Terry Bond

This is the priming set-up on my 1912 Triumph motorcycle. To prime the engine, swing the little arm over the top of the cup. Open the cup, and using a needle valve mounted above the priming arm on top of the fuel tank, just open it enough to put a few drops into the cup. It helps with starting, just be sure to close the cup. Terry

Got the wrong ad for the Aeco plug - they made a primer and this ad explans how it works.

Right Bob, a neat thing to collect. I know one of our old spark plug collecting friends from NJ, Dick Newkirk has been specializing in selling odd priming cups. We see him at gas engine shows and swap meets including Hershey. Always a nice place to stop and visit. Here are a few priming spark plugs: The Champion was the most commonly sold primnig style plug and was often used in Model Ts. The all brass All In One plug is a nea piece with the base cast from a single piece-including the priming cup. Terry

I believe he posted these for sale on ebay with a rather strong opening bid. Don't believe they sold so might still be available. These are nice mags but the covers are the best part of them. They are not in the same league as Motor of the same era. I bought a good run of them a couple of years ago and paid around $10-15 per copy. Love the advertising in them. Terry

West, you shouldn't have tipped everyone off - don't you do things like this periodically just as a "test" to see who is reading? Really, tho, you're entitled to a mulligan every so often, and as always, what an amazing publication. Thanks for all the hard work making AA the premier publication of it's kind. Wish we had a bit more time during the Va Beach meet to get together. Don't forget to let us know when you are back in town to take pics at Bob's Chevy emporium. You'll need to look at a Model T after all those bowties! Terry

We've all been waiting anxiously. Looking at the ad and location I'd be very surprised in someone locally didn't swoop down and catch this stuff. Even when I lived in Scotland many years ago there was tremendous interest in antique (vintage) cars. Pre-war stuff is getting hard to scrounge up and just like here, there are ebay and swap meet vendors always looking for a fresh box of goodies. Don't forget that one of the biggest/best swap meets outside of Hershey is right there in Southern England (Beaulieu). So - surpise us and post some pics of your treasure. We'd love to share your excitement. Terry

Yes indeed - a publishing firm here in Chesapeake that specializes in preparing directories, yearbooks, etc. They did a great job last time and we're looking forward to this one too. Just updated my profile over the weekend. Best part is they are really enthusiastic about what they do. last time our local region (Tidewater) took some cars over for them to enjoy and we all had a great time. Supporting this is great for AACA. Terry

Almost decided to add this post under meets and tours, but since so many people are lamenting the decline of older cars at club events, thought I'd post here to celebrate our club's 13th Annual "Square Car Tour." This event was designed for old cars (you know, the old fashioned square ones). The tour this year was a leisurely 70 mile run through the winding back roads of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. There was only a traffic light or two at the start and again at the finish. The rest consisted of long stretches of beautiful country scenery. Farms, horses, boats, bridges, old churches, people happlly waving as we drove by. It was old car touring at it's best with nobody getting lost and only a couple of minor problems. We spent time kicking tires at the start, left about 11Am and met at one of our favorite restaurants by 2:30. The oldest cars lead and if the modern cars can't keep up, oh well. I was proud to lead the pack this year with our 14 T, followed closely by Mark Williams 1924 T Truck. Lots of interesting cars - Packards, Franklin, Pontiac, Model As, even a couple of veterans from cross-country tours. It was a blast and we're on tap again for next year. Keep em rolling and don't forget the old cars! Terry

Looks pretty clean for such an old item (allegedly) I don't know why anyone would reproduce (or fake) such an item, but the early calling-card trays I'm familiar with were made of spelter or cast bronze. I am not ready to prounouce it a reproduction but I'm not sure it's a genuine antique item. One thing that is of concern to me is the printing itself. Would have expected lithography rather than what appears to be another printing method (screen printing?). Perhaps some other "experts" can comment on that aspect of it. Meantime, call me cautiously curious for now. Terry

Wow, that's my absolute favorite Model A body style. Sure wish I had room in my garage! And, being George's car, it's quite a piece of our hobby history too. Hope it finds a good home. Terry

R.White-do you have any problems with the MOT inspections? I recall that when we lived in Scotland we still had to get the inspection on our 1935 Morris eight. We drove it for several months as regular transport while waiting for delivery of a new car we special ordered. At some point they added a requirement to install windscreen washers, so a lot of people began drilling holes and modifying their cars until someone discovered there was an exception for vehicles with "swing-out" windscreens. It was meant to exempt tractors and some trucks but since the Morris had a swing-out windshield, we didn't modify the car and it was ok for the inspection. As I recall we could pay our annual road tax for just a quarter of the year, when we would be using the car for vintage events. There was no special exemption for historic vehicles and no special licensing available. Whats the latest situation there? Terry

