tell a Model A related story

[mfirth]

Well, in the 50s, my Grandpa was the doctor on Put-In-Bay in Lake Erie. So many Model As of every configuration running around. Some used for ice taxies are surely on the bottom of Lake Erie. You can only get to P_I_B by boat or plane. At 8 years of age I flew right seat with Hearald Hauk who had more hours in a Ford Tri Motor than anyone else. Fords, Model As, Ts & Tri Motors were a HUGE part of my youth. I was really blessed! mike

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by mfirth

Well, in the 50s, my Grandpa was the doctor on Put-In-Bay in Lake Erie. So many Model As of every configuration running around. Some used for ice taxies are surely on the bottom of Lake Erie. You can only get to P_I_B by boat or plane. At 8 years of age I flew right seat with Hearald Hauk who had more hours in a Ford Tri Motor than anyone else. Fords, Model As, Ts & Tri Motors were a HUGE part of my youth. I was really blessed! mike

What a great time period to have grown up.
A handshake would have concluded a deal. Motorcars would have been so simple you could have made your own repairs. Pilots would have had proper flying skills not electronic knowledge skills. Kids would make their own fun and entertainment would have been around a piano.

I looked up Put In Bay on Google and I figure winters would be very cold.

[woofa.express]

There are diesels and there are diesels and some marketing practices are quite confusing.

I bought fuel (diesel) at Cobram and headed east towards Canberra. Having driven only 22 miles the motorcar quit and I couldn’t understand why. To explain I need describe the fuel.
Whenever I fuelled at a Caltex service station I purchased “Vortex”. That is what they call diesel, well so I thought. But all their premium fuels, both diesel and petrol are marketed as Vortex. I had purchased vortex (petrol) believing it was diesel. Lesser performing petrol is named after its octane rating and their lesser performing diesel is simply named “truck diesel” and is available only in the truck designated refuelling bowsers which are separated from the rest . In addition the nozzle is too big for fuelling motorcars. So motorists are compelled to purchase the more expensive Vortex diesel. So I got sucked in didn’t I? That is why my motorcar snuffed it.
Vortex diesel supposedly gives better performance because of the lighter fuel which has been added. This is kerosene which is possibly jet fuel that may not have met specifications (I am guessing). Ordinary diesel or truck diesel does not have light fuel added except in winter (in cold climates) because it can form wax in the bottom of a fuel tank. To explain further, kero has a specific gravity of 0.78 (kg/ltr at 15degrees Celsius) whereas diesel has a specific gravity of about 0.82 to 0.90 so is considerably heavier.
Now here is the whole point. There is MORE work in the heavier fuel. Just like fire wood. There is more heat from burning eucalyptus than pine because eucalyptus is heavier than pine.

Gas turbine engines (jet) burn either Avtur or Jet A1; both being kero. Jet engines come as pure jet or jet prop. Both will burn almost any fuel but common practise is to use Avtur or Jet A1 (kero). When this is unavailable I have always resorted to diesel. The engine type I mostly fly are the small jet-props producing 720hp and they burn, on takeoff, about 170 ltrs/hour of kero or about 162 ltr/hour of diesel depending on the ambient air temperature.
The same applies to your diesel motorcar. The heavier the fuel the more work it will produce, or put it this way - the better economy. The modern car has more than sufficient power with ordinary diesel so I think to look for more power derived from fuel (vortex) is quite unnecessary. I believe premium diesel is higher extraction, not work from a litre of fuel but from your wallet. Well I call it maximum extraction and it not only applies to Vortex diesel but to many goods and services outside the fuel industry. Yes maximum extraction.

The big difference in Avtur and Jet A1 kero is Avtur has anti-freeze additives to allow operation in very cold temperatures. Both have fungicide to stop the build-up of funguses in fuel tanks and fuel lines.

[woofa.express]

Spraying cotton in the Gazera.

The Gazera is an extensive irrigation area south of Khartoum drawing water from the Blue Nile. Tens of thousands of fedans which is their fancy word for acres. It was easy work and we’d plan it before we departed, never to take our eyes off the map we were given. The long rectangle cotton blocks were staggered and I’m told they all line up every three years and spraying them became child’s play, not that being staggered was difficult.
There were twelve pilots, 3 English, 3 Dutch, 2 NZ, 1 Dane, 1 Spaniard, 1 Lebanese and an Australian, namely myself. Great to work with and mix with but for one exception. A miserable Pom. Selfish and inconsiderate. At the table would take food out of turn and when two pilots were sent to a job, if he was there first, he’d start by doing a single run on the handy blocks so as the second would get all the more distant work.
When we were departing Heathrow Airport enroute to Khartoum he was left in charge of the carry-on bags and managed to have one stolen. It belonged to a Dutchman, named Gerard Post. Now Gerard was a likeable and mischievous fellow and he now had an additional reason to dislike this Pom and he knew how to get back at him. End of chapter 1.

