Name that tool

[Cookie Monster]

Trep?

Did you want me to post a picture of a wrench?

[93JC]

Why do you think every tool here is a torture device?

Seems most plausible.

[CALL_911]

I want to say Caster adjuster, but I don't know...

I almost posted a pic of him on here right when the thread started, but then I realized he's definitely stalking this board and would harass me through other ways online.

Not worth it.

[280Z Turbo]

OK, lets try this one:

Camber gauge.

We have that same one at the race team shop.

I don't think it works the best.

[Soup DeVille]

Take the next one then.

[280Z Turbo]

I don't have a very good one, but:



What is this used for?

[The Pirate]

Oxygen sensor socket.

[280Z Turbo]

Yep and that was the best I could do.

I'm just too young to know about weird tools.

[The Pirate]

Yep and that was the best I could do.

I'm just too young to know about weird tools.

You probably know more than most people of our generation.  I have friends that couldn't tell you the difference between a ratchet and a breaker bar.  And I only knew that was an oxygen sensor socket because I bought one about a year ago.

And this one is probably easy, as well.

[Cookie Monster]

What the heck is that?

[The Pirate]

What the heck is that?

You tell me!  I have one in my toolbox, though I've never used it.

[Raza]

Bottle opener.

[Rupert]

He would have used that.

[giant_mtb]

A spaghetti gauge.

[Onslaught]

What's it look like from the side?

[The Pirate]

Here's a better photo.

[MX793]

I've seen something like that before, but I can't think specifically what it's used for.  It's got a cam that can grip onto a shaft so you can turn it with a ratchet.

[The Pirate]

I've seen something like that before, but I can't think specifically what it's used for.  It's got a cam that can grip onto a shaft so you can turn it with a ratchet.

Yeah, that's it.  It's a stud remover.  The ratchet attaches to the rotating cam part, and will extract or insert studs.

[93JC]

I have an engine repair book from like 1905 from my great grandfather... so should see the wacky stuff in there

I have a generic manual named Saalfield's Auto Troubles, Their Remedies. I believe it was my great-great grandfather's. It's like a pocket-sized "Cars for Dummies" from 1915.

It's a little fragile so I won't scan it. Oh, and I don't have a scanner, so I won't scan it. But, here's a few excerpts:

PREFACE

The purpose of this small volume?handy to carry in the vest pocket?is to provide for that large class of automobile owners and chauffeurs, who are not trained mechanicians, a means to obtain a practical working knowledge of the modern gasoline automobile, which is so essential for its safe, economical and generally successful operation.
In the preparation of this work special care has been exercised to avoid the use of complex descriptions and confusing technical terms, so that the information contained is presented in the most simple and concise form consistent with lucidity, the exigencies of the subjects treated and the limitations of space.
The close and serious study of this work cannot be too earnestly urged upon those operators of automobiles into whose hands it may fall.
THE AUTHOR


SPECIAL NOTICE

It is conceived as a pleasant duty, by the author and publishers of this work, to acknowledge with much appreciation the courtesies extended to them, and the material assistance rendered in its preparation by several of the leading automobile manufacturers whose names are sub-joined; but with special mention of The Willys-Overland Co., of Toledo, Ohio, to which we are indebted for much valuable data and handsomely executed illustrations.
The Willys-Overland Co., Toledo, Ohio.
Locomobile Co., Bridgeport, Conn.
Chalmers Motor Car Co., Detroit, Mich.
Pierce Arrow Motor Car Co., Buffalo, N.Y.


INTRODUCTION

The modern gasoline automobile has practically supplanted, for general use, all other forms of automobiles which have been constructed to take the place of pleasure and business vehicles drawn by horses; and for that reason it is the gasoline automobile that is exclusively treated in this work.
Pleasure cars and commercial cars constitute the two principal classes of self-propelling gasoline vehicles or automobiles.
Pleasure cars are constructed with a view to high speed, comfort of appointments, and as light weight as practicable, whereas the desirable features to be obtained in commercial car construction are the greatest carrying capacities at the least expense of operation. With the exception that the parts of commercial cars are made heavier and stronger than those of pleasure cars, there is no variation in general principle of construction. The modern pleasure car is equipped with air-filled or pneumatic tires, as are also certain types of light commercial cars; but the heavy commercial cars, such as trucks, designed to carry great loads, are mounted on solid rubber tires.
The pattern of chassis used for pleasure cars is also used for the lighter types of commercial cars, such as merchants' delivery wagons, taxi-cabs, ambulances, etc.  In heavy trucks where the motor is located under the driver's seat, the chassis is designed exclusively for loads of merchandise.


