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Stearns Knight


alsancle

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'The sorting is finished" until it isn't. We knew we needed to replace the freeze plugs......but held off for other things............the car made the decision for us today. We had the plugs in the trunk of the car and had them for the list in July when it's too hot to drive down here..........unless you're testing your cooling system. Half are already done...........road trip Sunday morning for the Stearns.......160 miles round trip. More to come.......

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Been putting an old race car back together. It's a '28 Stearns Knight H Chassis cut down to 110" WB. No drive train when I got it. Got a tip in 2006 about a Stearns Knight motor that came off a saw mill in Canada. Was able to buy it. Timing chain tightener seized, valve timing messed up, water pump seized, dual point distributor a mess. Fast forward to this weekend... it runs!

Sorry can't figure out how to post a mp4 video taken on my android phone.

Edited by Mark66A (see edit history)
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  • 4 weeks later...

Just finishing the great race in Fargo North Dakota, I was lucky enough to meet Mark and Peter in person. I’m sure the greatest concentration of Stearns Knighr cars in the world is right here.       
 

I found out two things yesterday.

 

One. Fargo is a nice town, full of nice people, I think I would fit in there no problem.

 

Two. I do not believe I have the worlds best sleeve valve display engine anymore.

 

 

 

 

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24 minutes ago, pughs said:

One. When are you moving.

Two. We do need to see photos of the worlds best sleeve valve display engine.

 

I can take some pictures of the second best one in the world.  But the owner of the best one would need to share those.

 

This is the second best one.

 

 

 

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Edited by alsancle (see edit history)
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Im not so sure on the date you are assigning the cutaway………….I was  under the impression it was 1918.

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1 minute ago, Grimy said:

No, that's AJ's birth year....

 

Not far off my dad's birth year.    It might be 1917,  I had to add the white space to make the picture wider than tall so it wouldn't auto rotate on the forum.   Figured I would throw some not quite correct annotation on it.  Probably a mistake.

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2 minutes ago, Grimy said:

No, that's AJ's birth year....


Yup, and he sure has a great face for radio! 

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Just now, edinmass said:


Yup, and he sure has a great face for radio! 

Tom is teaching me how to smile.   Trying to lose the resting bitch face.  I must have had my picture taken 300 times last week, many when I wasn't looking.   For some reason Tom was smiling in every one.

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1 minute ago, alsancle said:

I had to add the white space to make the picture wider than tall so it wouldn't auto rotate on the forum.

Thank you for this info!  That solves a problem I've had posting portrait-format photos.

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https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/stearns-knight/unspecified/2587943.html

 

This Rare, full American Classic automobile was rescued and restored by my late uncle. Purchased in 1989 when both he and the car were 63 years old, he spent much of his time, money and love,  bringing this car back to the beautiful, high performance classic he knew that it had been.  He hired out the restoration work that was needed and stayed with it year after year.  The appraiser states that it's an..  older restoration and has had an older repaint.  It should have just said this was a very long restoration.  It was finished and appraised in 2014 as they both turned 88. 
The appraiser said the car was in very good condition. The engine was rebuilt in the early 1990's about the same time as the body and interior were replaced. Exterior displays new leather top, replated nickel trim, special slanted windshield with a spotlight and wood spoke wheels.  Interior shows little wear. 
Features include an Optima battery and an electric fuel pump. The spotlight has not been wired up. There is not a horn. 
The 1926 Stearns-Knight 6C-5Passenger Brougham has been in dry storage since, seldom run and needs to find a home. 

Price: $30,000 OBO

 

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Great information and back story.  I'm sure this was a labor of love and very cool it has a history tied to your family.  Any chance it should find it's way to your home?  One Stearns Knight is an experience, two is a collection (Steve assured me of this fact in a much more eloquent way....I'm stealing his quote).   This car would look nice sitting next to your Stearns Knight Salon car.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is for the un-numbered legions of Stearns and Stearns Knight custodians and enthusiasts. The high density scanning of my collection of Stearns literature has been completed. It contains most Sales Brochures, Operation and Care manuals and the Parts List Publications (some illustrated or with engine drawings) for the Stearns automobiles from 1901 through their demise in 1929.  Items from this collection are available in digital format from the W.O.K.R. on-line store located at “store.wokr.org”.  I still have a few pieces of general marketing literature to scan.  Also available from the W.O.K.R. Library is the complete Art Aseltine Collection of Stearns and Stearns Knight advertisements (1903 thru 1929) and a collection of factory photos. These are also all available in digital format as well through the store. Contact the W.O.K.R. Librarian for information on the Art Aseltine Collection. The items in these collections are not yet listed in the on-line inventory but can be purchased by contacting the store or librarian. The store and library are part time volunteer run services provided by the W.O.K.R. club. 

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Before and after pictures of the "Orange" H-8-90 8 cyl coupe. It originally came from Culver City,CA. Discovered in Mitchell, SD. Inherited by a nephew in Johnson City, IL. Then sold to a collector in Pleasanton, CA about 1991. Sold again and was restored in Corinth NY.  Sold in 2017 to a  collection in Glen Cove, NY.

