29 Chandler

Phil how visible is light to other drivers? This is the kind of set up I am think about, just concerned about the size and visibility for other drivers.

Here's another one: Smart Brake Light for Bikes with Turn Signals

If you have not seen them here is the bike light with built in motion detection to activate a brake light. Smart Brake Light for Bikes With this solution there is nothing to do to your car's wiring and does not put a power demand on your car's electrical system.

I looked at those, but they serve a different purpose. If I understand it correctly these would communicate with your tow vehicle. We I (we) really need is a light system that can be attached to the rear of a running driving vehicle that independent of the rest of the car will provide brake and taillights, turn signals would be a plus. I am trying to avoid a system that I have to plug in to my car's wiring and be dependent on its battery. If they could just scale up a cyclists system we would have a match. I know for most classic car owners this need is a bit bizarre. For owners of Horseless Carriages our cars never had a brake light or even more than one dim light on the rear.

Thanks for the replies so far guys. What I am really looking for is a portable (read wireless) solution for a 100 plus year old vehicle. The previous owner installed a set of hardwired turn signals and brake lights about 60 years ago that I want to replace with a simpler set up. We have the technology; motion sensing switch for the brakes, capable batteries, and LEDs. I am really surprised there is not more demand for this. Has any one tried one of the solutions used for cyclist?

Has anybody found a good solution for installing portable brake lights and taillights? Our 1914 Chandler has one functioning taillight as originally equipped. I would love to find a portable LED solution like they have for cyclist. You can now get a taillight with a built in motion sensor that flashes when the rider hits the brakes. No wires to run and easy to attach. The only problem I see with these is their size relative to what you would expect to see on a car. I have seen the unit that Jay Leno has promoted in the past. In fact last weekend we were behind him in one of his Duesenbergs on the freeway and you could barley see his turn signals. I wound up cutting the lane for him as it was very hard for other drivers to see the lights on his car. It seems the technology exists to have a full brake light, taillight, and turn signal combination that could be added or moved from car to car without any modification to the vehicle, I just have not found it yet.

I agree, it would not be one I could take on. But we saw his other projects and have full confidence that he will get this one back on the road.

Thanks Mike. We enjoyed re-telling the car's history many times this weekend and sharing the story about all the blood, sweat, and tears Harold poured into the car for many years. I am proud to share the car and impress them with the fact that it was last restored in 1960 by Harold. He left some big shoes to fill.

So we are getting ready to tour Ventura County just north of Los Angeles this weekend with the Horseless Carriage Club of SoCal when a couple of guys walk up to see the cars lined up in from of the hotel. They stopped at our Chandler and remarked that a friend of theirs is restoring a Chandler. I gave them my contact information to pass onto their friend. About 30 minutes go by and we are about to leave on a 70 mile tour when we are approached by their friend with the Chandler car. Since we were about to leave we promissed to stop by his hanger at the local airport and see him and the car. After the tour we found our way to the airport and found some friendly folks in an open hanger that knew our new friend and offered to take us across the airport to his hanger. What we found was a 1928 Royal 8 Sedan that was a total barn find. The body is in the process of a complete restoration as its new owner is a master woodworker. Normally he is working on wooden airplane parts, but this Chandler presented a new challenge for him. This is the only Chandler he has seen so it was so nice to share some information about the cars with hime and give him a ride in ours. We are looking forward to helping him bring another Chandler back to life. What a treat it was to find another hidden Chandler!

Just returned from a tour of Ventura County put on by the HCCSC. Some wonderful backcountry roads and sites to see. Took our 1914 Chandler on its first overnight tour in California. Here's a few photos from the trip. We stayed at the Glen Tavern Inn built in 1911 which was great backdrop for the cars. The last picture is the owners of the Inn enjoying some time behind the wheel of our Chandler before we headed home.

Our 1914 Chandler Model 15 Touring. The oldest running Chandler motor car in existence, last restored by the previous (3rd) owner in 1960. Our 1966 MGB restored by us about 15 years ago.

