8-90 Speedster. Left or right hooker?

Hello Chris, Thank you for the information. I have updated my history file accordingly. I checked with my old passport and diary and the date of the photo is Saturday October 8th 1994. Restoration of both South African cars only commenced in earnest in early 2003.
with thanks
Richard

I want every one to understand the car was sold by the Cord family, not the ACD Museum. The car was only on loan to the Museum.
CORDially Mike

Hi Richard,

The Adderley car is the Ed Herrmann car. It was in Harrah's Automobile Collection for many years until 1985, when it was purchased by the Cord family and loaned to the museum. It was sold by the family in the late 1990s to Ed Herrmann, who had it restored by RM in Canada. It then passed to a collector in Indiana and then to Adderley.

Chris S.

Gentlemen, I had a most interesting and thorough PM off list on this subject. The writer asked me if I was asking the right question. In summary he posed the question if I think beyond my period of custodianship, where is the most likely future residency for my car, LHD or RHD territories. It is a sobering thought to try and think beyond your lifetime, and hard enough for most to think to the end of it, however the question caused me to look objectively at probabilities and these are definitely in favour of RHD territory. I think this clarity of thought brings me to the RHD decision which will satisfy most of the other issues as well. The extra work will be well worth it. Thank you for your participation.
Richard

Hello Randy. Thank you for that information The car is not listed under that owner in the 2011-2012 membership directory. I was aware it was not a museum owned car and was subsequently removed for restoration. I had thought it was the Ed Herrmann car but you have clarified the issue. I have a question arising from it at the end of this post. The sedan was parted 20 years ago to provide mechanical parts for my car and the body went to another restoration.
My car suffered a lot of damage both from the elements and of the human-kind by the time it came into my possession. Lorenzo Marques, now Maputo where the scrapyard was located is right next to the sea in a region of tropical rains resulting in deep penetrating rust in the body and frame where salt water pooled. The newspaper clip below is dated October 1967.

You may not be able to read it at the forum's definition but the owner claimed to be able to restore it in 2 1/2 years, and that to get spares was easy! The Buick engine can be seen in the picture and is referred to in the text. None of the prior owners nor I could find a trace of the original engine. He gave up shortly afterwards and sold the car to a gentleman in Rhodesia who had the car for 7 years during which time he moved with it to Natal in South Africa. There are some people on this earth who should not be let near a decent car and I do not wish to speak ill of the deceased but the Achilles heel of my car stems from his activities. He welded a rectangular section steel frame into the bodyshell, cut and welded the frame to accommodate an 851 engine and a lot of the parts of the car were degraded to be unusable. Some of the parts migrated to the other car so by the time it reached me after 3 more owners it was a basket case. During my 24 years of ownership there were 3 waves of high activity punctuated by 2 valley periods when I had 3 kids at university in the first one and restored 3 other cars in the second. The third wave was brought abruptly to a halt 2 years ago due to various difficulties the worst of which was theft by servant during my absence of valuable castings and parts stolen for scrap metal. My motivation went out of the window. I met the moment of truth last April when after building 3 new garages to accommodate the other cars to free up workshop space for the speedster, I drew up a plan to continue after my return from France at the end of September to take the car to completion. Right hand drive is a lot more work than left hand drive but this should not cloud the issue as the intention is to do it correctly. I really would like to find an answer to this question soon with this forum's help before I reach the point of no return. If there are no rules I will go with the weight of opinion.
The question I have iro Terry Adderly's car is that at the time I saw it the spare wheel hold downs were chrome top and painted base.

Is this correct? as all other hold downs I have seen in pictures have been chromed.
Richard

Richard . The speedster in your photo belongs to Terry Adderly of Detriot Mich. and is on display in his collection. What has happened to the 8-90 sedan you aquired ? . Randy

Thank you for your reply Andy, Today I telephoned a nearby long-time friend today who has 2 Auburns, a 651 cabriolet and an 851 supercharged roadster. He is also a Ford follower with a model "N", 6 early V8's and an "A" roadster. We share a lot of interests as I have an authentic 1930 A Woody and he is a long time collector of old radios and I am the President of the Antique wireless association of South Africa. He has a lot of cred so it was not a surprise that when I re-opened the subject of RHD/LHD he came down heavily on the side of RHD. What did surprise me however was his reasoning which was the same as yours. He said based on the Ford experience faced with a sea of LHD models at their conventions, an RHD these days stands out in the crowd and is almost elevated to celebrity status due to its "un-common-ness" excuse the pun. So I am leaning more to your view of the situation but need to continue the debate to see whether there is general support. "one Swallow does not a summer make". Thank you also for the offer of help. I have initiated an (I)enquiry on a major ACD supplier for my shortages so I will only contact you if I draw a blank. At the time of my second visit to the museum there was an 8-90 speedster on display.

I would like to hear what happened to that car. My first visit I was not allowed behind the barriers but on my second visit I spent most of the day underneath it making full size drawings on tracing paper of the woodwork and the management moved the barriers to include me in the exhibit! If it were not for the assistance I received and the patterns I made from these drawings the world would have 2 early speedsters less. The other SA car was a subject of a 5 year restoration sadly uncompleted due to the untimely death of its owner a year ago, another long-time friend. I hit the big 70 in February 1914 so time is of the essence as I would like to be able to drive and enjoy my speedster which has not turned a wheel under its own power for more than 50 years.

Egrid,yes I am fortunate to live right here in Auburn, and have seen these cars since I can rember.our house while i was growing up was on the parade route even.

if I can be of assistance, PM me.

