Walt G Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Ed, Thank you for saving this car but also and even more so for making it roadworthy again . That is what will allow so many people to enjoy seeing it go down the road. My dear friend from England, Peter Moore when he and his wife Rita came over to attend Hershey with me in 1988, stated it best as we stood and watched a car drive by as we walked from the "blue" flea market " old cars are best when viewed in motion". Nothing says it better then that. Walt 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 Phil made more progress on the White today. We now have halogen headlights, with led running and stop lights. We decided to check the alignment........was a good thing we did. Also changed out the right front rim that was a bit out of round........3/8 of an inch, for one of the spares. Just when we thought we were done......it somehow had some play in the tie rods. We didn’t see/feel it before.......even though we shook down the front end a dozen times and redid the king pins and bushings/bearings. Should have the tie rod situation fixed by end of day tomorrow. Time to clean up the trailer, and get the car inside for the trip north. To be honest, it’s been a fantastic adventure...........best part is all the new friends I have made with this new car. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the tour. Dave C who braved covid last fall and drove 12 hours down here to see the car and drive it will be on the tour with his 1915 V-8 Olds roadster. Long range forecast looks good so far. 👍👍👍 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 Ed, You know as well as I do, that the work never is done on cars of this vintage (or for another fifteen years later at least!). That is part of the fun! And the challenge. Have a wonderful time on the tour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 Enjoy the tour and post pics if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 AJ has promised to shoot video and post it here while the tour is on..............Last few adjustments this morning, and it's going into the trailer tonight for next week. We serviced the GMC and now are going to do a quick check over on the trailer. We went through the entire thing last year before we picked up the White in August, so it should be fine. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 Hope you have a great time, just decided my cars are too modern and $197 base entry fee (plus any extras) was a bit steep. Cars and Coffee in Ocoee and the SLK meet are more my speed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 2 hours ago, padgett said: Hope you have a great time, just decided my cars are too modern and $197 base entry fee (plus any extras) was a bit steep. Cars and Coffee in Ocoee and the SLK meet are more my speed. You coming by to visit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 For $197, I'd go twice! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 You forget that is just the start. Guess not so much as the shekels as all of the ancillary costs & would drive something too new for many (89). Based on the comments I get not sure I'd be welcome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelroadster Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Ed, The v-8 roadster is still under restoration. The four cylinder overhead valve one is the one that is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 (edited) Interesting day today with the White. Last night Phil and I “officially finished “ the mechanicals on the car. While we still have some very minor tweaking, the car is essentially finished mechanically. We needed to do a sustained high speed run after a modification to the Stewart Warner vacuum tank. It was possible we could have made changes that caused lack of volume to the can and carb. We also finished the alignment and improving the wheels for run out. So, at lunch, we decided to run it to the end of the world. The Palm Beach airport is a half mile from the shop, so we decided to speed run around it as the roads are three lanes wide and divided with guard rails for safety, and have almost no stop lights or curb cuts. Basically a large rectangle. Thus it began. The light turned green, and I started heading west.....on a straight flat road.........nothing between me and the first turn 3 1/2 miles away. Wound through the gears, and then at about forty hammered the overdrive. The pedal was part of the floor..........WFO the whole straight away. The only thing that slowed our acceleration was wind resistance. We wrung it out.......till there was absolutely nothing left. Gone was the wobble we had had since the first day we drove it. The new alignment adjustments stopped the instability in the front end tracking. We didn’t overheat, we didn’t run out of fuel delivery supply, nothing let go.........at full throttle hammering away for almost three minutes without let up. Nothing broke, nothing degraded, and it was an interesting sensation to drive a 104 year old car passing modern stuff with ease. One guy figured it out......and pulled up along side of us and gave us a big thumbs up. We intentionally didn’t check our speed.....the test was a full throttle load for performance, safety, and reliability. It passed 100 percent. How fast was it........too fast to ever duplicate again, faster than was necessary or reasonable. A car that can run out at 100 percent for three minutes will operate at 60 percent forever. That’s the point of pushing it so hard. It was rewarding to know the car is now as good mechanically as the day it left the factory. Even all the oil leaks we have been fighting have stopped. If I could change just one thing......it would be improving the brakes. We will revisit them after the tour. I’m certain they are correct and functional as designed. The car is too fast and modern traffic