Wanted for collection, Massachusetts license plates that say ANTIQUE or ANTIQUE AUTO, #1-100, 1951-current, I will purchase or I have many MA. license plates to trade. henryford1@verizon.net
Author: Henry Diorio AACA LIFE MEMBER
A thought for selecting what oil to use in an antique car. Somewhere, I can not remember where, I read a recommendation that synthetic oil be used in antique vehicles. The idea was that these cars and trucks are seldom driven, resulting in long periods between engine starts. During these long rests conventional oils drain off the interior surfaces of the engine, exposing the metal to air and moisture, and allowing corrosion (rust) to occur. Synthetic oils, the proponent claimed, adhere better to the metal, maintaining a rust preventing layer of oil longer than conventional petroleum based oils. Based on this concept, it would also be expected that synthetic oil would maintain an oil film in the bearings longer, reducing wear during engine start. Based on this concept, in 2017 I started using synthetic oil in my 1927 Ford T. I use the cheapest I can find (Walmart’s house brand) and maintain the same change interval as I did with petroleum based oil – no oil filter on a Model T. I can not say if I have reduced any wear. But I can say that drivability of the T was improved. The Model T has a 2-speed planetary gear transmission, and as such has no true “neutral” as found in a sliding gear transmission. “Neutral” in a Model T transmission is a position in the travel of the clutch pedal between when the clutch has released but the low speed band has not yet tightened, an elusive position Model T enthusiasts refer to as a “Free Neutral”. Synthetic oil seems to produce a thinner, yet more effective, film layer on the low speed drum in the transmission. This thinner oil layer is allowing a more positive release and application of the low speed band, producing a broader zone in the clutch pedal travel where the transmission is in “neutral”. The more positive release and wider zone of release makes “neutral” easier to find and easier to hold (important when waiting on the traffic light they always put at the top of a hill) – hence improved drivability. I must caveat this on that when I was using petroleum oil I was using 10W40 oil. With the switch to synthetic oil I was forced to change to 10W30 oil. I do not know how much of the improvement is due to a lighter viscosity oil. However, the improvement in drivability has been observed over the entire range of engine (and oil) temperature. Cold oil right after start, or hot oil after a long drive, drivability, and finding “Free Neutral”, is equally improved.
I have a 1929 or 1930 Willys 6 – two door coupe that needs restoration. I am looking to sell it.
I can be reached at 781 608-2278 for more information.
I am new to the antique car community. We are having a WWII reenactment event in July. We also want to sponsor an antique car show showcasing WWII civilian vehicles. Any ideas on the best way to get word out the NE communities.?
Hello Philip,
I wanted to thank you for the excellent work you’re doing promoting the old car hobby with this web site, I look forward to it and have enjoy reading the articles. I bought an old car at the famous Hershey, PA swap meet this month. I wasn’t looking for a car and had no intentions of buying one, but this car spoke to me. It’s a 1936 Ford roadster, a very pretty and rare model. It seemed in very good and mostly original condition. Basically a well taken care of old car, it was repainted and had some minor repairs here and there, but never taken all apart or crashed. The body looked excellent, no rust at all and the floors (under the front mats) were clean. Most interesting was the car had a vintage McCullough supercharger and a Columbia 2-speed rear end. I looked it over and thought it was the most interesting car I’d seen all day. The price seemed a little high, so I walked away. I left and walked a few booths down where I ran into a friend from R.I. I mentioned the ’36 and he asked if I knew who’s car that was? I said no, then he said it belonged to Gil Stafford, he asked did I know Gil? Yes indeed, he was a college professor of mine and during one of his first classes he mentioned that he was a car collector. After class I asked him about his cars and told him how I loved them. Gil invited me to his house to see his cars and he was quite a collector. I think he kept every car he ever bought, from his first a ’32 Ford roadster. Gil always bought Fords every few years, never trading or selling them. In a big barn behind his house were all his cars, an amazing collection. He told me stories about each one, but I remember him showing me his ’36 Ford. Gil explained that he travelled to Dearborn to watch this car being built, then drove it home to R.I. Gil installed the supercharger which added 40-hp, from 85 to 125-hp., he was very proud of this car – it was one of his favorites. Gil had a lot of automotive memorabilia too. I remember he had a framed display showing every one of his R.I. driver’s licenses, beginning in 1928! It’s funny what you remember. While I was looking at the ’36 I noticed the license plate was S-100, I thought that was a cool license plate and said “Gil I like that license plate, if you ever want to get rid of it, I’d like it”. Gils said, Jeff, I would never get rid of that plate, the Governor gave it to me and besides, you need a plate that starts with “G” for Goldstein. All this happened 40-years ago! Gil passed away in the late 90’s and he was quite elderly by that time and we had lost touch after college.