I have a friend that collects Hudson's, and he recently got a 41 or 42 right hand drive car.
The shifter (it is a three on the tree) and its' linkage,along with the clutch and brake pedals are pretty crude in fit and finish.
My guess is the RHD cars built in the US were so low in numbers that they were basically 'customized' on the assembly line. Any extra time needed to complete the car, could probably be blamed on the shipper.
The parts pictured look great to me and about 'right' for what materials would have been on hand for the "Tool room" or plant maintenance department to fabricate.
( my 2 cents)

Andy

BTW Andy I meant to comment how lucky you are to live in Auburn IN. Imagine being able to drop in to the museum when you please and all the cars on your doorstep every August! I have been to the ACD museum twice in the 1990's and both times was furnished with critical information from the archives by the museum staff who were very obliging and helpful.
Continuing the topic here is a photograph taken today of the cross-linkage for the accelerator (gas pedal)

The upper blue one is the one that came with my car with the extra lever to connect to the hand control and the lower one came from a scrap 8-98 for comparison. Here is a view of the installation on a friend's 1928 8-115 where in addition to the accelerator linkage you can see the advance retard linkage going up onto the cylinder head to the lever on the distributor.

These are all made similarly to each other and to my mind somewhat crudely fabricated compared to the rest of the car. Also the firewall holes where the pedal lever came through on both cars were rough cut not punched. Auburns were popular in SA with 6 accredited dealers/service garages in the region by 1935 and at one time I wondered if the RHD option was locally installed. After the parts hunt when I found that major components were "handed" I am convinced that cars ordered for right hand drive territories came that way from the factory. Maybe the club technician could confirm what we see here.

OK Andy so that was a success. fast forward to 13th November 1990 when I acquired the car after 5 owners, two deceased estates, and 1 repossession (the short story).
Here are the photos taken when I got it home in my garage.

The full story occupies several pages for telling later if there is sufficient interest but let me respond to your comments on the topic. Firstly on the generic comment about driving on the left side of the road with a LHD or the right side of the road with a RHD. It is more tiring, and dangerous to overtake, especially if you are on your own. For the past 10 years I have lived in France for 3+ months each year mid June to end September and each year I drive to UK for a couple of weeks to see family. Our cars by choice are LHD because we drive them mostly in Europe and I have to exercise much more caution when I cross the channel. Returning to SA after prolonged driving on the right I have to exercise more caution for a few days as my instincts re-calibrate once more. The more important aspect to me is your comment about export cars ie that people very much enjoy seeing the export cars, and it helps to show that these cars even when new, were 'special'. The feeling in my own veteran and vintage car club in Johannesburg is build it RHD. This is natural as it satisfies the original status of the car and it is illegal to newly register a LHD car in South Africa. If I asked the Brits about it (I am a global citizen but a de-tribalised Briton from Britain) they would also say RHD for first reason but LHD is legal there. The thrust of my question really that if I build it LHD with the identical factory components to any other contemporary LHD 8-90 because I will be happier and safer driving it in Europe and USA that way and the brakes will be more reliable, does this impact on its authenticity which is a different thing to originality. The original car would not run on its original 84 year old battery and tyres but perfectly well on authentic replacements to illustrate the difference.

That photo is amazing!
It is so sad....(that the car is in neglected condition)
Yet uplifting....(as the boys are smiling brightly)
and then full of hope...(that it can be restored)
and prideful...(that such a pretty car survives)

I'm 'all over the place' on this one <!-- s:? --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt="" title="Confused" /><!-- s:? -->

You. Must. restore. as. Built. (or sell it to me!)
I'd LOVE to see more pics!

Hello Andy, Thank you for the reply for the image posting advice. Here goes the trial

The date of this photo is 1964 and the gent who took it is still a friend of mine. Apart from the obvious location of the steering wheel you can see the cross linkages for the controls on the fire wall. The engine is a 6cylinder Buick which was installed when the engine was sent away for overhaul. More of the story when I see if the upload is a success.

Hi! it sounds to me as if you are in the "cat-bird" seat
I am not a judge, so I cannot tell of the points,etc from that aspect.
"BUT", I can tell you that people very much enjoy seeing the export cars, and it helps to show that these cars even when new, were 'special'.
I have driven right hand drive cars(and trucks) in the past, but NOT on a long excursion like you are planning. (I am not sure how bothersome or tiring that can become)
That you have all of the necessary parts to go with either setup definitely helps in the overall value of your car.
(I do however realize that future value is probably not your primary concern right now)
bottom line: for "ME"- I'd go with the RHD!

photo posting instructions here:[url:11y68rv2]http&#58;//forums&#46;acdclub&#46;org/phpbb2/viewtopic&#46;php?t=2448[/url:11y68rv2]

Good day gentlemen. I am pleased to have returned to the ACD fold this week after a 2 year absence due to very extenuating circumstances, having been a member previously since 1990.My car at the time of retrieval from a scrap yard in Mozambique in 1964 was RHD as can be seen in contemporary photographs and newspaper cuttings. The right "handed" steering column, service brake master cylinder, and the accelerator, advance-retard and mixture control cross linkages survived from the original car when I acquired it in 1990 supplemented by other handed RHD parts collected in the interim such as the gearbox, pedal assembly, and steering U draglink.
I also have all the LHD corresponding parts so I can complete the car as RHD with the LHD bits in the box as a kit or vice versa.
My personal preference is to complete the car LHD for three reasons. 1. Intended use in mainland Europe 2. Ambition to do coast to coast USA with the car including the Auburn august festival. 3. The LHD build is superior from an engineering standpoint, particularly the brakes.
To my knowledge of the 48 8-90 speedsters made, only one other RHD car is known in Australia. I am well acquainted with the ACD judging form and its emphasis on authenticity but it is silent on this aspect.
The question therefore for the forum is would the LHD option have any negative effect on certification, judging, and of course value of the car.
p.s. If someone can kindly tell me how to post pictures I would be grateful