NO GOOGLE!

[Sixty8panther]

No cheating.

Monitoring the magnificent engine was an impressive instrument panel that included the usual gauges plus tachometer, stopwatch, altimeter, and brake-pressure gauge. A mechanical "computer" activated the automatic chassis lubrication every 75 miles, and a dashboard light confirmed it. Warning lights signaled the need for oil changes and battery maintenance.

What car is this quote talking about?

more hints:

- eight cylinders

- 32 valves

- forced induction

[Robert Hall]

Something from long before either of us were born, I suspect. Maybe a Cord 812? They were supercharged, and had a really cool dash w/ lots of gauges, IIRC.

The Cord 812 is the car my Dad fell in love with when he was in has teenager and the 812 was a new car. Almost 50 years later, he and I built a Monogram 1:24th scale model kit of the '37 812 convertible.

Edited September 20, 2008 by moltar

[balthazar]

I know the answer (w/o gogglin'), so I am going to piggyback a description for another car, just because your passage reminds me of this car:

>>>In addition to the normal compliment of instruments, included are; tachometer, chronometer, altimeter, barometer, compass, engine oil temperature, rear axle lubricant temperature and vacuum gauges.<<<

- OHC

- 24 valves

- forced induction

Sorry: no one will get this one in 100 years of guessing.

Feel free to start cursing me now.

[Sixty8panther]

Moltar:

Cord (810 or 812) is wrong. Although if this was horse shoes or hand grenades...

Balthazar:

If you said 24 VOLT electrical system I'd have said Tucker!

[HarleyEarl]

'39 Hupmobile

[Robert Hall]

Moltar:

Cord (810 or 812) is wrong. Although if this was horse shoes or hand grenades...

Well, like I said, it's probably from long before my time... we need someone really old to know this..

[balthazar]

Such a tiny sheltered world without history.

[Sixty8panther]

HE:

...it was not that kind of "close" you're getting colder.

[XP715]

If it's "really old" like the others are saying, my guess for something with a 32-valve eight cylinder engine with forced induction would be a J/SJ/SSJ Duesenberg.

EDIT: balthazar: is the car you're talking about from the early days? Like, Brass Era? External valvetrain? Like a Knox or a Jackson or a Welch, maybe?

Edited September 20, 2008 by XP715

[balthazar]

Nope: post-war. My description is doubly appropriate; I would easily term it the post-war incarnation of 68's vehicle. Don't fret over it tho- it takes 'obscure' to dizzying heights.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

The Austin Heeley Neatomobile.

[Robert Hall]

Probably a homebrew or low production model. I'm almost thinking maybe the Vector W8, but I think it had an OHV (SBC?) engine. I could imagine that it had an altimeter and brake pressure gauge. Or an obscure English cottage industry car, a Bristol perhaps? I'm staying away from Wikipedia..

Edited September 21, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

XP got it.... indeed the first use of an "on-board computer" was the Duesenberg SJ/SSJ

of the early 1930s. Yes it was a mechanical computer but a monitoring system for such

things as he brake pressure? Now THAT is attention to detail! Warning lights for the

battery voltage & a confirmation light for the automatic, mechanical lubrication of the

chassis by the computer? That's pretty amazing for an era when Model-A fords were the

bread & butter car for the masses.

Moltar:

I believe the Vector had several power-train choices, including some wacky pre-VW "W8"

(hence the name of that model), the protoytpes and a few of the production cars had

Small-block based V8s with twin-turbos & also a V12 sourced from Lamborghini or maybe

it was Mercedes or BMW was installed in one of the cars at one point, although that might

have been by a customer.

[balthazar]

R&T tested a Vector W8 in 3/91, engine was a twin-turbo 365 CI all-aluminum 16-valve IBC V-8, block was made by Rodeck, heads were by Air Flow Research. It was not a cheap piece; took most of the best from the aftermarket. Rodeck makes a number of aftermarket blocks, but obviously they're made to work with some OEM stuff; the Vector used a THM425.

