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General Meeting
New Banquet Date
December 11
DON’T FORGET
In This Issue
Splinters From the Chair……...……....……………. 2
Fall Tour and Econo-Run …………………………. 3
Schedule of Events………………………………… 5
Gray-Dort Centenary ……………………………... 6
Swap Meet…………………………………………. 10
Old Bob’s Photo Corner….…...…….……………… 11
The Bamfords’ Garage Page……………………….12
The Running Board The Edmonton Antique Car Club Newsletter Vol. 53 No. 10 November 2015
Deadline for December RB
November 20
Member of the Specialty
Vehicle Association of Alberta
EACC members enjoying the second annual Fall Tour and Econo-Run on a beautiful Fall afternoon.
Your 2015 Executive President Ron Bodnar
Past Pres. Steve Bemount
Vice President Bert Hoogewoonink Rec. Sec. Nels Anderson
Corr. Sec. Ed Surbey
Treasurer Marilyn Huff
Tours/Events Chris Bamford
Membership Bill Agnew
Publicity Melvin Reid
Historian Bob Callfas
Editor Arend Stolte
Assistant Editor Jerry De Jong Dir.@Large Peter Wieler
2
The Running Board Official Publication of the
Edmonton Antique Car Club
Box 102
Edmonton, Alberta. T5J 2G9
Arend Stolte, Editor email [email protected]
Reprint permission:
Granted to non profit car clubs and related groups.
Please credit EACC’s “The Running Board “
The EACC Website http://clubs.hemmings.com/eacc
Past editions of The Running Board can be found on this site.
Please send articles or pictures to The Running Board Editor.
———————————————————————————————————————————
Splinters From The Chair ello everyone. As I write this, it is raining and just above
freezing and I am sure some of our friends and relatives
are either packing to leave or have left for warmer cli-
mates.
Those of us still here will ‘grin and bear it’ and carry on
with our commitments no matter how small or how big they
may be. Of course, what would be better than to have every-
thing happen the way it’s planned.
Now that our government elections are over, we must wait
and see what changes will be announced by both and how they
may affect us - maybe not as well as we may wish?
You will notice that our date for the Annual Christmas
Banquet has been changed. Sorry, if the new date of Friday,
December 11, does not work for you. Since last February and
our meeting with the NAPDA Director, our date was to have
been reserved. Several of us attended the NAPDA Round Up a
few weeks ago and while talking with Dorinda, the Operations
Director, we were informed that we in fact did not have the
November day booked. Thanks to her asking and having her
assistant Shelly present during our conversation, the December
day was the only one available, so we took it. Further, our ca-
terer Jim is booked for that evening but Shelly has recom-
mended another one that has worked with the NAPDA so we
should be fine.
On the other hand, at our meeting with NAPDA we have
an agreement for the next year, right up to the Annual Meeting
in 2017 (gosh, that’s a long way off). Our rent for our meetings
and for the Christmas Banquet will remain the same as now.
by Ron Bodnar
H
The Edmonton Antique Car Club
The Edmonton Antique Car Club is registered in the Province of Alberta as a
nonprofit society, interested in historical motor vehicles and related collectible
items. Our club is dedicated to the acquisition, restoration, preservation, sal-
vage, maintenance of and promotion of interest in cars from the following
categories.
The Horseless Carriage Era (1892 to 1905)
The Brass Era (1906 to 1915)
The Vintage Era (1916 to 1927)
Early Production (1928 to 1935)
Late Production (1936 to 1948)
Classics (1925 to 1948) (Defined by The Classic Car Club of America.)
Our objectives also include encouraging the retention of such vehicles in Al-
berta, promoting driving tours, displays and other activities our vehicles can
participate in, and educating the general public in the historical contribution of
the automobile in the development of our Canadian heritage.
Our membership is varied as to careers and cars, and extends country wide. To
qualify as a member, new applicants must be at least 14 years of age; must
complete an application form (which is submitted to the club executive for
approval), and pay a nominal membership fee of $40.00 per year (spousal,
additional $20). It is not necessary to own a vintage car, but merely to have an
interest in antique auto memorabilia.
