Old Crabby

Old timers would drain the blocks dry and add warm water in the colder months as sleeve valve motors have an immense amount of built in friction. If not warmed up carefully the sleeves were prone to break away from the lugs which drove them. However draining the radiator and block is dangerous since it promotes the buildup of surface corrosion in the head and water jacket which will come loose as the block expands with heat and the force of convection currents. It will also promote shrinkage of water pump, jacket and associated gaskets that are accustomed to being fluid swollen. A better method is to use a block heater if you wish to drive at temps below 35 or so, and use a lighter weight oil like straight 20wt non detergent, multi-grades with detergent will flush away the accumulated carbon and filth on the sleeves with possibly disastrous results,this happened to a customer's Stearns-Knight. If the motor is newly rebuilt a multi grade would be ideal,a synthetic even better from the standpoint of reducing by a small margin any frictional losses. However most sleeve valve motors are rarely rebuilt since they present such a challenge to today's mechanic,additionally there are no valves to adjust and exhaust smoke is an accepted part of driving one so most leave them alone.

Ken my friend, with a car of that vintage such criteria is really hapless at best. With such a car there really is no precision involved in any routine adjustments. You have a 1925 vehicle, with such a car,either rebuilt or original the steering will be loose, the suspension will be weak,the acceleration non-existant and the overall performance so different from contemporary vehicles that you should be pleased that it accelerates and maintains a steady speed at all! I am not diminishing your vehicles capabilities but rather reflecting what you should expect from this Rover. I have owned many '20's vintage British cars and my initial expectations almost always exceeded the realities of their performance or lack thereof. Just my 2 penceworth as Howard says.

H. Austin Clark, 1912 Simplex Speedster. Started when I was 14 years old. I did eventually drive it, the circumstances of which will not bear relation here.

I almost never use an automatic with the sole exception of an '87 Jag xj6 which I use as a concession to my dear wife. In my case it is not lameness but a heart defect that dictates the amount of time I spend behind the wheel. My own sporting choice, a very non-original 30-98 Vauxhall can approach 100 and is quite capable of out-accelerating most modern cars. Above 80 the handling is very touchy as the chassis is essentially an edwardian design and thus very flexible. ]Because of this they were never a serious rival to the Bentley on GP circuits but rather excelled in hill-climbs where rapidity of acceleration was the touchstone of success.

Yes,the course is indeed 1/4 mile,BUT it is also steeply banked and combined with a figure 8,at leat it was in the '80's. Thus high speeds of 100 or more could be achieved with a fair amount of confidence. About the capabilities of Pre-WW2 cars........ Alfas were amongst the most responsive and easily controlled cars of that era, As an aside a collector in Brussels once timed a '33 2500, 0-60mph in 12 seconds. Mind you,this was not using the clutch,a principle employed by many drivers then and now.Some drivers refer to it as the "block change" you simply lift your foot off the accelerator,wait for the motor speed to drop and quickly upshift without benefit of clutch,very fast and efficient,with practice downshifts may be accomplished without clutch also,by carefully accelerating while shifting. I have used this "clutchless upshifting" on nearly all my cars except pre-27 Dodges whose weird "back to front"3 speed shift pattern is caused by an oddly arranged countershaft.

No Bob, my Nash would not exceed 75, this was a customer's late Alfa 2800 rebodied and titled as a '38 although built earlier and tested out on a track in Riverhead. We proved our point although the rear main leaked oil ever after and she smoked for 5 minutes when cold. I don't think the guy ever really noticed as he never drove it.

It would not be believed if I related it anyway.

'25 Dodge sedan when I was 21. While adjusting the brakes one summer ran out of cotter pins for the equalizer rod clevis, used a thin steel brad instead. Next winter I was coasting down 25A in 3rd gear at maybe 30mph,traffic unnaccountably slowed up ahead, pressed the brake pedal, nothing!!pulled the handbrake,practically no response, just had time to steer hard right and hit the guard rail while crunching the gears into first as a last-ditch attempt to slow up. FORTUNATELY there WAS a guard rail and the only damage was to my ego and the rear fender and running board,plus the small aluminum hubcaps which were lost,the tires were scuffed up badly too. After that I always used stainless cotter pins on all exposed chassis and brake components,call me cautious but call me alive.......................

The bottom line is that we will likely never know...............

41 with a 4 year old daughter plus an ageless harridan who constantly deflates my bloated ego. Best line on aging. Adolph Zukor,one of the founders of Hollywood was reading a newspaper article about himself, it reported him as "nearing ninety", His aide derided this but Zukor replied"hell,it's a better line than 'services will be private' ".

Thank you for validating my post above................

Scams like this are nothing new, believe me. Years ago there was this fellow,let's call him "title king". His main endeavour was to supply salvage titles for a fee,legally a perfectly legitimate enterprise. One day at a car show,when in his cups {a characteristic he shared with more than one old car fancier,trust me} he related the "perfect scam" as he described it: He posessed a title for a '28 Studebaker Dictator. After a year of reading hemmings he finally found a fellow who had the exact car,a 28 dictator sedan. He asked the seller for photos of this car, when said photos were received he lost no time in getting insurance cards and going to the local motor vehicles dept, and registering the "car" with his title conveniently altered so the motor #'s matched. A couple of years later he put in a claim for theft of his "studie" and collected $14,000.00,not a great deal of money but this was in the early '90's. I swear this is true, some of you may even know the "title king" by name.

