New Floor Pans for Austins and Bantams

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When you are working with orphan brands, you are usually lucky if you can find used parts let alone new parts.  Although they only built 26,000 Austins and Bantams over a ten year production run, their following is a very strong and passionate one.  Around the world, people find themselves impressed by the little cars, perhaps that why there are many people working tirelessly to ensure the cars that do remain can be returned to the road.

As you may know, these were economy cars.  That translated into thin steel in places and even thinner paint (or none) in others.  As a result, many surviving examples have had their floors replaced, or need just that.  While the floors are flat and can be easily patched, they do have beading which may be difficult to match.

One club member has taken it upon himself to reproduce these floors by actually stamping them from new sheet metal which is slightly thicker than the original ones.  He stamps not only the left and right floor pans, but also the parcel shelf that goes over the rear axle as well.

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On my personal project, the floor pans look great in photos, however up close they have been pitted to near oblivion by the environment making them even thinner than they were from the factory.  In the coming weeks, I will be replacing the floors in my car with these beautiful replacements and will keep you updated on the progress.

Saturday Morning Helping of Bantam

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BRC Historical Photo

There haven’t been too many of these photos lately on ebay.  Have you seen this photo before?

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Click for the link: Leaping BRC Photo

1938 Bantam grille, Ornament, and center trim

This is a really nice set up.  A nice, although repaired, 15 slat grille, with a hood ornament and most of the center stainless strip.  This is a great piece for your car or wall.  I kind of want to throw a bid in on it too!

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Click here to see the listing: Bantam Grille

Parabeam Headlights

If you have a 1930-1931 American Austin, there are a few oddities which set your car apart from the later Austins.  One such item is the headlight lens itself.  In the first years of production, Parabeam supplied the lenses for the large Austin headlights.  These were subsequently phased out and replaced with Spreadlight lenses.

As the Spreadlight units were used on a plethora of applications beyond the Austins, they are much more common.  Unlike Spreadlight lenses, Parabeam lenses just do not show up that often.  On ebay, there is a pair of complete headlights with Parabeam lenses.  These headlight assemblies came from a car which sold through this website.  In an unfortunate case were a long stored project car is being cut up, the owner is making an effort to share the spare parts with other American Austin enthusiasts to help complete other people’s restorations.

While it’s unfortunate that the car has been taken from the ranks of the restorable Austins out there, it is good that the car is being returned to the road and its pieces are being offered to restorers.

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Click for the link: Parabeam Headlights

Happy New Year

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Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year.  This is the year of the rooster.  Maybe that’s why so many Bantams have changed hands just before the turn of the year.  People have been getting ready for a once in 12 year opportunity.

Happy Year of the Rooster!

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American Bantams at Barrett Jackson

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Last night five little cars put on quite a show, four American Bantams and one American Austin.  These five, nicely restored, Bantam sized classics crossed the Barrett Jackson auction block at around 8PM EST.  It’s not every day you see a Bantam on television, in fact, then again it’s not every day that you see a Bantam at all.

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1939 American Bantam Utility Wagon Crossing the Auction Block

For some more information on the company that built these incredible cars and invented the Jeep, click here.  If seeing these cars piqued your interest in America’s First solid effort at mass producing a microcar, you may wish to consider joining the Austin Bantam Society or American Austin Bantam Club where you will find yourself among the company of some truly great people.  If you’d like to check out these cars in person, the AABC will be hosting its annual meet in Reading, PA this July and the ABS will be holding one in the early fall.

If you’re looking for a fun little car to take on a jaunt to dinner or something sure to steal the show wherever you go, the Bantam is for you.  If you’re looking for a small classic car which you can work on or store in limited space, the Bantam is for you.  If a car which was designed by numerous world class designers interests you, consider a Bantam.  If you’re considering a great car to introduce your family to the classic car hobby, which are fairly simply built out of very few parts, the Bantam is your car.  Perhaps you even heard Craig Jackson mention that, at 10, an American Bantam Roadster was his first restoration.

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m a fan of these cars and the great people who collect them.  If you’re looking for a car or project, there are bunch of them on this site which are currently available.  If you already have a car but need some parts or guidance, drop a line.  If there is something in particular which you are looking for, please go to the contact us tab and let us know.

We’re glad you stopped by and hope you consider a Bantam in your future!