General Meetings are usually held on the first Wednesday evening of each
month, with tours and events being dispersed throughout the calendar year. The
Annual General Meeting is held each year in January.
Our club members participate in a variety of events and activities which pro-
mote social interaction among members, and give them an opportunity to drive
their cars and display them to the general public. Annual events include the
Klondike Breakfast, the Corn Roast, and Mystery Tours. Senior visits are a
way for our club to give back to the community. Members also participate in
community events such as Sunday in the City , Father’s Day in the Park, and
Harvest Festivals. Our club participates in the annual International Meet in
which members from all corners of Western Canada and the Northwest United
States come together for a wonderful exchange of camaraderie, trophies and
good old-fashioned fun.
Our club publishes a monthly newsletter, The Running Board. Members are
encouraged to submit articles and other items of interest to the editor for publi-
cation. As a member you are entitled to receive a copy of each issue and to run
free classified ads in the “Swap Meet” section.
Club members as a group have a wealth of experience and knowledge of all
aspects of the antique car hobby which they will share with you. Bring your
particular problem to our membership and you will be probably be directed to
an expert in that field.
3
Club Events Fall Tour & Econo-Run
by Ryan Surbey
The EACC’s 2nd Annual Fall Tour & Econo-Run was
held Sunday Oct. 18th amid perfect fall weather, with awards
going out to the Most Fuel Efficient, the Least Fuel Efficient
and the Closest to the Estimated Mileage! We extended invites
to other car clubs via Facebook to join us for this fun event,
resulting in a great turnout of vintage and performance vehicles
spanning over 60 years of automotive history.
Our Tours & Events Leader, Chris Bamford, brought along
a special guest, the original owner of his ’47 Dodge Sedan, who
sat 'up top' to lead us over 50 miles of beautiful paved back
country roads north-west of St. Albert. We stopped at the infa-
mous “Calahoo General Store” for snacks and a ‘comfort break’
that, judging from the lineup at the single bathroom, was des-
perately needed. The Tour ended at the St. Albert McDonalds,
where mileage calculations were completed, winners an-
nounced and awards handed out! Can’t wait for next year’s
Econo-Run!
Also, at our meeting last week, we assured NAPDA that we
will try to maintain our current membership with them and sup-
port several of their events through the year. I hope we can do
this and show our support, maybe even add a member or two.
They are also looking for new Executive members for their
Board of Directors. Their Annual Meeting is coming up soon.
Our International ‘Be Seen In ‘16’ committee met again and
as things are moving along very well, has decided to take a
breather for a month or two. We plan to have a mail out some-
time in the New Year. We have worked on a budget. Our initial
estimate is that the Club would take on a supplement of
$5000.00 to cover all the events. That amount may be greater as
we try to keep our registration fees to a competitive amount
with past International Meets and make it a week end that out-
of-town participants would consider attending.
Our Tours are about done for the year but we could still have a
garage tour or two so the next season does not become too bor-
ing. Please consider hosting one so we can see what is really
happening behind the scenes.
Maybe, we might get more of the nice fall weather. It sure
shortens the time to our next season.
Chris’ Dodge with the ‘original owner” riding up top.
Regrouping at the church parking lot outside of St. Albert.
Lined up for the refreshment/comfort break in Calahoo.
4
Sunday October 18 was a beautiful day — sunny, unsea-
sonably warm, and perfect for a leisurely 51.4 mile cruise in
and northwest of St Albert.
Twenty-one oldies mustered at the PetroCan at the north
end of St Albert and gassed up prior to the tour. The route took
us along the north side of Big Lake, past Villenueve, to Calahoo
for refreshments and a comfort break, then back to the PetroCan
via Upper Manor Estates. Once again everyone gassed up and
recorded their fuel used and odometer readings, then made for
the nearby McDonalds to await the results.
Your reporter punched all the figures for fuel comsumption
(and everyone’s before-and-after odometer readings) into his
laptop and identified our three winners: Ken Berg scored a
handy jerry can in return for the lowest MPG figure, Al Sara-
maga took home a dandy digital-counting piggy bank in honour
of having the highest MPG, and Don Cameron earned the top
prize of a digital non-contact laser thermometer for the closest
estimate to actual fuel consumption.
