Alsancle- AKA- AJ & Little Al has a new ride.

[wayne sheldon]

60 mph! A longtime good friend had a 1925 Stearns Knight a very long time ago. Beautiful car. But terribly slow. I suspect it was built as a city luxury coach (actually four-door oval windowed brougham!). The rear end was geared very low, top speed (absolute maxed out engine complaining!) about 40 mph. I wished I could have bought it when he decided to sell it, but it wasn't in the cards. I would have liked to sort it out further, probably install an overdrive? He had the engine rebuilt by a fellow that had rebuilt a couple other Knight car engines, and it ran great. Just too low geared.

I always enjoy hearing about Stearns Knights that perform well, as I know they can. I met a fellow in the HCCA that toured a 1915 Stearns Knight for many years, He claimed it would do 60 easily!

 

Tripe!? I have been willing to try a number of things over the years. But I don't think I will ever try tripe. In spite of my part Scottish heritage, I don't intend to try haggis either. Alligator is tasty though.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Tires are filthy, a good sign...

[edinmass]

19 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Tires are filthy, a good sign...

People keep commenting on the dirty tires………I absolutely hate to clean cars……….maybe AJ will clean them up today………

[alsancle]

You need to remember that this is a mostly original car. The dirty tires are entirely appropriate given the rest of the cosmetics.

 

We were cruising in traffic at 50 to 60 miles an hour with little effort. It’ll definitely go faster than that, but then I think you’re gonna be stressing the brakes and steering.

 

[John Bloom]

7 hours ago, edinmass said:

Back in my shop after tonight’s drive……….

 

 

Happy to hear it is "humming" and Ed has it dialed in.....AJ, there are other pics of your Stearns on this thread but for some reason (the angle?) this pic of it struck me as different.  Such great lines, what a great looking car!  Glad it is out showing off on the street......what it was born for.

[alsancle]

9 minutes ago, John Bloom said:

Happy to hear it is "humming" and Ed has it dialed in.....AJ, there are other pics of your Stearns on this thread but for some reason (the angle?) this pic of it struck me as different.  Such great lines, what a great looking car!  Glad it is out showing off on the street......what it was born for.

John, it is attractive for a 1929 car.  I think what Ed and I like about it so much is the crazy engine, and the great history as a real auto salon car with actual pictures of it in the salon.

 

We are very fortunate that Ed was able to fix some of the mechanical issues at relatively low cost. Otherwise it would’ve been garage art.

Edited April 14, 2022 by alsancle (see edit history)

[John Bloom]

9 minutes ago, alsancle said:

John, it is attractive for a 1929 car.  I think what Ed and I like about it so much is the crazy engine, and the great history as a real auto salon car with actual pictures of it in the salon.

 

We are very fortunate that Ed was able to fix some of the mechanical issues at relatively low cost. Otherwise it would’ve been garage art.

absolutely!  The history, pedigree, and engineering all rolled into one package make it special.  Glad it ended up in your hands with Ed doing his "mind melding/savant stuff" on her.  Great that you are sharing it for all to see and "ride along".  I am coming into big classics later in life after most of my prior love and experience being 50's 60's and British stuff.  I had never heard of a sleeve-valve engine ten years ago.  

 

 

[BobinVirginia]

Sharp car for sure! 

[edinmass]

We are very fortunate that Ed was able to fix some of the mechanical issues at relatively low cost. Otherwise it would’ve been garage art.

 

 

Unfortunately when I work for AJ, I only make $1.98 per hour...........

[George K]

9 minutes ago, edinmass said:

We are very fortunate that Ed was able to fix some of the mechanical issues at relatively low cost. Otherwise it would’ve been garage art.

 

 

Unfortunately when I work for AJ, I only make $1.98 per hour...........

I think that’s a typo. It should read per second. But still minus eight and a half percent.

[SC38dls]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

We are very fortunate that Ed was able to fix some of the mechanical issues at relatively low cost. Otherwise it would’ve been garage art.