This was 1977, before digital stuff. Cameras were 35mm celluloid film and Pom would take pictures and send the full films back home to England for his mummy to develop and view. Gerard knew how to fix this selfish fellow. He took his camera to town, found a brothel and took 2 porno type shots of the girls and returned his camera from where he had taken it.
The unfortunate thing for us was we were not to witness the reaction and relationship between mother and son after she saw these prints. He deserved that and I still smile more than 40 years later when I think of it. Wouldn’t you. Justice done.
The Gazera is irrigated from the blue Nile, the river on your right. Khartoum (capital of Sudan) is at the junction of the Blue and White Nile.

[mfirth]

woofa, winters were cold there & Model A Fords were used as ice taxies to take fishermen & ice shantys on the frozen lake. I remember folks using big "salamander heaters" & a canvass bag to warm the radial engines on the Ford Tri Motors so they could start in very cold temps.

[woofa.express]

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Hello Mr Firth.
It’s currently 1.5 degrees Celsius here and 3 hours before sunrise. Locals will find this a very cold morning and will be slow to move themselves. Yes compared to you folk who live in the north of the American continent we are sooks aren’t we?

Now all of that is worthless information so why don’t you write about the A’s and Ford Trimotors operating in the ice and snow and if you have photographs include those too. Myself and other readers would enjoy that. Please do.

[mfirth]

Will try to find pics, but can't say much more other than folks cut the rear panel off of A sedans for "taxi" on the ice and they removed doors too so they could "leap to safety" if the car went through the ice. I do remember flying to P_I_B for Christmas & so much "stuff packed into the Tri Motor that it filled the isle to the cocpit. We bundeled in blankets to stay warm. Very young then so that's all i remember. Fords 4 ever !!

[woofa.express]

Whitecliffs.

It’s north east of Broken Hill, a three hour drive. I see on the internet it had a population of 103 at the 2011 census. This week Australia underwent a new census so we’ll soon see the current data. An opal mining town where residents live in the caves or dugouts they created by mining. The terrain is mostly sand or sandstone with few trees so it can be called a semi desert. Summer daytime temperatures are constantly extremely hot and winter quite cool whereas inside the dugouts temperatures are a constant 22 celsius both seasons.

I’ve been there three times and enjoyed it. No social climbing and the highest statis may well be the fewest number of wheel studs on your motorcar. Police drive there one day each week and spend 2 hours sitting in the shire hall just in case they are needed. They don’t look for trouble and it would not be difficult to find it. Motorcars, none roadworthy, none registered. A few folks with aliases and probably on the police wanted list as well. No electricity, no running water, no sewerage and no bitumen road to get there.

Well that was the case five years ago but much of it has now changed. There’s a bitumen road all the way from Broken Hill, there’s electricity and TV as well. Is that a change for the better? It depends on your view doesn’t it? It’s neither a black nor white issue is it.. Some of the romantic and isolated features have gone for good now.

Graham Wells owned the well run and hospitable hotel. He told me on my last visit, about 3 years ago, that the hotel was for sale and he intended to retire. I asked where and he said he wasn’t intending to relocate. Good choice and I’ll cover retirement in another story.

Another attraction is the dugout motel. It’s clean and comfortable. Dug by it’s owner/miner Leo Hornby. You can see his motel on this link. https://www.traveloz.com.au/places/n...-white-cliffs/

One time I took a team of cricket players there for a game and accommodation was at this motel. In the morning Mr Hornby was most irritable. He said 20 had stayed by a slept in bed count but only 15 had paid. What happened was guests went to the toilet during the night and couldn’t find their way back so they found any bed and jumped in. It’s a bit like a rabbit warren, no doors, privacy by bed room corridors that run at angles. Mr Hornby’s attitude changed when he knew he hadn’t been lied to.

If you enjoy living in a small isolated place with solitude and where people and government officials don’t bother you, Whitecliffs is the place to be. The folk in these places are generally strong- stick together people, many are characters and scallywags. These are places where courtesy and common sense is law. Locals deal with trouble- not our legal constitution or their servants. I like that.

The pictures are of the dugout motel and an aerial shot of the ground surface.

[woofa.express]

Whitecliffs. My error.

How silly of me. Sorry. I didn’t say what was mined at Whitecliffs. It’s opals.

[woofa.express]

Coober Pedy in South Australia

had a population of 1800 in the 2016 sensis and is the most productive and modern opal mine in Australia. Here people live both above ground and underground. Like most desert towns it experiences extremes in temperatures. It is the most modern of all opal mining towns. It has a good hotel, some good shops and most dugouts are well appointed. It has a daily air service. There are warning signs in the mining area saying keep clear of test holes. They are like moon craters, many of them and very deep. To fall down one is death. You will never be found let alone be retrieved. In my experience miners sell their opals for cash and both the buyers and sellers are fairly anonymous. I had three weeks at Cobber Pedy and enjoyed myself.

[woofa.express]

Lightning Ridge Opal Mines.

I would think Lightning Ridge is Australia's second biggest producer. The 2016 sensis had a population of 2,300 but I would imagine many did not submit a sensis form. Again many would have aliases and some would be hiding from alimony. The “Ridge” is the setting for the short story that follows.
One night I saw a small Datsun ute race out of town with a cop car endeavouring to stop the fellow. It was a race. A race to the diggings where the mines and test holes were. You see, cops weren’t permitted there. In the past they had lost too many cars down these holes but ute owner would have been a miner and knew the diggings so could navigate them well. The cop couldn’t.
Sadly, Lightening Ridge (like Whitecliffs) is starting to become a little bit modern with shops and services starting to appear. Unlike Whitecliffs people live above ground because it is a little bit damp to live in dugouts. Many of these above ground houses are simply rough shanties.