This was our second year for a combined Fall Tour and
Econo-Run, and it was great to see so many members turn out
for the event. Full results are shown in the chart below.
2015 EACC Fall Tour and Econo-Run by Chris Bamford, Photos by Joyce Stolte
5
Schedule Of Events Horseless Carriage Club
Meeting Comes to Town by Bob Callfas
On October 17 several members from the Calgary chapter
of the Horseless Carriage Club of America (HCCA) made a
trek north to meet with Edmonton area fans of automobiles
built in 1915 and prior. It was graciously hosted at the Bodnar
Museum and such surroundings are great for creating enthusi-
asm. Our friends to the south endeavored to open communica-
tion throughout the province and move toward having at least
one annual touring weekend for these veteran machines and
their owners. The group soon agreed upon having an event in
scenic Drumheller in August 2016 and plans to invite other like
-minded tourists from surrounding provinces/states. More de-
tails coming in 2016.
November
Wed 04 General Meeting @7:30 Old
Timers’ Cabin, 9430 Scona Rd.
Wed 11 Executive Meeting 7:30 p.m. at the
home of Jerry and Darlene DeJong.
N.B. — There will be no IACM 2016
Meeting in November.
December
Wed 02 General Meeting General
Meeting @7:30 Old Timers’
Cabin, 9430 Scona Rd.
Wed 09 Executive Meeting Ron Bodnar's,
7:00 start, followed by International
2016 planning meeting at 7:30
Fri 11 Annual Banquet @Old Timers’
Cabin, 9430 Scona Rd
January 2016
Tue 19 Annual General Meeting @7:30
Old Timers’ Cabin, 9430 Scona Rd.
NAPDA Roundup
by Hilde Anderson
Thirteen EACC members attended NAPDA Roundup on Friday
Oct 16. Premier Rachel Notley was the guest speaker. Judging
from the pictures below, she has some new fans. Congratula-
tions also go to Ken Huff for scoring a Life Membership.
6
Robert's son William had a keen interest in wheeled vehi-
cles. He particularly shared his father's enthusiasm for the
emerging automobile; he motorized a buggy while still in his
teens. Robert's competitors in carriage-making were expanding
into making automobiles by acquiring chassis built in the US
and building their own bodies. Gordon McGregor (1873-1922)
had made a deal with Henry Ford in August 1904 to build Fords
in Walkerville (June 2008 RB) and Sam McLaughlin (1871-
1972) made a deal with William Durant in November 1907 to
build Buicks to be known as McLaughlins in Oshawa (March
2012 RB). Robert and son William investigated several US
manufacturers including Moon and Gardiner in St. Louis, Mis-
souri, Chalmers in Detroit, and Dort in Flint. The Grays dis-
covered that they had a lot in common with Josiah Dallas Dort,
a carriage maker turned auto maker who was also president of a
Canadian carriage company. They reached an agreement in
October 1915 and the new company,
Gray-Dort Motors Limited of Chatham,
was registered on November 4. Like
McGregor and McLaughlin before him,
Robert Gray would purchase chassis
from his American partner to beat the
Canadian tariff on importing fully as-
sembled automobiles and build his own
bodies in Canada.
Gray-Dort began with just two
initial models, a Model 5 Touring and
the smaller Model 4 Roadster both pow-
ered by four-cylinder Lycoming engines.
Sedans and Coupes would come later. Starting with a techni-
cally advanced automobile, Gray added such features as leather
upholstery, a tilting steering wheel, optional wire wheels, and
even a cigar lighter. Known for his flexibility with customers,
Robert once accepted a mare worth $150 as a trade-in on a
Gray-Dort. The Grays wanted the Gray-Dort to use as much
local content as possible. It would eventually reach 60 percent.
The Gray-Dort was adapted for Canadian conditions with such
items as a wider track. An unusual feature of the Gray-Dort
was the location of the filler neck for the cowl mounted gas
tank. The filler neck protruded though the middle of the instru-
One hundred years ago this month on
November 4, 1915, during the Great War,
Robert Gray of Chatham, Ontario, and J.
Dallas Dort of Flint, Michigan, registered
a new car company in Canada known as
Gray-Dort Motors Limited. It would be-
come one of Canada's automotive success
stories, but after ten years when the future
looked brightest, it was suddenly over.
