Mark Shaw Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Sadly, George McMurtry is quite ill and will no longer be making hub pullers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Prayers to him, and his family and friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flivverking Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Dam it ! He was quite a fellow..While he was making my puller and for a few months later we had back and forth calls just to B.S. about anything and everything.. An easy guy to like and listen to and he would listen back with earnest. Some how the pattern broke..I'm sorry to say... He was so vibrant you would think he was gonna go on for ever.. I'll have to send something to the family. He had a full and fruitful life.. I wonder if some of the Heavenly chariots needed some wheel hub work,so he was called on...If so ,he was the man! Catch up to you later George! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flivverking Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 My bad....I read too fast...x!*%#&&;;&. All our prays are sent out to George for a speedy recovery..He will be back at it well before my red face turns normal.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MochetVelo Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I also received 'high-roller" treatment from George when I ordered a hub puller for my Citroen. He would phone and speak of his car experiences, ask questions about my car, and describe how he made his pullers. The end product was so heavily built that it should last a thousand years. A real pleasure dealing with this man. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoringicons Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 (edited) I was getting ready to send him a hubcap so he could make a wheel puller for my Model 16 Buick. I was actually going to do it this week. While I never met George, I spoke with him once on the phone regarding making me the puller. I could tell he was from the "old school" and really knew what he was talking about. He said he would have the puller ready in a few days once he received my hubcap so he could verify the size and thread count. Even though we never spoke to each other before, our conversation lasted about an hour. He made a point of saying that he really liked old car people and that he sends a bill with the hub puller and payment would be made AFTER I received it. He said in all the hundreds of hub pullers he made, he never once had any problem receiving payment from an old car collector after the person received his product. Our hobby benefits so much from people like George. I was looking forward to interacting with him more and that our distant relationship would continue. Best wishes to George and his family during this difficult time. Edited May 20, 2021 by motoringicons (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 So sad to hear. I have a machine shop. I could make some pullers if any of you fellows need any? I don't like to see good fellow's like George sick and in bad health but could pick up where he left off and provide some hub pullers for the hobby. Dandy Dave! 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cudaman Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 (edited) Sad to hear. I found his website and spoke with George a month ago, at the time he was struggling with a kidney stone. His wife called back a day or two later to tell me that he went into the hospital to have the stone surgically removed and he had developed an infection. They were trying different antibiotics to find one that would be effective. I had sent him a spare hubcap from my 1912 Flanders 20 and made payment for a puller via Paypal. Edited May 20, 2021 by cudaman (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cudaman Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Yesterday I received a refund and a call from George's wife telling me she was sending back the Flanders hub cap I had sent as a pattern for a custom hub puller. George had serious complications from his surgery and lost enough blood that he required a transfusion. He is very weak and won't be able to do any work for the forseeable future. Please remember him and his family in your prayers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Sad to hear. Hope he will be on the mend. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdsbob Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I too am one of George's satisfied customers. Not only was the puller well made and fit like a glove the packaging of the puller would have been suitable for a RR Flying Lady! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddds Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I’m not quite versed in this but what is a custom hub puller? And how would a hubcap dial this in? What does one look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cudaman Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 It threads onto the rear wheel hub in place of the hubcap, then you tighten it down to apply pressure in the direction to pull off the wheel. Here is one that the vendors sell for Model T Fords. Different makes and model of cars have different hub diameters and thread pitches, of course. https://www.modeltford.com/item/2800WP.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddds Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Ah, so this clearly changed once those early cars stopped having the threaded hubcaps, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 (edited) He made a puller for me back in January, for my 1917 White. I enjoyed my conversations with him. Great old school car guy. Edited June 15, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) It has more to do with the design of the hub than the hubcap. At the transition between thread on and snap on hubcaps some cars with removable hubs still had a threaded portion to attach a hub puller even though there was no longer a threaded on hubcap. . Later on most removable hub cars used the wheel studs to attach the puller. Edited June 16, 2021 by 1912Staver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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