> > Reminds me of a story my Dad once told me of a car he had...I
> > want to say a
> > Model T. Fuel supply was gravity fed, rather than pumped, and he had to
> > back up steep hills or it would starve for gas.
>
> Funny, my dad used to tell the same story. Hey! wait a minute...
> are you my brother???
Mine did too, so either we're all related ... or Model T's really did suffer
from this problem !
Does anyone know the other common reason that Model T's were driven up hills
in reverse ?
> > 'Course other weird stuff happend back then in the late 20's,
> early 30's.
> > My uncle once used bacon rind for rod bearing(s) to get back home. ...I
> > don't have a clue what prompted THAT little adventure. And while he was
> > fond of a tall tale, it was usually only by adding drama to a
> true story.
> >
>
> Ooops, guess not. My uncle wouldn't have had bacon rind. That story was
> about the use of the leather tongue cut out of a shoe for a rod bearing to
> finish a rallye.
For those who have never had the pleasure ... bacon rind effectively is
leather ! Poorly cured, but ...
And, back then, it was not all that uncommon to stuff in a piece of leather
as a temporary replacement for worn-out babbitt. Engines turned much slower
and made much less power (Model T produced something like 20 hp from a 2.9
liter engine at a racy 1600 rpm), so bearing loads were a great deal less
than even our 1950's design engines.
Plus remember this was the Great Depression in the US, so "making do with
what you had" sometimes meant the difference between eating or going hungry
...
Randall
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