Robert Gray was born on February 3, 1862, in Chatham,
Upper Canada, the eldest of four children born to William Gray
(1827-1884) and Barbara Helen Scott (1832-1896). William
had immigrated to Canada from Roxburghshire, Scotland, in
1853, settling in Chatham. There William, a blacksmith, estab-
lished a carriage-making business in 1855. In 1883, Robert and
his brother James Scott Gray (1864-1911) were taken into the
business, which became known as William Gray and Sons. The
following year when Robert was just 22 years of age, his father
William slipped while disembarking from a train in Kingston
and died. Robert assumed control of the
business; despite his youth he managed
it well. Robert rose steadily in Chat-
ham's business community becoming
the first president of the Board of Trade.
On January 5, 1899, William Gray and
Sons Company Limited was incorpo-
rated.
Robert married Margaret Haldane
McLaren (1862-1952) in 1887. They
would have two children, a daughter
Winnifred Haldane Gray (1888-1978)
and a son William Murray Gray (1891-
1971).
Like many carriage producers, Robert Gray saw the advent
of the automobile as the beginning of the end of carriage mak-
ing. But he also saw the construction of auto bodies as an ex-
tension of the artisan craft of making carriages. Robert care-
fully integrated auto bodies into his business. He began by
building bodies for the Still Motor Car Company of Toronto in
1899 and for the Chatham Motor Car Company from 1906. He
also built Ford bodies for the Walkerville factory from 1906 to
1912. Robert himself was an early owner of Detroit made
Fords and had been an original investor in the Ford Motor
Company of Canada Limited in 1904. A strong booster of
Chatham, Robert tried to secure Ford work for other local com-
panies, notably the foundry of McKeough and Trotter. He was
also involved in bringing Chaplin Wheel, Dowsley Spring and
Axle, and International Harvester to his native city. In 1907,
Robert combined his sales force with a partner in William Gray
and Sons, Manson Campbell of Chatham, a farm implement
company with a strong distribution network in western Canada.
A full merger on February 24, 1911 created William Gray-Sons
-Campbell Limited for the production of carriages, sleighs, fan-
ning mills (for turning threshed grain into clean grain), cabinets,
and auto bodies. William Gray and Sons would remain in busi-
ness but without Robert's brother James who died that same
year. By 1912, Gray's output reached 15,000 wagons.
The Centenary of Canada's Gray-Dort by Steve Bemount
Robert Gray, age 23
Robert Gray in 1916
Early interior of the Gray-Dort factory
7
what would become an "orphan." Pressure from Ford and Gen-
eral Motors made it next to impossible for such comparably
small companies as Gray-Dort to continue. In 1924 with a debt
of $1.2 million, Gray-Dort was forced to stop making cars. The
company struggled into 1925 selling leftover stock, but it too
was forced to terminate business. A total of about 26,000 Gray-
Dort automobiles had been manufactured.
After an illness of six months, Robert Gray died on March
31, 1929 in Chatham at age 67. Although his shares in Gray-
Dort and William Gray and Sons were deemed worthless at his
death, those companies had been profitable in their heyday and
Robert had been a prudent businessman. He left an estate val-
ued at almost $595,000, much of it in war loans and stock in
Chrysler and General Motors. Robert and wife Margaret had
built a large and impressive home named "Avenal" in the 1880s
at 141 William Street South in Chatham. After extensive and
careful restorations, it remains today as one of the city's most
beautiful homes.
Sources:
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Gray-Dort: Class Of The Light Car Field by John Rhodes
Motoring Memories: Gray-Dort, 1915-1925 by Bill Vance,
Ancestry.ca
ment panel requiring the car to be fuelled from inside. Gray-
Dort was admired for its power, reliability, and ease of starting
and repair. Using the distribution network acquired in the 1907
agreement with the Manson Campbell farm implement com-
pany, Gray-Dort was soon selling cars in many provinces. It
was particularly popular in western Canada. Gray-Dorts were
promoted as "the class of the light car field." The company's
motto was the rather modest "Own a Gray-Dort; you will like
it."
