Robert G. Smits Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I also posted on Buy/Sell for information on a Cartercar. Has anyone ever toured with a friction drive pre 16 automobile or been on a tour with one. I have the opportunity to purchase a restored Cartercar but would like to tour with it. The friction drive is a big question mark for me. Thanks Bob Smits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 We only drive our 1907 Cartercar on short jaunts, but you could still contact our manager/mechanic about it: Willy Vinton - museumATfdifairbanks.comI have some names of other Cartercar owners in my files, if you want to message me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Here is one cruising.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MochetVelo Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Metz won the last Glidden Tour in 1913. They made friction-drive cars exclusively for about 8 years. Cartercar was in business for around ten years, and was the "top-of-the-line" in friction drive. Yes, the friction drive system does work, but it faded when cars got bigger and faster after WWI.Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Frank Hurley (former President of the HCCA) has frequently toured with his 2 cylinder Carter Car on big car tours. In fact, just today he told a story about a guy who said his car didn't belong on a 4 cylinder car tour. He later passed that guy on a long steep grade and the man later apologized.You don't have to shift a friction drive car. You just move the drive wheel in or out to get more speed or torque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Thank you to all who have responded. I am becoming more enthused about purchasing a Cartercar for touring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Metz won the last Glidden Tour in 1913.PhilTen different makes scored perfect scores on the 1913 Glidden Tour. No single car "won" the competition. Metz had several cars on the tour, and I think four of them finished. However, they were entered as a team and counted as one of the ten different makes that scored perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MochetVelo Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Speaking of the 1913 "final" Glidden Tour, here is a very good article by AACA member Alvin Waters for the the Minnesota Historical Society on the event (Here's another good article on the Tour). There may have been no actual "winner" of the Tour, but Metz did get the Glidden Cup, and they never passed up an opportunity to publicize it:One interesting fact from that article was that two of Metz's three entries were completely stripped by thieves at the rail depot. Mechanics from a local garage worked all night to prepare the cars for the tour. The Metz team ready for action in 1913. They drove 1914-model roadsters. The drivers included Charles Metz, the firm's founder, and his son Walter, who lived into the 1970s.Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Albright Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Paper Pulleys Inc. in Tennessee makes the paper friction disc for Metz owners. They can make any size for you. Good Luck,George Albright,Fla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I can not help with any advice on friction drive cars but thought I'd share this.I own what is supposed to be about a 1918 Plymouth narrow gauge friction drive RR Engine. It is powered by a Model A gas engine (was changed out from the original Continental engine) but sadly is not running at this time. It had been running pulling a home built passenger car on a private property with hobby use before it was donated to an organization before myself and three others had big dreams.It is the original design and might have been used in a brick yard so the drive system must have had some life expectancy. Good luck with your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Friction drive is still used on snow blowers (I have one) and other kinds of machinery. From what I have heard the Carter system was functional and reliable. It certainly should be simple to get at and repair, if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 One thing to understand is the pressure between the drive plate and the driven wheel is critical. Too much pressure between the plate and wheel is a bad thing. That might seem a little counter-intuitive. There needs to be a little slip between the two or the driven wheel will be a source of drag on the engine. The Metz car had a special notice plate next to the clutch pedal stating to only apply as much pressure as needed. Below is a quote from Wikipedia that does a pretty good job of explaining one of the reasons behind this need for some slip.Since the output wheel (leather covered wheel) has width, the area of contact is spread across various radii on the primary disc. Because the tangential velocity varies as radius varies, the system must overcome velocity differentials across the surface. The compromise is slippage of the leather to metal contact area which creates friction, which in turn converts much of the energy transfer of this system into heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Very interesting comments on an exceedingly interesting car. However I would suggest that all of our cars with clutches are friction drive. Also automatic transmissions would be unable to transmit torque if there was no friction between the drive parts and the fluid medium and the driven parts. So ALL vehicles are really friction drive. No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Thank You to all who have replied. I am always amazed by the knowledge of our members and their willingness to help. Bob Smits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy DeWitt Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 We have a short video of our 1907 Cartercar posted . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Awesome video, many thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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