 

 

Unfortunately when I work for AJ, I only make $1.98 per hour...........

AJ you’re overpaying Ed for tire cleaning. I’ll do it for a ride! 

dave s 

Edited April 14, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Dirty tires, Dirty tires - come on everyone let's catch up on the current fad lexicon ! they should be described as "patina" so far as the look. Another overused current trendy fad word is  "iconic" . Well lets get it right the car has iconic patina on the tires .

Edited April 14, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[CChinn]

Nice looking car!  I like the tan and brown color combination despite objections raised by others on different posts in this forum

[Walt G]

Tan and Brown paint color along with silver and maroon paint colors were popular in the early 1970s . Everything from sedans to roadsters were painted those colors.

From what one can guess at by looking at the photo in the period account of the car it looks like the car had those colors on it from new. The fact the wheels are a dark color and it has black walls on it makes the car look so "Period" in appearance and not a lot of extra bangles and baubles bolted on ( dual spot lamps, fog lamps , back up lights , 3 sets of mirrors , a heavy stone guard to deflect even the biggest pieces of chunks of concrete and boulders)

The car looks 'authentic' to the era not a later version of what an owner/restorer/collector thinks would be what it looked like but in fact is a reflection of the current trend. Sometimes it takes great restraint to "improve" the appearance a car "of the era" to keep it as built.

[pkhammer]

I think the car looks great and it apparently runs great now too. I applaud them simply for having it out driving the wheels off of it! When I retire (6 more years!) and have the time, health and means (hopefully) to travel I can only hope to have the chance to hang out with people like this. They are obviously having a ball and who wouldn't want to be part of that? I've only met a few of you guys that post here regularly but being on here almost daily you kind of get to know people without having met them. There's a bunch of you that I'd be proud to hang out with and quite frankly Ed and company would be at the top of the list. It's obvious they are in this hobby to have fun. Three cheers!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

@pkhammer

You are within 4, 5 minutes walk from AJ's Hershey location.  And not much farther from Ed's if he slums it and mixes with common car folk again this year peddling parts from the PA cars he cuts up and posts about.

We made our reservations last week.  A Hershey meet up should be planned.

[pkhammer]

That sounds great! Boney, the dead mechanic and I are always hanging around in the evenings after the crowds simmer down.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

@pkhammer

I remember him from last year but assume he is sitting in your new roadster?  

The big boy Stearns may walk away but up to 50 or so I know my A roadster would keep right up.   Short runs at that speed doesn't bother him..

You will gain an mph or two by taking that top right off! 👍😁

And now back to goats, Stearns and fancy eats...

[pkhammer]

  Yep, he's sitting in the new roadster. I need to get that thing out and clean it up and get it going. He wants a ride real bad! I think I'll put him in the rumble seat. You never know where he'll turn up. The old guys we camp with hate it when they find him in the porto-pot in the middle of the night!

  Sorry for the thread hijack. Back to our regularly scheduled program........................

[alsancle]

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Look closely at 1st shot, ABS in distance

[alsancle]

85 degree day sitting at a stop light.

[alsancle]

Lunch

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Clock is off, how did that get by Ed?

[alsancle]

Phil and Ed enjoying lunch on me.

[zepher]

Nice shot at lunch.

Hey AJ, while you're out there, make sure to buy Ed another shirt.

He keeps wearing the same shirt over and over. 

I guess Ed can't afford another shirt with you paying him $1.98 an hour. 

[JACK M]

Kick backs from Snap-on?

[Grimy]

1 minute ago, JACK M said:

Kick backs from Snap-on?

"PRODUCT PLACEMENT" is the appropriate term.  Ed is pretty shrewd:  Snap-On must be paying him thousands to post photos of him wearing their merch....

