Showing posts with label Allan Schmidt Restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allan Schmidt Restoration. Show all posts

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On the Road: 2014 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

by Willy Vinton

Recently I went on another adventure to check out a few cars at some auctions and take in a couple of car shows.This time I headed to Amelia Island, FL. There I met up with Allan Schmidt from Escondido, CA, who does a lot of our restoration work. We decided to first take in the Festival of Speed display.

Now if you're a purist, this may not be the show for you, but it is amazing the talent shown in the creation of some of these vehicles. I am not sure what the first pictured vehicle is supposed to be, maybe something from a scifi movie? Either way, it was interesting to look at.

The motorcycle with three, yes THREE, drive tires was an interesting concept bike for sure. Training wheels, perhaps? Straight ahead of that bike is one with a young lad on it, and next to him was "Bat Man" in full dress. The kids were enjoying having their picture taken on his bike.

After two days of cold, rain, and wind, Saturday turned out nicer. On Sunday, it reached a very pleasant 70 degrees for the concours. One of my favorite cars there was the one at right. This is one of the very first Duesenburg Model As built, and I have to say it is by far the most striking of the Model As I have seen. The custom body and lines of this Bender Coupe were amazing to look at, and being a 1921 it was a step ahead of its day. I would love to have this car in the museum.

The real reason for my trip, though, was to see the great collection of American Underslungs on display. Only 11 of the planned 14 made it to the show, but they were all great to see. At right is the American's famous Teetor-Hartley 4-cylinder engine. Apparently these are very rare, as we have been searching for a few years for one, with no luck. This engine is almost a mirror image of the 4-cylinder Continental engine of the same period, but has a few major differences.

Like most of the Brass Era cars of the day, there was plenty of brass to see under the hood. It is always a joy to see this brass contrasting with the aluminum crankcases and cast blocks. When you look at the progress that was made in the first 10 to 12 years of automobile engine development, it is amazing how fast they progressed and improved.





This 1910 American Underslung Traveler from the Seal Cove Museum once belonged to Austie Clark. Allan and I spent a lot of time among the Underslungs, scrutinizing details and talking to folks there. What a great bunch of cars we saw--too much to put in here at this time!



Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying right here at Wedgewood Resort. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

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In the Shop - 1903 Toledo

 by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

Our 1903 Toledo is a stunning car, and the restoration done on it by Horseless Carriage Restoration is one of the best you will see. One of several reasons why we want the Toledo's running condition to stay on par with its fancy appearance!

When we got ready to fire it up recently, however, we encountered a problem that I thought we had avoided: bad fuel.  Our normal procedure is to make sure that we drain all the fuel out of cars that have a copper fuel tank, in order to avoid corrosion problems. When we had trouble getting fresh fuel to reach the Toledo's carburetor, we wondered if there was some kind of obstruction, but had no idea what we would encounter. Once the fuel finally reached the carb and we tickled it, out came a very green solution. Definitely not something you would expect to see in a fuel system. Hmmmm.
We finally got the Toledo started and limped it around to the shop. Once we drained out all the fuel and found that there was still close to a quarter inch or so still hiding in the tank, we knew we had located the source of the problem. So, even if you're sure you drained the tank, MAKE SURE IT IS INDEED EMPTY!

To access and remove the fuel tank we had to first remove the Toledo's side baskets, top braces, and the seat assembly. Once removed we steamed it out and cleaned it so we could remove its drain system. Next we repaired the tank with a sump to ensure that all the fuel was indeed drained out, leaving none to sour and make a mess.

Next we put in new fuel shut-offs so we can remove the carb in the future should it become necessary. We then cleaned the carb out and installed a new drain valve.


fitting from tank


This is the fitting we removed from the tank. As you can see, it allowed a considerable amount of fuel to remain in the tank.





Once the repairs were completed, we put in some fresh fuel and the Toledo started and ran like a charm. We drove it around for a bit, then drained ALL of the gas out and put it back in place in the museum. Thank you to the docents that helped clean it up, as it sure flings oil and makes a mess when it runs! The Toledo is now sitting pretty for the winter, waiting for  you to come see it in the museum.




Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!
















