The phone rang... and then the next car adventure starts

[Mark Wetherbee]

I don’t know if this is the right diameter or mounting, but if it is I have a back cover in my clock parts box you can have...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154505884248

 

 

[edinmass]

Thanks Mark, I will check into it. The boys are picking up the car as we speak. I can get a clock measurement then. When my friend get there hand on it, I’ll know if I’m a hero or a zero for buying it. Keep your fingers crossed.

[58L-Y8]

Ed:

You really need a White Super Power to go collect other Whites.   My grade school ran White Super Power buses in the 1950's,  I was scared of the fierce-looking things then but have since gotten over it.  

Steve

[edinmass]

We’re are getting kinda close to the Steve Martin joke again.........I was born a poor........

 

A guy with White Super Power(s).............sounds like woke is getting stepped on!.

 

and the hits just keep on coming! this is White number four, i’m going to pass on it. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[edinmass]

FYI- 
 

White made a V-12 bus and truck platforms..........and yes, I have found a bus and a parts truck. Not ready to take that leap.......yet.

[58L-Y8]

I would pass on that one too!  Funny how the connotation of a term or phrase can change over the decades, "White Super Power"  The phrase only brings to mind the school buses I rode on as a child...

[edinmass]

7 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

I would pass on that one too!  Funny how the connotation of a term or phrase can change over the decades, "White Super Power"  The phrase only brings to mind the school buses I rode on as a child...

I enjoy having fun with the play on words without crossing the line. I just have one question......since I own two fantastic White Motor Cars.........am I suffering or guilty of white privilege? Inquiring minds wanna know.🤔

Edited June 25, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

FAROUT!!! That’s cool. (Yes, The 60’s influence me in my younger days). 
Ed, that is marvelous, original paint may need some work but this one is running!  I watched the video multiple times and saw something more unique each time. Hope you have a great time with all of these beautiful machines. 
dave s 

[58L-Y8]

29 minutes ago, edinmass said:

I enjoy having fun with the play on words without crossing the line. I just have one question......since I own two fantastic White Motor Cars.........am I suffering or guilty of white privilege? Inquiring minds wanna know.🤔

Yes, As long as your capitalize 'White(s)'.  Not otherwise...

[edinmass]

The new White is in the trailer and on its way to temporary storage till it catches a ride south. My friend’s cell has a dead battery, so photos will appear tomorrow. 

[wayne sheldon]

NO! I WANT PHOTOS NOW!!

Just kidding. Patiently waiting for lots of photos!

[prewarnut]

On 6/14/2021 at 4:27 PM, edinmass said:

Ok....back from up north..........and getting back on cars down south.............here is a fun item I found...........

 

I just saw this. Ed, in case you need the backdrop, that is the Cleveland Museum of Art....I recognized the Rodin not the car. *grin*.

[edinmass]

[edinmass]

[edinmass]

[edinmass]

Above photos of bringing the car to a good friends garage for safe keeping until we ship it south. The gentleman in the photos is the car's caretaker for the last fifty years, Ken G.  Ken is a true gentelman and hard core car guy. He lives in the home his grandfather built after the war.......the Civil War. The farm is still in the family all these years later. Ken was a great guy to deal with, and all transactions should go this easy. He is a well known in the early car world in his area having done countless tours over the decades. He was a fantastic steward of the car, and his name and photos will forever be associated with the cars history. Also, this entire event would have never occurred without Jim, or Truly-Vintage so a BIG THANK YOU to Jim for helping a very special car find a home that it will be serviced, used, and shared. Anyone here should consider using Jim for moving their old car. He is a class act, and takes car of the vehicle like it's his own. It will be some time before the White comes south due to logistics.......rest assured that we will keep you updated and post the photos and "blog" what we are going to do to the car. I expect to develop a short term and long term plan for sorting the car. Best, Ed

[Matt Harwood]

We had a Maxwell with the same type of California top and sliding windows. A neat alternative to side curtains. I wonder how many different manufacturers of such things there could have been?

 

   

 

   

[Walt G]

Franklin started to offer their "demi sedan" at the same era, starting with their series 9 cars. I have the sales literature on it and that body style continued into the next series 10 cars that ended being made in early 1925. Wood framed windows with sliding vertical halves. Quite a well conceived alternative to a touring car, but a lot more complicated to manufacture. More popular in the warmer climates thus getting the nick name "California top".

Ed, I wish you all the very best with your cars/projects - both large and small.

