bamfordsgarage

Model T Ford valve door stop. 1920s Dodge rad shell hiding modern exhaust fan. Inset is expanded-metal screen from the abandoned Packard plant in Detroit. Four-blade fan is 1926-27 Model T, rotates gently when the powered fan is on.

Sorry, the rascal disappeared into the woods before I could get a clear shot. Despite their size they are shy buggers. This is the only Sasquatch photo I have...

Late update, but we made it to and through the area August 30. A very enjoyable drive although too much washboard on the Hurley Pass for my liking. Sadly, the Bralorne Museum was closed the day we were there. Photos below are on the road to Minto, that once-flooded community where we were besieged by three families worth of adolescents, on the Hurley south to Pemberton, and after dark into Vancover. No car trouble to speak of, although we did char the floorboards near the exhaust manifold on a couple long hard climbs. Only regret was planned meetups with Keithb7 in Kamloops and bach4660 in Surrey both fell through — because we were too early for Keith and too late for Bach.

Thanks Keith for the additional info and photos. Gold Bridge/Bralorne and the Hurley Pass sounds like a great diversion on our way south. We should be good for the grades — added hydraulic front brakes three years ago and a period auxiliary 3-speed under/overdrive transmission in 2016. The underdrive is big at 50% so up or down the steep ones is no problem and 25% overdrive enables comfortable 50 mph cruising. We'll be in touch about getting together for coffee in Kamloops, probably Wed Aug 29 on our way to Lillooet for the night. Thursday night in somewhere in Washington state then Friday in Wilsonville, Oregon — we do about 300-350 miles/day. This trip will be a big loop, likely returning via Montana. Please send me a PM with your contact info for next month. Thanks.

Thanks Keith, that's very helpful. Yes, we'll be in the Speedster -- we are drawn to bad roads like flies to an outhouse. These photos are from last Labour Day weekend when we did 600+ miles of gravel from Whitecourt to the Crowsnest (eastern slopes of the Rockies)

Thanks for posting this — very timely, as we expect to be speedstering through the area in late August on our way to Oregon and it will be an interesting stop. Can you tell me whereabouts the artifacts are based on the map below? Thanks.

Years ago I was told by an old carpenter friend that one's workbench was the proper height if he could unzip and lay it out horizontal on the bench (apparently this fellow didn't believe in women carpenters.) For me that would be 33", although I prefer 36-38" for mechanical work.

No Arctic travel plans in the works — as a matter of fact, they replaced that 112-mile ice road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk this year with some new-fangled all-weather gravel job. Very glad we drove the ice when we had the chance. Anyway, I put the studded knobbies on the Dodge every winter — the Dodge, the T, and my bike are my winter transportation since I sold my modern a couple years ago (we usually drive Michelle's PT Cruiser when we travel together). The bike has studded winter tires and I have chains for the Model T, although deep enough snowfall to use them is increasingly-rare.

Sometimes those 6-volt headlamps aren't quite enough on a dark December night... About those presents up top — they are liquor store boxes wrapped in dollar-store plastic tablecloths, and ballasted with bits of scrap metal, rocks, water jugs etc. I've used them for several Christmases on the Dodge or in back of the '26 T Touring. A couple of years ago, two presents went missing overnight. I chuckle to think of the thieves' disappointment to unwrap their ill-gotten loot to find only a couple of broken bricks.

I don't post often anymore, but still pop by a few times a week for a look-see. Merry Christmas to you all!

Franklin for sure. Air-cooled. In a period-look speedster. The side draft carbs are obviously more modern. Franklins were distinctive not only for air cooling, but also used wooden frame rails from day one until the very late '20s. This speedster has a steel frame, which could be late Franklin or perhaps some other make.

It will certainly lose all its value as an antique car, it simply won't be one any more. To have the planned work done commercially, and properly, will cost far more than the realistic resale value of the completed street rod. We don't know what condition the car is in now, but assuming it needs pretty much everything restored, that, too, would cost far more than the realistic resale value of the completed restoration. The only way your friend can retain the current value of the car is to sell it for his purchase price — now. If he waits a year or two the opportunity cost of his investment $$ is lost, plus the cost/hassle of storage etc. Otherwise his choice is between an expensive car that looks sort of old (aside from wheels, tires, stance, colour, interior and glass) and drives much like a new one, or an expensive car that actually looks and drives like an old one. The latter is certainly my preference but then I'm always willing to trade off a significant degree of comfort and performance for the vintage experience (ie just got back this afternoon from a 400 mile round trip in my '24 Ford T speedster to go dirt-track racing).

Friend Jerry is attempting to service the heater in his 1950 Plymouth, but we've hit a snag during disassembly — it seems prudent to tap into the collective wisdom of the P15-D24 community before we break something! The inner shaft (green arrow below) is seized solid. In order to access the mechanism within, we needed to separate the inner metal housing from the main housing, easy done, and the core (blue arrow below) from the inner housing. That's the problem — the inner housing and core are acting as one permanently-sealed unit. Is there a trick to splitting these two items? If we try much more pry-apart force we fear breaking something. If it is likely just 66 year old weatherseal "gluing" the two items together then I guess we keep working away at it and hope to not bust anything. Suggestions?

Thanks for posting, Bob. Very nice! Austin, that thing in front of the driver is a "Frost Shield", basically a thin clear plastic sheet stuck to, and held slightly away from, the windshield with a thick, double-sided tape. It forms a rudimentary double-glazing that reduces frost and ice buildup on the windshield in cold temperatures. There were very common here in Canada up to the 1970s, but fell out of favour with the advent of better automotive HVAC systems. I run frost shields on the front doors and rear windows of the '47 D25 sedan which is my winter daily driver. The cold weather photo below was taken in Canada's Yukon Territory at about -33°C/-27°F. Despite the distorted view, frost shield are a huge help in those sort of temperatures.

Special Deluxe, made in Canada, Model P20C, 25" block Here is a shot of the dash...