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1902 Knox Runabout: Our Newest Acquisition

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

We just acquired a unique automobile for the museum--a 1902 Knox Runabout. We have wanted to add a Knox to our collection for some time, so this news is very exciting. Our collection's theme focuses on early American automobiles with significant or unusual technology and/or design features, and the Knox certainly fits.


Harry Knox chose to make an air-cooled, one-cylinder engine for his first automobiles. Most makers of air-cooled cars at the time used fins cast integral with the cylinder block for cooling. Because this only worked for light-duty engines at the time, Harry Knox covered his cylinder barrel with over 1,000 two-inch pins. Each pin has a spiral-knurled surface, which reportedly increased the surface area for cooling by 100%. The combination of pins and a fan worked well to maintain a normal engine temperature.




You can see from the photos why the Knox earned the nickname of "Old Porcupine," although some thought the engine more closely resembled a hedgehog.





Our Knox is being shipped from its former home in Pennsylvania out to California for some TLC by Allan Schmidt's Horseless Carriage Restoration in Escondido. I'm not sure when it will make it to Fairbanks, but I want to to be the first to ride in that scary front passenger seat!



Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying at one of the Fountainhead Hotels. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

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On the Road: HCCA Modoc Tour

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

My wife, grandson and I recently escaped Alaska's record heat to take part in the annual Modoc Tour with the Horseless Carriage Club of America. The tour was sponsored by our friends Allan and Beth Schmidt, of Restoration Supply Company. This marked the 26th year for the tour, which was held in Alturas, California. The turnout was great, despite attendance being down a little due to some illness and other situations. At right is a 1913 IHC highwheeler that Allan brought up for us to drive. It ran without a glitch for all the tours. Rain and cold be darned, it kept on going!

Allan drove his 1903 Cadillac, which also ran without a glitch. The weather was a little cool, being 41º F on Wednesday morning and raining on Thursday, but Friday was sunny. Allan outran me in his Cadillac until the last day, when I decided to put the top down on the IHC. Then it was,"Katie bar the door," and the old truck picked up a whole lot of speed. Jack clocked me at 32 mph at one point, and the Cadillac could not stay with me.


Here are a few of the horseless carriages in front of the hotel before the tour began. There was a lot of  prep work to get some of them ready, but with Allan's well-maintained cars there was not much to do other than fill the oilers and  gas tank. We sure did miss seeing the Thurbers and their steam cars, but hope they will make it  next time.




The last day of the tour was the longest and ended at the Flournoy  ranch. It was a wonderful, sunny day and we drove past some great scenery through canyons and along some creeks. We saw a few deer and antelope along the way, plus a lot of old "bone yards" with some interesting looking stuff that I really wanted to peruse. Sigh, maybe next time.....



I love this picture of the the antique cars and vintage motorcycles parked in front of the old brick building. I don't know what will happen to this grand old building, as its only tenant is a used book store, and there probably isn't much chance of other renters moving in. It is truly sad to see the old store fronts closed and these little towns drying up, but at least some folks are hanging in and providing great service to try to keep people coming back.
Of course, one cannot have an old car event without a lot of good food! These folks put out a great spread for us, with barbequed chicken, a tasty salad with all the fixins, and then came out the pies. There must have been at least a dozen kinds, and try as I might, I could not begin to sample them all. It brought back a lot of memories of how the rural farm ladies could really put on a first-class feed with fresh made everything.

Wilma and Marcus had as much fun as I did, as Marcus got to drive the IHC for about 30 miles. Now it's time to begin the drive up the Alcan and head home!

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Museum Cars - Then and Now

by Nancy DeWitt

It's been a busy week at the museum, so we thought we'd treat you to some flashbacks. Here are some before-and-after restoration photos of a few of our cars.

At right is our 1914 Moline-Knight Model MK-50 7-passenger touring car, after it was acquired by J. Parker Wickham of Mattituck, New York. That's Mr. Wickham at the wheel.

 

Mr. Wickham restored the Moline-Knight, but we had it repainted before shipping it to Alaska.






Our 1918 Biddle town car, after Henry Austin Clark recovered it in 1952 from a collapsed garage on Long Island in New York.



The Biddle after restoration by Allan Schmidt of Horseless Carriage Restoration.



Our 1904 Buckmobile, after Walt Meyer disinterred it from a barn in New York in 1937.








