keithb7 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 What an incredible book. The amount of great info is mindblowing. The illustrations are like candy for a car junkie. I can’t put it down. I found a 20th edition 1942 year in excellent condition. Paid $15 US for it. Worth a ton more to an old-car car nut. Since it arrived in the mail I’ve burned 4-5 hours with my nose in it. (It arrived yesterday) If you’re a gear head, or not, and just want to learn more about our old cars you’ve got to get a copy of this book. Highly recommend. I am so glad I bumped into this book. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2016/02/03/recommended-reading-dykes-automobile-and-gasoline-engine-encyclopedia/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 (edited) Well,you got me excited enough to find and buy a 1952 issue. for about $30.00 Looking forward to it's arrival Never heard of it till now. Edited March 11, 2019 by plymouthcranbrook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 (edited) Be sure to check back and report. Either confirm or suppress my enthusiasm...I'm carrying on reading sections daily. Maybe it's just my age and I missed a ton of cool stuff about old cars and how they worked. For example I did not know that old cooling systems did not have a water pump, nor thermostat, and were non-pressurized. I would have probably grasped that pretty easily being as at some point everything had to be engineered. Go back far enough and old cars had 1 HP, and ate hay. The thermo-syphon principle is lost on most people today. Neat old stuff that we had to learn and live through to get where we are today. Did you know that old cars used to have manual control levers to open and close air fins on the front of cars? To control air flow through the rad, from within the cab? Sure, you probably did. I didn't and I'll be ogling over the next car equipped with air fins that I see at a car show. I have never owned a car with that awesome feature. Today we make winter fronts to cover our radiators up here in Canada. Today we seem to have gone backwards in some ways. How about those neat cooling system thermometers that screw into your rad, replacing your rad cap? I'd wager that less than1% of the population today have ever heard of one. Let alone how they work, how to read them, or how they react with non-water pump, and water-pump equipped cooling systems. My point is, the book takes many of these interesting topics and breaks them down for a very good depth of understanding. Using common non-engineering type language. Akin to maybe, car mechanic language. I'm not implying that grease monkeys are dumb, but I am no calculus wizard and this book suits me just fine. These are a few examples of what I took from the cooling system section. Maybe this is all useless stuff to most people today. However for a car nut, someone who enjoys shop talk at the car show, who wants to preserve and maintain old cars, this book is indeed a must have. Edited March 11, 2019 by keithb7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 (edited) one of the latest known cars that I am familiar with that did not use the water pump was the Morris Minor.....pump debuted in 1950 I think allowing such amenities as an effective cabin heater...lot of what you mentioned has long been dropped as NLA and superseded by technological advances. Interesting reading though as you are finding out. Many a older member here can relate to these and other things you mentioned. Many things that were used way back then, disappeared as a feature and only of late being reintroduced as a feature or become available as an automatic feature and no longer a human intervention device. (timing is one great example here) I am sure a read of this book will be most entertaining to an old schooler and the young alike, a walk through history is always fun. I will probably keep my eyes peeled for an edition just for the nostalgia factor. Edited March 11, 2019 by Plymouthy Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 I've had a 1943 copyright version of Dyke's for quite some time. Based on the one I have it seems that Mr. Dyke was not into removing old and outdated information and was a bit slow with adding the newest technology. Most things in my 1940's copy were long out of date for even my '33 vintage car. Quite a lot of information about how cars worked in the early 1900s and into the early 1920s though which can be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 I have a 1922 and 1955 Dykes... tons of very interesting tech info/tips and very detailed drawings and pictures... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T120 Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 I also have a copy of the 20th Edition 1943 - great to read, wouldn't part with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busycoupe Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 I just found PDFs of the complete 1911 edition and the complete 1920 edition online for free. Simply Google Dykes Automotive Encyclopedia. The 1911 edition is listed by Google, the 1920 edition is listd by the Dodge Bros. club. I think that the physical book would be great to thumb through, but the online version offers immediate gratification for zero cost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted March 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 I can't say why, but I get little enjoyment from reading a scanned book. Printing the scanned material, binding it into a book, and thumb flipping...Now we're talking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted March 12, 2019 Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 yes, pages are what makes a book... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted March 14, 2019 Report Share Posted March 14, 2019 On 3/11/2019 at 10:40 PM, keithb7 said: I can't say why, but I get little enjoyment from reading a scanned book. Printing the scanned material, binding it into a book, and thumb flipping...Now we're talking. I too enjoy real books but a dispute with our local library caused my card to be frozen. With no other alternative I decided to buy an IPad and use the Kindle feature. it took a while but I have become comfortable with it and sometimes it is easier to use that a real book(Blasphemy I know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted March 31, 2019 Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 Got my Dyke's a few days ago and although I am just at the looking through it stage I am amazed at the information there. Most of course out of date unless you have a fairly old car(Book is 1952 issue) but much basic knowledge is really explained very well. I have already learned things that I thought i knew all about were not quite what I thought. Thanks again for bringing it to our attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted March 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 I too have straightened out a few misunderstandings. Glad you are enjoying the book too, as I am. I was recently comparing the Stanley Steamer to the Doble. Which led me to Jay Leno’s Doble demo video. I’ve opened my horizons considerably. Thx Deke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus6948 Posted March 31, 2019 Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 http://www.dodgebrothersclub.org/Dykes_Automobile_and_Gasoline_Engine_En.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 (edited) On 3/31/2019 at 6:34 PM, linus6948 said: http://www.dodgebrothersclub.org/Dykes_Automobile_and_Gasoline_Engine_En.pdf Thank you, I now have two available Edited April 3, 2019 by plymouthcranbrook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I saw an original 1912 printed edition at a swap meet last weekend. I was tempted to buy it. However did not. I need a few years with my 1942 book to get through it all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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