It might also be the oil pump as they were made from pot metal in some years. It looks like your car might actually be a 1928. 1927-1929 were very similar, the key is the badge on the radiator if you are not looking at the serial number. I believe there may be about 12 Chandlers left in Australia with less than 200 left worldwide. Ed is correct get the Chandler book, you'll learn a lot about their history. Please message me if you have any more Chandler questions.

You what amazed me about the two originals we found is that they both still had their original attaching hardware. Just amazing that they stayed together after all these years!

Bill was correct. The modern repo is in the middle with the originals top and bottom. Would love to learn more about these. We have an old brochure that Chandler put out listing hundreds of owners who had a badge. Surprised I have only seen two now.

Here's a rare sight! Two original Chandler badges and a modern reproduction . Th original's even have their original attaching hardware. Can you tell which one is the repo?

Thanks! Our son is up in Davis and we talk about the terrible air quality you all have gone through for a while now.

Aside from the terrible air quality and the ash all over the place it likely our neighborhood may escape the flames. The firefighters have done a really good job so far in keeping the fire in the wilderness area. Its really hard to believe but some idiots have flown a drone in the area where the helicopters are flying and twice now they have had to break off the attack on the fire. The fire has now driven much further west past our house than it was yesterday. Which just adds to the smoke in the air. Cars are pointing to the street and ready to go. Fingers crossed...

Congratulations Ed!!!! 🍻

We have a few options to go to should we need to evacuate, our club (Horseless Carriage Club of Southern CA) has been very supportive. Wildlife will be the most impacted so far. Its normal for us to see bear, dear, or even mountain lions in the neighborhood. Never an issue as long as you respect their space. The only time there has been an issue is when the media sees them are tries to make a story out of this normal and natural behavior. I expect in the coming months we'll see a lot more activity in the neighborhood. They say this fire will continue to burn for about a month. Hard to fathom, but having hiked up in the hills its perfectly understandable given all of the fuel. Our bungalow was built in 1924 mostly of redwood with a wood shake roof. At that time there was a similar fire in the hills behind the neighborhood that lasted for several months. I know its not natural in our ecosystem for the wilderness area not to experience some fire. Our mismanagement or lack of understanding has created the mess (excess fuel) that we are in now. Once this blows through we should be clear of any major fire danger for anther 5-10 years that is the only saving grace at this point. If there is one lesson I will take to heart is the status of my projects. We have a 1929 Chandler that I should have got running long ago. Had that been done that car too could roll out of the grade easily. I am going back out to the garbage today to continue working on our 1967 MGB GT to get wheels under it so it is ready for the next emergency.

Since last Sunday we have had a major wildfire near our neighborhood (Bobcat Fire). Our section of town near the mountains has been put on pre-evacuation orders for almost a week. We are packed and ready to go. So humbling to go through your house and decide what you want to keep and what you can live without. Trust me I know how fortunate that we even have a chance to make a decision. Between our house and my in laws we have three non-running classic cars that we have trailered to a secure parking lot at my work just over a mile away further away from the fires. In the garage we still have our 1914 Chandler that I will start up and drive out if needed. But sadly we would have to leave behind three cars that either don't have wheels and tires (restoration in process) and two cars that will just take a lot of effort and time to pull out of the back of the garage. After reading so many times about others that have gone through this I have a new appreciation for their pain. I am sure this will influence my buying choices going forward. The smoke has been the worst part for us so far. The mountains near us have not burned since 1957 so there is a lot of dangerous fuel built up. The 'official' plan is to let it burn till it gets closer to the houses. There are hundreds of firefighters on duty. The air support in the last few days has been impressive. A couple of days ago we had at one time a c130, DC9, and a DC10 laying down a line of fire retardant. Those pilots are very brave! Watching on TV you don't get a sense of how stressful and tiring the whole ordeal can be. Day in and day out thick smoke at times and tall flames consuming the hills above town. Looky-loos driving through the neighborhood to see all the activity. I'll be happy when this is all over, assuming the fire is able to stay in the hills.

