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Post by Not Wes on Feb 20, 2020 22:58:52 GMT -5
The car that Hippolyta drives has been mentioned in both chapters so far, and will be in several others to come. You readers who haven't looked it up yet might as well know what it is. It looks much like the top three pictures in the page found at this link: www.shayhistory.com/Picturepage7.htmlThis one in these pictures has original tire replicas, but Hipp's has more modern tires on it because engine modifications require them. I think but am not sure that the "Polar Bear Model" mentioned on the linked page refers to the all-white color. You can click around in that same site and see pics of other Shays in various colors. I didn't spend a lot of time at the site, but there is likely some history there too. Not Wes |
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Post by Colin on Feb 21, 2020 4:13:18 GMT -5
I don't think it's the 'Tires' that have to be more modern to be safe with modern engine modifications, but the actual 'wheels'. Those wheels with separate hubs and rims connected by spokes can't safely cope with the torque generated by modern engines and braking systems. Note that in America people seem to refer to the 'tire' on a car when they actually mean the (metal) wheel and a (rubber) tyre (note correct spelling)  In Europe when we say tyre we are referring only to the rubber part, the wheel is the metal part. |
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Post by Not Wes on Feb 21, 2020 11:34:44 GMT -5
Colin,
On this particular version of the Shay it is probably both the wheels and the "tye-rees" (how I think of the pronunciation of your old-country spelling of American tires, the "y" form only found scratched on clay tablets or maybe scrolls). I personally have never seen a Shay or the wheels or tires, so I don't know what the construction of the wheel is like on one, other than likely being spoked. Understand that cars and I don't get along well, so I don't really know much about them.
Notice in the picture that there are two spare tires, one on each side of the vehicle. That, I understand, is because "tyres" of that period (1920s) were notoriously unreliable. Nylon, Kevlar, and steel belting were not yet invented and manufacturing techniques were not perfected for reinforcing the rubber as is possible in more modern versions (spelled "tires." GRIN). Automobiles were often equipped with two spares because of this. I would think that wheel construction could be more amenable to being okay, but that doesn't mean they actually were, such strength usually not being required back then.
More on Hippolyta's car will come out in future chapters and I don't want to spoil the story for readers following along with individual chapter postings. It is fun bantering about with spelling and the various versions of English.
Not Wes
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Post by Allen on Mar 30, 2020 21:43:20 GMT -5
... Note that in America people seem to refer to the 'tire' on a car when they actually mean the (metal) wheel and a (rubber) tyre (note correct spelling) In Europe when we say tyre we are referring only to the rubber part, the wheel is the metal part. In North America we're not as inconsistent as you might think.
If I mess up the metal part, I would say that I bent a rim. Similarly the term "steel rim" refers to the whole metal part. If I unbolt the whole thing (rubber + rim), I would say that I took the wheel off. When I replace the rubber bits, I say I bought new tires. Similarly a flat tire refers to the rubber bit. However when I have the tires rotated, the rims and the rubber part stay together. (It would be pretty silly otherwise.) |
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Post by Colin on Mar 31, 2020 6:11:11 GMT -5
Similarly the term "steel rim" refers to the whole metal part Interesting, in British English the 'rim' is the edge of something. If you consider a cycle wheel it has three metal parts, the hub, the spokes and the rim. Car wheels started out the same but the need for strength changed them into being a single pressed piece of steel or more recently cast alloy. |
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Post by K Pelle on Jul 22, 2020 0:48:11 GMT -5
I was rereading this story and saw this discussion, so I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring.
When I was a 'kid' in the 1950s, I used to 'salvage' old cars from farmer's barns and junk piles - to clean them up and sell them. In the process I handled a fair number of old Model A Fords and since "The Shay" was a reincarnation of a 1930 something Ford I decided to check and see what I had owned - amongst other cars I owned was one 1929 Model A Sedan and one 1931 Model A five window coupe. I checked the very poor quality pictures I have of those two and both of them had steel wheels. Now to settle the argument you folks had, a steel wheel for those cars consisted of a steel central hub, steel spokes, and a steel rim as well as a rubber tire with a tube. The whole thing was fastened to the brake drum and I KNOW those wheels were not all that well made, because I have seen a wheel tha had collapsed on a curve. I was there in time to help the young guy get home afterward, because the car was wrecked. The pressure from the side as the car rounded a tight curve caused the spokes to collapse. So I doubt very much if similar wheels were used on "The Shay" - they might have looked much the same, but they'd have been made to take greater side pressures for modern driving practices.
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Post by Not Wes on Jul 22, 2020 17:08:10 GMT -5
Thanks, Ken,
I'm not sure right now as I didn't reread to check, but if the Shay that Hipp was driving was built as a street rod, powerful engine and all that, I'm sure the tires and wheels had to be up to the job or the guy could have lost races. I'm sure they weren't spec '20s or '30s, even if they looked it. And they might not have. I don't think it was mentioned. The link above is just what the basic car looked like (and is even the right color!), not totally indicative of Hipp's modified ride.
Not Wes
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Post by K Pelle on Jul 23, 2020 1:29:05 GMT -5
Oh yeah, the wheels would have had to be strengthened to take the side thrust brought on by cornering. As I mentioned I was involved in the 'rescue' of a kid who hot-rodded a Model-A Ford by dropping a flathead six cylinder under the hood as well as upgrading the tranny, rear end and rear wheels, but the front wheels simply collapsed because of the increased weight as well as the speed when he was cornering. The sideways torsion ripped the spokes right off the rim and hub on both front wheels when he hit a relatively tight corner at speed. Luckily the kid had added a roll-bar of sorts behind the seat and used a decent seat belt setup, because the rest of the body of the Model-A was virtually destroyed, so he survived. The car was JUNK!
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In Europe when we say tyre we are referring only to the rubber part, the wheel is the metal part.