Aanderson44

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm going to look at a 48 Ford conv. for sale today. What would be a good speed be on the highway? Thanks </div></div> When new, these cars were more than capable of 70-75mph, good enough for the day, but in today's traffic, I don't know--things like steering, brakes (arguably, 40-48 Fords had some of the best drum brakes ever built, but they don't compare to modern cars). Still, it should be a great tour car. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Evidently there is such a thing, but it appears to be a protoype Thunderbird in Fairlane trim. A 1955 Fairlane-Thunderbird is discussed in the following URL: http://www.classiccar.com/aci-rarebird1.php A advertisement for what is suppose to be a 1955 Ford Fairlane-Thunderbird is shown by McClellen's Automobile Literature at: http://mclellansautomotive.com/photos/H3399.jpg I remember that GM combined Chevrolets and Cadillac Elderado Barritz in 1956 and 1957 to make the Chevrolet El Morocco. Hope this helps </div></div> Ford stylists did play around with the use of the Fairlane "checkmark" chrome spear for the fledgling Thunderbird. Robert Crusoe, then head of Ford Styling actually had a '55 'Bird built for him with this trim on it, and apparently drove it for a couple of years. AMT Corporation, then deeply involved in producing promotional models for the auto industry (before they got into making plastic model car kits) actually tooled this chrome trim into their 1955 Thunderbird promotional model, ran several test shots, before Ford styling got rid of the trim--I've seen several of these test shots--they were in the AMT Corporation archives through 1979, in the boardroom display cases at their old Maple Road factory in Troy MI. As for the El Morocco, those were a private venture, customized '56 Chevies (only a few built, restyled to resemble the '56 Eldorado Biarritz, and several 57's, with restyling (pretty much Cal-custom kind of stuff), intended to make them ape the new for 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. Those used some sheet metal work on the rear quarters to make the Eldo-style raised fins, '56 Plymouth taillight lenses, and 1938 Dodge headlight "buckets", filled solidly with Bondo to make the rear bumperette "bombs". But, GM's top management found out about the El Morocco project, and cut them off pronto, in either late 1956 or early 1957. The person behind the El Morocco was a Detroit area entrepreneur by the last name of Allender, BTW. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Can anyone give me the text book definiton in use during the 1930s for a Phaeton and a Touring car? What are the differences between the two body styles, if any? Paul </div></div> In all this, I think it's well to remember that automakers used the term "Touring Car" on several different styles of bodies over the years. For example, pre-1910 (and even a few years after that), automobiles (usually luxury cars) having closed passenger compartments, with open-air front seat for the chauffeur, and large luggage racks on the roof, were often termed "Touring Car" by their manufacturer or coachbuilder. "Touring" as a descriptive term was also applied to otherwise conventional 2- and 4-dr sedans, certainly in the mid-late 30's, for some reason known best by the Madison Avenue types writing up ad copy. And, who could forget Mercury's first foray into the 4dr hardtop arena in 1956? You got it! Mercury Phaeton (with a fixed steel top and rollup windows). It's mostly advertising and marketing hype, IMHO--as carmakers tried to evoke something out of the past--in the 30's, for example, the horsedrawn era was just a generation and a half back in time--and Phaeton was a distinct open carriage design. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does the 35 - 37 ford pickup truck use a different frame than the same model year car ? </div></div> Ford half ton pickups in the years '32-37 use the same basic frame as the passenger cars. Art Anderson

West, They are out there! Saw several completely stock Willys Americars at last June's GoodGuys Rod & Custom show at Indianapolis. Not all of them got made into gassers. Art Anderson

Well, The old, common way is by combining the rim diameter with the width across the inside of the lips of the wheel rim itself: Say, 7.00-15 (7 inches wide, 15" inside diameter of the tire bead). Art Anderson