Previous owner Joe Whitney performed a meticulous restoration on the Buckmobile.











The 1898 Hay Motor Vehicle. It was discovered in a Connecticut barn in the 1940s, but we assume this photo was taken much later than that.

The Hay after an extensive restoration spanning several owners, including the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum.








The 1921 Heine-Velox Victoria Sport Touring as it looked during Parker Wickham's and William Harrah's ownership.










The Heine-Velox after restoration by Allan Schmidt and Horseless Carriage Restoration. It is such a big and imposing car that we chose a dark paint for it. The light paint reminded us too much of a battleship!



Our 1933 Hupmobile Series K Victoria when it was purchased by Parker Wickman.



 After restoration by Mr. Wickham. Women expecially love this paint color!












And finally, our 1919 McFarlan Type 125 Type Sport Touring, as it looked while William Harrah and Parker Wickham owned it. Like with the Heine-Velox, we thought such a large car called for a darker paint job.  

Here's the McFarlan after Al Murray of Murray Motor Car restored it. First in Class winner at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the 2012 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance!

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On the Road: Southern California

by Willy Vinton
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

When January arrives in Fairbanks, it's a good idea to take a little time and head for some sunshine to enjoy. So, last month Wilma and I left town on the good old red-eye flight to San Diego for a few days of rest and relaxation, and to check on some cars we have at Allan Schmidt's Horseless Carriage Restoration shop in Escondido. We spent a couple days visiting my nephew and touring a few museums (auto related). Unbelievably, it snowed a little in San Diego.

We spent some time with Allan and his wife, Beth, and did a little touring with a 1927 Pierce-Arrow limo (above right). We drove to a resort that was rather nice, and being rebuilt after the fires of 2007.  This copper piece of art there was rather impressive to see and obviously took a lot of work to put together.


We also joined the local Horseless Carriage club for a tour with a 1908 Great Western touring car that Allan was working on for one of his customers. This car had just returned from a 2600-mile cross-country tour in Australia, and was brought in to the shop to get it ready for another overseas tour. It is a rather large 2-cylinder mid-engine car that runs rather well, and like all old cars, can and will make you spend a few moments tinkering on it, just to keep you up to speed.

While heading to the tour, the timer decided to part company with the attaching point, thus rendering us sitting in the middle of the intersection. We quickly figured out what was wrong and made a phone call to get some wrenches to make the repairs, and were soon on the road again.

At right are some of the cars that showed up for the tour.  We met a great bunch of folks and enjoyed good food, followed by a show of sheep and cattle dog competition.

Notice that all the folks are dressed in their winter coats, as it was rather cool for that area. The night before it got down to 19° F in the valley where we ended the tour, and for them that is downright cold. It did get up in the high 50s by the end of the day, which wasn't too bad for us northern folks.

Oh, yea, I almost forgot--I was working as well, and did get a few pictures of our American Underslung  in the current stage of restoration at Allan's. That's another story to follow.

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The Toledo - "An Automobile of Quality"

by Nancy DeWitt
1907 Pope-Hartford
William Evans Collection
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

I have written several blog posts about the Pope-Toledo automobile, but none about its predecessor, the Toledo. Pope-Toledo was the star of Colonel Albert Pope's empire, which also included Pope-Robinson, Pope-Hartford, Pope-Tribune and Pope-Waverly automobiles. Colonel Pope was the world's largest bicycle manufacturer in the late 1800s, and it was only natural that he diversified into automobile production when bicycle sales plummeted.



1904 Pope-Toledo Twin Tonneau
from http://www.swedishbrasscar.com
The Pope-Toledo name arose following the reorganization of the International Motor Car Company, which produced steam and internal-combustion automobiles under the Toledo name. On May 27, 1903, the agency was renamed the Pope Motor Car Company, and all subsequent cars produced were known as Pope-Toledos. The steam car line was dropped in 1904. The early 1904 Pope-Toledos bore a striking resemblance to the 1903 Toledo shown below.

