PFindlay

On Tuesday June 18 we'll be having a lunch stop in Republic, WA. That would be the closest place for you to find us. Shouldn't be too hard to find us.

Don, since you'll be retired, how about joining us for our annual tour in Grand Forks, BC, June 17 - 20? We'd love to have you join us - 23 cars registered, all but two are brass-era. Besides a good contingent of Model Ts, we have Columbia, Ford Model K, Chalmers, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce, and TWO Canadian Russell-Knight cars (something you will not see anywhere else in the world.) Four days of great drives and interesting stops, HCCA style. To answer the question of the original post - drive the car and show in whatever way works for you. I prefer the tours but I've also taken a brass-era car (or motorcycle) to the neighbourhood cruise-in, car shows (I'm not a fan but the cars get a LOT of attention), parades, and other nearby events. I've also had them in TV shows or movies. In the last week I've driven my 1915 Russell to visit friends on Saturday, lunch on Sunday, band practice on Monday, the gas station on Wednesday ($$$) and will be in the annual Little League opening day parade on Saturday, probably in the rain. Peter Findlay, President, HCCA Vancouver Regional Group

I'm posting this for one of our members who is getting to the time when he's ready to thin his collection a little. It's an extremely good original car (65000 miles) that has had one repaint. My friend Paul is the third owner, having purchased it from another member of our HCCA Regional group so we know the car's history right back to its original owner. It has a good story. The car is originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The first owner drove it through the thirties until he parked it around the start of the war. It seems that the combination of gas rationing and failing vision were the reasons for parking it. But the Packard was still his baby so he did a few house renovations and parked it right inside the house. From there he could admire it and keep it looking good. Over the years he used it as his reading room and he polished it until the paint was worn through. After his death his widow left it there for many years before her estate finally sold it in 1976. The second owner repainted it and refreshed the engine to make it a good road car. Paul bought the car in 2005 and has installed a new crown and pinion to give it a better cruising speed. It is quite happy at 55 mph. It is a strong runner and has been on a few long tours. In 2008 he drove it 600 miles to Fernie BC, in the Rocky Mountains to join our tour which took it a further 700 miles back to Victoria BC. Both ways crossed several mountain ranges in summer heat and the car performed extremely well. Currently, the car has been in heated indoor storage for about 5 years. Although the paint is old it shows very well and the original interior is amazingly good. Except for the taillights, the plating is all original and also in extremely good condition. It is located in the Vancouver, B.C. (Canada) area. PRICE: $60,000 CAD (approximately $45,000 USD) NOTE: The outdoor pictures shown below were taken on our cross-B.C. tour in 2008. All the indoor pictures were taken today. More pictures can be seen at https://russellcars.ca/31packard .

Not likely. It turns out that the huge touring car that the 5 year old played in is not so huge for the 6'2" (?) grown man. Some late teens / early twenties cars were just not set up for the big guys. This one is not a fit. ... but his daughters seemed pretty interested. Peter

My thanks to both of you. It does look very much like a 1907 Stoddard Dayton Model K like this one. (Source: Hyman Ltd)

I received this picture from someone who was told it was a Buick (or McLaughlin), but it doesn't look that way to me. Can someone give it a positive ID? The car may be in Ontario. Thanks, Peter

Hi Jeff, my '15 Russell has 25" Firestone rims with these clamps. Peter

I believe the Oregon registration records are available through Ancestry.com. A Chalmers with plate #60x or 60xx narrows it down a lot. Could it be there's a slight edge of the third digit showing - a 4 ? Perhaps it is 604.

I'm just about on the road with my 1929 Henderson motorcycle. Does anyone have a Corbin speedometer as shown below that they'd part with? Peter

I have this one, don't know what year it fits. $20 USD + shipping from Canada. Peter

There is no mention of any E series of plugs in either the 1951 or 1970 catalogs (Canadian). But I picked up this list somewhere on this forum, I think. It is probably from the 30s and seems to indicate a type E plug. Maybe this will help. Peter

Hi Chris, we'd love to have you guys join us on our tour in Grand Forks, BC, this June. Anything 1927 or older. I promise there will be no snow! https://antique.vccc.com/JuneTour Peter

