Sidecar Sunday

 

 The 1933 model year was one of the lowest production years in Harley history, with only 2671 big twins produced and a total production of 3703 units (includes singles and small twins). Both motorcycles pictured are powered by 74 cu in. sidevalve engines with hand-shift three-speed transmissions. Of the two motorcycles used in the photo shoot, the sidecar model, is the rarest with only 164 being manufactured.

Little Tonka vans

Some kids took better care of their toys than others. I always liked the little "cabover vans" from Tonka, probably led to the string of 60's Chevy vans and Toyota vans I owned and drove over the years. 

 

Land Rover cutaway view

 Interesting angle, by Italian cutaway artist Giulio Betti.

1920's gasoline tank truck

Cute, the tank looks about the size of a furnace oil tank.

Another good use for old pistons

  From a 1958 Popular Mechanics Shop Tips magazine. If you already had enough ashtrays made from pistons you could use cut down pistons to make a tailstock or a set of indexing centers for your horizontal mill. I admire the ingenuity and amount of work done here, but have to wonder just how many of these things were made by readers.

 

Wright reciprocating saws

 

 Wright Power Saw & Tool Corporation had a different idea for chain saws. The saws at the time were heavy awkward and the chain design was prone to kickback. Their first product in 1947 was a pneumatic-powered reciprocating saw designed primarily for underwater demolition, marine dock building, and military applications, but was soon adopted for logging. Tapping into the commercial logging and farming boom of the 1950s, Wright adapted its reciprocating technology to gas engine powered units. Initially the reciprocating action was directly worked from the crankshaft with its own connecting rod, no clutch! Although the machine was refined over the years, it always cut slower than a comparable chain saw and by the 1960s, they had moved on to a conventional chain arrangement and the manufacture was contracted out to Poulan. They went out of business in the 1970s.

Granite surface plate

 I've wanted one of these for years- decades! It's not been a must-have but definitely in the nice-to-have category. Besides, it gives my vernier height gauge a home.  It had been sitting in a friend's shed for 20 plus years ago, when he bought some forgotten object, it was given to him. My son quipped that he would remove it from my shop in 20 years... 

CPR toolshed padlock

 These brass locks were used on many railroads and were similar to the locks on switches, though they were keyed different. They don't look terribly secure.

 

Cast iron banks

  In 1920, the A.C. Williams Co. of Ravenna, Ohio was the world’s largest cast iron toy maker. They also made piggybanks in a large variety of shapes including these (appropriate) banks. 

Testbed

 This ex-Air Canada Viscount used in the development of the PT6A-50 turboprop engine model utilized as the powerplant for the de Havilland Canada Dash 7 commuter airliner.  The conversion was done by the United Aircraft of Canada, now Pratt and Whitney Canada. The modified plane flew from January to October in 1974. 

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