Q&A with Kit Foster: February 6, 2014

Q. You asked about the Sunoco/Franklin Mint coin set (Jan. 9). Glad to help.

SERIES 1, 1968
1901 White (steamer)
1902 Studebaker (electric)
1903 Winton touring
1904 Autocar VIII
1905 Apperson B touring
1906 Franklin
1907 Locomobile racer
1908 Stanley
1909 Ford T
1910 Sears
1911 Mercer Raceabout
1912 Simplex Speedster
1913 Lozier Light Six sedan
1914 Stutz Bearcat
1915 Packard Twin Six
1916 Dodge sedan
1917 Pierce-Arrow 66
1918 Cadillac landaulet
1919 Buick sedan
1920 DuPont touring
1921 Detroit sedan
1922 Daniels brougham
1923 Oldsmobile Six
1924 Chevrolet Superior
1925 Lincoln sport sedan

That group was followed by:

SERIES 2, 1969
1901 Phelps tractor
1902 Oldsmobile
1903 Ford A
1904 Packard touring
1905 Cadillac D
1906 Maxwell speedster
1907 Thomas Flyer
1908 Lambert
1909 Rambler 44
1910 Stevens-Duryea X
1911 Standard
1912 Reo The Fifth
1913 Marmon Six
1914 Hupmobile 32
1915 White town car
1916 Chevrolet 490
1917 Moon touring
1918 Hudson Super Six
1919 Winton Six
1920 Chandler sedan
1921 Duesenberg
1922 Lexington Minuteman touring
1923 Rickenbacker sedan
1924 Willys-Knight touring
1925 Chrysler Six sedan

In accruing the whole set, it was helpful to know someone who ran a Sunoco station (thanks, Mike).

— George Hamlin, Clarksville, Md.

A. Thanks. Today, of course, you’ll need more than a Sunoco station to complete the collection.

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Q. Regarding the four-speed column-shift question (Jan. 2), the Chevy van was available with a T10 four-speed column shift during the 1960s and ’70s. Also, my friend’s ’66 Peugeot 404 (in Europe) had one. Fourth gear was off the “H.”

— Kevin Suter, via e-mail

Q. In the mid 1960s, I worked for the Cochise County (Ariz.) Highway Department and the county purchased a new 1964 Econoline van from Bledsoe-Mauzy Motors in Bisbee. The van had an extended body behind the rear wheels, windowed barn doors on the rear and the same on the right side. It was ordered with the 170-cid six and four-speed column-shifted transmission. The transmission was a British unit and was fully synchronized. It had the shift pattern on a flattened side of the knob. The pattern was the standard “H” pattern, with reverse activated by pulling up on the lever from neutral and then up toward the windshield.

I put a lot of trouble-free miles on that van, loaded with all sorts of equipment and towing a home-built V8-60 Ford-powered welder with wheels and tires from a surplus DC-3 aircraft. With straight pipes sticking straight up, that was a sweet sounding welder!

— Colin Peabody, Phoenix, Ariz.

Q. 15 years ago, I bought a 1965 Mustang 170-cid. three-speed. The battery was dead (a clue), and I trailered it home. It ran fine, but the three-speed cluster gear was torn up. It was a weakness, and there were no clusters available. I found a “Dagenham” four-speed. I think it was out of a Cortina, but I’m not sure. It bolted right up to the Mustang six. The problem was that it was British. When I put the Hurst shifter in as per instructions, it shifted, but reverse was where third should be; fourth was where reverse should be; and third was where fourth should be. At least it worked. I went back under the car. What no one knew was that on the tranny, what is the reverse lever in the USA is the second gear shifter on the Dagenham. Once I figured it out, it was perfect. Soon, my son blew up the 170; the 200 bolted right up. We never had another problem.

— Bill Downs, Big Bear Lake, Calif.

A. Thanks, all. I was wondering about the shifter pattern. From what I can see in photos, the shift is activated from the left side of the gearbox, despite that fact that British Fords using it were right-hand drive with column shift. Peugeot used that “dogleg fourth” pattern for many years. Fourth gear was overdrive.

To submit questions to this column: E-mail angelo.vanbogart@fwmedia.com or mail to: Q&A, c/o Angelo Van Bogart, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990-0001.

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