[woofa.express]

My last story on Lightning Ridge takes my memory back 2 years when I wrote the history of my ute that both you and I know as woofa express. Three different histories, they were all phoney. I’d display them, one at a time, when the ute was shown. Anyone who read these more than once was confused but hardly a sole would ask for an explanation.
The ute was named after my loyal, courageous and personable dog “woofa”. Sadly woofa was skittled three years back and I have mourned his loss since, the stories aren’t true but that is. Well woofa was not permitted inside our house nor any motorcar with the exception of this ute. He considered it was his birth right to do so and it made him feel like royalty when he did.
Here is one phoney story on the history of woofa express featuring Lightning Ridge.


History of Woofa Express, 1928 Model A.
It was a proud ute painted “British Racing Green”, a custom paint job by the Australian distributor of Ford’s in 1928 and purchased by the Hadden Fig Grazing Company northwest of Dubbo NSW. When hard times fell on the grazing industry it was sold to a wealthy prospector at Lightning Ridge by the name of “Precious” after a particularly valuable opal he had once found. Precious used it mainly to drive around Lightning Ridge simply to show off but he did drive to Dubbo, 220 miles to the south, each Friday to pickup the town’s mail. This service continued until the early 50’s when aeroplanes entered service to outback areas.
It did have one very famous incident. It was used as a hearse in near-by Coonabarabran to carry the body of their famous son to its final resting place. Sir Sydney Ogden, V.C. (Victoria Cross) and M.G. (Medal for Gallantry).
Not a great deal is known about it after the hearse incident except it was parked beneath a pepper tree for years. I bought it from a Sydney gentleman, and yes he was a gentleman, by the name of Vern Blackwell ( and yes the gentleman’s name is correct) and I had it restored. That was about 2000. I love it and I reckons it’s pretty grateful to me.
The ute name "woofa express" was sign written on the cowls post woofa's death.

[Fomoco998]

Confused but like reading your stories with my morning coffee. Nice ute .

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by Fomoco998

Confused but like reading your stories with my morning coffee. Nice ute .

Hi Fomoca. Tell me what has confused you and I'll try to put it right. Thankyou for your positive comment, it is pleasing to get support.

[slatgrille]

I see the old Pratt & Whitney logo in the first pic. Did you work for them at one time? I was there in N. Berwick, ME from 2017 to 2019. On the main floor with NO air conditioning during the summer months.....

[woofa.express]

Hello Slatgrille.

I sat behind Pratt engines for years. Firstly R1340 then R985 for 16 years and PT6 for another 26 years. I had numerous engine failures with the radials and one where the master rod failed and trashed everything in the crankcase. Even the propellor stopped. I was 6 foot above the crop at the time with absolutely nowhere to go. Never had a failure with the turbines.

Yes, you saw the Pratt emblem on the cowl but I removed it to replace it with the ute name “woofa express”. Didn’t want my ute looking like a bill board.

[Fomoco998]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

Hi Fomoca. Tell me what has confused you and I'll try to put it right. Thankyou for your positive comment, it is pleasing to get support.

Not really confused just a short memory . Have a great day .

[Jim Brierley]

We visited a friend in Broken Hill many years ago, and had a great time. Visited the school of the Air (?), we were the only yanks there but a bus load of Mexicans stopped by the same day. We went farther underground than I ever imagined I would, etc.

Diesel fuel has lubricating properties, necessary for high pressure injectors.

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by Jim Brierley

We visited a friend in Broken Hill many years ago, and had a great time. Visited the school of the Air (?), we were the only yanks there but a bus load of Mexicans stopped by the same day. We went farther underground than I ever imagined I would, etc.

Diesel fuel has lubricating properties, necessary for high pressure injectors.

yes, that's correct Jim. Because turbine kero was cheaper than diesel (There is no road tax on the product). Cropduster operators used it in their diesel motorcars, mainly Utes, and they all damaged the injectors, as you said, no lubrication qualities in kero. I tried adding oil to bring it's specific gravity to 0.82 but that made it uneconomical.

[woofa.express]

Further more Jim.
Do you remember Jim, some years back we spoke about the Model A. But it was the Farmall Model A, not a Ford Model A.
I grew up on an impoverished dairy farm and we had a Farmall Model A. Dad had many 44-gal drums of waste oil and we used this in this tractor. Dad stood them up with a block of wood under one side of the base so as rain water would run off and not run in. After they had stood for considerable time, which may have been 2 or 3 years, it was pumped with a pump that sported a short reach stem so as to leave, maybe one quarter of the drum. This top oil was what we used in this tractor.
Dad reckoned this was as good as new. I can remember too when the price of 1 gal of petrol moved from 5 pence to 7 pence he became irritable. Said it would be much more expensive to operate that Farmall A. Picture from the internet.