Rickr's stuff
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frontaloadotmy
Well-known member
Drum Speedos
My recollective abilities are waning; I know for sure that
'56 through '59 Buicks had drum type speedometers I cannot for the life of me remember what my grandparents '54 Special
had. Only 50's Buicks and Chevys in my family's auto line up so I can't say about other GM's.
My recollective abilities are waning; I know for sure that
'56 through '59 Buicks had drum type speedometers I cannot for the life of me remember what my grandparents '54 Special
had. Only 50's Buicks and Chevys in my family's auto line up so I can't say about other GM's.
I can vouch for the Edsel
My 1958 Corsair had the "Teletouch" transmission! A 410 cu in block and 475 FootPounds of torque,the highest of all 1957-8 Cars! "Gwendolyn the wonder Edsel" could do wheelies and she was a ForDoor to boot!!
She also had the Holley 4 barrel as standard!
The 1962-3 Pontiac had a similar speedometer but it was inset in reverse in the dashboard out of direct sight and there was a long adjustable mirror right above so the driver could adjust the view to his/her height!!
Our 1963 Starfire had the optional "Safety Sentinel" which was a yellow speedometer needle you set at a speed. When you approached that speed it went off with a HUGE buzzing sound to scare you off the accelerator. The first time we had the Starfire out on the highway my father almost jumped out of his seat!! I was 8! It was hilarious, Mom was hopping up like a puppet out of her seat twisting knobs all over the dashboard!
Rick: I do have something to add on old houses;
When in an old house beware the mushroom factor: A dime size hole when gone after to repair will suddenly become a 4x4 foot chunk of plaster rubble at your feet!
My house had the knob and tubing installed on construction in 1892. Its amazing what 5 years means in construction technique! I love the fact Jenny Power shut down at 8
oPM! Who needs lights at night???
Yes I'll definetly take you up on a visit! And a tour in that Oldsmobile!
cheers
jon
My 1958 Corsair had the "Teletouch" transmission! A 410 cu in block and 475 FootPounds of torque,the highest of all 1957-8 Cars! "Gwendolyn the wonder Edsel" could do wheelies and she was a ForDoor to boot!!
She also had the Holley 4 barrel as standard!
The 1962-3 Pontiac had a similar speedometer but it was inset in reverse in the dashboard out of direct sight and there was a long adjustable mirror right above so the driver could adjust the view to his/her height!!
Our 1963 Starfire had the optional "Safety Sentinel" which was a yellow speedometer needle you set at a speed. When you approached that speed it went off with a HUGE buzzing sound to scare you off the accelerator. The first time we had the Starfire out on the highway my father almost jumped out of his seat!! I was 8! It was hilarious, Mom was hopping up like a puppet out of her seat twisting knobs all over the dashboard!
Rick: I do have something to add on old houses;
When in an old house beware the mushroom factor: A dime size hole when gone after to repair will suddenly become a 4x4 foot chunk of plaster rubble at your feet!
My house had the knob and tubing installed on construction in 1892. Its amazing what 5 years means in construction technique! I love the fact Jenny Power shut down at 8
oPM! Who needs lights at night???Yes I'll definetly take you up on a visit! And a tour in that Oldsmobile!
cheers
jon
kenmore1978
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,119
more info
I missed that earler post about the lighting. Are there any remianing gas lighting fixtures that still work with gas? A friend used to own a 1908 house here in L.A. and he had dual fixtures that could still function as gas lights.
60 Buick also had the line-type speedometer with the adjustable mirror.
54 Buick speedometer style depended on which model you had. Lower Special and Century models had standard round type speedometer, whereas the Super and Roadmaster series had the line-type color changing rotating cylindrical drum (that's what those type of speedometers really are)
Dr. Mitch, the reason the wipers on your 1968 T-Bird drove you crazy is because they were very unusal in that they were driven hydraulically off the power steering pump, as were the Lincolns of the time. This gave them about 8 speeds, but, of course, the engine had to be running. Never seen anything like it before or since. Lincoln also had a quirky power steering system in that the power steering pump was mounted on the front of the crankshaft instead of being belt-driven.
1958 Edsel speedometer LOOKED radically new, but really was a throwback to some the speedometers of the 20's and 30's where they took a standard dial-type speedometer (except that the numbers moved and the pointer remained stationary) and mounted it horizontally instead of vertically, then masked off the dial so you could only see one speed at a time. In the Edsel version, they unmasked the rotating dial so you could see at least half of the rotating dial with the numbers on it. REALLY neat if you had the optional "Speed Alert" that made the speedometer light up red if speed was exceeded.
I missed that earler post about the lighting. Are there any remianing gas lighting fixtures that still work with gas? A friend used to own a 1908 house here in L.A. and he had dual fixtures that could still function as gas lights.
