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Buffalo nickels as freeze plugs....


trimacar

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 I always find the little differences in lexicon across the country interesting. Up here in Minnesota, we call them "frost plugs", rather than "freeze plugs". We also call "soda pop", "pop" instead of "soda". Which I'm given to understand is most common in other parts of the country

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19 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

I received a stern lecture from a server in a  Ponderosa Steakhouse about 20 years ago regarding the difference in terminology between "Soda" and "Pop" in Manitowoc , WI.  Never forgot.

Had it been me, he would not have forgotten me getting up and walking out, but not before filing a complaint with the manager

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I guess that I should add that up here a "soda" was something that a person ordered at an ice cream parlor or soda fountain in days long past. A soda would have been made of carbonated water, ice cream and flavoring, like chocolate or strawberry, etc. So, in this part of the country the word soda continued to have that meaning even though I have no idea where I would go these days to order a soda.

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Freeze plugs only work with smart water. The dumb water expands in all directions when it changes state. I'm a PIA about core plugs myself.

 

I am reminded of a time when I overhauled the generator on a 1937 Packard that was from some other car. By the time I got it back together I had been standing on my head for half an hour and drenched in sweat. Stacks of washers and spacers were between the brackets and those are narrow work spaces. I remember imagining some dust bowl mechanic being proud of his American ingenuity, being able to make anything work anywhere. He probably had a worn old leather snap coin purse with three of those nickles he kept for tips.

 

I get uneasy seeing that kind of stuff.

Bernie

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6 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

 I always find the little differences in lexicon across the country interesting. Up here in Minnesota, we call them "frost plugs", rather than "freeze plugs". We also call "soda pop", "pop" instead of "soda". Which I'm given to understand is most common in other parts of the country

 

In northern Pennsylvania, soda pop is "pop."

A soda has ice cream with the pop--also known as an ice cream soda.

 

In southern Pennsylvania, soda pop is "soda."

I don't know what they would call an ice cream soda.

 

Boy, we deviated from the freeze-plug topic, didn't we!

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5 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

I guess that I should add that up here a "soda" was something that a person ordered at an ice cream parlor or soda fountain in days long past. A soda would have been made of carbonated water, ice cream and flavoring, like chocolate or strawberry, etc. So, in this part of the country the word soda continued to have that meaning even though I have no idea where I would go these days to order a soda.

 

From the Carolinas to Alabama to maybe Mississippi, almost all soft drinks are called a Coke, but I understand if you get Texas way it is either an RC or Dr.Pepper.

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49 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Boy, we deviated from the freeze-plug topic, didn't we!

 

Yeah, I've been know to hijack the heck out of a thread from time to time. Should I go on to talk about "casseroles" vs "hot dishes"? By the way, around here a glass of soda pop (I'm being inclusive, aren't I?) with ice cream in it is called a "float". I have to say, and I should have said it well before, the whole buffalo nickels for frost plugs really is very interesting, trimacar. It was a fun bit of information.

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On this subject:  Lincoln pennies are good plugs for the casting holes in the bottom of the 1934 Ford V8 engine block.  They are located on the bottom of the block and covered by the oil pan,  Use two of them (Stacked) because the plug was thicker than the single copper penny.  Just another way the early Ford V8 was economical.

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I used pennies to plug/block the fuel injector holes on my VW Quantum when I ditched the Bosch set up for a Weber.  A bit of red RTV and the original injector housings to hold the pennies in, and that finished up the job. Got to use what's available.

 

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I know a guy who owns a Model T roadster,25 I think. He overhauled the engine and found Argentina coins used for the freeze plugs ( I'm told the proper term is "soft" plugs).He proudly left them in there, figuring the car must have come from Argentina. I don't know the denomination of the coins but they had an Argentinian princess on them. It wasn't Evita.

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12 hours ago, DavidMc said:

We call them Welsh plugs here in Australia, no idea why.  

 

It took me a while to recall this, but I've known that the small plugs used in carburetor bodies to seal bore holes to be called "Welsh plugs". It's funny because I recognized the term right away, but was thrown a little because we were talking about engine blocks. Still, they are essentially the same thing, aren't they?

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Used Nickels in T Fords over 30 years ago so it is not new to me. I call it Soda Pop just to cover all my bases. Everyone seems to understand, "Captain and Coke" no mater where in the world we go. :P 

 

Welsh Plug is a type of Core plug invented here in the USA. I could talk until I'm blue in the face so look here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_plug  Dandy Dave! 

Edited by Dandy Dave (see edit history)
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On ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 11:58 AM, 28 Chrysler said:

Sorry to say , these are Indian head nickels with an American Bison on the reverse.

That a new one on me, just checked eBay 31,054 Buffalo Nickels vs 3,342 Indian head, no problem with Indian Head pennies, they started in 1859. Bob

Edited by 1937hd45 (see edit history)
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The American Bison is not a Buffalo even though most use the term. It is like calling a Land Cruiser  a Jeep and one cent pieces a penny..

Penny was a British coin that was about the size of the U.S.large cents that were minted into 1857.People kept using the slang word "penny"

(I have been collecting coins since 1964)

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Well, traveled to Charlotte for a couple of days, came back and pleasantly surprised to see a lively discussion on what kind of nickel it is, what other coins work where, and soda pop!

 

And yes, they're commonly called freeze plugs, but in reality they're just filling a casting hole, and don't really provide freeze protection.

 

Southern thing, empty one of those sleeves of salted peanuts into a Coke bottle (take a sip first to make room!), Coke and peanuts go together well!

 

Another Southern thing is to pour Coke over "wet" ice, so it doesn't foam and lose carbonation.  You make wet ice by putting cubes in glass, filling with water, emptying the water.  It takes the cold edge off!

 

Charlotte was a good show, the wind was brutal.  New layout of show field is nice in front of the speedway, but to see all the cars there's a lot of walking to do, as some are lined up around the outside of the Speedway and more inside.  Show field in front had lots of empty spaces, did the cold and wind keep them away?

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On 4/8/2016 at 11:25 PM, edselsouth1 said:

I used pennies to plug/block the fuel injector holes on my VW Quantum when I ditched the Bosch set up for a Weber.  A bit of red RTV and the original injector housings to hold the pennies in, and that finished up the job. Got to use what's available.

 

 

I don't know what metallurgical properties people need

when they use pennies, but be aware:  Since 1982, 

American pennies are no longer copper.  For reasons of

economy, they are made of copper-plated zinc, and have

a much lower melting point.

 

You can easily melt a modern American cent by placing it

on your stove-top burner for a minute.  That won't happen

with copper.

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