In 1918 the Dort company made a model change and Gray-
Dort found itself with an inventory of obsolete parts. Rather
than scrap them, the Grays used them to produce the Gray-Dort
Special Touring. It was priced very competitively and was
soon the company's bestseller, a number even being exported to
the US. The Gray-Campbell operation had continued to build
carriages but when more production capacity was needed to
meet the post-war demand for cars, Gray-Dort took over Gray-
Campbell in 1919 and the last horse-drawn vehicle was pro-
duced in 1920. Also in 1920 the fuel tank was moved to the
rear of the Gary-Dorts. They became one of the four most
popular car makes in Canada along with Ford, Chevrolet, and
McLaughlin-Buicks, even outselling Chevrolet in Ontario for a
period of time. By 1921 Robert Gray was making 8,000 cars
annually and employing up to 825 people. This was his best
year with productivity up 200 percent. The company boasted
three plants in Chatham, factory branches across Canada, and
some 400 dealers.
A new radiator shape resembling that of the famous Rolls-
Royce was introduced in 1922. The wheelbase was lengthened
and improvements added, such as disc wheels, front and rear
bumpers, and even an automatic backup light, said to be the
first offered as standard equipment. Sales of this new Gray-
Dort soared. An overhead valve, six-cylinder engine became
available in 1923 and the future looked so bright that the com-
pany planned an expansion to Windsor. Then it all came crash-
ing down.
J. Dallas Dort wanted to get out of the car business and
Robert Gray attempted to dissuade him. Dallas Dort's operating
costs were higher than those of his US competitors, sales of the
Dort automobile were low. Dort's health was also failing. Then
Dallas Dort suddenly died in 1923 while playing golf; his com-
pany was liquidated in 1924. The Grays were devastated; they
had lost their US source of engineering and mechanical parts.
Sales of Gray-Dorts plummeted as customers feared buying “Avenal,” Robert Gray home in Chatham
Flying high in Edmonton 1923
8
Gray-Dort's
Fleur-de-Lys Roadster by Steve Bemount
Gray-Dort's initial model offerings included open touring
cars and two-passenger roadsters with closed sedans and two-
passenger coupes following a bit latter on. There was even a
hardtop version of the touring car that was also referred to as a
California top. But perhaps the most interesting of the cars
produced by Gray-Dort and uniquely Canadian was a small
three-passenger roadster known as the Fleur-de-Lys. It was
produced only in 1916 and 1917 and in very limited numbers.
The little roadster was powered by a four-cylinder, water
cooled Lycoming engine producing about 25 horsepower.
The unique aspect of the Fleur-de-Lys was its very unusual
passenger compartment. The car accommodated three persons
with two individual bucket-style seats in the front and a single
seat in the rear that could host one adult or two small children.
To access this rear seat, a third passenger would enter the car
from either side and then pass between the two front seats to the
rear seat positioned in the middle behind the front seats. This
roadster's name comes from the shape of its seating configura-
tion, which is reminiscent of the three pedals of the Fleur-de-
Lys. Some Canadians who could not spell Fleur-de-Lys, let
alone pronounce it, referred to it as a club roadster since the
seating arrangement suggested the three-leaf clover of playing
cards' suit of clubs. Still others, at their peril, would call the
rear position "a mother-in-law seat" thinking that it made an
ideal position from which to provide directions to the poor soul
actually in charge of the steering wheel.
Sales of this attractive little roadster were regrettably quite
poor. In those early days, Gray-Dort was producing only 2,000
to 3,000 cars per year and this specialty model was not a sig-
nificant contributor. Most of the Gray-Dorts still in existence
today are touring cars. Fortunately, there are two Fleur-de-Lys
roadsters still in operating condition with a rumoured third one
in need of restoration. The Fleur-de-Lys roadster remains a
very rare part of our Canadian automotive heritage.