Barry, Your MkII is as timeless as any car ever built! Thanks for sharing! Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Springield, Ill. sometime in the 20's. See attach </div></div> Neat picture, Randy! I would place the time frame at circa 1930-33, however, given the more rounded, smoother lines of the cars. It's very interesting to see the smaller, single-truck Birney Safety Car streetcars too! I'd have thought Springfield was large enough for their street railway system to have had larger streetcars--the single truck units tending to be popular mostly with smaller cities, such as Lafayette IN, where I live. Springfield, IIRC, was well-served by intercity transportation as well. By this time, the newly established US-66 was surely bringing automobile and truck traffic into town, both from St. Louis, as well as down from Chicago. The Illinois Central Railroad, and to an even greater extent, the Illinois Traction System (the world's largest and most extensive interurban railway) had to have been feeling both the pinch of the Great Depression, along with the coming of decent paved highways, both drawing freight and passengers from railroads by then. As a little boy, I was taken to Springfield on a couple of occasions, where my foster sister's husband worked his summers, while studying for his Bachelors and Master's degrees at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana--I still remember the large number of older cars on the streets there. One of those trips was along US-136 (or was it US-36?) from Danville to Champaign, then Monticello, Decatur and on to Springfield, by the Illinois Traction System, rocking along in that big orange interurban car, passing every car on the highway paralleling the tracks, only to see them pass us as the car stopped at rural stop after rural stop after rural stop, then re-passing the same cars once again (this would have been about 1949 or so). Thanks for the memories! Art Anderson

Back in '63, while in college in a small Iowa town, one of my buddies and I figured out how to make our Model A Fords work like Jeeps in the snow! Shoot, we just let about 10lbs of air out of those old Ford skinnies, made for fantastic traction! Why, we spent an entire Saturday night that December, a week before we all got on the train to come home for Christmas, busting snow drifts all over Fairfield IA with our A's--great fun! Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">for low projected volumes, a cast resin model kit may be more realistic. Of course, it has a different appeal/audience that a die cast </div></div> The resins kits are sporatically available at over $150+ (sometimes little less) from Germany. They are the ones that I mentioned earlier. I really would like to see a quality die-cast in a reasonable scale to see the details. I have NO DOUBT they could easilly sell the 20,000 units most require. I am a persistant man, I just need to get in front of the right folks. I can't find MPC models. What is the complete name of MPC and where are they located? (If they still exist) </div></div> As much as I personally would like to see a diecast or even plastic model of an Amphica (or for that matter, any of several thousand cars that have never been modeled), as one who spent nearly 40 years in the hobby & toy business (retail, design, product development, manufacturing and marketing), I just don't see an Amphicar happening in anything like a popularly priced miniature or model kit. 20,000 of anything automotive, among the billions of people on the planet doesn't seem insurmountable, but often it is. It all depends on how long one wants to take to clear the inventory once produced. Most all diecast companies working in the $30-and-under simply have to see production numbers well over 100,000 pcs in the first couple of years, just in order to recoup the engineering, development and tooling costs. Go up the ladder, to the likes of Franklin Mint, Danbury Mint, Georgia Marketing & Promotions, and the required numbers become less, true--but also the potential risks grow as well--which is why they tend to go where they know their market is. As for MPC (plasstic model company): MPC, or Model Products Corporation was never in Chicago, their entire corporate life having been in and around Mt. Clemens, Michigan. MPC was owned for a long time by first General Mills, and then by Fundimensions, before the brand and its tooling were purchased by AMT/Ertl (out of Dyersville, Iowa) in 1986. That buyout effectively ended all new tooling done under the trademark MPC, MPC kits subsequently produced by AMT/Ertl having been reissues of old subjects only. Methinks the model company out of the Chicago area mentioned here, from the late 1980's was Monogram Models, which by that time was the only plastic model producer in the Chicago area (Morton Grove IL in those years) actively engaged in tooling new product. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does anyone know whom I would speak to in the various companies (Franklin Mint, Danbury Mint, etc) about getting a nice die cast model done? As the new president of the Amphicar club, I think it is time that an Amphicar was done. I want to try to get this to happen for our club and the others who want but can't afford to own an Amphi. We only have some hard to find, lower quality (OK for the scale 1:43) model available, quite often in incorrect colors. I would like to see a quality 1:18 or 1:24 scale model produced. In the past I was told by Franklin Mint that "we do not accept ideas from customers" in a real matter of fact way. I thought they came across rudely. There has to be some company who sees the potential of an Amphicar model now that they are getting respect they really deserve. I know most want to sell 20k units to be profitable, I see no problem in that with the popularity growing everyday. </div></div> John, As a model car collector (well over 4000 model car kits, and perhaps 500 diecasts in my collection), I'd like to see an Amphicar, but as a now-retired product development specialist for a well-known diecast brand, I'd have to say, unfortunately, that Amphicar is one of those unlikely to "make the cut". Sadly, like so many potential subjects, it's pretty obscure nowadays, outside the enthusiast population, and diecasts, by their very nature, depending on mass production and mass sales, almost always have to have pretty massive visibility. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Art, I hope you still have that "$50 dollar car". <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Wayne </div></div> Uh, what the hey! I did with it as I was supposed to do--played with it, wore it out! But, those early promo tires, with that flywheel motor--talk about black tire streaks on Mom's clean kitchen floor! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Art

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here Goes Kids, This attachment comes from my extensive archive and may put an end to the lengthy repartee about when promos began. Look to the Hudson article (Automotive News, 9/27/48) and the Chevy piece to give an idea of the ACTUAL origins of promos. The OK Used Car deal is unatributed. While I agree completely about scale models built by manufacturers for publicity purposes (Cord, Tucker, etc.), perhaps this article will answer the lingering question; When did it all begin? The Hudson model in question cannot be verified by my long-time friend in Orlando (the mentor of my meager multi-scale collection), but they most certainly made the Ford, Buicks and Chevys. Care to venture a guess as to the value today contained in this attachment? Best leave that to those with deep pockets and the need to have EVERYTHING. Be proud of what you have and share it with others; can you take it with you? Happy collecting, Tom Gibson </div></div> Tom, Those Hudson Commodores were done in plastic, in, I believe, 1/12 scale or thereabouts. Rather than being painted, the body shells were done in two different colors of plastic, the second color replicating the lower body color (below the character line) as painted by Hudson. They weren't promotional models as such, but rather tended to be showroom display pieces (although I suspect that if someone really wanted one, they could be pried away from dealers for a price). These are pretty scarce--in all my years of hitting up model car shows and swap meets, I've seen but 2 or 3 of these, at the legendary Toledo Collector's Toy Fairs in Maumee OH--saw one of them change hands for something in the neighborhood of $800 back about 1993 or so. Promotional model cars, as we've come to know them, pretty much got their start when an upstart new venture, Aluminum Model Toys, out of Birmingham, MI began producing a 1947 Ford Tudor Sedan in 1?15 scale, "slush cast" (slush casting was done by pouring molten metal into a steel mold, the machinery "rolling" the mold around, allowing the molten metal to cool against the tool, then the excess poured out into a vat for remelting--resulting in a casting with a very crude, slushy looking inside surface). These were available, at your friendly neighborhood Ford dealers, a display piece being mounted in a printed cardboard display, under Ford's advertising slogan that year "Watch The Fords Go By". Aluminum Model Toys produced this car but one year, moving to Tenite (acetate plastic) for 1949, and shortening the company name to its initials "AMT". The aluminum used was from the melting down of the fast air armada of WW-II. I was given one of these models at the tender age of 4, by a cousin of Dad's, who owned several small town Ford stores in western Indiana & eastern Illinois--sure had fun with it! A short-lived company, Master Caster, also produced promotional models in this fashion for a few years as well, early postwar Ford and Chevrolet models. About 1950, Bank Thrift Company, who made all