Matt Harwood Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 So I put my '41 Cadillac 60 Special up on the lift for the first time today, just to see what it was like (very solid, but very greasy). Nothing unusual except for all the new brake parts, which is always nice. Then I saw this thing hanging off the floor on the driver's side, just behind the front seat: It's on a fairly heavy-duty bracket and has two wires coming off it and going towards the front of the car (I'll pursue them tomorrow). My first thought was something to do with the radio, but I've never had any other '40s car with such a thing and my two other '41 Cadillacs with radios didn't have one. So probably not related to that. Maybe a capacitor? But for what? No idea. There's also a strange knob on the dash, which pulls out but doesn't stay out, so it's like a momentary switch. It's not original, but it's over on the left like a headlight switch. No idea what that does either. Could it be related? I'll follow the wires and see where they go but thought that perhaps someone here would recognize it and tell me what I'm looking at, because I'm truly stumped. Any thoughts on what it might be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Fascinating...but I haven't a clue. The "momentary contact switch" on the left side of the dash that you describe could very well have operated a "Pop Up", or other brand, electric gas cap. All of the ones that I've encountered have been mounted on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 That blocks those gamma rays from outer space... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 1 minute ago, TexRiv_63 said: That blocks those gamma rays from outer space... What, so they don't hit my ass? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 It's intuitively obvious that the component is an obverse resonator. They were after market accessories and are very rare. They were installed on certain vehicles in the early days of WWII to detect signals broadcast by German U-Boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, your car doesn't have the directional finder unit which would give a real time azimuth reading when the "strange knob on the dash" was pulled. It's all good, Grog 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 That's where the dilithium crystals were mounted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArticiferTom Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 That's Not a Bond car is it . Check body badger ,to see if build by "Q" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 You say it's under the front seat? Maybe some sort of catch basin for long rides....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 46 minutes ago, Skyking said: You say it's under the front seat? Maybe some sort of catch basin for long rides....... So i'm guessing the wires and switch would be for the electric quick dump feature! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Probably just a bomb that didn't go off..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 My serious guess is that it is some sort of parking assist device. Maybe a transducer that buzzes or lights a light when the car is over a specific spot in its home garage. Or possibly an early garage door opener? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Fascinating? Yes, fascinating. At 1:02 Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike36 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Come on Matt, don't you know a flux capacitor when you see one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poci1957 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Something from the back of Popular Mechanics with the word "miracle" in the name? Right next to the toilet paper oil filter, I bet, Todd C PS--we will definitely want to know where you trace the wires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Is there a magnet taped to the driveshaft ? (or a place where one fell off ?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Any markings on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillP Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 (edited) Sensor for an semi-automatic entry gate? Drive over the companion piece in the driveway, pause and pull the knob and the gate opens. I dunno, just theorizing; the Cad was a zoot car, maybe an estate owner or high govt employee owned. !!! I just went back and saw Restorer32's post. Never mind, I'll be going back to my nap now. Edited June 9, 2016 by BillP (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Matt, I am very curiuos to know where the wires trace to, as well. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily rag Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 It looks like either a electromagnet or a pickup coil. If it is connected to the pull switch then it was most likely used to trigger a magnetic reed switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 (edited) OK, after some poking around, I see no markings on the canister itself, it's just a can with a fiber-board wrapper with tar to seal it up. It's dense and heavy, so it's got to be some kind of electrical device. One of the wires from the canister is a ground to the frame, the other is a heavy-gauge wire that goes to this pull knob. There's a third wire that's 12 gauge and brand new cloth covered, so it was clearly replaced not too long ago, but it's not connected to anything. I would assume that would go to something like the battery or other power point. I'm inclined to agree with the assessment that it's an electromagnet designed to trigger some kind of door or gate. How cool is that? Nice work! The car doesn't currently have an electrical fuel pump, but if I add one, perhaps I'll use this switch as a momentary switch. Since it runs and drives just fine on the mechanical pump, it would just be for starting and this would be a perfect setup for running the pump for a few seconds at a time. Plus the wires are already in place! Edited June 9, 2016 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 How long have you owned this car Matt? If part of the wiring looks relatively new, is there any chance of explanation from a previous owner? Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I'd go with the gate opener. Pull the knob and hold a piece of ferrous metal next to it. It is probably a potted magnet. I used to visit a facility with secure parking. A scanner read your pass to get in. Getting out used a buried magnetic switch that sensed a car driving up to the gate. I would call when I approached and one of the staff would toss a small manhole cover over the magnet to let me in. The device on the Caddy would be pretty secure for the time. How many cars would have a magnet to get in? Just the reverse of the system I used. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poci1957 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Excellent theory from Restorer32, gate opener sure seems likely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 I've had the car about a year, but we spent a lot of time getting it back on its feet. I found it in a body shop where it had been repainted in 1996, but the owner never came back to pick it up (which is how I was eventually able to buy it), so I can't contact him to find out what was going on. Doing some title work, we realized the car was once owned by someone in our local CCCA region after whom an annual award is named, but he passed away in the '70s, so no dice there, either. The system, whatever it does, doesn't seem to have power going to it anymore, so I'm not going to worry about it. Just a kind of curious thing. Thanks for the great answers, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Those '41's are such nice driving cars, all models. I like the 60S best. I used to service a Model 62 that a friend bought in 1964 for $600 (actually quite high at the time). I was driving it on the New York State Thruway with him riding when the car turned 40,000 miles in the late 1990's. Love those flathead 8's. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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