[alsancle]

[SC38dls]

AJ the car is beautiful but the last picture looks like the springs on the passenger side need a little help. Unless of course Ed & Phil are sitting on that side after all the great meals you have provided. 
dave s 

[alsancle]

So we did some driving in heavy traffic, and we were getting vapor lock so good thing we have an electric fuel pump to override that.

 

Like I said it’s 85° down here, but otherwise the car ran great.

[edinmass]

We parked in the police car only parking in front of the station..............and no tickets.........

 

As to my Snap-On shirt..........I have about 20 of them. I have a work uniform, tour uniform, and my Snap-On uniform. Steve M will vouch that the corporate connection with my shop and the home office is real. Don't forget that "Phil with the hands like George the Animal Steel" was a Snap On dealer for 35 years and a company manager for 12............so, yes.....lots of free stuff. 

Edited April 14, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Grimy]

1 hour ago, Grimy said:

"PRODUCT PLACEMENT" is the appropriate term.  Ed is pretty shrewd:  Snap-On must be paying him thousands to post photos of him wearing their merch....

I think this makes Ed an official, if less attractive than most, Internet Influencer!

[1937hd45]

 

Glad I didn't post anything about the Stearns color combination, it looks fine in this photo. 

[edinmass]

The Stearns was that color factory…………it had orange wheels when we got it, and we put it back to the way it was at the auto show…….usually the color Combo doesn’t work well……..on this body style, and the 75 inch hood…….it pulls it off. Car has nice eyeball for a 1929 car. The Auburn is right hand drive, it’s the London show car from 1935………..seems that I end up working on lots of the salon and show cars…………

Edited April 15, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

I love that Stearns Knight! And I like the colors.

Sadly, in the 1970s and 1980s, way too many people painted cars that color, that never were that color before. The truth is, that very few cars of that era were ever painted that color combination. I can look at hundreds of era street scene photos with several (or many) cars in each photo, and likely not see even a single car in similar colors out of hundreds of cars! Those just weren't common choices for colors on automobiles in those many years.

All that, however, does not mean that it wasn't done (a little bit?). In past discussions on the subject, I have often mentioned two cars I knew fifty years ago that were very similar colors as this car. One was a 1927 Cadillac Limousine (divider window!), one of two originally custom built. The other a 1932 Nash big dual ignition eight cylinder sedan. One of the era most perfect untouched original cars I ever saw! Recently (maybe a year ago?), there was a nearly identical Nash shared in the "Not Mine For sale" section, also similar colors. There were one or two years in the early 1930s that Chevrolet offered a similar combination on a couple of its sportier open models. Every now and again, I have noticed similar exceptions. But none of them were sold in similar colors in large numbers. While most people preferred the more practical darker colors in those days, cars of such colors did appeal to a few people. It just wasn't "the thing" in those days.

This is a beautiful car, with a wonderful history! And I love to see such a car in these, its original colors.

[edinmass]

Taking it from a clown car to a show car…….simple. Put it back to how it was new. Dump the whitewalls, paint the wheels to factory color, chrome the snap rings like they were in 29…….and you get a whole new car. With three times the looks. You have to look past the mistakes when hunting cars……..and see the long term results. The car now has what I like to refer to as a presence……….. 

Edited April 15, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Bob,

 

The fenders were repainted from dark brown/black to mud brown somewhere on the show circuit in 1929. There are pictures at the time showing the transition. If my pocketbook and motivation are there I will repaint them black.

 

I typically like black roofs, but this car originally had a beige one and I’ll probably do that too. 

[yachtflame]

On 4/8/2022 at 6:46 PM, 30DodgePanel said:

 

That's weird, for some reason I imagined it different. 

Not sure which one is AJ and which one is Ed

 

My mistake,,,,, wrong movie  

 

Ed would be the irritating one on the right!

[BobinVirginia]

It’s really sharp with the black wheels and trim rings. That sleeve valve engine has some similarities to a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel as far as the sleeves or liners as we call them. 
Super cool stuff I’d like to see in person.