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Not to muddy the waters, but there are two Stieff family businesses based out of Baltimore that may be associated with the Silver Arrow. Charles M Stieff started making pianos in 1853. Charles C. Stieff, Charles M’s grandson, started a silver business in 1892 that closed in 1999. I did some remodeling for the Stieff family on a beautiful house in the Maryland suburbs of DC a few years ago. Husband and wife were in their mid 90’s, and were associated with the piano making side of the family. They made (make?) pianos that rival Baldwin. Great people.
Jim,
Try Antique Electronic Supply in Arizona. They have vibrators and tubes. Let me know what tube you need, I may have it as well. I culled a bunch, but still have more than 5000 radio and TV tubes from the 20’s to the 80’s. If the radio has been sitting a while, you will likely need the electrolytic capacitors as well. They are usually tallish aluminum cylinders that say something like 50 mfd (Microfarad) on the side. They may be duals, with two caps inside. Questions, give me a call at 703 628-1190 east coast time.
Lead acid cells produce 2 volts nominal, actually more like 2.3 volts. The ONLY way to get 12 volts out of a 6 volt, three filler cap battery is to put a top from a 6 volt onto a 6 cell 12 volt battery. Check in the cap to see if there might be two distinct cells using the filler area for both filling with water and for venting. This could be either with the cells all parallel to each other in a normal configuration or with a partition down the middle so the calls are in a three and three configuration. If the manufacturer has figured a way to get 5 volts out of a lead acid cell, call Elon Musk. He will be interested.
I thought it a bit odd that the engine numbers are out of sequence as well. First 007, then 005 with ascending serial numbers. Guess it was easier to pull 007 off the shelf…
Assuming the trailer has good tires, brakes, and a tongue assembly that is not worn…
How about the use of torsion type bars for bumper trailers? With this weight, fishtailing could be a big issue. In construction, we haul some very heavy equipment with pickups (David knows I am partial to Fords, and have two diesels). Our local County makes a living checking weight and inspection stickers at the dump. Those with boats know if the boat is heavy (over 5k pounds, for instance), and even slightly misaligned on the trailer, you will fishtail at 55mph.
Always the electrical guy, make sure to have a good clean ground (even a separate pin that runs to the battery is great) so your brakes work if you have other than surge brakes, and use LED lights. They are generally brighter, less drag on the electrical system, and longer lasting.
Richard,
A couple thoughts. As an electrical engineering student, we actually used to study lighting design for both interior and exterior spaces. I am bringing this up because, as a builder, I have watched numerous “interior designers” spend countless hours with a client going over flooring, tile, wall, fixture, etc. colors in a number of stores with vastly different light, only to find when it is installed, it looks awful together in the ambient light. When selecting colors, make sure you select them in the environment you want it to show best. That can be in a museum or outdoors or wherever, but the specific location will change the look of the color. Forget the sun’s effect on the colors! I am just finishing a zero energy home, and spent literally months picking the right color of LED to use inside the house, as well as outside for the floods and mood lighting. It can drive you nuts. I remember a previous thread where one of the members spent a couple of months tweaking colors, and showed a picture of a car with dozens of color spots on it. David’s ’31 Phaeton is an unusual color combination of grays, it looks beautiful (and tasteful) in person.
Many of us have had cataract surgery. I have had one eye done and the other is still original. There is a marked difference in color perception between the two eyes, especially in lighter colors.
In sum, I agree with Dr. Pete, do what you want. Just make sure it IS what you want.
Bob
I just took my 9 and 11 year old boys to Hershey for the first time. Peter Williams met them, and I am sure a few others saw them at the PAS tent. They are shy at first. It was amazing how all but one vendor, who wigged out when one of the kids picked up a trinket off a table to look at, went out of their way to make the kids welcome. They brought home more free stuff than I bought.
We had been there an hour, and the younger one started faking a foot injury because he wanted to ride in the wagon. That got cured when I had them start looking for a bike for the older one. The older one got upset when we decided to leave after 7 hours (and just before the thunderstorm on Friday). Ultimately, they had a great time, and now know what to expect. Thomas, you WILL have your hands full with a toddler.
It was great to see all the PAS members, if only for 15 minutes. The two cars in the tent were spectacular in their own ways. I was wondering if that rumble seat had an ejection option for the kids !
Takes one to know one. It does distract from the engine compartment, and is likely a safety hazard as I will bet the wiring doesn’t have high temp insulation.
By the way, what color is the green engine paint, and is it applicable to the early ’29 cars? I have a black car, the black engine just doesn’t show off well enough.
Sparky the engineer going back in lurk mode…
I agree on the cap and moisture issue. The best time to check the cap and wires is on a humid dark night, run the car and look for the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) anywhere there could be high voltage in the system. If you see a blue glow or sparking, you have found some or all of your problem.
