Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[scotrace]

Dancing distributor cap.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Doin' The Auto-Lite Shuffle."

 

[fashion frank]

Put two new front tires on the A yesterday and in the next couple of days I will do the remaining three ,if you look carefuly in the picture just below my left elbow and look into the garage you can see the three remaining tires (with a white band holding them together) leaning up against the wall.

You can't even go somewhere and have it done as all new cars are tubeless and the machines are set up to remove and put on tubeless tires only.

Thankfully a really nice guy in my Model A club offered to help me and he has the original flat tire irons needed to do the job.
Five tires cost me $ 722.00, five inner tubes cost me $112.00 ( and I cut a deal at Mac's and got one free) and the sweat to do it was free !





All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[Fading Fast]

fashion frank - the car looks awesome, your outfit looks awesome and I'm guessing you didn't work on the tires in those clothes )); although, back in the day, you'll see pictures of owners in suits and ties working on their Model As

 

[Mr Slug]

Lovely looking A,

 

[Mr Slug]

Yep. It's hard to distinguish from wind noise rushing thru the pedal hole, but never having listened to loud rock music, my upper-range hearing is still extremely good, and I'm pretty sure that what I'm hearing is coming from the clutch. When I did a test drive around the block yesterday, I heard something that sounded like it was moving from a hiss to a chirp, which definitely sounds clutchy to me.

I got under the car yesterday and did a good close look around, and it's beginning to look like what's happened is that the rubber motor mounts have squashed and deformed just enough to throw the engine and transmission out of alignment. I don't have any tool to measure this, but it would explain the judder I'm getting when moving off in first gear, and I'm told this sort of thing would also reasonably explain the failure of the throwout bearing after just 8000 miles.

I've ordered new motor mounts, a new bearing, and a new pilot bushing. I'm concerned with what the clutch disc and pressure plate will look like, when they come off, but first things first.

Could be a broken spring in the pressure plate, they are there to take the shock out of engagement.

 

[fashion frank]

fashion frank - the car looks awesome, your outfit looks awesome and I'm guessing you didn't work on the tires in those clothes )); although, back in the day, you'll see pictures of owners in suits and ties working on their Model As

Lovely looking A,

Thanks guys and your right I've seen pictures like that and always wind up asking myself "back in the day most guys could only afford one or two suits so what did they do", I think they just sucked it up and got dirty because everyone was wearing a suit ,tie and hat and I guess that was just the way it was.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[Mr Slug]

Thanks guys and your right I've seen pictures like that and always wind up asking myself "back in the day most guys could only afford one or two suits so what did they do", I think they just sucked it up and got dirty because everyone was wearing a suit ,tie and hat and I guess that was just the way it was.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

One thing that amazed me when I first left school and started work in construction (mid seventies) was how many of the old guys still wore their suits to work. These guys had been born in the very early part of the 20th century, fought in the war, lived through the very austere post war years and still had their 'demob' suits.
Sure, the suits were frayed and thread bare - but they just couldn't give them up.

 

[Big Man]

That is one sharp looking car.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Maybe they just refused to throw anything away until they got the full use and wear out of it.

Reminds me of "Dirty" Doug Kenney. He was a hanger on and helper at Ed Roth's T shirt and custom car studio in California and he got his nickname because he always wore fancy suits to work.

He was something of a ladies man and bought new suits regularly. As he got new suits the old ones were demoted from "weekends and special occasions" to "every day" and finally to "work clothes".

If you don't get it, they called him Dirty Doug for the same reason they call a bald man "curly" or 6'4" 300 pounder "tiny".

The point is, men used to wear suits to church and social functions, even construction workers. But they would not discard their old suits, they would wear them to go fishing or for work clothes until they were completely worn out.

 

[fashion frank]

No Class in Dress Standards Today

One thing that amazed me when I first left school and started work in construction (mid seventies) was how many of the old guys still wore their suits to work. These guys had been born in the very early part of the 20th century, fought in the war, lived through the very austere post war years and still had their 'demob' suits.
Sure, the suits were frayed and thread bare - but they just couldn't give them up.

Maybe they just refused to throw anything away until they got the full use and wear out of it.

Reminds me of "Dirty" Doug Kenney. He was a hanger on and helper at Ed Roth's T shirt and custom car studio in California and he got his nickname because he always wore fancy suits to work.

He was something of a ladies man and bought new suits regularly. As he got new suits the old ones were demoted from "weekends and special occasions" to "every day" and finally to "work clothes".

If you don't get it, they called him Dirty Doug for the same reason they call a bald man "curly" or 6'4" 300 pounder "tiny".