Farewell Brennan Standard Motors

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Far west of here, in Scottsdale Arizona about six Bantams are waiting for their turn to shine at the Barrett Jackson Auction.  Combined with the three Bantams which went on the block in the previous two weeks, these cars could have a far reaching impact on the Bantam market or at least serve as an indication of the health of such market.  I wanted to deliver a blog post today about these cars, however, something else has preempted that post.

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As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Brennan Standard Gasoline Motors.  Until its closure in 1972 they were one of the preeminent gasoline engine manufacturers in New York.  When Bantam ended production of civilian cars, they picked up the torch and carried the Bantam engine for three more decades.  Over those three decades, the 25 hp Hillmaster evolved into the 40 hp Brennan I.M.P.

So, as a New Yorker, a person who enjoys boating, and a Bantam enthusiast; I have a soft spot for Brennan engines.  I am so endeared to this company and their little I.M.P. that I am using one of their first Hillmaster conversions in my 1940 Bantam Sportsman project.  There also may be a later Brennan squirreled away for a future wooden boat build.  As an interesting aside, in one of the club newsletters, there were photos of a Bantam themed wooden boat powered by an early Brennan I.M.P.; I wish I had those photos to share with you here.

Why all of this gushing over an engine company?  This week, the Syracuse, NY government ordered the demolition of the Brennan Standard Motors factory.  You can read more about it here and here.  If you’d prefer to see a video click here.  This really shouldn’t come as a surprise given the long derelict condition of the building, it’s owner’s desire to turn it into a parking lot, the State of New York’s declaration that it may need the Brennan land to modify Rt 81, and a fire that raged at the factory this past August.

Ten years ago, it seemed that the Brennan complex may have been poised for a resurrection at the hands of an ambitious student of Architecture.  However, neither time nor the local community have really been on Brennan’s side.  There are rumors that some of Brennan’s old casting molds still exist, and I’ve been following those rumors for several years now.  It would have been nice if the Brennan buildings could have been saved, especially given the similarly derelict condition of the remaining Bantam administration building in Butler, PA.

Thank you George for bringing this to my attention.  Below is a photo from the last time I passed the Brennan complex.  The next time I drive past this building, it will be but a blank space awaiting a new future.

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Bantam Hot Rods

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For the past three years, this website has mainly catered to people interested in restoring American Austins and Bantams.  While I have had a few requests from people about English Austin parts, I have had an overwhelming number of inquiries from people seeking hot rods and hot rod projects.  Hot rodding Bantams is nothing new, but what is new is a section of this website to be dedicated in early 2017 to hot rodded Bantams.

There are a lot of cars which have already built and projects which have stalled which already fall into the hot rod category.  So, rather than not having options for those who like a little extra heat to their Bantams, keep your eyes peeled for new listings of cars like this one:

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Sure you could consider buying a nice restorable Bantam, taking the body for a hot rod, and selling off the rest; but wouldn’t it be better for both sides of our hobby to breathe new life into someone else’s stalled project or previously built car?  This should make everyone happy and satiate both types of Bantam enthusiasts.

Speaking of which, I’d like to wish everyone reading this a Happy New Year!

Beyond the Bantam: The Rolla-Bench

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When you embark upon a project, and you do so in your own work space, you usually realize how many tools you have been borrowing to make your dreams a reality.  As you slowly enlarge your tool collection, you realize that your original tool box isn’t going to really work any more.

When I started the Sportsman project, I was doing so in a remote work space.  While I have a great Craftsman traveling set, which has paid for itself time and again, I also left an empty tool box with the Bantam.  I first claimed that box when I was around 5, and I have clung to it ever since.  While my primary tool box is well kept and stocked, I started with the bare bones of this red box and the duplicates from my better set.  Fast forwarding two years of a build and I have a tool section on a shelf.  It’s the place where tool go to be near the tool box that should contain them.  To say finding everything when you need it is a chore, is an understatement.

Now, I’ve always been a fan of Snap On boxes.  They are very nice units.  While most other companies give you a metal box with drawers, Snap On figured out how to do it with a little pizazz.  Years ago, I was hunting for a K-537 top box.

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I always enjoyed the idea of having the fold down door and opening door which hides the small drawers.  After years of searching and realizing that they are usually phenomenally expensive, I went for a scratch and dent Craftsman set.  Strangely, I have a red top box and a gray bottom box.

The remote shop is small and I only have a small bench, which is really a work bench top on a set of shelves.  After searching for a K-60, the coolest Snap on box ever built, I stumbled onto something quite cool, the k-300.

