hominy grits and a diet of ground cork will stop leaks from a perforated ulcer……….and I believe these solutions to a problem, one not so serious, and the other very serious, are both equally laughable. When in doubt stick with a time proven product and hope you outlast your 100 year old car. https://www.valvolineglobal.com/en-ksa/grease-101-different-grease-types-and-when-to-use-them/ Jack

I have always had a place in my “awe locker” for you folks who managed to make that much steel floatable. It must be wonderful to be able to find a battleship in the middle of the ocean……..and I am still having problems finding a Phillips screwdriver in my tool cabinet. Jack

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And your reflections regarding my reflections served in the Army are priceless. Boredom is a bugger, and a three month stay in the field, with 24 hours a day of “attack”…..”delay”……”retrograde”……..”reorganize”……….”attack”……is essentially the same thing as having biscuits and gravy, three times a day, for three consecutive months. The mod said if I wanted to go off topic, stick to my own threads……..well? Anyway, what a lot of people don’t know is that the military training exercises, like Reforger and Team Spirit brings together the armed forces of many nations to train as a single entity. And, the days I trained with the Aussies, Limey’s (and I know it may be offensive until you’ve shared a slit trench for three months), Gurkha’s, and some nationalities I didn’t even remember was a member of NATO, was a invaluable, no, I’ll go a bit further and say “precious” part of my real military training as well as some good lessons on simply being human. Thanks to you and your country for being the first to commit to service in Korea. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/07/31/national/diplomacy/korea-australia-korean-war/20230731172945165.html Jack

I have heard that corn head oil works good in bevel gear transmissions. I also recall the same person telling me to dump a quart of automatic transmission fluid in my cars crankcase to stop valve noise. I have, and will always use 600W aka semi-grease lubricant,or steam oil in my transmissions. For years I have used CV joint lubricant in my steering gear boxes, and have yet had one to leak or fail. Jack

Thanks for your service Paul. I watched the A-10 Thunder Bolts, aka the Warthog, fire the gunnery ranges in Korea. I don’t know whether or not they fired on targets you had charted, when they finished, what remained of the 12” thick battle ship iron targets placed high on the mountain side, sure made a believer out of me. Jack

No, not personally. But I remember they had some problems with gas tanks exploding during a rear end collusion. But, I suppose a semi-tractors fuel tanks would explode if hit hard enough, and the circumstances favored an explosion. I have had mucho experience with a Vega, and I bought one, with a seized engine about 1973, and I learned a whole bunch about their aluminum head and Teflon coated cylinder bore. I just chose a Pinto here because it gathered a reputation as a junky car….perhaps rightfully so if compared to a LTD or Gran Torino, but worth the money as a economy car. The Vega, well, history says it all so I will let a sleeping dog lie. Jack

Gotta remember that rocks and rust were invented several years after I took science classes in high school. But, while thinking of a similarly matured AACA member “Rusty O’Toole”, I recalled that “fe” was in some way related to the way metal acts, and I now suppose your use of fe203 must allude to the natural decomposition of steel while returning to its natural state. I must apologize on grasping the meaning of the second elemental symbol, but my bet is that it lives close to the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. (TNT) though. Jack

I’m not sure what you’re saying here so I’ll insert my own opinion of why so many old machines are removed from the sales floor in the most un-sanctimonious ways imaginable. The monetary and sentimental value of anything is often based on its rarity. And the rarity of the object is mainly determined by two things. 1. Some things, like the Pinto, the Vega and the eight track tape player were junk from the day they were invented. They are “rare” because they all died early in their existence and so few have escaped a early grave. 2. “Rare” may also describe a well made, highly desirable and much desired object. But, using the “Ming Vase” or a Samurai sword as the example, millions may have been made, and under normal use, should have lasted forever. So, as was the “two hundred mile per gallon” carburetor, the demise of the “too many” part of the items number must be artificially hastened….thus making it “rare” and “valuable”. My only example for this was to imagine everyone in the USA owning a Rolls. Royce Silver Shadow or a Porsche 911. Jack

Gee, what a good thought. And, I would think it would add to the horror if one remembers that those destroyed by the military were probably arbitrarily selected, and destroyed as found….i.e. “barn finds”. And then, if you consider that those destroyed while filming a single movie scene may have been completely restored, or were formerly of “collectible” condition, the horror becomes unbearable. Jack

Never, ever, has anyone appreciated the all engrossing exhilaration of doing an awe inspiring speed of thirty five miles per hour……until it is done on a no speed limit Autobahn in Germany. A 60 ton, M-60A1 tank, rolling on a track of rubber blocks simply was not designed with the intention of being driven, on a hard surface road, at any speed. I don’t know if “fish-tail” is a good word or a proper noun, but I do know it is a prominent part of the tankers vocabulary after a three year tour in Deutschland😱. Jack