The First Model A by Ryan Surbey
This car is the first 1928 Ford Model A produced. It was
assembled on October 20, 1927 and given to Henry
Ford's best friend Thomas Edison. It was originally a Tudor
Sedan but Thomas preferred an open car. Therefore Henry
had the Tudor body replaced with a Phaeton body. Outside door
handles were not produced for the early Model A cars. With the
existing changes to the car, a restoration process was never at-
tempted. Photos of Henry stamping number 1 on the engine are
available. Loaned from: The Henry Ford Museum - Dearborn,
MI
Henry Ford told Thomas Edison that his name would al-
ways be with the Ford name and in the logo for Ford,
the cross in the letter F forms a letter T in the distance. The
swirl on the end of the cross forms the top of the letter E with
the letter O forming the bottom of the letter E.
1928 Ford Model A Tudor changed to a Phaeton
Serial Number: 1
Motor: 4 Cylinder, 201 CID, 40 HP
6 Volt Battery w/positive ground
Brakes: Mechanical
Tire Size: 450-21
Transmission: 3 Speed Manual non synchronized
Fuel Capacity: 10 Gal. Gasoline
Body: Ford Motor Company
Weight: 2,212#
Maximum Passengers: 5
Cost new: Gift
Source: Model A Ford Museum in the USA
Gray-Dort Fleur-de-Lys Roadster
9
Congratulations
Miranda and Ryan! Miranda & Ryan Surbey were happily married on August
29th 2015 in Stony Plain AB with a small ceremony with close
family and Friends. For some reason Ryan & Miranda are
haunted by the number 29. They met on the 29th. They have a
29 Ford, They were married on the 29th and had 29 guests at
their wedding. The list of 29's goes on and on. For some
strange reason this must be their lucky number. What does the
future have in store for these EACC members? Well maybe 29
cars? or 29 kids?....
What Place is This? by Arend Stolte
Last spring I started this new feature consisting of a vintage
picture of some place in the province and the modern equiva-
lent as taken by Google Earth. After a summer recess this fea-
ture is returning as promised. Do you recognize this place? Can
you guess what important event is being celebrated? I plan to
quiz the membership at the general meeting.
And … congratulations on the new toy, Doreen and Clem!
10
1929 Essex Parts Required (0515)
Waide 780-478-8454
Seeking parts to finish the restoration of a 1949 Buick Su-
per, 2 door sedanette. I require the heater core for under the
front passenger seat, a radiator and a 15 inch rim with 5 bolts to
use for the spare. (1015)
Katherine 780-645-9713
Services Old Steering Wheel Repairs (0809)
Ted Nordquist ([email protected] ) 780-466-1456
Vintage Ford Car and Pick-up parts. 9502 - 90 Ave.
Morinville Business Park. (0809)
Dale McFarland 780-939-3247
Antique Radio Repair, (auto or household.) Licensed
electronics technician. (0809)
Jack 780-470-3157
Insurance Appraisals Antique, Classic. Post War. (1009)
Springfield Restorations.
Lorne Schmidt 780-464-0204
I'll Clean Your Clock
Antique clock restoration available. Clock parts and restored
clocks for sale. [email protected] (1209)
Larry Hill 780 464 1878
Collector Automobile Motor Oil has been designed to meet
the unique demands of vintage, preserved, restored, and classic
automobile engines. (0110)
Bob 1-403-249-8107 Ron 1-403-242-0569
Mark’s Upholstery. Auto Interior, Motor homes, Boats, Seat
Covers, Furniture and more. Reasonable Prices (0410)
Mark 464-6663 (Bus), 464-0794 (Home)
Bruce & Bob’s Appraisals. Appraisals of Antique, Classic,
Collector & Modern Automobiles.
Bruce England 18 Dawson Drive, Sherwood Park.
780-464-0421
Bob England #412–161 Festival Way, Sherwood Park.
780-467-1044
Heated, secure, indoor storage for antique cars, rods, motor-
cycles. Secure fenced outdoor storage for autos, RVs, and
boats. 24/7 access, manned 10:00 - 4:30 M-F.(0712)
Dale McFarland 9502 - 90 Ave, Morinville
Penrite Oils & Lubricants for Vintage Cars & Motorcycles.
Formulated to meet original specifications but utilizing the best
of modern technology. (0315)
Bert van Riel, Sports Car Centre, 780-440-9426
Note: Printing the above ads does not imply an endorsement
by EACC.
Swap Meet For Sale
1929 Acme Truck. Quite
complete. Needs restoring.
Good winter project. (1015)
Call Jim Boomer for more
info and photos .