The point is, men used to wear suits to church and social functions, even construction workers. But they would not discard their old suits, they would wear them to go fishing or for work clothes until they were completely worn out.

First off I want to say thanks to Big Man for the kodo's on my Model A and your car is nothing to sneeze at and Happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there !

I was talking to a guy who works for Carrier, the AC company .
He told me that his father who also worked for the company, that his dad and all his coworkers would wear a suit to work ,carry a small "gym" bag with his work clothes in it , change into his work clothes there and then get on the company bus to the job site, work for the day and then when they got back to the company building they would then wash up and put their suits back on and go home .

I found that to be very interesting and I have seen pictures on Shorpy where you even had railroad engineer's in overall's with a shirt and tie underneath the overall's and a hat .

In closing what really bothers me about the world as we know it now a day's is how far we have fallen in terms of decorum, manners and lack of a "dress code" .

I rarely see a man in suit ,tie and hat and even more rare is to see a woman in a dress ,heels ( I mean to say decent shoes) make up and or hat.
Before I get attacked by anyone here on the Forum ( it already happened to me once on here over an innocuous comment) I am just pointing out an observation and thats all.

I was in church this morning and because its Fathers Day the Priest called all Fathers to the front of the altar and gave us a blessing and a Fathers Day prayer card and the guy standing next to me is wearing a faded t shirt , shorts and deck shoes , I could not get over how a man could go to church dressed like that and then I said to my self " par for the course" this is accepted as "normal " attire now a days ,go figure ?

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[Stanley Doble]

From a theological standpoint all are welcome regardless of wealth or social position even hobos but, it doesn't show much respect. I don't know why people like that bother to go to church at all if it means nothing to them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've recently come across a full year's worth of "Consumers Union Reports" magazines from 1938 -- the predecessor of the "Consumer Reports" magazine that continues to be published today -- and in the February issue we find a detailed analysis of the 1938 automobiles, rated for quality and value.

CU's "Best Buy" for overall quality in the low-priced field for 1938 is the Plymouth Model P5, starting at $730 delivered. Chevrolet is considered the least acceptable and lowest quality buy in that field, with Ford and Wyllis the other "acceptable" options.

In the midprice field, your best buy is the Pontiac Mdel 26DA, starting at $916. Also acceptable, in declining order of merit, are the Terraplane Deluxe, the Dodge D8, and the Nash Lafayette.

In the mid-midprice field, the best buy is the DeSoto S5, at $958. Also acceptable in declining order of merit are the Studebaker Commander 6, Oldsmobile F38, the Chrysler Royal C18, the Hudson Model 83, and the Pontiac 8 Model 28DA.

In the upper midprice field, the best buy is the Buick Special Series 40 at $1022, followed in declining order by the Studebaker Commander Model 8A, the Hudson Model 84, the Oldsmobile L38, the Nash Ambassador 6. the Graham Standard 6, and the Hupmobile Standard 6.

In the lower-high price field, the best buy is the Chrysler Imperial Model C19 at $1198, followed in declining order by the Packard 6 Model 1600. the Studebaker President Model 4C, the Hudson Country Club 8 Model 87, and the Nash Ambassador 8 series 3880.

In the mid-high price field, the best buy is the Packard 8 Model 1601 at $1325, followed in declining order by the Buick Century 8 Series 60, the LaSalle V-8 Series 50, the Lincoln Zephyr V-12, the Graham Supercharger, and the Hupmobile Model 8.

So the scorecard shows Chrysler products earning 3 of the Best Buy citations offered, GM earning 2, Packard earning 1, and Ford finishing completely out of the money. Sorry Henry, maybe you should wise up and sign with the CIO.

 

[fashion frank]

I've recently come across a full year's worth of "Consumers Union Reports" magazines from 1938 -- the predecessor of the "Consumer Reports" magazine that continues to be published today -- and in the February issue we find a detailed analysis of the 1938 automobiles, rated for quality and value.


Sorry Henry, maybe you should wise up and sign with the CIO.

Oh my God Lizzie you had me splitting my sides with your last statement !
I read a book about about Ford and it stated that he stubbornly refused to make " luxury " improvement to his car despite pleas from his son Edsel and the other car companies got the lion share of the business because of it.

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[LizzieMaine]

The older he got and the more hidebound he got, the more the company suffered. His refusal to sign a contract with the union in the late thirties only made it worse -- the turnover among the workers was the largest of any automaker, and it didn't help that the goons from the Service Department tended to target the most skilled and experienced Ford workers, since they were most often in sympathy with the union campaign. The plants were riddled with spies and workers knew they had a pretty good chance of being attacked in the night by thugs if they so much as took a CIO leaflet. Under those circs, who could blame qualified men and women for wanting to go to Chrysler or GM, where they had a union contract and no Harry Bennett. The quality of the finished Ford product definitely suffered as a result.