and drivers too unpredictable to take any chance with this machine. I can say this, at wide open throttle it burns more fuel than anything I have ever driven except a top fuel dragster. I’ll sleep well tonight now knowing the car is as good as I can make it. Edited April 16, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Ed, CONGRATS on your speed run and don't do it again. I am sorry that I am not going to be joining you on the Florida tour but it was in conflict with the Pate Swap Meet (Texas version of Hershey with more antique spaces but a greatly inferior car corral or old stuff). Need to sell a bunch of advertising and the wife's non profit has a fund raiser gala .that week end 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Congrats Ed, the White has come a long way from a static car in a friend’s garage to a road locomotive doing what the makers intended...it sure found the correct home.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Fan-tastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billorn Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Where's the video? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 Tuesday, video will post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 The Great White makes a speed run! That has to be a ball. I envy the toys you get to play with. Have a great tour, enjoy every minute of it. dave s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Ash Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 I'm glad the water pump impeller worked OK, and I'm sure Joe Puleo is happy the drive gear meshed well. One of these days, I'll be in Florida for my ride in the great White. Wonderful to hear it's all running well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 12 hours ago, edinmass said: Interesting day today with the White. Last night Phil and I “officially finished “ the mechanicals on the car. While we still have some very minor tweaking, the car is essentially finished mechanically. The car is too fast and modern traffic and drivers too unpredictable to take any chance with this machine. I can say this, at wide open throttle it burns more fuel than anything I have ever driven except a top fuel dragster. I’ll sleep well tonight now knowing the car is as good as I can make it. Congrats, Ed, Sorry we cannot be on the Tour, but wishing you well- "SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 50 minutes ago, Gary_Ash said: I'm glad the water pump impeller worked OK, and I'm sure Joe Puleo is happy the drive gear meshed well. One of these days, I'll be in Florida for my ride in the great White. Wonderful to hear it's all running well. GARY.........you get to drive it. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Back in the day it was either over the bridges or out on Military (441). Was nothing out there and just one S turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 2 hours ago, padgett said: Back in the day it was either over the bridges or out on Military (441). Was nothing out there and just one S turn. S turn is still there. I drive it almost every day. Get's exciting in a big CCCA Classic at speed. The White is just too scary to run through there over fifty mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 To think that Military Trail was constructed in the 40s so far out in the boonies that submarines could not count the trucks in a convoy. Nobody noticed cars destined for Sebring or the Bahamas being tested at full chat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 1 hour ago, padgett said: To think that Military Trail was constructed in the 40s so far out in the boonies that submarines could not count the trucks in a convoy. Nobody noticed cars destined for Sebring or the Bahamas being tested at full chat. Everything old is new again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1935Packard Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Awesome, Ed. If you ever do it again, I wonder if you can check your top speed with a speedometer app on your phone. Just set it to save your top speed and reset it when you start, and it will save your stop speed so you can check it when the experiment is over. If there is a next time, that is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, 1935Packard said: Awesome, Ed. If you ever do it again, I wonder if you can check your top speed with a speedometer app on your phone. Just set it to save your top speed and reset it when you start, and it will save your stop speed so you can check it when the experiment is over. If there is a next time, that is.... Orin........purposely didn’t take the measurement. The test was wide open throttle under load for approximately three minutes. While I admit I am very interested in how fast we were going, I think it’s best not to know so I don’t get tempted to push it to the edge in the future. As a young kid I would test drive my cars down this long and steep hill............it was good for a lot of extra speed on the top end. It’s just not part of who I am anymore. I only push cars to the maximum to prove the fuel, ignition, cooling system, and steering. If a car is functioning perfectly at 100 percent throttle.........it will be fine at fifty to sixty percent, where it would be at during maximum normal driving conditions. It’s a very useful test, but new tires and tubes, and a car that I have personally inspected and repaired is the only way I would do this. I have never done it on customer cars......they get the 80 percent treatment. Thus if I was working on your roadster to be sorted out for you, I would back off on it at 80 mph. Pushing a car to its maximum is enjoyable........but must only be done where safe, and under optimal conditions. On the White, the windshield wind drag was obviously holding us back quite a bit. I could have folded it, but loading the engine was my objective, not