780-919-1938
1931 Model A Ford Rumble
Seat Sport Coupe. Previous
owner Hugh Cambell. Body
restored 1990. Recent me-
chanical restoration by pre-
sent owner Engine is bal-
anced and counter-weighted.
Asking $20,000. (1115)
Glen 780-913-5958
1948 Buick Roadmaster
Convertible. Very Rare car.
Straight 8 cylinder engine,
power windows, seat and top,
Dynaflow automatic trans-
mission. All original paint
and seats. Mileage is 73,001
original. (0515)
Ross 780-466-2949
1967 Buick Special. All original 14000 mi. New tires, batt,
Original owner. Excellent condition. Always stored indoors.
$7900 OBO (0515)
Louise 780-458-2086
1927 Model T Ford Tudor. Older, non-professional restora-
tion. Not perfect but very nice shape. Rebuilt engine and trans-
mision. Rebuilt Ruckstell 2 speed rear axle. $12500. Located in
Red Deer. (0815)
Ken ([email protected]) 403-314-9404
New Original old Ford Model A parts. Also some used parts.
Sell individually or as a lot. Reasonable Price. (1015)
Dave Kjorlien 780 469 6150
Wanted Model T engine pan RH support arm (good use for an other-
wise junk pan!), (0415)
[email protected] 780-445-0156
Need help with a 1928 Model A Ford to get it finished.
There could be cash, beer, or trading of work on your restora-
tion. That may get us both motivated to finish neglected pro-
jects. (0715)
Bob Sandercock 780-469-5571
11
Old Bobs’ Photo Corner By Bob Callfas
Here is a proud military man beside a well used
1936 Terraplane.
Painting the ‘29 Whippet by Arend Stolte
I’ve finally come to the painting stage in the restoration of
my 1929 Whippet. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that
I’ll get this done before the snow flies.
I had some difficulty choosing a color for this car. The
original color was green but I already have a green Chevy. The
1929 Whippet did come in two blues - Leone Blue and Pollin-
ger Blue. Although I found the recipes for mixing these colors,
I could not find out what they actually looked like. So I picked
a nice bright blue - Aspen Blue.
I used Endura paint. I know some people scoff at using this
stuff but for me it’s reasonably priced, it’s pretty much inde-
structible so you don’t have to worry about spilled fuel or
grandchildren touching it, and it’s produced right here in Ed-
monton. I’ve used it before and I feel comfortable with it. Be-
sides I’m not really an expert at painting.
Many steps are required for a good paint job and I follow
them as advised by Endura. These typically are: a coat of
primer/sealer, a couple of coats of sanding primer followed
with black mist guide coat, wet sanding until everything is
smooth and flat, another coat of primer/sealer, and two wet
coats of color. I don’t put on clear because it wasn’t done in
1929. Painting is labor intensive, especially the prep and the
wet sanding, which would be one reason shops charge so much.
This is especially true in this type of job where every piece has
to be painted separately.
I built a temporary paint booth in my garage out of plastic
and 2x2s. I have a fan with lots of furnace filters to move
through lots of air, keep out the dust, and catch any overspray. I
use my old CPAP machine and a sump pump hose (new) to
deliver lots fresh outside air to my mask. This paint is pretty
toxic and you don’t want to breath in any of it.
At the time of writing a few small pieces are left to paint
and I should have the paint booth dismantled early in the week.
Here are some pictures of my progress.
Restoration Corner
Above: The main body is screwed to a cart which makes it easy
to move around. The roof material will extend to the doors.
Above Right: The doors and hood are Aspen Blue with a black
belt. The windows are outlined in black as is traditional.
Below Right: The fenders and aprons are traditional black.
PARTY TRICK
As the holiday season approaches,
members will doubtless be attending a
few parties and may want to show other
guests just how gosh darn clever they are.
Try out this brain teaser that will stump
most serious gear heads and 99+% of the
general public:
“What are the four identical compo-
nents on your car that are completely
interchangeable with those on my Model
A, my neighbor’s Lexus, a ‘55 or ‘15 Cor-
vette, and every beat-up Cuban taxicab
on the road today?”
Hint: “Without them, your car is
useless as a transportation device”.