I think it's gone but I'll take a look. If I find it I'll let you know. Peter

This Studebaker was mentioned in another thread, so I thought I'd add it to the list. With comments thanks to Dictator27: "I have known this car since 1966 and have driven it on a number of occasions. It is currently in the City of Surrey museum in Surrey, British Columbia. It is a model SF4 7 passenger and is incorrectly dated as 1916. It is actually a 1917 model. The only difference is the 1917 passenger front seat is reversible so it can face the rear seat. It was used as a stage from the Blue Funnel Line dock in New Westminster BC to the community of Haney (a distance of about 25 miles), twice daily until 1927 when it was sold. The engine was used to power a saw mill in Haney until the early 1960's, when it was restored. In the 60s, it was Bart Nygard's car. He sold it to Bob Donaldson. Bob later sold it to the British Columbia Transportation Museum. When that was dismantled it was given to the city of Surrey along with a 1929 model A touring. The A was sold and the Studebaker was put in the old Surrey museum on the Cloverdale Fair Grounds. While it was there I drove it on several occasions. During summer months it was often kept at the historic Stewart farmhouse on Crescent Road. The picture shows the car as it is today. When the new museum was built, the car was put on the second floor. There is no way to drive it out. It has been there since 2005. I will add that as long as the car was in the old museum, the curator was a fellow named Lynn Safrey. He strongly supported keeping the car mobile. As long as he was there the car got reasonably regular use. Unfortunately, he was in the minority." My own experience with this car was in 1967. I was 11 and the family was participating in the Centennial Tour around British Columbia in our 1927 Auburn. One day I got a chance to ride with Bart Nygard in the Studebaker and it was my first experience in anything close to a "Horseless Carriage." I was awestruck with the feeling of sitting up high in an open car, in a tufted seat that felt more like a sofa than a car seat. I've often thought back on that experience as being part of the reason I'm a brass-era guy today. - Peter

Orphans ... my dad liked any old car, especially pre-war, but his preference was for orphan marques. Today I find myself very content with a small collection of cars and motorcycles, all orphans, so I guess that's part of dad's influence. If parts are hard to come by, I probably like it. Also anything historically significant, particularly Canadian. Peter

I'm selling these for a friend. They've been sitting on his bench for decades. The Cadillac switch is stamped 1099 on the back and looks like it's for a type 53/55/57/59 Cadillac? The ignition side lever is missing and there is no key. Neither switch will move, perhaps because there's no key? asking $250 USD + shipping from British Columbia, Canada. The other switch is smaller (~3.75" diameter) and is stamped 1159 on the back. The face is a little scuffed up but both switches move nicely. No key. asking $200 USD + shipping from Canada. Peter

I was curious about this last year when I had to go with aluminum pistons in my 1910 Knight engine. There are several online calculators that will allow you to play with the variables to see the change in compression. One I used is at Summit racing: https://www.summitracing.com/newsandevents/calcsandtools/compression-calculator You'll need to enter the volume of your combustion chamber which may be complicated for a T-head, but if you are just playing around you can estimate it as best you can. It's not a variable that will change so close is good enough for now. You may find that it would take a significant increase in the dome to boost the CR that much. Peter

Maybe some Chevs and Overlands? Also my 1915 Russell - are you looking to sell it? Price?

Good for you for being interested and asking the questions. While your car is not particularly common, it's not unique as far as the basics go. It's much like almost any other teens car. So you don't need a Maxwell-specific club, you just need to connect with people who know 'teens cars. I suggest you see if there's an HCCA Regional Group in your area. Your car would fit in perfectly and there may be people who could advise you on what it needs to get running, then run reliably. One thing at a time. And hold off on the tires until you have it starting easily, sounding good, and are confident about taking it for a test drive. You can find the list of HCCA Regional Groups on https://hcca.org. You may also want to find a copy of Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia from that era. It has lots of information that will help you. Peter

It would make a good spare engine for my 1915 Russell (Canadian) so I want it. But I'm on the other side of the continent - would someone be able to strap it to a pallet and get it to a shipper? Do you happen to know if it's seized or free? Peter Findlay Burnaby, BC, Canada

Can anyone tell me what brand this shock absorber is? Thanks.

I suggest you ask the question in this group: https://groups.io/g/airflowcars There are guys there who have done this.

Sorry, I didn't find it today. It's possible that I already sent it to someone and have forgotten about it. I will look around a little more and if I find it will let you know. sorry. Peter

I'll have to take a look for it tomorrow. I recently moved some other parts in front of my Olds stuff so it may be buried. I'll get back to you. Peter

No, just the few items I listed.