- Joined
- Jul 11, 2004
- Messages
- 1,830
In the '20's through the mid '30's bodies were usually boxy & were very much alike to the modern eye. Minimum trim & universally black in color. Roofs were a material similar to black oilcloth [Grandma's tablecloth ] & were subject to cracks & leaks. Glass was heavy plate & untempered.
Chrysler [ & De Soto ] came out with metal roofs about 1934 with their Airflow design. [ Napoleon 's hat shaped,you loved them or hated them.] This vehicle had safety glass,a layer of sticky vinyl type substance sandwiched between two thin plate panes. It was a great innovation . After a few years the edges leaked & you had an inch or so of haze around the outer edges.
Metal started replacing door & roof frames and wooden floorboards were replaced by stamped metal floorpans.
Henry Ford, the man that introduced the assembly line ,was a shrewd one. When he had outside purchases,he specified shippers to use wooden crates of his specification "bolted" [ not nailed ] together . They were the floorboards of the vehicles,secured by the bolts from the crates .
Brightwork was usually stainless slats here & there but Chrome appeared & chromeplated bumpers were becoming universal. They WERE bumpers & did save a lot of body damage,plysical & velicle-wise.
Early steering was rather kiddy-car stuff until tires,weight & horsepower demanded a degree of precision. Lowered center-of-gravity made the change in steering. One inch on the steering wheel was an inch of turn at the axle & the factors above demanded a change.
The tie-rod [ tied the wheels in synch ] & drag-link [ moved the wheels in tandem ] worked but steering ratio was slowed by a Saginaw ball roller screw with ball bearings or a cog & pawl arrangement to make slower steering smooth & easy. Tires & wheels & weight did not need power-assist until the monster cars arrived.
Kingpins & bushings allowed for better control. Wheel bearing & spindle wear made adjusting the axle nut critical BUT if over-tight,bearings failed--if too loose ,tire cupping occured.The castellated nut appeared [ educated nut was what they asked for at the parts counter ] & that solved many problems by giving 8 positions for adjusting play.
Brakes were cable driven & cables stretched resulting in spotty braking. The emergency brake was just that. A strong right arm was needed & that is one of the reasons men would not permit their wives to drive.The brake lining was woven material asbestos & nut shells with a hardener mixed in . Replacement stuff came on a roll & auto-machine shops would cut it to length & rivet it to the shoes. Then W/B [wire backed ] appeared . I remember riveting it on shoes as late as the mid-'50's. The metal dissipated heat more quickly. One manufacturer was Johns-Manville [ did house shingles pop up in your mind ?]
Brake fluid was castor oil mix & would boil or evaporate from heavy use. A triangular shaped gadget with a turnbuckle device tightened brake cables on cars until they all went hydraulic.
Cooling was done with a heavy brass-copper radiator & NO [in my memory ] waterpump.Capillary action I suppose ? The radiator cap had a large thermometer sticking up if you didn't notice it,surely you'd see the steam. There was a thin brass or copper plade in the block & it acted as a distributing plate/tube to keep all cylinders from cooking.
Carbs were very simple & trashy gas was a problem. Necessity sold many simple tool kits then. I remember the Stromberg-side draft & Carter very well. Repair kits were simply jets & gaskets for the body & glass sight bowl.The most popular sparkplug was Champion & there was virtually no heat ranges then,just the gap mattered.
This is great fun for me BUt I really bit off a big chunk here. Guess our next bit will be car makers by alphabetical order in the '30's.
Tiredly,
Uncle Alan
Chrysler [ & De Soto ] came out with metal roofs about 1934 with their Airflow design. [ Napoleon 's hat shaped,you loved them or hated them.] This vehicle had safety glass,a layer of sticky vinyl type substance sandwiched between two thin plate panes. It was a great innovation . After a few years the edges leaked & you had an inch or so of haze around the outer edges.
Metal started replacing door & roof frames and wooden floorboards were replaced by stamped metal floorpans.
Henry Ford, the man that introduced the assembly line ,was a shrewd one. When he had outside purchases,he specified shippers to use wooden crates of his specification "bolted" [ not nailed ] together . They were the floorboards of the vehicles,secured by the bolts from the crates .
Brightwork was usually stainless slats here & there but Chrome appeared & chromeplated bumpers were becoming universal. They WERE bumpers & did save a lot of body damage,plysical & velicle-wise.
Early steering was rather kiddy-car stuff until tires,weight & horsepower demanded a degree of precision. Lowered center-of-gravity made the change in steering. One inch on the steering wheel was an inch of turn at the axle & the factors above demanded a change.
The tie-rod [ tied the wheels in synch ] & drag-link [ moved the wheels in tandem ] worked but steering ratio was slowed by a Saginaw ball roller screw with ball bearings or a cog & pawl arrangement to make slower steering smooth & easy. Tires & wheels & weight did not need power-assist until the monster cars arrived.
Kingpins & bushings allowed for better control. Wheel bearing & spindle wear made adjusting the axle nut critical BUT if over-tight,bearings failed--if too loose ,tire cupping occured.The castellated nut appeared [ educated nut was what they asked for at the parts counter ] & that solved many problems by giving 8 positions for adjusting play.
Brakes were cable driven & cables stretched resulting in spotty braking. The emergency brake was just that. A strong right arm was needed & that is one of the reasons men would not permit their wives to drive.The brake lining was woven material asbestos & nut shells with a hardener mixed in . Replacement stuff came on a roll & auto-machine shops would cut it to length & rivet it to the shoes. Then W/B [wire backed ] appeared . I remember riveting it on shoes as late as the mid-'50's. The metal dissipated heat more quickly. One manufacturer was Johns-Manville [ did house shingles pop up in your mind ?]
Brake fluid was castor oil mix & would boil or evaporate from heavy use. A triangular shaped gadget with a turnbuckle device tightened brake cables on cars until they all went hydraulic.
Cooling was done with a heavy brass-copper radiator & NO [in my memory ] waterpump.Capillary action I suppose ? The radiator cap had a large thermometer sticking up if you didn't notice it,surely you'd see the steam. There was a thin brass or copper plade in the block & it acted as a distributing plate/tube to keep all cylinders from cooking.
Carbs were very simple & trashy gas was a problem. Necessity sold many simple tool kits then. I remember the Stromberg-side draft & Carter very well. Repair kits were simply jets & gaskets for the body & glass sight bowl.The most popular sparkplug was Champion & there was virtually no heat ranges then,just the gap mattered.
This is great fun for me BUt I really bit off a big chunk here. Guess our next bit will be car makers by alphabetical order in the '30's.
Tiredly,
Uncle Alan