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The above photo is a K-60, which is on ebay.  The seller is asking $1,750 which is half of what some people have paid for just the top box.  This is cool, but it’s a bit rich for my blood.  To see the listing, click here: K-60

Back to the K-300, I found it on ebay by accident.  These were introduced in the late 40’s as a “rolla bench” a tool box / bench which you could roll to what ever car you were working on.  They had drawers, a work surface, a light, power outlets, and a roll down door to make sure your draws didn’t open and spill their chrome bounty onto the ground.

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Yesterday, my rolla-bench finally came and I have to decide whether I want to clean it up and refinish it or just stuff my tools in it and get back to the Sportsman.  Either way, I’m excited to have a tidy home for all my tools.  Here it is in it’s heavily patina’ed glory:

 

Bad Luck Badge?

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Perhaps it is good luck in a way that what happened, happened to me and not you.  As you may have learned from reading here on occasion, original Bantam emblems are not always easy to find in nice shape.  Original Bantam emblems are beautifully enameled pieces.  Small and sharp concentric rings lurk under a brilliant layer of translucent red.  Circling the red and accenting the branding are small glints of chrome.

More often then not, the chrome is pitted and the enamel is broken exposing oxidized copper based alloy.  I happened to get a nice one.  I don’t remember how, but I’m thankful for the fact that it is very passable and only needs minor work.  Two springs ago, I had the chance to find one attached to a very rough car.  The seller offered to sell me some parts and the badge came along for the ride.  It was interesting to see what the chrome plating was weathering into.  While I appreciated its patina, I also was interested in seeing if it could be fixed.  To get a badge refurbished properly, you need to be prepared to pay.

Here is the Bantam emblem the night I got it:wp_20150516_001

It actually came with pieces of grill bars as the seller felt it easier to remove that way.  You can see the tarnished metal, broken enamel, and general sad shape of this badge.

A few names came to the top in my search including one who had some other Bantam parts in his shop for chrome work and other restoration.  The man spoke of how he would restore the emblem.  He would need to use hydroflouric acid to remove the enamel, then fill in the background, fire the badge, and finally replate the branding.  He wanted $175 to do the job and asked me to send my emblem directly to him.  He sounded trust worthy, and I decided to send this badge to him.

While I was lucky enough to have a decent emblem, I foresaw a need to get an emblem refinished and figured that some friends in the club would need to get theirs done.  As this badge seemed to be shabby to me, I though I would send it out.  While I would be annoyed if it was stolen or done poorly, I wouldn’t be upended.

I sent the badge out to the man and didn’t hear from him.  I called to find out if he got it, he did.  Months passed and I called for another status update; he was unreachable.  For the better part of one and a half years, we played phone tag and I was inundated with excuses.  After a while, it doesn’t matter how valid one’s excuses are, they just don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

I told him I was fed up with waiting and being fed one line after another; I only wanted my badge back so I could give another artisan a chance.  Suddenly, he said he had just fired the enamel and was waiting to see how it came out.  I asked for a photo.  Silence was the reply.

A few weeks passed and I asked him to just send the item, in what ever shape it was in.  He delayed in replying, finally saying it was done.  I asked for a photo.  He sent me a photo of a gorgeous emblem but said the studs broke off.  At first I replied with how happy I was, I asked for a photo of the back side and realized it was a gorgeous reproduction which sells new for $38.  I already had a reproduction, and they cost a heck of a lot less than $175. They also use screws that are fed into the back rather than studs which are fused onto the back of the emblem.

I told him I was through and wanted him to just send my part back to me.  He told me that it was in the hydroflouric acid, but he would send it as soon as he cleaned it up.  He sent me a photo of my emblem among a few others.  Yes, he was commissioned to do work for about 5 other people.  Each of them likely to be sent a reproduction emblem, told that their emblems had the studs broken off, or some such jazz.

Here is my emblem now, as it was shipped back to me:

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He sandblasted it, destroying every precious detail of the concentric rings.  Deleting the prominence of each line.  Making it so this badge could never be properly restored ever again.  The only thing that explains such a wanton disregard for the integrity of this emblem is spite.

I am not be publishing the man’s name or business here at this time, although I would love to.  While I am saddened that this emblem has been destroyed, I am happy that this spare emblem was destroyed rather than your nice one which only needed a little work.  Hopefully I can help you get your part to a person who will care for your part as if it were his or her own.  If you need your emblem restored, please send me a note and I’ll help get it into good hands.

One artisan is willing to take on the task of attempting to restore this emblem.  I will update you with the outcome.