Roger Merchant shows us his 1913 Hupmobile car "Gladys" and walks us through how to prepare it for night driving as well as tells us some of the history of Hupmobile cars in the early 20th century.
Excellent. I learned how to crank the car (like where to put thumb.). And 1st time seeing acetylene lamps lit. Bright! -- Like others I thought they'd be dim. And they're steady and much brighter than the early magneto lights e.g., on a Model T: Never bright, they'd dim whenever one slowed down --such as when you were trying to see something or nearing an intersection. --Source, a former neighbor who lived into his 90's.
Yes they are, But they do need to be readjusted so they point down a little more. As I said in the video you must be very careful when lighting them because they can sometimes shoot a flame out and I have singed the hair on my hand a couple times.
A sweet little home made documentary. I loved the demonstration of lighting the gas lights at dusk. I've never seen that before. Thanks for the experience.
😮 What a beautiful 32, i love the veteran cars, sadly I can't afford a real one, but at least I have a humble 1/64 collection made by High Speed ( and Lesney, Tomica, Summer, and others veterans) greetings from Costa Rica, and keep treasure that beautiful lady
WOW! I know have a sense of living with and driving an older automobile! This is a charming, much fun to learn about Video told by a wonderful and skillful teacher. Thank You! Peter Brooks. The only thing this charming gentleman neglected to mention, that I previously knew about older cars, is that before anti freeze one had to drain the radiator every night in very cold conditions.
What a beautiful old car that you have. I bet it has some great history behind it. I was recently at the 100th anniversary OKC Auto Show in Oklahoma City and got to look at cars quite similar to what you have and they were a work of art. You also got a little history lesson behind each vehicle. You have fun driving the old girl around. She is still beautiful for 104 years old. You have taken great care of her.
Great fun without doing all the work ourselves. Thanks! One thing I noticed is that your cranking technique is certainly better than that shown by some others but still is not really the best. The thumb comment is right, of course, but it would be best if you were to face the car, use your left hand and start with the crank at about 10 o'clock and pull through to 2 o'clock. Your right hand could be on the fender to steady yourself. Then, if a backfire occurred, your left arm would be pushed up and away. Anyhow, give it some thought. I'm OLD and remember.
Thanks for this wonderful experience and the night demo was just beautiful. My only concern is, I would have to get it ready 30 min before going on a date jejejejejejejeje..........
Is that your original acetylene tank? How were you able to get it filled if it is, or are you using a newer, still certified tank? The original tank from my '13 Maxwell is pretty much empty, so trying to figure out how to keep those Knickerbockers lit!
"People don't know what hand signals are, they have turn signals today". A lot of drivers don't know what turn signals are for or how to use them, IMO. :(
Such a pretty low mileage car. I think it's remarkable how well preserved and original it still is. 12 volt ignition, electric lights, juice brakes, would have ruined this car. It is a time machine.
Hey Roger.. Can you help me with the adjustment of the clutch of a model 32 Hupmobile please. I have a 1914 model 32 Hupmobile and I'm having trouble with the adjustment of the clutch. I would appreciate your assistance if you can help me please.. respectfully Laurie McGrath
Um, hand signals from an auto or bike _are_ turn signals. So... an annotation at the point where you speak "turn signals," saying "I meant 'signal lights' " is needed. Will you please add it? And even _with_ just dirt roads, how do you figure the odometer never rolled over a time or more?
Hi thanks for your comment, not quite sure what you meant about signal lights? This car has no signal lights just head lamps side lamps and a tail lamp. The other part of your question dealing with the odometer, owing to the horrible state of roads back in the era, cars were pretty much shot at 50 thousand miles sometimes less, Gladys is in too good of condition to have seen anywhere near that amount of miles. Thanks
Well, nb684nt, I don't know how to answer your question on if you are quite sure or not. It might be better if you were to just _tell_ me, the best you can, if you're not quite sure, rather than asking me. Of course I don't want to claim that I'm a mind reader. Anyway, to clear up the fog about turn signals: You said "...but most people don't even know what hand signals are, because, well, we have turn signals." That's why I said , "Hand signals ARE turn signals." So that's why I asked you if you'd put up an annotation right in that spot that differentiates the hand type of turn signals from the light type, with "I meant 'because we have signal LIGHTS now'." Do you understand what I mean now? Will you do it, please?
In America the law is basically if the car did not come with seat belts (before the early 1960s I believe) then it is not required to wear or have them while driving.
