Dixie Flyer "Firefly" speedster photographs

4 minute(s) of a 91 minute read

Hi john

As I said before the Buick looks great. Pity they covered up all that wonderful open valve gear. Perhaps I am showing my age but I really think that those late teens Buicks were something else. 

Oh well back to the Dixie Flyer. Have the next load of panels to drop off at the painter stowed away in my next best thing to an Italian pickup, the 1986 Alfa Romeo 33 (Boxer) hatch.

I am still keeping ahead of the rust but only just. 

The good thing is that in the last five years it has cost me almost nothing to run and apart from one punctured tire it has never let me down. 

And it makes all the right exciting Italian noises!

3-10-2010

Hi All

Sorry that there has not been anything on this post for a little while. It is not that nothing is happening but on the contrary too much.

As pressure is building, every available minute is spent doing something. All those items being painted Black are due back early next week and then it is the turn of the body and hood ( bonnet) to receive their coat of Brewster Green. Meanwhile I am sorting out linkages and the spark advance & retard control rods. With the body off I will make time to freshen up the chassis paint.

3-13-2010

Just to prove that something has been happening we took the opportunity to take this photograph this afternoon. Having fitted the dash I decided that it was time to do a trial assembly with the seat to check the driving position and relationship between the steering wheel and the seat along with the seat to pedal distances. With the fenders (mudguards) in the final stages of painting it will soon (next week) be time to remove the body and hood as it will be their turn for paint. The radiator surround will go to the platers at about the same time but I have to finish the windscreen frame first. Below is todays photo with grandson Otto assisting in trying the seat for size. I am pleased to say that he gave it his seal of approval.

3-15-2010

Well spotted Bill!

As an Australian delivered car when new in 1922 the Dixie Flyer has always been right hand drive. There is no evidence that it was converted after it left the factory so it would be a fair assumption that Kentucky Wagon built a RH Drive export model. From my research it would appear that about 30 cars came to Australia. I know that North West Motors in Liverpool were the English import agents. I also know that a garage at Cardiff in Wales had a sales/service agency but have been unable to discover any others in the UK. 

The Australian delivered cars may have come through North West Motors too but this is only conjecture on my part. 

It is quite likely that they were also sold in South Africa too but have been unable to find any proof either way. The one in Iceland is left hand drive. It is an earlier car, either 1917 or 18. with a rounded radiator top. Interestingly one of the spare engines is just two numbers different to my original cylinder block. 

While my car is 1922 with the HS70 (3 1/2 inch bore) engine the block was cast on May 28 1920 (5 28 20) Yet this larger bore engine only became available for 1922. Earlier cars had the HS50 (3 1/4 bore) motor. Prior to 1917 they used a Lycomming engine.