manner of supplies for banking, began producing a line of pretty well done scale models of new cars, to be imprinted for banks and other thrift institutions, with the legend "Save for your new ______ at ____ National Bank" imprinted on the roof. Banthrico's were also slush cast, most from the same sourced scrap aluminum alloy as AMT and Master Caster, with stamped steel chassis, a coin slot and a locking plate on the bottom. In addition to Fords and Chevies, Banthrico did Plymouths, Dodges, DeSoto's, Chryslers, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Cadillacs, Nash's (including the early Ramblers), even Packards and Studebakers. They are highly collectible today. It's hard for most anyone under say, 50 years old, to remember that the "mega dealerships" we see today didn't really begin to come about until the late 50's. So, those early promotional models played a huge part in helping to sell the product. I have my own promotional model story to tell: It was the first Saturday in June, 1954. I'd just finished the 4th grade, coming up on my 10th birthday. I used to be the kid at our house who always got up with the chickens, to have breakfast with our dad, making that hour or so, our special time together. Dad mentioned that morning, over cereal or whatever, that he was going to go shopping for a new car for his business work (Dad was an executive with Lafayette Production Credit Association--so he spent days and days, up and down the county roads, talking with farmer-members, checking on crops and livestock. Would I like to go along? Now, you didn't have to ask me that question twice! After making the rounds of the Ford, Chevrolet, Studebaker and such dealers, we wound up in the showroom of Charles Snyder Chrysler-Plymouth in Lafayette. On the showroom floor was a shiny new Plymouth Suburban station wagon. After I had checked the car out thoroughly, inside, outside, upside and underneath, we wound up in a deal booth, while the sales manager checked over Dad's '52 Plymouth 4dr sedan. It became apparent that Dad and the salesman were about $50 apart (on the trade), not a lot of money today, but on a deal over a new car at about $2200, the trade being worth perhaps %500, a significant amount of money. You know the routine--sales manager comes in, tries to counter any objections, finance guy comes in to see if payments were going to be a problem (Nope, Dad was prepared to write a check right there), and finally, Mr. Snyder, the dealer slips in. He looked over the papers, talked to Dad a bit, and then, seeing me squirming excitedly on my chair, announced that he'd be right back. Within 5 minutes, he returned, with a small cardboard box in his hand. Getting Dad's permission, he handed me that box--which upon being opened by an excited kid, revealed........a Product Miniatures 1954 Plymouth Suburban promotional model, in red, just like the one out on the polished linoleum. In the fall of 1991, when Dad was struggling with his final illness (Dad died a week before his 88th birthday), while I was visiting with him, he suddenly blurted out: "You still got that damned $50 toy car????" Yes, Dad couldn't hold out anymore, after Mr. Snyder made my day, that morning--we came home in a shiny new station wagon, and the rest, as they say, is history. Art Anderson

I'm thinking that this car is simply someone's street "special", built in the 30's--not all that uncommon, even in the Depression era. The engine might well be original to the car, but that Stovebolt is no performance engine at all--certainly not with battery-coil-generator igntion and electrical system, and definitely not with an asthmatic 1bbl carburetor. Still, it's a neat little car! Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Promo model history goes well back into the 19th century when miniatures were carried by a wide variety of traveling salesmen. However, for cars, one of my favorite pieces of history for promos dates to 1921. Marmon had limited display for the auto show in New York. Factory shop apprentices were instructed to build 1/4 scale models, two for each of the eight body styles offered for the 1921 Model 34B, plus at least two 1/4 scale engines. These models were well received by the public. Several still exist in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and I have one of the engines. </div></div> Ron, True enough, but I believe I would separate "salesman's samples" from the concept of the promotional piece, as the former weren't generally offered for sale, or given away for the purposes of promoting the sales of the actual products. For example, a very good model-building and collecting friend of mine in Northern California has a most historical scale model, made for promoting the company's forthcoming car--it