It was Ford's wife, more than anyone else, who finally got him to come to terms with the union. She was, by far, the smartest one in the family.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Ford was going down hill fast in those days. From being the biggest producer of cars in the world, they dropped to second in sales after GM in 1927 and to 3d after GM and Chrysler in 1942. It got so bad that in 1943 the government pulled Henry Ford II out of the Navy and put him in charge of his grandfather's company. They were afraid a critical supplier of war material was in danger of breaking down completely.

To be fair, Henry Ford was 80 years old in 1943 and long past his best days. But as owner of the company he could not be forced to step down. It is too bad he did not make better preparations for his retirement. Bennet knew nothing about the auto business or any other business. He was hired as head of security to protect the Ford family because of a kidnapping scare in the early thirties. He later shouldered his way into the second in command spot where he did a lot of damage to the Ford company and reputation. He was the first person Henry II fired.

Bennett was responsible for the bad labor relations in the late 30s and into the 40s. Ford's record in the twenties and earlier, was very liberal in this regard. He began the $5 day when this was nearly double what other auto makers were paying. He set up a Sociology Department in 1915 for the purpose of bettering the lives and working conditions of his employees - and only dropped it at the insistence of the employees themselves. He had stores open only to Ford employees where they could buy all kinds of goods cheaper than anywhere else because Ford sold everything at cost, making no profit. Taking one thing with another it his hard to paint Ford as a villain. He wasn't always right, but to characterize him as being against labor is ridiculous.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ford slashed wages across the board by half during the mid-twenties, which didn't endear the company to its employees. Aside from that Henry had a remarkable talent for surrounding himself with questionable types, which doesn't say much for him as a judge of character. Aside from Bennett, who was little more than a cheap thug in a suit, his closest aide was Ernest Liebold, a wormy little German who'd had ties to the Nazi Party in his homeland since the 1920s, and William J. Cameron, who was part of an anti-Semitic religious cult during the thirties and who broadcast in Ford's name every Sunday night on CBS, delivering extremely anti-labor speeches. The Cameron talks -- which had Ford's approval -- were so extreme that even some conservative-Republican-oriented newspapers considered them an embarrassment and called for them to be taken off the air.

Bennett joined Ford in 1919, and really was a piece of work. One of his favorite tricks for finding recruits for his "Service Department" was to offer jobs to convicts just being released from the Michigan prison system, with an emphasis on brutal bully-boy types. He justified this by saying he was giving "unfortunate men a second chance at life," but anyone who worked at Ford knew what he was really up to.

Henry's biggest problem was that he was a mechanical genius who had no idea how to deal with human beings. He believed that life was like a machine, and if it was carefully designed and properly maintained, it would run according to design specifications without problems. That's a great way to design a car, but a poor way to design a company.

 

[fashion frank]

Crusin With The Monks

Out of work today due to the holiday tomorrow and stopped by the Buddhist Center of New England where I am the Temple Advisor and Laision Officer for the Temple to vist my good friend's there and give them rides in the Model A .
Needless to say we hace a solid gas we had a lot of fun !

This is Venreable Sochettra my very good friend and Head Monk .



This shot is myself , Venerable Sochettra , Mr. Tiea Sol Temple President and Soukong a temple officer.


All the Best ,Fashion Frankl

 

[Big Man]

Out of work today due to the holiday tomorrow and stopped by the Buddhist Center of New England where I am the Temple Advisor and Laision Officer for the Temple to vist my good friend's there and give them rides in the Model A .
Needless to say we hace a solid gas we had a lot of fun !

This is Venreable Sochettra my very good friend and Head Monk .



This shot is myself , Venerable Sochettra , Mr. Tiea Sol Temple President and Soukong a temple officer.


All the Best ,Fashion Frankl

Great pictures. Looks like everyone was having a great time.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Ford also commissioned more than 1000 buildings by Jewish architect Albert Kahn including some of the biggest factory buildings in the world. Ford was a strange quirky character. It is impossible to sum him up in a single garish political poster.

My study of Ford's life and work has led me to the opposite conclusion, that Ford was far from a mechanical genius but had considerable talent for dealing with people. He was also an uneducated man who had a taste for new ideas that were novel and even radical. Sometimes they led to great new innovations, sometimes they ended in the biggest mess you ever saw. His great talent was for sticking with ideas that worked, and abandoning ideas that didn't.

You keep harping on the way Ford fought the unions but fail to mention that he eventually capitulated and gave them what they wanted.