1949 P.N.E Opening Day Parade

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This excellent photograph from 1949 was recently added to the online portion of the Vancouver City Archives. It is a wonderful early piece of history of our Stanley. When the image is blown up you can clearly see the text written on the passenger door says "Smilin' Bens Used Cars Victoria & Nanaimo". This is the first photographic confirmation that Smilin' Ben (AKA: Dexter Lewers) did indeed use the Stanley as a promotional vehicle to advertise his car dealerships. Note the "D 71" license plate. Unfortunately I have never seen a picture Dexter Lewers so I can't confirm he is in the vehicle.

 The next vehicle in line is a 1907 Cadillac Model K being driven by Quint MacAdam. If you look closely between Quint and his wife you can see little Linda MacAdam who is now the current owner of this car. The car following closely behind them is an Oldsmobile, maybe 1905 Model N, but I'm not positive of that. It's current owner and whereabouts is unknown.

 The building in the background is almost as interesting as the cars. It is the second Hotel Vancouver and it is in the process of being demolished in this picture. A real shame if you ask me. The second Hotel Vancouver was built in 1916 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The structure was one of the triumvirate of large, ornate buildings which anchored the center of town at Georgia and Granville streets: the Hudson Bay Store, Birks Building, and Hotel Vancouver. Only the Hudson Bay store remains of those three jewels of the city's golden age of Edwardian architecture.  

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Boxing Day

 While most of the world is out shopping for a deal the VCCC hosts a small run of fifty cars so around the iconic point of Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver. I usually attend in a more modern vehicle circa 1935 but I decided to haul the Stanley out this time for one last puff before the year is out. 

  She ran very well in the two degree weather although getting her flashed up in the morning took a touch more time. The new pilot door assembly worked excellent and we didn't have one tube fire. I have come to the conclusion that the pilot is flickering out every now and again when I sit in traffic, than the vaporized hexane is lighting off on a hot spot somewhere in the burner assembly causing a miniature explosion. Not the best experience. I think installing a re-ingniter (piece of metal that hangs directly above the pilot and gets heated red hot) will solve this issue. It should provide a quick source of reignition  if the pilot flickers before it charges the boiler with raw vapor. To be honest, the old burner assembly had this component in it but it had deteriorated beyond its useable life and I never got around to making a replacement. As with all of these cars the more you drive the more you learn and the longer the To Do List becomes.  

 Great to see all the cars on the road. I'll post some pictures as they roll in. Top of the season to all of you readers!  

Firing up the Stanley in the morning. You can see the plume of steam coming out of the boiler. It is caused by condensation  that forms on the tubes as the boiler heats up.

After the tour we stopped by to see my grandfather and I got this great picture of three generations of antique car enthusiasts.

You can find many additional pictures at:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk76DkfS

Original Stanley Pictures

I couldn't help myself and I had to purchase these photos off of E-bay. What peeked my interest was the tilted back windshield, not exactly common on early Stanleys. Other  features to note are the fender braces that are mounted on top of the front fenders and the large acetylene or pilot fuel tank mounted on the driver side frame.  The rear folding seat is also clearly visible in the last photo. All three photos are of the same car taken over a four year period.

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On the back of the picture was written "1914".

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On the back of the photo was written " Pinkham Notch, N.H. at Glen House Route 16. 1916"

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On the back of the photo was written "One of the woes of automobile travel Francania Notch, N.H. Aug. 20 1917"

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I did some research on the internet and this is a picture of the Glen House off of Route 16 in the 1910's.

Water Tank Sight Glass

 The sight glass on the side of the Stanley had been replaced at some time in its life and wasn't made correctly. It was a glass tube with a 5/8" OD cut just long enough to pass thru the brass rest and glued together with RTV.

 After reviewing original pictures I learned that the tube is supposed to travel passed the rest and right into a clearance hole that was drilled into the structure supporting the seat. The purpose of having the glass this high is that when the Stanley has a full tank of water and is parked on an angle the water won't start pouring out of the top of glass. 

  The new glass is actually 3/4" OD acrylic tube. I had to turn one end down about 15 thou to make it fit snugly in the lower casting. Acrylic is a great product to work with, cuts like butter. 

Old sight glass. Note the RTV and wooden shim.