60 Buick also had the line-type speedometer with the adjustable mirror.
54 Buick speedometer style depended on which model you had. Lower Special and Century models had standard round type speedometer, whereas the Super and Roadmaster series had the line-type color changing rotating cylindrical drum (that's what those type of speedometers really are)
Dr. Mitch, the reason the wipers on your 1968 T-Bird drove you crazy is because they were very unusal in that they were driven hydraulically off the power steering pump, as were the Lincolns of the time. This gave them about 8 speeds, but, of course, the engine had to be running. Never seen anything like it before or since. Lincoln also had a quirky power steering system in that the power steering pump was mounted on the front of the crankshaft instead of being belt-driven.
1958 Edsel speedometer LOOKED radically new, but really was a throwback to some the speedometers of the 20's and 30's where they took a standard dial-type speedometer (except that the numbers moved and the pointer remained stationary) and mounted it horizontally instead of vertically, then masked off the dial so you could only see one speed at a time. In the Edsel version, they unmasked the rotating dial so you could see at least half of the rotating dial with the numbers on it. REALLY neat if you had the optional "Speed Alert" that made the speedometer light up red if speed was exceeded.
Gas lights
Ref:Are there any remianing gas lighting fixtures that still work with gas?
Hi Kenmore 1978,
No the lights on the second floor were replaced in the 1920's. They do hang from the original gas lines however,same as the first floor.
The chandalier that is pictured in the photos above the dining room table originally was gas and electric,as I told you before. It was not hung by a chain at that time,it hung by a painted pipe.The pipe connected to a hollow decorative "bail" type piece,and one side of the "bail" had the gas line in it,and the other side had the electical wires enclosed. A glass chimney rose up out of the top of the chandalier,and the "bail" came down and around on both sides of the chimney and attached to the metal rim around the glass at the top of the chandalier. Sometime in the early 1930's the chandalier went through a conversion to electric only,and was simplified,but dignified as well. Gone was the clumsy pipe,bail,and glass chimney,replaced by a nice looking,and simple chain.(easier to clean too) There are obvious signs of the convertion if you see the light up close.
Now I will get to the gas lines. There are two gas "feeder" lines in the floor joists,visible from the basement.One gas line fed the lights on the first floor,and the second gas line fed the lights on the second floor. They are both disconnected. The reason they are disconnected is that this house was moved to it's present location (about two miles from it's original location) in 1930. By that time gas/electric lights were a thing of the past.
Thank's
Rick
Ref:Are there any remianing gas lighting fixtures that still work with gas?
Hi Kenmore 1978,
No the lights on the second floor were replaced in the 1920's. They do hang from the original gas lines however,same as the first floor.
The chandalier that is pictured in the photos above the dining room table originally was gas and electric,as I told you before. It was not hung by a chain at that time,it hung by a painted pipe.The pipe connected to a hollow decorative "bail" type piece,and one side of the "bail" had the gas line in it,and the other side had the electical wires enclosed. A glass chimney rose up out of the top of the chandalier,and the "bail" came down and around on both sides of the chimney and attached to the metal rim around the glass at the top of the chandalier. Sometime in the early 1930's the chandalier went through a conversion to electric only,and was simplified,but dignified as well. Gone was the clumsy pipe,bail,and glass chimney,replaced by a nice looking,and simple chain.(easier to clean too) There are obvious signs of the convertion if you see the light up close.
Now I will get to the gas lines. There are two gas "feeder" lines in the floor joists,visible from the basement.One gas line fed the lights on the first floor,and the second gas line fed the lights on the second floor. They are both disconnected. The reason they are disconnected is that this house was moved to it's present location (about two miles from it's original location) in 1930. By that time gas/electric lights were a thing of the past.
Thank's
Rick
kenmore1978
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,119
Portable Radio in cars
The removeable portable transistor radio was intorduced in Pontiac and Oldsmobile for the 1958. I KNOW they offered it again for 1959, not sure about 1960. In Pontiac it was called the "Sportable" radio. Roommate had one in a 1958 Bonneville convertible he used to own. In Olds it was called the "Trans-Portable". Radio had an Amphenol connector on the back that connected it to an amplifier and car power when the radio was inserted into the slot. This amplifier was always on whenever the ignition was on. When the radio was inserted into the slot, it could only be released by a lever inside the glove compartment, which of course could be locked to deter theft. Radio ran on 4 AA batteries when not inserted into the car.
The removeable portable transistor radio was intorduced in Pontiac and Oldsmobile for the 1958. I KNOW they offered it again for 1959, not sure about 1960. In Pontiac it was called the "Sportable" radio. Roommate had one in a 1958 Bonneville convertible he used to own. In Olds it was called the "Trans-Portable". Radio had an Amphenol connector on the back that connected it to an amplifier and car power when the radio was inserted into the slot. This amplifier was always on whenever the ignition was on. When the radio was inserted into the slot, it could only be released by a lever inside the glove compartment, which of course could be locked to deter theft. Radio ran on 4 AA batteries when not inserted into the car.