is THE actual 1/8th scale 1948 Tucker model, as seen in the famous portrait of Preston Tucker holding the car in his arms. What is interesting as well, is that the Tucker Archives at the Gilmore Classic Car Museum has one of the hand-made hubcaps from this model, and the model itself is missing exactly that hubcap. Perhaps, one of these days, both model and hubcap will be reunited, as my friend is getting very well up in years. Perhaps the most famous, and most poignant of all promotional model cars were the cast and polished 1036 Cord 810 sedans, presented to buyers of the first of these cars, to remind them that their car, albeit delayed in release, was indeed coming. Other interesting promotional, but not produced for public sale, model cars include the 2 or 3 1955 Lincoln Futura dream car models, done in 1/10 scale by Ford's styling studios, for showing around the country, in places where the actual car wasn't shown--at least one of these exists today, in private hands. And of course, each February, in Florida, perhaps the most sought after "promo" of all, the crowning part of the Harley Earl Trophy, presented to the winner of the Daytona 500, is a scale rendering of GM's Firebird I turbine dream car. Of course, in all this discussion, I haven't mentioned, other than the SMP 1911 Chevrolet Prototype, the numerous promotional model car kits that have been produced: Models such as the AMT Ford Levacar, all the various model kits of Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars and such. Additionally, in 1964-66, Ford Motor Company ordered specially boxed model kits from AMT, their '32 Ford Victoria (first released as a Ford promo kit, BTW), the '32 Ford Roadster & Coupe, and the '25 Model T Coupe. These were available only through your local Ford dealer, and then only if you had received the offer by mail, as sent to registered Ford owners (I got one of these for each of my 3 Model A's and my '27 T Coupe!). More recently, in late 2003, I got the call, while working at Playing Mantis, doing product development for Johnny Lightning 1/64 scale diecast miniatures, to honcho the development of a miniature of the then forthcoming Chevrolet HHR--which we debuted as a run of some 30,000 pcs in time for the announcement of the production car at the 2004 LA International Auto Show in 2004. It was rather exciting to be in on the ground floor on a totally new car, working from GM Styling computer files, while coaching the mockup makers at our factory in China, to get it right, so that GM could sign off on it for production. But, those days are now past, for me. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Greetings promo pals, Joe, I responded some time ago to your original post, and since then ran across a cool article in the Ford Times from February, 1961. It's just four pages, so I'm going to post 'em one at a time. Here goes... Tom Gibson </div></div> Tom, Loved the scans of the Ford Times article--including pics of one of my boyhood model car heroes, Budd "The Kat From AMT" Anderson (no relation though). What's really funny is, even though the article states that the dies for those promo's were destroyed after their production run, that's not at all true! AMT (as with JoHan and MPC, the other big players in promotional model cars, and Product Miniatures of Milwaukee WI) saved the tooling, most of which was revised into the famous "3in1" customizing model car kits of the 69's which fascinated millions of American kids, and bring mega-dollars on eBay today in their mint form. I know of just one promotional model car whose tooling was destroyed, and that was the SMP (SMP, or Scale Model Products, was a sister brand to AMT, and produced in the same facilities) 1911 prototype Chevrolet. Chevrolet commissioned that project, both in promo and model kit form, for distribution exclusively through Chevrolet dealerships, and ordered the tooling destroyed once that production was completed. Promotionals were cool back then, and still are! Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This may be sort of a category violation, but V8 Flatties are so similar, and truck and car applications are also comparable, here goes: I've been watching for a 38 or 39 Ford pickup or sedan delivery. I ran across a 39 cab and frame with all running gear intact. The guy who owns it says it's a 3-ton chassis. It has dual wheels, closed driveline, single speed rear axle, 85HP flattie. It appears to be 90% complete, is not rusted out, and the engine is not set-up. It would likely be a 1-2 year restoration for me, doing most of the work myself. (not going for a #1, a high #3 would likely be the result.) My idea is to take care of the chassis and cab, then find a 50s or 60s travel trailer and mount it onto the truck. Sort