What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[Vic Piano]

Good one Lawson glad you are so easily amused… LOL

[Vic Piano]

I got to drive a Model T today and it was more challenging then I imagined… I drove my (bailing wire & duct tape special) ’39 CS,

to my friend Milt’s house… This is the “T” that I drove.

Here are a few of the other cars that were there.



One of the guys had an interesting carburetor tool; any of you know what it is used for?

I thought several of you would get a kick out of the hat that one of the guys had on…

By the way, he was driving a ’39 Buick…

All in all it was another fun day playing with old cars.

[40cpe]

Hey Vic, those are funny looking cars I see the coverings for the brass all have the same coloring. Are they specially treated fabric to help prevent the brass from turning?

and what's with the long sleeves and sweater?

[Vic Piano]

Gene, I don't know if those covers have some kind of brass preservative in them. I did see a can of Brass-o and instantly had a flash back to basic training... It's cool here in the sunshine state today, the temp dipped below 70 degrees...

[41ford1]

High 60s? For New England that's still tee shirt weather. A balmy 46° in NH today.
The model T looks like it would be fun. I do like that A roadster pickup a LOT.

[Vic Piano]

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All the T's except the green one belong to my friend Milt, as does the "A" Roadster Pickup. I think the "A" is more fun to drive...

[Vic Piano]

A bit off topic but...
A happy day for me! Finally, the last appliance (refrigerator/freezer) is out of the garage and resting in its place in the new kitchen... More space in the garage for Ford parts...

[Lawson Cox]

And I'll bet the wife is happy too. lol

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by Lawson Cox

And I'll bet the wife is happy too. lol

Yes... You could say that!

[Ol' Ron]

One thing I'd like to know Vic, are Gaters good to eat??

[Vic Piano]

[Henry/Kokomo]

Ol' Ron - How about Gator Chili? Might be pretty good.

[Vic Piano]

Henry, that sounds good... Maybe we can convince Ol' Ron to come down to Florida for the next "Barner's Bash" and cook up a batch of "Gater Chili"...

[Vic Piano]

I hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. We got home from my mom's last night. I'm looking forward to getting back to work/play with the Flatheads. I've asked Santa for some new bailing wire and duct tape so I can keep our cars & trucks in working order for all the car related events we have coming up in 2013. Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you here in Florida for the "Barner's Bash" in late February. We'll start finalizing the details and I'll be posting updates on the FordBarn.

[Vic Piano]

Chrome Plating


Can anyone recommend a “good” Chrome Plating shop in the South East? I’d like to find one that does “pot metal” as well. Appreciate any and all help. Thanks, Vic

[Vic Piano]

Yesterday was pretty much a washout as far as playing with Flatheads goes. I finally got all the kitchen appliances’ out of the garage and into the house; they are now all installed in their permanent locations. I decided to get out into the garage early Saturday (7:00 am) and start to rearrange things and clean up… As usual, it turned out to be a much more challenging task then I had anticipated. All the usual crew had other things to attend to (they probably knew I was going to be cleaning the garage, not playing with cars) so, I was a solo act for the day… Although it’s hard to tell by the photo, I actually did get some cleaning done along with some rearranging of parts, tools, etc. I even got a little work done on the Zephyr.

I hope I’ll be able to make some significant progress on the Zephyr next weekend.

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by Vic Piano

Yesterday was pretty much a washout as far as playing with Flatheads goes. I finally got all the kitchen appliances’ out of the garage and into the house; they are now all installed in their permanent locations. I decided to get out into the garage early Saturday (7:00 am) and start to rearrange things and clean up… As usual, it turned out to be a much more challenging task then I had anticipated. All the usual crew had other things to attend to (they probably knew I was going to be cleaning the garage, not playing with cars) so, I was a solo act for the day… Although it’s hard to tell by the photo, I actually did get some cleaning done along with some rearranging of parts, tools, etc. I even got a little work done on the Zephyr.

I hope I’ll be able to make some significant progress on the Zephyr next weekend.

Hey Vic, you missed a spot and a left a tool laying on the floor near the left rear of the lift. LOL Merry Christmas my friend.

[Vic Piano]

Hey Lawson, after working all day… I was too tired to even think about picking up any more tools... LOL Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

[Vic Piano]

Déjà vu all over again

Today we finally got to work again on the ‘39 LZ. Mike came over and we started to remove the rear spring from the axle so we could pull the rear back far enough to get the transmission out. Don showed up and so did Hal, so we spent some time bench racing and, as a result, did not get as far along with the Zephyr as we had expected, even though we did not take time out for Pizza. Oh well, at least we got things under way again, and this time disassembly was not nearly as messy as the last time Maybe next Saturday we’ll pull the transmission out and tear it down…

[Vic Piano]

A New Adventure
I'm working on a "pilot" for a television series I'm developing that is (you guessed it), all about cars. So, yesterday, Mike and I drove over to Jacksonville, Fl., to video tape an interview with Bill Warner, Founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Not only is Mike and excellent mechanic and very knowledgeable about automobiles and automobile history, but now (and I'll take credit for this ) he is becoming proficient as a videographer. Bill Warner is a really interesting guy to talk to and, like most of us; he has always been a car guy. Here’s a shot of us in front of Bill’s Muntz Jet.


The interview was excellent, Bill shared a wealth of knowledge about automobiles and their history as well as the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and what is in store for the 2013 event (March 9, 10, 2013). In addition to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Ford GT40, there will be some news about a new Corvette from General Motors.

After we taped the interview, Bill was gracious enough to let both Mike and me take a seat behind the wheel of his Muntz for a “photo opt”.


Bill’s Muntz is powered by a 337 cc.i. Lincoln Flathead. The car has been converted to 12 volts and has an electric fuel pump. Muntz used a lot of parts from Ford Motor Company in the construction of the cars. In this photo you can see the Lincoln Cosmopolitan steering wheel as well as Ford door and window handles. I think the dash insert was from a Chris Craft boat…

In addition to cars, Bill collects vintage Jukebox and TV sets and his office is filled with automotive memorabilia.


We spent several hours with Bill doing the interview and getting a tour of the facility and, as a special treat, Bill invited us to check out the part of his collection he keeps at his house.




Bill did tell me that he’s always wanted an Avanti… Maybe he’ll trade his Muntz to me for our Avanti…
Before we left, after spending an outstanding day, Bill presented us with original prints of Bob E.T. Gregory’s drawing of the first Lincoln Continental prototype.

All in all we had a fantastic day and I want to thank Bill Warner and his staff for their hospitality and generosity. I’m really looking forward to the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.