History Unique barn find/ Merry Christmas

Was going through an old abandoned homestead yesterday and found this. Thought it would be interesting material for everyone to look at on Christmas. I think it was a correspondence mail course to teach early automobile mechanics. The dates are 1909-1912. Any ideas? Merry Christmas!

 

...whoa.

 

i believe I lost it in that barn...and you should send it to me soon.

Kiddin'-
nice find!

 

Here are more pictures...the models have working springs and brass gears...all works as good as new!

 

Holy cow that is kool!

 

More pictures! It is complete all 12 lessons books, all in pristine condition. Also has a letter of thanks and the post marked conformation of order!!! Crazy!!!???

 

antique roadshow.....for sure!!!

 

That is neat as hell. Check out how carburetor is spelled. Man that tranny is simple as hell eh? Awesome find!

 

I wish I had more time to post more pictures because the diagrams and info in each of the books is something to behold.
Now I can Help Jay Leno if I ever see him broke down some place.

 

Yep neat shit. "Dyke" also published a series of repair manuals . The earlist I know of is 1914, I have a 1917 copy+ 4 others dating to 1942.

 

My dad was a mechanic in the twenties. He worked for Standard Oil Company in Minneapolis, and one of his jobs was to go into the garage very early on cold winter mornings and put pans of burning charcoal undernesth the Model "T" delivery trucks and get them going and ready for deliveries the next day. When we were kids, my brothers and I found his "stash" of Dykes manuals in the attic of my grandma's house. Of course, we took them home and trashed them like typical 10 year olds do. I wish we hadn't. One of the things I do remember is that they had a section in them devoted to stripping down the bodies and "hotting up" the engines and installing "hi-speed" gears. I guess here were hot-rodders even back then.

 

This should be required reading for all new counter sales people at auto parts stores (don't want to single the particular one that is currently a burr in my butt because it's Christmas!).

 

The Dyke's manuals are extremely helpful with detailed explanations. Do a google, there's at least one online. By reading these old manuals you can appreciate how advanced theory was back then. I have three of them, earliest a 1918. I'm sure the correspondence course would have been just as thorough.

 

I still have my fathers Dykes I studied it as a small child and tried to figure how to do stuff. he got it in about 1936 going to Dunwoodie tech school in Mpls.
it had a model A and model T section in the book with most of the specs and tons of info on how to rebuild and do all kinds of shop stuff, just seen it again in the shop this week
did lose the paper jacket cover on it but other than that it is as new

 

Interesting find. Thanks for sharing it via the post.

 

Great find! Dyke manuals are good info for "old cars" I have some other correspondence courses, but not one with interesting "working models" tt

 

wow! thanks for sharing as that stuff is really cool. that really would be something cool for the antiques roadshow. better make the trip next time they are in seattle.

 

that or im sure some museum would love to have them on display, what a great find, congrats

 

The property belongs to my neighbor/beer drinking pal! Wait until you see the actual metal that we are going to pull out of this place!

 

I know what you mean. I asked a kid at the parts counter for valve cover gaskets for a 327 small block Chevy. The way he reacted was as though I was speaking a language from another planet. I'm only 34 years old...how could this be happening???

 

Thanks for posting those! Super cool!
I think someone should go ahead and edit out that garbage drama though.

 

Way cool find, I like the sound of that. Keep us posted for sure

 

Thats cool stuff Nitrohonkey! I cant wait to see the "metal" you speak of!

 

Glad y'all are enjoying it! Merry X-mas!

 

this will be cool!!!

 

Cool shit....

My dad's freind has an "abandoned" farm sted my dad and I have been getting cars and tractors and much much more off of for the past few years... And no I'm not theiving the old iron... I'm liberating it from it's decompising state.. It's amazing the things you find at old places like these. I found a stack of Popular Mechanics mags from 1928 up until 64 or 5, pretty cool, all sorts of antique car manuals and brochures. And NOS parts up the ass... Not to mention a black smith shop along with all the tools, small hit n' miss engines, antique riding lawn mowers, antique furniture, big and from what I've seen very expensive crocks, and so much more... Keep us posted on everything you find.

I wish I would have taken pictures of everything before we started cleanin' up the old farm, now there's just a few big piles of what used to be 2 barns some out buildings and a house...

 

Nitrohonkey thanks! for sharing your find with us that was really cool Ive never seen anything like that before awesome automotive history there. sorry to see some people havent nothing better to do than accuse people of things they know nothing about Merry X-Mas fellow Hambers!!

 

Hi my name is Clarence J. Fergusen,. I have been loooking fro that fro many years Could you please forward that to my new adress. i will promptly remit postage.

great find 1 in a million

 

nice find......... merry x mas......

 

Incredible find, I would think they will have a significant historic value, they are for sure museum pieces ,thanks for sharing, Merry Christmas