[skipping ahead quite a bit]

PART XI
Before and After Starting Engine

Before starting, sufficient gasoline should be in the tank.
After filling the tank seat the tank cover securely to prevent evaporation.
The shut-off cock at the sediment cup which is operated by a lever located at the top of the gasoline tank should be open so that the gasoline may flow to the carburetor. As a matter of precaution the hood should be lifted and the wiring examined.
The terminals, I, 2, 3, 4, should be tight upon the spark plugs, and the priming cocks should all be closed.
In most standard systems there is a glass gauge about midway between the oil filler and the magneto, as shown in Fig. 38.  When the level is too low, good gas engine oil should be poured into the oil filler pipe.
The spark timer should be set to give a retarded ignition, the throttle slightly opened and the carburetor primed.
The gears should be out of mesh and the brakes set. The crank should be held, preferably in the left hand, and in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of physical injury should the motor back-fire. The crank should always be pulled upward. Cranking is only necessary occasionally in starting a four or six-cylinder engine. If warm, the motor will start, as a rule, when the switch is thrown in and the spark advance lever is slightly manipulated.  Should the motor not start, however, then the crank should be given a slight turn which will almost invariably set the motor in action.
The radiator should be filled with clean water before starting. Otherwise the engine will soon become overheated. Oil should be put in the oil holes and grease cups turned down.
The shut-off cock in the pipe which conveys the gasoline to the carburetor should be open.
The motor crankcase should be filled with oil to level of top dry cock. All joints of parts in transmission should be well lubricated; the transmission case may be filled to center of countershaft.
The switch should be closed or placed in operative position in order that the current may flow to the spark plugs.
The preferable method of starting the motor where both battery and magneto ignition are provided, is by the former, as magnetos of the transformer coil type do not generate at low speeds provided by the hand cranking sufficient current to furnish positive ignition.
The gear shifting lever should be in neutral position and the spark throttle should be in the retard position, otherwise the operator is exposed to physical injury, as preignition in the cylinder, resulting from an advanced spark, will cause a back-kick, which may reverse the rotation of the crankshaft and cause the starting crank to deliver a sudden blow to the operator's arm.
The throttle control lever, on cars essentially of the same construction as the Overland type, should be partially advanced to allow a supply of gas to pass into the motor cylinder by suction as the engine is cranked over by hand, and the motor should be cranked by taking the starting handle as shown in Fig. 4I.  The handle should always be pulled up quickly in cranking the motor.
After the engine is started, if any unusual noises are heard, the engine should be stopped immediately and the cause investigated, as damage to the mechanism is apt to occur if engine continues to run when not in perfect working order.
TICKLING OR PRIMING THE CARBURETOR is a process employed when the level of the fuel in the standpipe becomes so low from leak or evaporation that the gasoline will not be drawn out to start the motor. A small priming pin which protrudes through the cover of the float bowl is depressed a few times which causes gasoline to overflow the standpipe. This liquid is then taken up by the air in its passage through the mixing chamber, producing a mixture sufficiently rich to facilitate starting. Another method of priming most types of motors, and usually employed in cold weather, is to introduce the gasoline directly into the cylinders through the compression relief or priming cocks on the cylinder heads.
ENGINE RACING, or running at high speed while car is not in motion will cause wear and excessive vibration, and to prevent this the throttle lever, as soon as the engine starts, should be pulled back until throttle is nearly closed and at the same time the spark lever should be advanced until both have the positions shown in Fig. 42.
ENGINE SPEED CONTROL, of the most approved method, is be means of spark and throttle levers which are carried in various position, but all readily accessible. Motor speed is accelerated by advancing the spark and supplying more gas to the engine. Slowing down the engine is effected by retarding the spark and reducing the gas supply. To prevent excessive speed some types of engines are equipped with a governor connected with the throttle so that the governor will close the throttle when the engine exceeds a limited speed, and reduce the speed automatically. The throttle, however, may be opened independently of the governor by means of a gas lever or a foot accelerator, which answers the purpose for medium or low speed.
THE SPARK LEVER, as soon as the engine is started, should be moved from the retard position to advance the spark and have it occur just as the piston reaches the end of the compression stroke; but the spark lever should not be too far advanced as in that case the charges will explode before the piston reaches the end of its compression stroke, which will offer resistance to the movement of the piston and produce knocking and stress on motor bearings. Magneto ignition employed on some types of cars does not provide for advancing or retarding the time of the spark. It is so arranged that the spark occurs a little in advance of top center, or when the piston is ready to descend on the power stroke just after having compressed a charge of gas. Where advancing and retarding the spark is provided for, the spark lever is preferably placed on the segment which corresponds to ignition at the time the piston reaches the end of the compression stroke.