As you changed the condensers, one may be bad, causing the spark to shunt to ground somewhere other than the spark plugs. Also, check to see that all grounds (all connections for that matter) are clean and snug. The washing may have just been the tipping point for a latent issue with the spark system. Remember the KISS theory, try the simple stuff first.
Pictures, please.
Unless the car is sitting on a slope, or the picture is off, it looks as if the left side lamp is lower. Pierce wouldn’t let a car out of the factory that way. It does make sense if the car was driven on the right side of the road, though.
For those of you needing top bows bent, there is a guy in Chambersburg PA, trade name Oak Bows, who steam bends oak bows for various cars. He will work from his patterns or your old material. Neat process. The guy works out of a 20’s vintage dealership with a number of antique cars on the second story. We went in February (that’s winter here, Jak!), and the guy had a dozen or so really nice classics, like a beautiful 20’s Rolls drophead, in an unheated space. He kept a bucket of water next to the radiator to gauge the effect of the cold on the pure water in the radiators. If you are in the area, it is worth a visit.
As I have said before, I am building a new (hopefully) zero energy home here in the DC area. In order to build the house , I had to take down an 80 foot ash tree that was 45 inches in diameter. I saved the main trunk in two pieces, about 25 feet or so. The house is almost finished, and I need to do something with the ash, some oak, and maple trunks I saved. If someone would convince me to have it milled, I will see about making that happen. I was trying to get someone to take it for baseball bats, but that didn’t pan out. I do have pics, but can’t dumb them down sufficiently to get them to load here.
David, any idea on the long term affects of the ammonia on the wood fibers and/or strength?
Has anyone used Water Wetter? I use it in post WW II cars (sorry for discussing these cars, Ed!) on break in, and it drops the coolant temperature up to 25 degrees. Many folks don’t realize that anti-freeze actually reduces the temperature transfer properties of the coolant system, as does a water pump that works too efficiently or quickly, as was already discussed in this thread. To add to David’s comment earlier, Robert is also working to adjust the timing, and borrowed the hand crank from my ’29 to better set the timing on his engine. Clearly, misadjusted timing can also affect the engine temperature and performance,as well as the engine temperature. It is likely, however, that the head gasket, constricted radiator, or some other issue is affecting the coolant issue more than the timing.
David,
Spoken like a true mechanical engineer . I gather from the comments that the oil cooler was important, but the oil technology has improved to the point where the cooler’s original intent is now moot. I hate to bring this up in an existing thread, but should we be using zinc rich oil in these cars?
What causes the failures? Were they necessary in the first place?
This may be a bit odd, but why wouldn’t you have 2 sets of wheels, one for driving and one for show? Those of us who also appreciate the cars after WW II (grin) often do this. A ’56 Tbird for instance, originally had rims without safety beards, and the ’62 Tbird Roadster came with Kelsey Hayes 48 spoke wires with tubes that were constantly cut by the spokes. Neither rim handles a radial tire well, so the simple solution is a modern (60’s vintage) 15 inch rim for the ’56 and 14 inch steel wheels with spinners for the ’62. Takes up a bit of space, but is MUCH safer and a better ride.
My engine compartment has a lot of chrome (vacuum lines, water jacket cover, oil filler cover, etc.). Too much chrome looks a bit much. Ed, what color is the green, and does Bill Hirsch or anyone else have it? Rick, my tranny has a natural bell housing with black trans case. The date on the case is March something, ’29.
I still can’t seem to figure out how to dumb down the photos using this latest version of Windows so they can be sent out to the forum. Will work on it tonight and see if I can send some.
This is a car we all want when we grow up, but can rarely afford. Ed, I noticed the engine block and heads are green. With any luck, (don’t laugh, David Coco), I hope to get my ’29 engine back soon. What color should it be? When I disassembled it, many parts were black. Chime in please, PAS gurus.
Tom,
I sold a ’34 421J to Georgia Tech about 10 years ago. It had 40K miles on it, original black paint and original upholstery. They likely still have it. Might be worth a call to the architecture department. From what I was told, that is where Raymond Loewy went to school, and they wanted to add that style of car to their museum. It was a neat car with a LOT of interesting features, such as a rear seat ash tray that opened a flap on the bottom when you closed the top. Not PC by today’s standards, but very innovative.
Wish I had that one back after everyone tells me my dream car (second to my Pierce, of course!), a ’34 Packard, is a mechanical nightmare…
Bob
This discussion is fascinating and scary at the same time, and it begs the question as to whether the auction houses (and dealers, though we know many are not diligent in researching authenticity) do or should be required to do the research necessary to disclose these types of modifications? There was a thread earlier about a certain eBay advertiser with what looked like a decent car that had a multitude of mechanical and authenticity problems that was advertised as an original car. Don’t even go there on the definition of “original””…”