of a 50s version of a class C motor home. Make the necessary modifications so that it looks like it came on the truck, and set it up for weekend camping trips, within 2-300 miles, maybe to drag a bike along, or whatever. Gentle trips at 45-50 MPH should be within the limitations of this old iron. Are medium trucks of this vintage tough enough to haul maybe 3000 lb around regularly? I wouldn't think that a 14-16' trailer would be heavier than that. I don't hesitate to drive my Zephyr HV-12 anywhere and they were supposedly more tempermental than the 8 cylinder version used by Fords of the same era. opinions? </div></div> Well, for starters, the heaviest load rating from the factory back then was 1.5 tons, which would have been a single axle truck. There is no reason why a well built V8-85 wouldn't pull that amount of weight, but I wouldn't expect it to keep up with modern traffic, certainly not at super-slab speeds. But it could be cool, nonetheless! What might be more interesting, and more in keeping with the era of that truck would be to search out vintage motorhome pics from that era! While I don't have any references, probably none were factory-built, there certainly were some very intriguing home-built rigs, that not only looked good, but had all the amenities of home! Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Art, I don't want to upset you, but you might want to get a copy of the MAFCA Judging Standards...Check out Page 2-7. The first section on spark plugs reads, "Champion 3X spark plugs were used throughout Model A Ford Production." It then goes on to explain two small differences in the plugs during Model 3X production, but they were all 3X's. The modern 3X's are a very good reproduction, but they are slightly different from the original. (I have some of each.) </div></div> I believe that if you look it up in the original service manuals and service letters from Ford regarding the Model A, you will find that Champion's C4 was the OEM spark plug for Model A. Somewhere along in the late 50's, Champion quit listing the C4, so Model A owners were having to substitute another plug from Champion (or even from other makers) for their worn out C4's. The orignal C4's are a 5-rib insulator design, white (of course), with CHAMPION and C4 imprinted in red--in the middle 1960's, with nearly 2 million Model A's estimated to be in existence, and Model A restoration at almost a frenzied peak, Champion produced a reissue of the C4, same 5 ribbed white insulator, but with CHAMPION and C4 imprinted in either blue or green. In addition, I purchased my case lot of NOS C4's from an obsolete parts vendor in downtown Fairfield, IA, in 1964, the carton having a Railway Express shipping label FROM Ford, to the forerunner of the 60's Ford dealership in Fairfield, dated in 1931. Additionally, my mentor on restoring my first Model A (a '29 Tudor which I restored while using it as a driver to and from my residence hall in downtown Fairfield to the then-Parsons College campus when it wasn't torn down for some project) was a then elderly gentleman who had workd at that Ford dealership and Jefferson Motors as a mechanic from the time he was 15 (in 1914) until his retirement in 1962, and was a veritable repository as to what was correct on Model A's, as well as a tremendous source for OEM Model A Ford parts. I believe that the Champion 3X was a replacement for the C4, but cannot determine from Champion exactly that online, as the company's website shows neither plug as a current product of Champion. Further, C4's are nearly unobtainium nowadays. I managed to find one set of four and a couple of individual ones on eBay this morning. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Art, Thanks, you are undoubtably a wealth of knowledge! I have never seen any red, in least while driving. Never thought of the possibility the dye got stuck, I will look. Overall the meter is in great shape, I will fix it if possible. Do you know what spark plug Ford used in the Model A, the 3X is supposedly a replacement, so far I havent read anywhere what went in the car originally. Thanks again, Ron </div></div> If the dye were "stuck" as in reversed in the thermometer, you would definitely see it, as it would be all the way up to the top of the glass. It's not at all visible even on a nice hot radiator shell? Barring any breakage (which you would see, given that the bottom inch or so of the glass thermometer is fixed quite solidly in the grout-filled probe) the dye is in there. Now, have you tested this Motometer in HOT water, say 200-212 degrees? If there is dye there, nestled all snug at the bottom of the thermometer, it should rise very quickly in the glass. Remove the Motometer from the radiator cap, and immerse the bulb of it as deeply enough in hot water, so that the bulb heats along its length--you should see red dye. This leads me to wonder if you have enough water in your radiator--the water should be up to the overflow, and stay there, that will put the bulb of the Motometer into the coolant deeply enough to register. Motometers don't work all that well merely exposed to the steam coming off hot radiator water. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Champion Model 3X was original equipment. They make a modern Champion Model 3X that is close, but not exactly the same as the orignal. </div></div> My memory tells me that Champion C4's were the OEM plug for Model A's--a two-piece plug, that could be taken apart for cleaning the electrodes by wire brush. Buried in my lock-n-store I have something like 10 sets of 4 of NOS C4's, left over from my days as a Model A driver and restorer back in the 60's. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Can the thermometer be replaced in a Boyce Motometer? Is there a rebuild kit available? (similar to the quails) Thanks, Ron </div></div> OK, Is the thermometer there, but just has the red dye "stuck" up in the body of the thing, or is it missing entirely? If all that is wrong is the red dye having gotten reversed, up in the tube, instead of down in the bulb where it belongs, that is correctible. This seems to happen if the Motometer has been left laying on its side for a period of time. I have managed to get the red dye (and the "bubble" at the other end of it) reversed, back to where it belongs by simply banging the bottom of the Motometer on a spare tire (you need a soft, but very surface for this, and your spare tire is perfect!), with repeated heatings of the Motometer by sticking the bottom end in hot water--just below boiling. It can take repeated pounding and heating in hot water, but every time I tried it, it worked like a charm! To replace the thermometer, you have to remove the metal plug at the bottom of the Motometer probe (the portion that extends down into the radiator neck)--it's just crimped in place, and then "dig out" the grout that surrounds and secures the glass thermometer--use old dental scrapers for this, they work just fine. There are replacement thermometers out there, just get one, make sure the red dye is where it should be, then insert into the probe, up into the window area of the unit, and pack with fresh grout (like tile grout you would use between tiles on the walls of a shower in the bathroom. Then, a bit of JB Weld epoxy to seal off the bottom of the probe, and you have a repaired Motometer. Back in my college years of the 60's, I restored perhaps a hundred Motometers in this fashion, for extra cash to fund my college hi-jinks and my Model A Fords. Art Anderson

Someplace, in all my stash of books, is a book on building power tools for the home shop, using "junkyard" automobile parts from the 30's, mostly Ford, to create such things as a drill press, bench grinder (using a V8 Ford differential, locked up--on a pedestal), all manner of stuff. If I can ever find it, I will scan some of the pages, and put them up on the 'net. I've had this book since about 1953 (when I was 9!), given to me in a whole bunch of books that had belonged to the deceased son of my dad's boss (who was as much like a grandfather to me as anyone I ever knew!) Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Art, Thanks, That makes sense. I think Ford should have called it a Doctors coupe, it fits better. Thanks, Ron </div></div> Mebbe so, Ron--- But, in retrospect, it seems to me that "Business Coupe" fits better, given that traveling salesmen had pretty much abandoned the train and the interurban for their own car, on the then-rapidly expanding National highway system. I suspect that it was the marketing arm of Ford (and other automakers as well) who recognized this major shift in the use of such coupes. Art Anderson

6 leads, two firing simultaneously? That means a 3-cylinder engine--surely an aircraft engine, but what one? 3-banger aircraft engines were pretty danged unusual. Art Anderson

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does anyone know what Fords reasoning,or marketing intention was with the Business Coupes? Was is saving money with a fabric roof? How rare is the Oval or Opera windows on the 1929 model? Thanks, Ron </div></div> Not really. It was more a way of getting more mileage out of the Sport Coupe body--by simply dumbing down the trim, getting rid of the fake landau irons, and putting in a traditional oval quarter window, into the fabric top, ala' the "Doctor's Coupe" concept of a few years earlier. Incidently, cloth topped coupes, with non-folding tops, were a feature of a great many other automakers in the 20's as well. Art Anderson