Back to Hershey, after my friend tells me it was Gil’s car all these memories come rushing back to me. Now, I’m more interested in the car and I go back and start looking it over more carefully. I’m looking under the seat and all around it. In the glove box I find a bunch of keys on a key chain, one of the keys is a R.I. DAV key chain tag, I’m not sure if you know about these. But, as a fund raiser the DAV would mail a pair of key chains with your state license plate number printed on them. They were exactly 1/12 scale and were quite accurate, they even had a chrome frame. The key chain had S-100 on it, but I already knew the car was Gil Stafford’s. So I negotiated the price and bought the car after hearing it run. I broke my own personal rule of driving the car first, the car’s been delivered and I still haven’t driven it. With it now in my garage, I’ve taken a really good look at it. Yikes, the wiring is a mess, brittle, cracked and patched her and there, it didn’t look safe. Also, lifting the rear mats, the floors have rust holes and will need patches. I don’t regret buying the car, but I might have negotiated harder if I knew about these issues.
Now I’m learning all about ’36 Ford’s and having a great time taking this one apart. I’ve taken out the entire interior, patched the floor and removed the complete old wiring harness. The new harness arrived yesterday and I’ve laid old and new side by side, they seem to match. I’ll be installing the new harness this week. So far, no other surprises with the car. I’m trying to decide how far to go with it, should I restore the gauges and paint the dash while its apart? The whole car has a charming patina, a little worn, but not worn out. I’m afraid if I start painting and restoring I’ll wind up doing the whole car or some sections will look out of place all restored and make other areas look bad. At this point, I think I’d rather have everything working properly and safely, then drive it a bit and then decide how far I want to go.
If any of your readers knew Gil Stafford, I’d love to hear their stories about him. I remember his as a great teacher, a real car guy and a mentor.
Looking for a “Gemmer” steering box for my 1928 Chrysler model 72 sport
Dear friend and avid Caddy guy Peter Tellis passed away Sat, Sept 16. The wake will take place this Thursday at the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St, Woburn from 4 – 8 pm. A Funeral Mass will be held at the Annunciation of Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 70 Montvale Ave, Woburn. Classic Cars are invited to participate. Check the Dello Russo website for further details as they become available.
I would like to be the first person to congratulate Phil for his hard work on revitalizing the Bean Pot Club, and developing Stirring The Pot and getting our new web site, BeanPotaaca.org, up and running. Thank you Phillip.
How to know when you have a good 6 volt neg ground coil and how to test un marked coils when you don’t know if they are 6 or 12 volts and positive or negative ground?
Also do coils get week ? How can I know which coil will give me the best spark? You order a new coil from a parts store, “hey I have a 41 Buick, need a good strong coil.” He throws a box at me, “here take this one.” How do I test this new coil under running conditions, before i spend 100 $ having it installed?
Yesterday a bunch of us car guys were attracted to a beautiful 1934 Packard. The owner was standing by answering questions about his car then he stated that the only thing not working was his fuel gauge, a very frequent old car problem.
The responses started, did you check this and that, the owner said I’m not a mechanic, then the next reply was something like “you should bring it to Joe’s garage he fixed Mikes last week.” Any hints who he should talk to in the Hampton NH area?