Quite the ordeal just to get the damned thing started. :)

[Rupert]

That's awesome.

[Secret Chimp]

Old motors could start by themselves if they were warm and the ignition was turned on? That's interesting.

How many of you old farts have ever tickled a carburetor? :P

[MX793]

Old motors could start by themselves if they were warm and the ignition was turned on? That's interesting.

How many of you old farts have ever tickled a carburetor? :P

A co-worker of mine restores old cars and has a restored Model T and he's said that if the motor is warm, you can start it by giving a good smack to the hood.  The ignition was a "shaker" type and was vibration activated.  Give the car a physical jolt and it'll cause the plugs to fire, which can start the car.

[Rupert]

Don't park that in gear!

You might get slowly run over.

[giant_mtb]

I can't imagine trying to drive one of those things!  Steering, throttle, and spark timing all at once?  Quite the distractions!

[TBR]

I can't imagine trying to drive one of those things!  Steering, throttle, and spark timing all at once?  Quite the distractions!

And people say texting while driving is dangerous...

[Soup DeVille]

I can't imagine trying to drive one of those things!  Steering, throttle, and spark timing all at once?  Quite the distractions!

To be sure though, many times the throttle was handled by a lever on the steering column and could be set and ignored a lot of the time- and the same goes with the spark.

[Soup DeVille]

A co-worker of mine restores old cars and has a restored Model T and he's said that if the motor is warm, you can start it by giving a good smack to the hood.  The ignition was a "shaker" type and was vibration activated.  Give the car a physical jolt and it'll cause the plugs to fire, which can start the car.

Ahhh, wasted spark ignition, thermal convection cooling and total loss oiling- those were the good old days!

[93JC]

I think my favourite part may be the intro.

"In the preparation of this work special care has been exercised to avoid the use of complex descriptions and confusing technical terms, so that the information contained is presented in the most simple and concise form consistent with lucidity, the exigencies of the subjects treated and the limitations of space."

While saying the equivalent of "We dumbed down the language in this book as best we could," it didn't stop them from using words like 'lucidity' and 'exigencies' in the same god-damned sentence.

[Soup DeVille]

I think my favourite part may be the intro.

"In the preparation of this work special care has been exercised to avoid the use of complex descriptions and confusing technical terms, so that the information contained is presented in the most simple and concise form consistent with lucidity, the exigencies of the subjects treated and the limitations of space."

While saying the equivalent of "We dumbed down the language in this book as best we could," it didn't stop them from using words like 'lucidity' and 'exigencies' in the same god-damned sentence.

I see things like that all the time in old documents. It makes me believe that the modern vocabulary is about a third the size it was in the early twentieth century.

[93JC]

To be sure though, many times the throttle was handled by a lever on the steering column and could be set and ignored a lot of the time- and the same goes with the spark.

Yes, for those who've never seen an antique car the throttle and spark advance levers spoken of in the instructions are small levers on the steering wheel (the referenced figures illustrate the proper positions of the two levers on the wheel).

Here's a picture I found on Flickr for reference:



The inner lever is spark, the outer one throttle. Many cars didn't come with accelerator pedals: the throttle lever was used in the same was as you would a pedal today. Notably the Model T had three pedals, and not one of them was an accelerator.