The current most popular thread has recently run aground in discussions about registering the car in question. Rather than add to that wonderful thread I figured it would be helpful to start a thread devoted just to "Tips and Tricks" to register an old car. If possible we can keep this thread positive and on point to educate and entertain. As been mentioned before there has not been found a reference book for the average car collector to use. The book would be huge at this point as every state has their own rules. Throw in Federal regulations and changes over time and the book gets to be rather long. The employees at you local DMV probably do not know as much about registering your car as you do. This may come as a surprise to many of us. This is Tip #1: Gather as much information about you car as you can. The employees at DMV are used to the daily grind of modern cars with and without paperwork. Many of them do not know what to do with the curve ball you are about to pitch them. Be patience and calm to get through this. Now here's my story: About a year and a half ago we bought a 1914 car in an online auction in another state. Interstingly we knew the history of the car and the previous owner who had recently passed away. We knew the car had a current title and figured it would be easy to transfer ownership. Boy were we naive. When I picked up the car from one of the daughters of the previous owner she provided me with a title in her dad's name, copy of the death certificate, and a signed letter that she and her sister were the executors of the estate and had authority to sell the car. The auction house supported all of this and told us we should be all set. After meeting some really wonderful people and our new prize in the trailer we headed west 2,000 miles home. Upon arriving home with the car still in the trailer we started with our local AAA Office. Maybe we would get lucky and not have to go to DMV. It all started well. We explained that the car did not have a VIN as they were not a standard yet. We showed the enthusiastic AAA employee the four digit serial number on the engine and explained that was the only number that was used. Back into the Office we went optimistic that we had dodged a bullet after all we were trying to do this right and legal. Once into the DMV computer we hit our first snag. Given that the "VIN" was so short our request was flagged for review by the main DMV office. We were told this was normal and after review we should be on our way. We were told the current backlog of cases was about a month long and to wait for a call. I can only imagine what the wait might be now with COVID-19! After what seemed like an eternal wait we got word from DMV and they threw their curve ball. While the four digit VIN was not an issue the title was. In our state the seller must sign off on the title. Our title had the signatures of the daughters with a note that they were representing the estate. While they did not transfer the title in their name it was perfectly legal and normal in their state to transfer ownership in this way. Our state would have none of this. They could care less what the rules were in another state. For us this was very frustrating. Tip #2: The rules to register a car vary between states and the state you are registering in takes precedence. Thankfully the daughters and the Auction house bent over backwards to help us. Our DMV office would not discuss any other options to move forward without a title in the "seller's name". The Auction house put us in touch with a lady in the Registers Office in their state, she listened to our story and empathetically offered to help. With her help we were able to transfer ownership and get a new title that our state would accept. While I hated mailing our original paperwork in the mail it was the only choice. To our amazement the paperwork got turned around in hours, not days or weeks. Again we waited another month for our paperwork to be processed with fingers crossed. Now almost a year after buying our dream car we finally got a title in our name from our DMV office. A small miracle that could only happen thanks to persistence and patiences on our part and the ability to work with and find empathetic people on the other end of the phone.

That is the same clock and key that we have in our 1914 Chandler, same clock that has been in it since new. Great find.

#8 is a Chandler from the late teens, still no front brakes

Here is a picture of the plunger attached to the #12 valve that maintains the air pressure in the fuel line while the engine is running. There is a hand pump on the dash to get you going. As for cranking, while I can hand crank it its much easier to use the Westinghouse starter. With the primer cups open on the other five cylinders there is not much strain on the starter motor. Today I adjusted air pressure back up to the recommended 1.5 psi, next will be to adjust the valves.

Thanks for the responses guys. I was told by another friend with many years of experience the same info that W_Higgins has suggested. I plan to set them all cold to the measurements listed above. While I am in there there is also an adjustment on the #12 valve that regulates fuel pressure. At the moment it is down to 1/2 psi, down from 1 psi. The factory manual with a stock carb is 1.5 psi. It's going to get bumped up a bit. Eric have you done a compression check on your 1919? At the moment I am getting 30 cold and 40 hot on all six cylinders. Even though I know there are lot of factors that affect compression curious to know what you are getting as I have not found the recommended figure for our engines. My friend told me on our light six 40 was a good number and consistent across all cylinders.