Although a number of Toledo steam cars are still around, to our knowledge we have the sole-surviving Toledo gasoline car. We purchased this 1903 Toledo rear-entry tonneau from the estate of Carl J. Schmitt in 2008. Mr. Schmitt acquired the Toledo in 2000 and had Allan Schmidt of Escondido, CA perform a complete frame-off restoration on it in 2003. According to Allan, the car had its original body and was fairly easy to restore because it was so complete. He built a new copper radiator and water tank, as well as a windshield and top. In 2004, the Toledo won the Antique (1 & 2-cylinder) Award at the 2004 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance.

The wicker side baskets shown here are original to the car. These could be used to hold tools, spare parts and picnic baskets. The Toledo also has an interesting hill brake--essentially a pole that swings down from the chassis and digs into the ground--that could be lowered when climbing steep hills. It was also one of the first automobiles to have an electric speedometer.
Museum Manager Willy Vinton has driven the Toledo several times. "It takes a lot of time to get her prepped," he says, " but it starts very easily if you follow the instructions, taking about 15 minutes to warm up. It runs very well, but shifting is a little different from other early cars." Unlike the two-speed planetary transmissions found in most automobiles of the time, the 12-horsepower Toledo has a three-speed, sequentially shifted sliding-gear transmission.

The Toledo is very striking in appearance and has an unusually long bonnet for a two-cylinder car. This accommodated the large radiator tank that sits in front of the engine. In 1903 a Toledo cost $2,000, which included a large brass headlight, two side lamps, a signal horn, tools, a tire repair kit and a removable extra seat for the tonneau. Advertised as "An Automobile of Quality," sales literature further boasted that its "perfect appointments and superb finish appeals to the refined taste and good judgement of purchasers." It certainly is a fine car and a nice addition to the museum.

The Toledo is featured in our museum book and can be seen in this short video.

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Winner! Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance


This year we had the honor of being invited to show two of our cars at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. When we have a car restored, it is done in the Lower 48 by either Al Murray (Murray Motor Car in Monroe, WA) or Allan Schmidt (Horseless Carriage Restoration in Escondido, CA). We highly recommend both. On top of their outstanding work, it is an added bonus if we can display a freshly restored car at a show before we ship it north to Alaska.

We spent two hours polishing the 1918 Biddle Town Car and 1919 McFarlan Sport Touring the day before the show. Although we arrived early at the Pebble Beach Golf Links the next morning, we delayed moving the cars onto the show grounds. It was foggy and we could literally watch the cars' brass tarnishing before our eyes from the high humidity, so we kept them inside the trucks until the last minute. Judging started at 8:30 AM and included a very thorough inspection and questioning by a team of three judges.

The Pebble Concours is among the most elite car shows in North America and features some of the most beautiful classic cars in the world. There were numerous celebrities and even a Maharaja or two among the well-dressed crowd of spectators this year (Jay Leno refers to the event as "Tailgating for Billionaires"). Then there were the Alaskans and their friends--having the biggest lawn party on the 18th Green. The only thing missing to make it a true Alaska campout was a bonfire.

After a long wait that included a second visit by the judges to inspect the McFarlan, we were told to take it to the winners circle. At this point we knew we were in the top three for our class. The stage director then told the 3rd-place winner (a 1905 Clément) to go first, and when he directed the 1911 Isotta Fraschini to go 2nd we knew we had earned the coveted First in Class for A-2 Antiques. There was an audible gasp in the crowd when they learned that the car belonged to a museum in Alaska. We were also thrilled to receive the Ansel Adams Award for Most Desirable Touring Car of Its Era. What an honor! Museum owner Tim Cerny looks pretty pleased with the prizes. For some reason, the bottle of Champagne didn't make it back to Fairbanks...

1919 McFarlan Sport Touring
First in Class, A-1 Antique
2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Photo by Murray Motor Car
Both the McFarlan and Biddle will be shown at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on September 9. This year's event will take place at the new LeMay Museum in Tacoma, WA. Please stop and say hello if you attend! Otherwise, expect to see the beautiful Biddle and McFarlan at our museum around mid-October.

We want to send out a big thank you to Al and Paul Murray of Murray Motor Car for the great job on the McFarlan, and to Allan and Beth Schmidt for their amazing work on the Biddle. Both of the cars are show stoppers and will be welcome additions to our collection here in Fairbanks. Hopefully they will arrive before the snow falls so we can get them out on the roads around town.

*Update* The McFarlan also won the Best in Class - Antiques award at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on Sept 9, 2012!

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