Tractor Wars

[randyrenfro7]

You can have any color you want as long as it is black. The paint came from Japan.

 

[RedMF40]

Dad told the story of his dad, older brother, and him driving from Baker, Oregon to Kansas and back, in a Model T. He was only 15 at the time. At night, he would have to change the bands in the transmission, while his dad and brother would go to a nearby bar. Finally, he found a new style band at a Western Auto Store, that would last three days, so he got a bit of a break.

Changing the bands is a pretty involved job. Wonder what was going on that they needed to be replaced so often.

 

[RedMF40]

You can have any color you want as long as it is black. The paint came from Japan.

Up until 1913 a few different colors were offered. But when Ford adopted the assembly line they switched to all black. Didn’t know that about the paint coming from Japan.

 

[CEP ACB]

I heard the reason was the black paint dried faster.

 

[SkipperII]

Changing the bands is a pretty involved job. Wonder what was going on that they needed to be replaced so often.

No idea, but I'm sure the roads were nothing to brag about.

 

[Ray,IN]

Yes, no fuel pump so the gas had to find its way to the carb on its own and hopefully you had enough in the tank. I never backed up a hill but we had a support truck with extra gas on tours if someone ran low.

…and it was usually the case that they were trying to climb a hill but the fuel wasn’t getting to the outlet on the tank.

Yep, the bottom of the gas tank was even with the carb. the tank was in front of the windscreen.

 

[Ozlander]

Japan black (also called black japan and bicycle paint[1]) is a lacquer or varnish suitable for many substrates but known especially for its use on iron and steel. It can also be called japan lacquer and Brunswick black. Its name comes from the association between the finish and Japanese products in the West.[2] Used as a verb, japan means "to finish in japan black". Thus japanning and japanned are terms describing the process and its products.

Its high bitumen content provides a protective finish that is durable and dries quickly. This allowed japan black to be used extensively in the production of automobiles in the early 20th century in the United States.