Hello, If you have any documentation of this, letters, trade advertisements,handbills, etc. Please consider sharing this info on this forum as there are many knowledgeable folks here who may respond to your query. Tell us how you came by this knowledge, documents, family history either verbal or written? Anything connected with the early history of the automobile is not only fascinating for it's own sake,It's downright addicting!!!!

Seasons? they're for cookery! Thyme, Oregano,Basil, Chili,Cilantro etc. Got a big 'ol Gravely for snow removal {150' driveway} and a fifth of vodka to "help the process" as they say............

The British,Aussies and Kiwis,{New Zealanders to you} commonly refer to poured babbit as white metal. Several english speaking countries separated by a common language,I.E. Ground,{earth} Hood {bonnet} Transmission {gearbox} wrist pins{gudgeon pins} etc. Chaconne'a son gout I guess..............

If you don't wind your clock it will be accurate twice a day............

Some I drive year round,road conditions and my own "cold tolerance"permitting. Those few I do lay up are simply put on jackstands so the tires won't deform or "set" from sitting too long in one position,I drain the gastanks and run the cars dry for two reasons, modern unleaded with it's silly and unnecessary additives has no shelf life and so-called "stabilizers" can be a curse if too much is added. One of my clients used stabilizer in 3 of his cars,due to medical problems it was a full year before he attempted to drive them again. The gas/stabilizer mixture had turned to a gum-like consistency which required boiling out 2 gastanks and replacing a fuel line on a '32 Plymouth PA. Also keep antifreeze in them for another important reason to wit: Many old time collectors would drain the coolant dry,whether they used straight water or antifreeze. This is dangerous practice as it allows surface corrosion to occur once the water is drained and air is introduced, some of this surface rust coming loose when the car is driven and forming a mud which collects at the bottom of the water jacket and radiator, I have seen it time and time again.

Back at ya R W B!!

According to my friend the late Dick Meyer who had an "armchair Beverly" among other Cords, the Beverly was named for a well known country club,a fashion pioneered by Lozier with Briarcliff,Lakewood etc. Snob value,he explained it to me. As always,I claim no accuracy or responsibility for the above-mentioned lexicography and etymology. I relate it as it was told to me. Caveat Lector..........

That would be great Bob, I know that somewhere in my library is a French Grand Prix/Circuit Des Ardennes roster from 1906-1912 given me by Austie which mentions Clement-Bayards. When I dig it out I'll post it as an attachement.

No, a tranny rebuilder tells me that the electronically controlled trannies they use are like a crapshoot, just when you think you're gonna win you lose. Get a Honda or Toyota,I'm ashamed but accurate to say.

Very well, Set your alarm clocks in the event you fall asleep while reading this........... Adolph Clement lost his parents at an early age and his guardian wanted him to become a grocer! Young Adolphe rebelled at the suggestion and became apprenticed to a blacksmith. At some point he started building handmade bicycles and also working all around France in various machine shops gaining valuable shop experience. He was also one of the champion bicycle racers of France and set up shop on the Rue Brunel in Paris in 1878 building bicycles, at the same time displaying a keen business sense by the establishment of a "riding academy" where people were taught to ride the newfangled velocipedes! Several years later found him manufacturing by all accounts the best finished racing bicycles in France, he also aquired the French patent rights for the new Dunlop Pneumatic Tire which made him very wealthy. He also controlled many smaller firms like Clement-Gladiator which made motorcycles and cyclecars. He did not venture upon serious auto production until 1901 with his first full sized car,designed by Commandant Krebs, a director of the Panhard-Levassor firm. Soon after a racer was made,a front engined car driven by Marius Barbaroux in the Paris Berlin race. His manufacturing base was in Mezieres there was a statue of the Chevalier Bayard, a famous military leader from the age of chivalry whose name,in france, was a byword for politeness and grace. So his vehicles were called Clement-Bayard. Unfortunately none of these characteristics were possessed by Adolphe as he was thoroughly cutthroat and ruthless in his dealings. He once built a huge dirigible with 2 220 HP Clement-bayard engines supplying the power,this monstrosity was sold to the English war office and never used. He retired before 1914. The cars were typically French with a dash mounted radiator,Built in various sizes.They stopped manufacturing about 1922,they may have been bought out by Citroen.

My friend, I can give you the whole life story of Adolphe Clement and his automobiles but it will be I fear very long and boring for many on this forum. I would be very happy to email you privately with this hard to find info but if you wish it to be public here, well..................................................... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

This phenomenon is easily explained amd disposed of. In periods of economic prosperity,however illusory,there exists an innate human desire to express distinction by virtue of material goods. Every epoch has borne witness to this fact. The current crop of bloated family wagons, as well as vinyl clad McMansions simply bears witness to the ease with which such hollow wet dreams are realized. The difference between these cheap and tawdry products of today and the autos and domestic architechtural standards of say 65-70 years ago is one of industrial standards, people nowadays are simply satisfied with less,so long as it makes a big splash, the hell with any built in value. The great folly of it all is that the majority of these insecure drones is that they cannot really afford these tokens of affluence,or is it effluence?

Hi guys! I'm so sorry if this car is too new for this site but I really do wish to get it running again along with the correct parts. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> [color:"purple"] [color:"purple"]