Specs~

625 HP @ 5700

630 TRQ @ 4900

7000 RPM max

weight : 3320

gears : 2.43

0-60 : 4.2

0-100 : 8.3

1/4 mile : 12.0 @ 124

lateral accel : .97

700-foot slalom : 60.6

I am pretty sure "W8" has nothing to do with a powerplant reference. CEO was Jerry Wiegart - I smell a connection.

Within the 'supercar' genre, I always liked the W8's lines; to me it did the 'countach one-plane-windshield/hood' thing infinately better than anyone else. The subsequent redesign reminded me of the geo storm.

[Robert Hall]

R&T tested a Vector W8 in 3/91, engine was a twin-turbo 365 CI all-aluminum 16-valve IBC V-8, block was made by Rodeck, heads were by Air Flow Research. It was not a cheap piece; took most of the best from the aftermarket. Rodeck makes a number of aftermarket blocks, but obviously they're made to work with some OEM stuff; the Vector used a THM425.

I am pretty sure "W8" has nothing to do with a powerplant reference. CEO was Jerry Wiegart - I smell a connection.

Within the 'supercar' genre, I always liked the W8's lines; to me it did the 'countach one-plane-windshield/hood' thing infinately better than anyone else. The subsequent redesign reminded me of the geo storm.

The Vector was a pretty interesting story... I remember lusting after it when I was like 15... it was quite the dream car in the mid '80s. It's too bad the company never really got off the ground. I seem to recall reading that some of the prototypes used Olds Toronado transaxles.

Another over-the-top mid engined sports car that never really went anywhere that I remember from the '80s was the Ceitza-Moroder..had a transverse V16 or something like that. Record producer Giorgio Moroder was the financial backer, IIRC.

Anyway, the mystery car of this thread is something postwar, but not the Vector..is it American, European, or Asian? Can we narrow down the decade (50s? 60s? etc) and continent of origin?

[balthazar]

THM 425 = Olds Toronado transaxle.

I cannot continue my trivia question in good faith because it cannot be expected to be deduced.

Car in question is the '59 Argonaut Smoke. Company founder claimed 3 were built, but to date research & pictorial evidence has only uncovered one bare show chassis. If 3 complete cars were built, believe me we historians would've had proof by now.

I wrote a large portion of the wiki entry from my files.

Sorry that my question was unfair, but I do love this car and I couldn't resist.

Thread to come soon...

Edited September 21, 2008 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

THM 425 = Olds Toronado transaxle.

I cannot continue my trivia question in good faith because it cannot expected to be deduced.

Car in question is the '59 Argonaut Smoke. Company founder claimed 3 were built, but to date research & pictorial evidence has only uncovered one bare show chassis. If 3 complete cars were built, believe me we historians would've had proof by now.

I wrote a large portion of the wiki entry from my files.

Sorry that my question was unfair, but I do love this car and I couldn't resist.

Thread to come soon...

Interesting...never heard of it. Where do you get this stuff?? Fascinating. Reading the Wikipedia article, sounds like it was complete vaporware.

Edited September 21, 2008 by moltar

[balthazar]

I've been reading up on the auto industry for many years. I figure I have 25,000 pieces in my personal library, but that's a complete guess. The Camaro or Mustang story only goes so far...

>>"vaporware"<< Well, as stated, there was a ground-up show chassis / powertrain of extreme quality- that was real. The...umm.. brochure was real (I have a copy).

Apparently --and very sadly-- from the sketchy info available; not much else was.

Unfortunately coinciding with the recession of '58, I doubt whether there was sufficient financial backing for the venture.

Cadillac reputedly lost $10K on every $13K Eldorado Brougham they built in '57-58, and the Argonaut would've cost at least triple that $23K to build. In comaprison, the initial asking price for the Smoke was 'only' listed as $26K. It was too much for the market to bear.

Edited September 21, 2008 by balthazar

[Sixty8panther]

Wow.... crazy.Makes Tucker sound like a Olds Alero by comparison.