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1929 Ad1044897146_jsw_19280600_country_life_stearns-knight_sales_corp_ad_americas_most_artistic_expression_of_the_motor_mode.jpg.5680e4e82994283755195651c6bce7f3.jpg

 

Edited by Mark66A
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The pinnacle of poppet valve cars by Stearns - This 45-90 is capable of over 100mph. The car is rated at 90 HP and has a 800 CID engine.  It was bodied as a race car from Barney Oldfield's ownership when new through Lindley Bothwell's ownership (thru about 1960) and raced regularly in southern CA. Harrah's rebodied it as a Toy Tonneau. It now resides in a private collection in California.  In 1948 Lindley Bothwell (then President of HCCA) used this car to lead the very first HCCA Caravan. My 1912 Stearns Knight also participated in that event.

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Edited by Mark66A (see edit history)
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1929 H-8-90 Cabriolet.  Purchased new by a mining "tycon" from Coeur d'Alene, ID from Adelman Bros in Boise ID. along with a H-8-90 5 Passenger Sedan (now owned by Peter Woyen}. Eventually owned by collector Bob Lane, Colbert, WA .. Sold to early WOKR member Ray Lillengreen who toured it extensively in the PNW 1961 to 1972.  Stored in barn near Reardon, WA by heirs until 2010 then bought and restored by Al Giddings. Now in Canada.  This and the 1927 G-8-90 are the only known Cabriolet Coupes to have survived.

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Edited by Mark66A
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Nethercutt Collection's 1928 J-8-90 divided Limo with a factory installed radio. Dash was reconfigured to accommodate radio controls, antenna is under roof material. This car was first owned by Lawrence Townsend a Washington DC diplomat. He gave car to his chauffeur who sold it to Clyde Simmons cira 1953.  car bought by Jack Nethercutt about 1960, then sold to Harrahs about 1962, and later bought back by Nethercutt at the Harrah auction in 1985.

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On 3/1/2021 at 6:27 PM, Mark66A said:

One more note. I have a very nice, rebuilt Stromberg SF3 which I have been hoping to bolt up to a Stearns Knight 8 cyl. However - it will not fit. It has a big butt and will not wiggle in between the cylinder block and the steering box. Sigh.... now I apparently have to find a Zenith63AW14. My supply of unusable nicely rebuilt vintage carbs is growing.

Looking for info on my SFM3, parts adjustments etc.

On 3/1/2021 at 6:27 PM, Mark66A said:

One more note. I have a very nice, rebuilt Stromberg SF3 which I have been hoping to bolt up to a Stearns Knight 8 cyl. However - it will not fit. It has a big butt and will not wiggle in between the cylinder block and the steering box. Sigh.... now I apparently have to find a Zenith63AW14. My supply of unusable nicely rebuilt vintage carbs is growing.

Hi There I'm looking for some help on my SFM3, parts and adjustments. Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm surprised Ed didn't rave about the side mount rear view mirrors on the Nethercutt car 😄.   Note from Stearns Knight Data Book page 42: Body Equipment. Fender Mirrors: Seven Passenger Limousine. Front Tire Mirrors - Seven Passenger Limousine, All Weather Cabriolet, all weather town car - all weather Brougham.

Edited by Mark66A
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  • 3 weeks later...

1929 H-8-90 Coupe. Left in a house garage in the Detroit area. House was sold. Several years of unpaid rent. No result in the efforts to find owner. Bought and restored in early 1970's in Plymouth, MI. Sold at ACD Auction in mid to late 80's went to Jonesville, TX. Sold at an estate auction fall of '90. Went to Rural PA at that time and is still there as of 2022. One of three known coupe survivors.

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Edited by Mark66A (see edit history)
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Phil and I took a brake today. Took the White and the Stearns to a local show. They said there were 1000 cars on display……..I actually just sat by our cars and never walked around. The crowd looked like it was Hershey on show day. Cars were a big hit, and I met a bunch of new pre war people. A fun day, and now back to the grind this week.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am missing the pair of front license plate brackets for the J-8-90 Stearns Knight that I am working on as well as form my own car. I have mailed the only single bracket I have to a foundry to have it duplicated. Their process is to scan the part, print it in wax and then use that to do an investment casting. They then save the scan data for a while in case there is a need for another part. SO, do any other SK H/J owners have a need for these brackets, and do any other cars used this bracket?What cars would they be? Here are a couple photos:

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/29/2022 at 10:40 AM, Mark66A said:

I am missing the pair of front license plate brackets for the J-8-90 Stearns Knight that I am working on as well as form my own car. I have mailed the only single bracket I have to a foundry to have it duplicated. Their process is to scan the part, print it in wax and then use that to do an investment casting. They then save the scan data for a while in case there is a need for another part. SO, do any other SK H/J owners have a need for these brackets, and do any other cars used this bracket?What cars would they be? Here are a couple photos:

 

Mark, our Stearns thread gets limited views.   Maybe post this up in the what is it section or general section of the forum?   If you want I can do it for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Stearns is heading north as we speak. I give Ed a hard time, but he is a mechanical genius. The work that he and Phil did was fantastic, and took a car that was basically garage art and made it tour worthy.


Also, without the tremendous support of our Stearns Knight friends, especially Mark, this car would still be sitting stationary in the garage.

 

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Even from my very limited experience with Ed’s mechanical abilities I’ll second his genius Status in fixing things correctly. But it’s still fun giving him a hard time as he is not afraid to laugh at himself. Something we all should do more often so we don’t get a big head like A certain mechanical genius we all know does at times. 
dave s 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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