What a great tool chest! Thanks for sharing. Carpenters often built their own cabinets and usually it showed off their skills nicely. Good advertising to show up for a job with a quality tool box. I found one years ago at a yard sale. Family was selling out an old house. The Grandfather had passed away and the kids were clearing everything, including his original tool chest. He had started as an apprentice mechanic in a Studebaker garage in 1915. When I got there, there was an antique dealer that had laid a few items out on the ground and was trying to negotiate a purchase on the top items. I pulled one of the brothers aside and asked how much he wanted for the entire assembly-chest and all, and he said $150. I simply said "sold" and handed him the money. I'll never forget the look on that dealers face when they started to pack "his" tools back in the chest and told him it had all been sold. They never wanted to break it up and were pleased that I had let them know my intent was to keep it intact and on display in my own personal "museum" which is a faithful recreation of a circa 1915 auto parts store. The tool chest has always been a hit and my own granson spent countless hours playing with the contents. I occasionally find an old tool in it that comes in handy when working on the Model T. It isn't as pretty as yours but really is a piece of history.

Always enjoy the chances to express our enthusiasm for the MGB. We're especially fond of our MGBGT (early 74, and a 72 currently under restoration). You have to pack carefully but we've been on long trips, tours, and use it at least weekly for AACA or MG Club activities. You didn't say where you were located but hopefully there is an AACA Region or an MG Club nearby so you can learn more before you make your choice. We have some folks in our local club who know of almost every MGB in the area, and have worked on most of them too. Like any car, you can sink a ton of money into them to restore properly (don't ask me how I know), but for initial investment, your 10k should procure a pretty decent car. Check our our local club website sometime - www.mg.org for a look at the kinds of cars, people and things we do. Happy motoring, Terry

As mentioned by others, licensing and insurance are big potential issues. State safety inspections may be another thing to consider if applicable for your state. Quite often states exempt properly licensed antique cars from their inspections, but it's generally based on a limited-use factor. If all is good-to-go on those fronts I'd say enjoy it, just be careful. Your doing a great service letting others see and enjoy as it was meant to be, just be careful out there. Happy vintage motoring- Terry

Thanks for posting such good pics. It is indeed a water-proof Perfex coil plug. The coil and plug are contained as a single unit and the most common use was in motorboat engines. They were also used in some slow running oilfield engines, or in any application where wet ignition was a potential problem. There was very limited use of this in automotive applications, however in the early 1900s Bosch developed their Honold plug-coil sytem that used a make-and-break type mechanism. These saw short-term use in some of the earlier Mercedes cars. It's something spark plug collectors love to find. I've got a few different examples in my own collection but not this particular example, so would love the change to add it to my collection. You can email me at terryaaca@cox.net and we can figure out how to give it a new home if you wish. thanks again, Terry

It was great as always to see you and the kids again Andy. Man, they have grown. We'll give them some more Model T Rides soon I hope. Do I sense another neat tour coming up in the Richmond area? Braving that wind on Friday was not an easy thing to do - thought our little MG would slip right thru but at one point we felt we needed about 20 extra HP to push thru. You can only imagine the senese of relief I felt Saturday morning when I got up at 5Am and saw the deck was dry out behind the house! That sunshine was awesome. A good meet and I hope everyone had some fun. I was amazed at the number of visitors who I hadn't seen in several years wo came to Va Beach just because of the meet location. I did a brief video interview with someone from the local area producing a video for the museum and my comments echoed many I heard during the weekend. Those planes and our old cars were a perfect combination. Our hosts were fabulous making them available for rides and photo-ops. Really proud of my fellow Tidewater Regon members for all their hard work. See you soon in Richmond. Terry

Was at trailer parking last evening and got to meet several early arrivals. Smiling faces - all successfully navigating some rush-hour traffic. What a great site this is! See you all soon. Terry

Oh-No- that's terrible! Susan and I were visiting in the dinner line with him at Charlotte. Have known him a long time-always a gentle person and a fine AACA member. Will surely miss him and will be thinking about him at our upcoming meet here in Va Beach. Knew he had some health issues but never expected this-he was so cheerful and happy to be at a car show in the sunshine again. Terry