Do you know? Answer at the end of
this page... think about it a bit before you
look.
IN PRAISE OF FUEL STABILIZERS
Your reporter owns a 1982 GMC
motorhome that was built as an unfin-
ished shell by his late father, and later
converted by Jerry de Jong into a combi-
nation camper and collector car carrier for
travel to far-away events. We now tend to
drive to those events so the motorhome
doesn’t see a lot of use (only 8,600 km
since new) — prior to October, the last
outing for the old beast was a dump run in
November of 2013.
Modern gas tends to go bad in just a
few months and can turn into a jelly-like
goo within a couple years — and that’s
the last thing one needs in a complicated
four-barrel carb and 25’ gas line.
Fortunately I had the presence of
mind to pour some STA-BIL fuel stabi-
lizer into the gas tank two years ago and,
miracle of miracles, after sitting idle for
23 months it started right up with a bit of
gas in the carb and a few seconds of
cranking!
Anyway, all
my cars that are parked
through the winter got
the STA-BIL treatment
in October and I heart-
ily recommend it to
everyone laying up
their oldie until spring.
STA-BIL is sold at
Canadian Tire, PartsSource, NAPA and the
like. Just pour one fl oz into the tank for
every 2-1/2 gallons of gas and run the en-
gine for about five minutes to get the
treated fuel up into the carb. You won’t be
sorry!
IS THAT CAR FROM ENGLAND?
I get that question a lot when driving
in the 1912 Kissel by virtue of it being
right hand drive.
Most people are surprised to learn that
many American cars were right hand drive
until the early ‘teens when all except a few
luxury brands followed the example set by
the omnipresent Model T starting in 1909
and standardized on left hand drive. Kissel-
Kar, for example, made the switch partway
through the 1913 model year. Fire equip-
ment was particularly slow to adapt, with
American LaFrance not making the change
to LHD until the later 1920s.
Also a surprise to many is that some
regions of Canada drove on the left side of
the road early the last century:
Ontario and Quebec had right-side
driving right from the beginning, appar-
ently because of early French influence
(France has always been LHD)
On July 15, 1920, legislation made it
mandatory to drive on the right side of the
road in Vancouver and most parts of
mainland Britich Columbia. Vancouver
Island and the rest of mainland BC fol-
lowed in 1921.
The “Rule of the Road” changed in
Nova Scotia at 2:00 AM on Sunday April
15, 1923. From that date forward, all pe-
destrians, bicycles, streetcars, motor cars
and horse-drawn were required to drive on
the right side of the road.
The change in Nova Scotia was par-
ticularly welcomed by travellers between
that province and New Brunswick, which
made the switch to right side driving 4-1/2
months earlier on December 01, 1922.
1923 was known as “The year of free
beef” in Lunenburg County, NS: The price
of beef dropped precipitously because
oxen which had been trained to keep to the
left could not be retrained (they are notori-
ously slow-witted) and teamsters had to
replace their oxen with new ones trained to
keep to the right; the displaced ones were
sent to slaughter.
PEI made the switch right-side driving
on May 01, 1924 to accomodate tourists
and former Islanders coming back to visit.
Hundreds of thousands of RHD drive
vehicles were built in Canada during
WW11 following the “Canadian Military
Pattern”. These RHD tanks, armoured cars,
armoured trucks, scout cars, universal car-
riers, tracked jeeps, etc. were supplied to
Canadian, UK, and other Commonwealth
forces, also to the USSR after they de-
clared war on Germany. Thousands more
RHDs were supplied to the United Nations
for relief work after the war.
Finally, Newfoundland switched to
right-side driving on January 02, 1947, two
years before joining Canada as our 10th
province.
AND THE ANSWER IS…
The humble yet indispensable
Schrader valve in each of your tires — this
timeless design is interchangable between
almost every vehicle with
rubber on the wheels, from
bicycles to Buicks and
Model Ts to Maseratis.
No tire valve = no air in
the tires = you ain’t going
nowhere, buddy!
By Chris Bamford
—–——–——–—–——The Bamfords’ Garage Page———————————
This 'n That
Photo taken in Nova Scotia, 1923. Note
prominent reminder on the windshield
