MTFCA Forum

Was rummaging thru some boxes today and found this...
And NO! It’s not photoshopped!

Ok, I'll bite. Where/what is it?

AdminJeff

looks like the spruce goose...

Looks to small for the goose. What museum?

Definitely the Spruce Goose. Here's a pic I found on the good ol' Internet!
Check out the building. They must have just changed things around it a bit.
Have no idea where it is. The pic didn't say. Or at least I didn't see it!

Spruce Goose, Now in McMinnville Oregon

Thats is a big WOW. Kevin is that your car? Thanks for sharing.

I would love to go and see her in her new home. I did see her in Long Beach, and yes I must be getting older. May be a Tour or speedster run??

Was a NWVS Labor Day endurance run... bout a dozen or so years ago. The Evergreen museum had relatively just recently opened and they were letting us pull out cars in to snap a shot under the ‘ol goose (Hercules). Have been back a couple times since, and it has changed a bunch every time. I highly recommend checkin it out if you’re ever near Portland

How about some more photos of your car? Thanks.

She’s been shined up a bit since! Looks like these are bout all I’ve got...

Very nice Kevin. Good proportions.
How about the engine pictures?
( Nothing like red wheels).

All flat heads look the same...

So how bout what’s on the way...?

That should make it go.
Better have good brakes to match.

I was almost five when I saw part of the plane. It was being transported in sections from the Hughes plant near Playa del Rey to Long Beach for assembly in the harbor. The driver of the truck hauling one of the wings parked by our house on PCH while he went into the cafe next door for a cup of coffee, so the wing was about twenty feet from my bedroom. A crowd of neighbors gathered to check it out and my friend Scott Shell, who was a year older, informed me that it was part of the biggest plane in the world.

It's in McMinnville Or. and about 37 miles from Portland.

With all the aeronautical engineering that went in to the Spruce Goose the engines were not mounted correctly and that caused extreme vibration and it had to be put back in to the water, otherwise it probably would have flown ok. When you look at the wing angle and the angle of attack of each engine they are all off by a few degrees just enough to cause each propeller to cut the air at an angle not relative to the direction of the airplane. I have flown small airplanes when when the angle of attack is not consistent with the direction of flow and the airplane will vibrate violently for a few seconds until it straightens out then all is ok, but the Goose there was no getting out of it leaving the only option, to abort.

A friend is about to give me the running gear and both axles (no frame) out of his 31 Model A pickup.

This is kind of what I had in mind.

Now I see his juice brakes. Well done. Hard to spot.

They are motorcycle disk on all 4 corners. Someday I hope to build an era correct set of drums to replace em tho. They work great... but stick out like a sore thumb on an otherwise relatively period correct car

Here’s a sneak peak at the design inspiration, ‘36 Bentley...
Currently the plan would be to hydraulically actuate/equalize rod or cable linkage so all modern equipment is hidden under the car. All I have to do now is finish my Akron-Hed project and about fifty others before I can start...

The Spruce Goose was a good idea, poorly executed. With the German U-boats taking a heavy toll on Atlantic shipping, the US needed a better way to transport troops and supplies across the ocean. If the plane had been finished sooner and made of aluminum, its history may have been different.

Orie Jones, the woodworking teacher back when I went to North High School, in Wichita, Kansas, (1970) had worked for Howard Hughes. Orie helped build the Spruce Goose. He even had some of the scrap wood from the plane which he used to built tools for around the shop. I went in before and after school and built the body for my 1914 T Hucksters Wagon while in high school there. Orie was a neat old guy and gave me some really good pointers on building the body.

Verne Shirk
Wichita, KS

Kevin , nice car!! thanks. David, first I have heard of the engines mounted incorrectly seems like Hughes got it from all sides. When they were talking about moving it,possibly to Lake Mead to use as a gambling boat, the news caster commented how unstable the H4 was????? Im sure he was correct watching how much Howard was fighting to keep it from rolling over HaHaHa. . Views from the cockpit doesn't indicate any vibration. Verne nice story and body. Steve thanks for your story. I am also wanting to put better brakes on my race car. I am hoping to hide discs inside drums. I installed Cleveland brakes off a small airplane on my sandrail. They worked well and were simple to install.

The old Sandrail has seen better days. The brakes are small but effective.

Must get good traction with the tire pressure that low...

Kevin Pharis wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:12 pm

They are motorcycle disk on all 4 corners. Someday I hope to build an era correct set of drums to replace em tho. They work great... but stick out like a sore thumb on an otherwise relatively period correct car


Currently the plan would be to hydraulically actuate/equalize rod or cable linkage so all modern equipment is hidden under the car. All I have to do now is finish my Akron-Hed project and about fifty others before I can start...

I just adjusted the brakes on my friends '49 Bentley. Let me know if you need more pictures.

" All I have to do now is finish my Akron-Hed project and about fifty others before I can start...". Ha Ha! You have two projects that come to mind that you will NEVER be done with! Been there- doin' it.

I hear ya Dan! Waaaaay underestimated the time on this job!

Wait till they think your speedster is theirs!