Fabulous - but it reminds me of a three dram story - so, if you've got a minute (or 9 or ten) let me tell you about an episode occurring in the Scottish Highlands back in the early 70s. The tale is as related to me by a dear old friend, Hector Cormack - also known to many of us as Hector the Collector. Hector had one of the finest automobilia collections existing at the time, and provide me with a wealth of knowledge about motoring's rarest artifacts. But I digress - Hector and I were on a rally in Scotland, and had pulled in for the night at a very nice B&B that has been the gate-keeper's cottage at a large estate, very much like Downton Abbey. After an amazing dinner, we retired to the lounge and brought out the evenings refreshment - Single Malt Scotch of course. (Gads, I hear bagpipes even just thinking about this!). Hector at one time drove a Speed-Six Bently with a fabric body by Wymann. It was a beautiful demon of a car with beautiful dark green fabric coachwork. It was in just such a setting, while on a rally in the Highlands, that he and fellow club members had landed for the night in an old castle, that had become a B&B. Cars were parked alongside a fence near where the windows were so everyone could keep an eye on their vehicles, open the windows and listen for curious prowlers. After a couple of wee drams however, not a sound was to be heard save for the snoring of the contented motorists. The next morning, after a bit of a sleep-in, everyone enjoyed a fabulous breakfast, then packed their bags for the days coming run. Upon approaching the cars to dust them off, all seemed well, until Hector went around to the other side of the car - his screeching probably woke the dead in the nearby churchyard. It seems that the empty field next to where the cars were parked was home to a small heard of goats. All evening long, they had stretched their necks over the fence and feasted on the fabric bodied car. The had succeeded in ripping off great hunks of the fabric body, and were still chewing on their "treat" when Hector's screams scared them away. It most likely was the glue used on the coachwork that attracted them. Of course the car was repaired in due course, and continued to participate in club events until it was traded years later for some antique motorcycles. It normally took at least the second glass Scotch to get Hector loosened up enough to tell this tale, and by the time he was finished, the third dram was history. So, if you have a lust for one of these fabric bodied vehicles - just be careful where you park it. Terry

Wow-fantastic! Have not seen anything as cool since some guy put a spark plug collection on display(). Website is great and I'm enjoying it tremendously. Guess this is what happens when someone gets serious about collecting. I've always been interested in these things, considerd them a poor-man's mascot but recently prices have gone crazy so glad I started collecting when I did. Obviously my small assortment is a drop in the ocean compared to this. Thanks much for sharing this with us. It'll be a big hit there I'm sure. Looks like we'll get a chance to see it during the Fall Meet too. Terry

Here is a pic of my Hollier poster.

Years ago I found an original Hollier Eight advertising poster still hanging on the wall of an old garage in Pennsylvania. I was told that Hollier sold more components for other cars, and more leader franchises than actual cars. Believe there was one in the old Bill Harrah collection but now sure if it's still there or not. I'll try to get a pic of the poster up later. Terry

Spent some time in Scotland courtesy of the USN and the shows there always had traction engines. The big brassy showman's engines were a thrill to see in action at these events. We've attended some good ones in England and I believe the event at Dorsett is one of the largest. I can also remember the Crich National Tramway museum event as being really spectacular. All my pics from those days are on 335mm slides so can't upload any here, but the internet is loaded with exciting stuff. Great memories. Terry

Maybe we should move this thread to "touring" as it really all about following the road less traveled. This is exactly what we enjoyed about touring in Scotland and England while we were there. We drove a 1935 Morris Eight, which we still have (see pics) and one of it's stable-mates is now a 1948 MGTC, which is a wonderful driving machine. It's Susan's toy and she has really come to love how it feels on the road. Once she got the front end sorted out, and everything properly adjusted, it handles nicely. Thanks to an engine rebuild several years ago when the previous owner decided to make it bulletproof and do some serious autocross activity with it, it is ready for any tour. We'd love to take it overseas but just can't see doing that until we've retired. Meantime, we're going to do next year's Sentimental Tour with it, and next weekend it'll be out or our local club "Square Car Tour" which is a popular event designed mainly for pre-war vehicles, but we let the more modern stuff bring up the rear. In this country, we have the AAA Blue Books to help us find old roads and interesting stops. I've got a selection of them going back to the teens. For both UK AA and American AAA route-books I've even collected some period postcards from stops along the route. It's the history of roadways and travel and books like these can help you relive it. Terry

How is it looking for vendor registration Dennis? Would love to try and make it, and have a number of folks from this area interested. Do you anticipate there will be a full compliment of vendors as early as Thursday or is that set-up day? I know that for me to get there I'd need to head out someday later PM the day before and spend the night someplace so I could catch it in the AM. If I try to do that on Friday it's fine but for Thursday, it's dodgy as I'd need to take two days off work vice just one. Let me now if there is a compelling reason I should be there early on Thursday. Incidentally, a few of us here are regular Hershey vendors (pre-war/brass age stuff) and wanted to come as spectators this year and possibly bring some stuff to sell next time. Thanks for you input and for getting this started. Terry