The scale we participated in this deletion of history, as land based soldiers , pales considerably when compared to those responsible for the development and testing of atomic weapons. While I knew it was a unavoidable price we had to pay for the maintenance of our nationality as a sovereign nation, it still knots up my stomach when I think of a complete fleet of naval ships, each loaded to capacity with military and civilian vehicles of every size and sort, being intentionally reduced to scrap metal and sunk in the oceans. Some people have nightmares about some scary movie. I still have nightmares about the beautiful 1940’s Ford, 1 1/2 ton, wrecker, covered with 55 gallon drums of gas and loaded with dud artillery rounds, being incinerated and its bright red paint disappearing in a flash of fire as the High Explosive Plastic round from my tank scores a direct hit. I sometimes wonder if this doesn’t play some part in the seemingly complete absence of some of the more exotic European cars……I.e. the luxurious sedans shown as being used by the German and Italian military elite in WWI and WWIi movies. Jack

Having restored several antique cars of various makes and models, I have learned that most parts for any car or truck is limited to a single purchase. And, say it is for a carburetor float or a model specific light, the search for a replacement ends when the needed object is found. I.e., it really doesn’t matter if the objects are literally falling from the tables at Hershey, or only a single one remains in all of everywhere, so long as you find that one, you are good. Many of the parts, such as gaskets, bearings, seals, covering and upholstery materials is generic, and available at many merchants on eBay and Amazon. The needy articles, such as tires, windshield and side glass and nice to have knobs and handles can be fabricated of found after some amount of searching. And, a immense part of restoring these old machines, in my stead, is the search, acquisition and finally owning the harder to find stuff. Again…….owning my old machines is the 97% pleasure of working on them, .02% pleasure of looking at them and the .01% pleasure of actually driving them. Perhaps it is the journey, and not the destination, which determines the real value of our old cars. All that said……if a Dodge DA-6 talks to you, in a language you like to hear, get it and make its restoration a work of love and not a labor of necessity. Jack

In the fall Of 1964 I re-enlisted in the Army, and switched my Army career field from electronics technician to armor crewman. My initial training at Fort Knox, KY was on the M-48 tank with a 90mm main gun. During the next twenty years I served in seven different countries and on several models of tanks ending with the M1 Abrams tank with a laser guided 120mm gun. Throughout this time a constant requirement of tank crews, as well as any other military arm which relied on demolitions and explosives, was the effective use of their weapons against real targets. Recalling the adrenaline rush of a successful run on a well organized tank target range is pure pleasure. However, in retrospect, remembering some of the targets used to hone our skills on the main, and machine guns brings pain to my mind. Today little attention is paid by the general public regarding the immense amount of vehicular history which was collected, assembled on gunnery ranges, and routinely destroyed as tank, artillery and air craft targets. It was a matter of professional pride to see the 1944 Ford fuel tanker or the formidable half track evaporate into a cloud of smoke, fire and debris as my tank main gun returned to battery from the well placed shot. Now, I look back and wish these irreplaceable machines were still available to the antique vehicle collectors who could still enjoy their place in history, both technically as well as sentimental 😢.

Thank you Ben. Just a note for any spatially impaired eighty year old guy, who still thinks they occupy a 18 year old body, and decides putting a massive four speed gear box, in a tiny truck intended for a three speed box will be easy………think again because it isn’t. There was a time that I considered cutting out the frame cross member which runs under the seat because the pickup truck emergency brake operating mechanism doesn’t have clearance to fit. Thankfully, I still had a can of MGD left and decided to drink it instead of grabbing my zip tool. Then it occurred to me that the emergency brake on the transmission was intended to fit a 1951 Dodge pickup, which apparently uses a banana shaped pull handle located under the left side of the truck dash board. I plan on fabricating a floor mounted lever, which I suppose is more original to a 1929 Fargo than a 1951 Dodge Pilothouse pickup, Fortunately I have a couple of transmissions left over from building the 1923 Roadster, and one of them has a complete lever operated emergency brake, with the lever and the little toothy piece which mounts on the gear box and keeps the handle engaged in the hold position. The new voltage regulator should arrive in the mail today or tomorrow and the cutout switch on the generator will be updated to a voltage regulator. Meanwhile, I have a old friend who does plasma cutting as a hobby, and I will see if he will cut me a new mount to adapt the emergency brake handle to the Fargo. I’ll post a bit more as “Mite” returns to life……..thanks for your input and encouragement. Jack