Ray Bell

I hope Ivan is well... I no longer have his phone number, but visiting him one afternoon about 17 years ago was a real treat.

One of the things which Lee Iacocca found when investigating waste at Chrysler was that some models missed out on getting three (or was it two?) cars on a rail flatcar by a few inches, that design folk had no connection with shipping folk and nobody sent memos to try to correct things.

A few weeks ago the Darling Downs Vintage and Veteran Car Club circulated an e.mail request to members: I sent the lady a couple of suggestions, but they were really only potential contacts from afar. In the meantime, she located a De Soto in nearby Maroochydore. And a couple of weeks ago she advised me that on her mum's 89th birthday they all had a ride in the car, thanks to owner Gary Deane… Dorothy meets the De Soto. 89-year old Dorothy Andreasen once again becomes acquainted with a 1929 De Soto Tourer. Family getting ready for their jaunt. Gary Deane – with the Akubra hat – shows the family the engine as John samples the driver’s seat. Rear view. With the fold-down luggage rack and spare tyre on the back, the car is equipped as many were in the day. All smiles! Dorothy hasn't driven for ten years, but she certainly appears to be enjoying sitting in the driver's seat once again. Many thanks to Dorothy's daughter, Kerryn, for the photos and opportunity to share the pleasure Dorothy had.

Graeme is mistaken in thinking that small-engined cars ruled the roost in the Eastern states... In the Australian Grand Prix that was the way things went simply because that race was run, from 1928 to 1935, by the Light Car Club of Australia. When they relinquished the race there was a plethora of cars already there larger than their 2-litre limit. Hudsons were prominent, but various Fords, Oldsmobiles and others came in quickly because they were racing at other places like Penrith and Maroubra Speedways and competing in open road trial events. The big 5-litre Indianapolis Ballot had been in Australia since 1928 or 1929, imported to race at Maroubra. One thing in that piece I never knew about was a triangular course at Lake Perkollili, I knew there was a circle and a circle with chicanes, I must talk to Terry Walker about this.

It's hard not to agree with you on all of that... And the sign was as optimistic as the car, then? It says 160kmh, I had translated that. And who is that at, I guess, Lake Perkolilli?

An engine photo would be nice... Come to think of it, the rear end would have to have been changed. Or an overdrive fitted. The wheels on the 1938 car would surely have been of a smaller diameter than those of the 1928 Buick. Turning them quick enough to do 100mph would have been a real test of that engine.

I did some more hunting around and found a similar photo... The steering wheel doesn't look pre-war, though, and it's certainly not 1928. But as the car was in use right up into modern times it wouldn't be a surprise to learn that modifications were made through all those years.

Quite incredible, Stuart, thank you... Perhaps he bored the engine a little and perhaps did a little 'hotting up' to get some better performance to get the claimed 100mph. Where did you get the interior photo? Are there more interesting shots there?

Well, this is the very first time I've come to this forum and not got an answer... Does anybody know what engine might have been in a '28 Buick of about the 214 cubic inch size?

Paul Arzens built this car: ...in 1938. It's now in the Schlumpf museum in France and there are many mentions of it on the internet. The sign beside the car says its engine is 3.5-litres and other information from the internet says it's built on a '28 Buick chassis and has 214 cubic inches. Well, 214 cubic inches is close to 3.5-litres, so we'll ride with that. But what engine is it? Was there a six of that size in the Buick line-up at that time? I have found nowhere that anyone mentions the make of engine, but a number of places where the chassis make is mentioned. All help keenly appreciated.

A belated 'thank you' for that, yes, you've got it there I'm sure...

Here I am again... A friend found a radiator surround in the rubbish when he was building his house several years ago. So it became 'decoration' in the garden. It actually looks to me like it's going to be something someone else finds when they sell the place and are cleaning up the joint. Nevertheless, it's probably an identifiable item at this stage, can anyone help with this?

Does what appears to be an air cleaner on top of the manifolding indicate this is a very late model of this engine? I've been hunting around for photos and have seen that same shape over on the other side of the engine where the carburettor was typically fitted.

Yes, I did get the information on the 2050cc engine... But it's all seemingly difficult. Dead links etc. It just amazes me that such a thing can be so hard.

I'm pretty sure this one isn't for sale... In a bit of desert where there's seldom grass, a neat 'garden gnome' like this helps fill things out.

Now I am told that the LC5 had the same engine at 2.2 litres... Any more information on this one, please?

Thank you... I probably would have worked that out myself if only I'd walked around the other side of it. Or at least had a good guess, as the inlet tract through the centre of the block was a feature I knew about. It has to be pre-1928, then, when the 'Fast Four' was introduced prior to the Chrysler merge and 6-cylinder engines. I think that would be right? Does anyone know when Dodge went away from the external contracting rear brakes?

Okay, men, here's another 'garden gnome' that I couldn't identify... How will we go with this one?

Thanks for the post... What distinguishes the 1924 model from other years?

I'm sure a lot of other cars suffered the same fate... I heard of one Vauxhall 23/60 which was used to power a sawmill. I remember seeing regularly a '38 Dodge which was in use running a pump from a farm dam. Bob Trevan's K-Model Ford engine was found in a boat.

Oh yes, I did have a ride in the Roamer Duesenberg...

I love your great stories, Ivan, and it is over a decade since I visited you... I had the misfortune to have to spend several days working in Goondiwindi recently. I had no need to go to Repco, but did finish up in Supercheap Auto after something or other. Around about right now Rusty will begin to realise that I'm quite some distance from Ontario, while in fact this car is located in someone's driveway at Alice Springs, where I am working this week. Those 20-volt cordless tools are extremely handy, I'm carrying with me on this trip a rattle gun, angle grinder, 6" power saw and a drill, all of them from Aldi. It was this angle grinder which I used to cut the Jewitt chassis near Mungindi into three parts so I could carry it home in the Forester.

Thank you, Frank, that does very much look like the right car... I think the rib around the 'splash apron' is a very unusual feature. The shape of the top section of the hood, even though the one I saw was damaged, fits with that overall shape in that area too, and I wondered what the 'W5' casting was all about. I think the owner will be surprised that I came up with these answers quickly. However, after typing up this much I had a quick look at Google to see if I could pinpoint the year and found that the identical car was named a 'Rugby' for British markets, which probably means the Australian market as well. So this might well be a Rugby. I do recall looking at a Rugby a few years ago, but I couldn't say if it was the same as this or not. Oh, and what year do you reckon? About 1924?

I know, I only ever seem to log in when I want something identified... But the way I see it, some of you people enjoy picking up on little things which point to just what make or model a car might be. So here's another one to see if you can satisfy yourselves that not much escapes your attention. Points I picked up were: Semi-elliptic springs front and rear External contracting brakes on rear, front hubs missing. 4-cyl side-valve engine with updraught carburettor. Remote gearbox - possibly an indication of it being pre-1920? Tailshaft (driveshaft) arrangement is unusual, at least to me.

Yes, I'm well aware of the changes which took place with the merger... Only the XPAG engine and the Riley engines survived and only for a relatively short time, the XPAG in the Wolseley 4/44 going the longest. Otherwise the range of five basic Austin engines were used in all the cars well into the sixties, and some into the eighties. I will try the HCVS and see how I get on. I am just dumbfounded that there seems to be nothing online anywhere about these engines.