total top speed. Phil got awful quiet as I didn’t tell him what I was up to till I started the test.............after I backed off he had a huge smile on his face...........and I congratulated him.........he did the largest amount of labor on the car by far. It’s been great fun sharing the car here with everyone. It certainly got done much faster than normal so I could keep everyone entertained during the pandemic. That it’s finished and out on the first AACA event post pandemic is appropriate. Now it’s time to start thinking about my next project............the Stearns Knight and my speedster sitting up in Long Island. We will do both at the same time. Have some plans for the Stearns coming up. And AJ can come down during the heat and help out.......hotels and flights are cheap when it’s 110 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Edited April 17, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 24 minutes ago, edinmass said: hotels and flights are cheap when it’s 110 degrees and 90 percent humidity. I don't think anything is cheap in Florida right now. A friend just received a cash offer on a Gulf front lot in the Panhandle that is not for sale which has doubled in price in the last 6 months. To give you an idea of value it will buy two Duesenberg SJ's. He paid $175K for it in 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Yes we're in the dry season now and can sell the nice lots with cypress trees to the Yankees. (Is Yankee still politically correct ?) ps probably not a good idea to admit to any mph on a public forum though I suspect 50 years is past any statute of limitations. Seems I remember a NASCAR driver being banned from driving in Florida for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 (edited) Looks like we have a mass email /notice going on now as I just got the same notice in a contact about the Mustang for sale. Reported it and hope that the moderators can take this down from a dealer who is using our fine Forums as a sales network. Thank you. WG Edited April 17, 2021 by Walt G typo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 1 hour ago, Robert G. Smits said: I don't think anything is cheap in Florida right now. A friend just received a cash offer on a Gulf front lot in the Panhandle that is not for sale which has doubled in price in the last 6 months. To give you an idea of value it will buy two Duesenberg SJ's. He paid $175K for it in 2000. Good SJ's are running way more than that lot..............Florida real estate fluctuations have been going on since I was a kid in the 70's.........and since my father was a kid in the 1920's. Long term, it's hard to lose money done here, as people are moving in every day.......lately the numbers are 800-900 NEW residents per week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Hopefully not the usual locusts from Mass coming to ruin everything. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert G. Smits Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 4 hours ago, edinmass said: Good SJ's are running way more than that lot.. You are correct, I was referring to a J, Not SJ. It was a seven figure offer that didn't include and ones or twos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 OTOH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 (edited) OTOH does not register with us dinosaurs. The car is back in the trailer for the first time since I picked it up back in August. It was a lot more fun to drive it in then to use the winch. We are all set for touring on Monday! You can see the added 1921 Chevy headlights we upgraded to Halogen. They come on and off with two nuts and a quick disconnect on the electrical harness. Since the first drive is going to be in the evening we left the lights on for the Monday night welcome party. Phil, AJ, and I rented a house right down the street from the hotel. So lights will be a good idea for the trip home. They remove in under two minutes . As do the LED tail and stop lamps. Safety first. Edited April 17, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 I know that I would like the look better without those Chevy headlamps added, however, their condition does make them fit right in there! I like the idea of simple add/remove better lamps front and rear for safety at night. Safety IS important, especially these days. Looking forward to tour reports, and LOTS of photos! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Harper Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 (edited) Have fun Ed! You have certainly earned it! Edited April 17, 2021 by Terry Harper (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_P Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Good luck, and have a blast! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 Lights are a compromise, the factory lights are as dim as a certain House of Representatives person who shall go unnamed. The tail lights and stop lights are LED, and as bright as a few of our fellow forum members. They also remove with one bolt, with no extra holes. Quick disconnect for the show field also. Unfortunately, I purchased a huge air horn that sounds like a train, but it didn’t function out of the box. We had it installed, and thought it would be hysterical that an old preservation car would make a noise that would scare the hell out of you. We will resolve that next week when we are home. Looks like one day of weather is iffy.......time will tell. Best, Ed. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 Ed, don’t worry if it rains the Great White should be right at home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 55 minutes ago, SC38DLS said: Ed, don’t worry if it rains the Great White should be right at home! Its a car, not a fish. And I hate getting wet! 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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