sleepy wrote: Automobiles similar to this were common when I was a kid... our family car was a 1940 Studabaker, bought new about the time I was born. It was before WWII. During the war fuel and tires were rationed.
My grand dad had a natural gas well on the farm and there were others close by that he tended. The gas wells had a lot of moisture mixed in with the natual gas. The moisture would collect in low spots in the transmission pipe lines. My grand father would ride a horse all along the pipeline... open a valve and blow out the moisture... usually burning it then close the valve and go to the next low spot (or trap)
My dad figured out how to modify our "Studybakers" carberator, change the timing and maybe the pointsso that it would run on the stuff he called "drip gas".... he'd collect the drip gas and put it in a 55 gallon drum that was mounted in place of the back seat. (I think he had friends using some of it too.) The black smoke would roll... and it had a distinctive smell.
It was illegal... even though it was making use of a waste... TAXES hadn't been paid on the fuel.
My dad always had tires even though they were rationed... I'm pretty sure that he traded "drip gas" for tires and anything else that was rationed.
I guess it won't hurt to tell you about it now... he's dead... and it all happened before that I was 5 years old.
The Navy had tires and gasoline...
After writing about my families 1940 Studebaker.... and how my dad kept it fueled during WWII i realized that I left something out...
All of that water was really hard on the steel engine... the cylinders, the pistons, the piston rings, and the valves.
By the time I was 5 years old I understood the operation of a valve grinder. It looked like an crank drill or egg beater with a little suction cup that sat on the valve, The vale was slathered up with a grinding compound. and inserted into the valve guide... the crank was turned until the pits (caused by rust from the water in the fuel) were removed.
The piston rings were replaced... of course the cylinder walls had to be bored oversize.
I mention this aditional information to keep someone from trying it now...
* This post was
edited 06/09/12 08:05pm by sleepy *
We were up at 6AM to get ready for the Blue Angels practice... we then spent the rest of the day in the museum.
We headed back to the WM closest the main gate (it's only about 3 miles but I don't recomend it). No one bothered us the night before... and the price was right.
After a shower and snacks... and a litlle Tuesday night TV... we got a good nights sleep. We'd need it....
... the next morning would be the Blue Angels second practice of the week... and we'd be there.
We'd have to do a lttle more looking in the museum sometime in the future.