Walt

[edinmass]

The projects and cars are starting to add up..............fortunately they are all rather small except my D/C Pierce. We plan on knocking most of them out by the summer. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Out to lunch. Caught in a shower. Didn’t hurt a thing. 

[Laughing Coyote]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

Out to lunch. Caught in a shower. Didn’t hurt a thing. 

It's just liquid patina for the White.

[edinmass]

1 minute ago, Laughing Coyote said:

It's just liquid patina for the White.

 

Any more patina and it’s going to disintegrate!

[KURTRUK]

I worked at summer camp that had a lot of "vintage", sometimes donated, sometimes surplus purchased vehicles.  We had two White vehicles.  A firetruck from Newman, Ca., and a school bus.  Always puzzled how to read the nameplate on the side of the hoods.

 

Was it White Super Power, or Super White Power?  Either way, potentially a bit awkward today...

 

BTW: I now see the link to the early White logo on Ed's vehicles with the extend wing motif.

Edited June 27, 2021 by KURTRUK (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

5 minutes ago, KURTRUK said:

I worked at summer camp that had a lot of "vintage", sometimes donated, sometimes surplus purchased vehicles.  We had two White vehicles.  A firetruck from Newman, Ca., and a school bus.  Always puzzled how to read the nameplate on the side of the hoods.

 

Was it White Super Power, or Super White Power?  Either way, potentially a bit awkward today...

 

BTW: I now see the link to the early White logo on Ed's vehicles with the extend wing motif.

This was the nameplate style on the hood-sides on the White school buses I rode as a child.   The emblem above the radiator grille has 'White" at the top  and the words 'Super Power' below it.   I believe it was the term they applied to their engines. 

[edinmass]

Found this today…….

[alsancle]

Did you find your wallet too?

[edinmass]

[edinmass]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

Did you find your wallet too?

 

Im already choking to death and just got outbid at 2000 bucks plus 600 bidders fee, and not including  shipping..........    insane.

Edited June 28, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[alsancle]

13 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 

Im already choking to death and there and just got outbid at 1900 bucks........insane.

 

Post a link so we can all jump in too.

[alsancle]

Ed,  not for nothing,  but your mascot is the one that shows up on the Bonhams home page for the auction.   Expect to get blown out of the water.

 

EDIT:   2550 plus 30% commission.  Ouch.

 

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27140/lot/42

Edited June 28, 2021 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

30% commission?!? On top of whatever they're getting from the seller? Are they joking?

[edinmass]

6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

30% commission?!? On top of whatever they're getting from the seller? Are they joking?

 

What I don’t get is that’s $3000 delivered to your house for a motor meter that fits a car that cost $80,000 

 

it’s beyond the definition of insanity. And it’s not even marked White. There’s probably less than 100 people in the world to know what it is. Automotive exclusively. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

Found this today…….

Ed, you are not supposed to take it off another car! That’s illegal! 
 

[edinmass]

57 minutes ago, SC38DLS said:

Ed, you are not supposed to take it off another car! That’s illegal! 
 

 

 

FIVE FINGER DISCOUNT!!!!!!!

[wayne sheldon]

Interesting. While I am not an expert with Motometers, I have played with them, owned more than a dozen, had one on most of the antique automobiles I ever owned, read numerous short articles on the subject, and spent a few hours on websites devoted to the subject. I know enough about them to know I don't know enough about them.

 

My understanding is that particular style of Motometer, even without the fancy wreath, came out about 1918. The fancy wreath came about a few years later. Motometers before WW1 were generally rather basic, plain and functional. The fancy cloisonne work is quite beautiful. However the style of the cap and Motometer suggests it is likely from the early to mid 1920s. Since White was no longer manufacturing cars, and such a work of art is not likely for a common truck, I would guess that is was a limited production for use on the White touring busses common at National Parks and sometimes fancy hotels. An internet friend of mine in Idaho has one of those White busses beautifully restored. But I doubt he is bidding on this cap!

Tractor, truck, and fire engine collectors are an interesting bunch. Motometers for those things can often go for big bucks! Like I stated in a 'For Sale' thread last night, "All collectables, whether coins, cars, or French Renaissance furniture are minefields of details where one minute difference can make a ten-times dollar value change!"

The highest price I have seen paid for a single Motometer was for a tractor! It sold for $5000! If I recall correctly? It may have been for a Hart-Parr? Motometers for specific tractors were made in small numbers, and deep pocket tractor collectors with one of a few dozen surviving tractors want to be the one that has one of the half dozen or less surviving Motometers for that tractor! A few fire engine Motometers are common enough, that they are not too pricey. But a few others can also sell in the couple thousand dollar range. Some truck Motometers can also get a bit pricey.

 

So if you would like to pass on this particular pricey knickknack? Say it wasn't the right era part for your cars! That is my story, and until someone shows dated advertising proving otherwise? I am sticking with it?

 

On the other hand? Having what could maybe be the only one of those?

[edinmass]

I date the motometer to to 1915-1918. The winged wheel makes it automotive.........for design and purpose. A Yellowstone Bus would have a larger neck on the radiator, and I have seen them in person. Also, the blue just doesn’t fit in with truck/bus items I have seen. I think in this transition era no one can quantify anything exactly. 
 

Fun stuff. I’m sure whoever was the high bidder, was talking to himself. Especially since it sat at $100 for 10 days until I got in this morning three hours before the end. I could’ve easily just paid  whatever it took, but it makes no sense because the car is going to need 20 or 30 grand worth of service and upgrades. I’m gonna have to make the air compressor, all the splash pans, find the correct magneto, and a bunch of other things. I don’t like cars that are incomplete or incorrect. And even though the new White is a good running and driving car, I want it right. Exactly how it was delivered. I think we have the bodybuilder nailed down. It’s kind of exciting because I think we can prove it’s West Coast. And I think it’s going to be a name that will knock your socks off. Lots of fun. 👍👍👍

 

 

Two car purchases in a row,  the bodybuilder was unknown to me when I purchased it. The first White was much easier to guess even before I got my hands on the car just from the size and style. I think this car is going to prove to be just as interesting as the last one. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Some years ago I did a search of where the Boyce Motormeter factory was located in Long Island City, Queens County,( a borough of NY City)  N.Y. and the building was still there looking much like it did when the item under discussion was made. I have also taken the time over the decades to locate the buildings numerous car dealerships were located in and called home when the buildings were first built ( in the 1900-1940 era) , also the buildings where coach builders, accessory stores, and other auto related things happened. I had plans at one time to give a walking tour of Manhattan in the Autumn of the year to some of the locations that still have buildings that look much like they did a century plus ago . Hopefully this Winter I may be able to give a talk to a Historical Society on the Upper West Side of Manhattan about the automotive heritage that is part of its past. The south lobby area of the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in N Y City once housed and auto accessory parts store  ...............  I have a sales catalog for Nil Melior the auto parts accessory firm that shows that was their home .

[1912Staver]

That does seem like an insane price. I have generally been underwhelmed by the quality of these flip top  caps. The plating and underlying zinc alloy body are often seriously aged. This one while not as bad as many I have seen  is far from mint. Anything special about the Moto meter itself apart from the White inner plate ? I expect the  " Great White " uses a thread on bakelite cap does it not ? If a Motometer is a must why not hunt around for a correct size bakelite cap { preferably one that someone has already drilled in the past } and a White Motometer ? I expect some diligent searching at Hershey would eventually pay off and almost certainly for a lot less than what this auction brought. 

[edinmass]

Staver- White stuff is non existent at this point.........the auction house did not even correctly identify the piece! They called it a eagle.........it’s an albatross, and they had no clue of its application. Both my cars have originals on them. The blue on the unit up for auction would have went well on my new car. The interesting question to ponder is did the buyer even know what they were bidding on? Probably not. Gasoline White cars of any year are all in the LOW single digits. Adjusting for museum cars never coming out, the count is always done on just one hand. You see more trucks cut to speedsters than real factory cars. There are many more steam cars surviving than gas. The “high horsepower” gas Whites.........read as over 40 horse power come to less than a dozen survivors. That includes the following.......: Three or two sixty horse power six cylinder cars, and seven 16 Valve 72 horse power cars, of which three are in permanent museums. There appears to be five or so 45 horse power units maybe(mid range horsepower). All the others that survive are in the 25-30 horsepower range. In the last twenty years, only one car of the larger series has been used and out somewhat regularly. So finding anything as far as parts or marked specifically as White is just about impossible. It was a fluke I even saw the auction piece, the estimate on it was 500 bucks, which made me laugh out loud when I saw it. Demand is zero......except in this one case. If I wasn’t bidding on it the actual number is laughable. At 3k all in delivered I’m more curious as to who bought it and why. I have never seen an early unit like this bring anywhere close to a grand. Such is life and the car collecting hobby. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[alsancle]

25 minutes ago, edinmass said:

The interesting question to ponder is did the buyer even know what they were bidding on? Probably not.

 

I knew exactly what I was bidding on cause you told me!    Coincidentally,  you wouldn't want to buy one that looks just like it?