Question for all you oldtimers - we just brought a really nice '50 Chrysler convertible into the LeMay museum, and while inspecting it on the lift noticed something strange. Strapped crossways to the rear crossmember is a steel tube about 3" in diameter and 30" long, sealed at both ends. On one end is stamped "gyrostabilizer mfg Los Angeles". Any idea what that might be? I tried a Google search but nothing looked related. I'm guessing it was one of those questionable add-ons often marketed in the past, but would really like to know. Anyone?
Wow, its got a catchy name. the description sounds like it was intended to improve "ride quality" by increasing the sprung weight where others at the time put sand bags in the trunk.
Sounds like a weight transfer setup to aid in high speed cornering. Similar setups where used in early police pursuit cars. Sort of a precursor to the watt's link. Mike
In the deep recesses of my memory I recall that those were supposed to improve cornering by counteracting the weight shift in turns. Don't know if they worked or anything more about them though. Don
Very dangerous the tube is filled with ""Mercury"" This was a common use /pratice on converts thru the early 70s. A local salvage yard broke one and had a expensive epa clean up bill. Also very dangerous when around fire. I will result in death for all breathing the fumes............. . It has been outlawed in at most circle tracks for the above reasons.
I've seen ads in car magazines from the early fifties. I believe it contains a weight or weights held in place by springs. When cornering the weights are supposed to shift from side to side, balancing the car somehow. The weight might help balance a nose heavy car a bit.Other than that I can't think what good it would be.
Not sure about this particular piece, but as far back as the '30s(and maybe even further?) some cars had one kind or another of body/frame vibration damper/absorber. The first generation Ford Econoline van had a heavy weigt(about 150 pounds as i remember) bolted to the very back of the vehicle. Without that weight, under ideal conditions, the van could actually do a "stoppie", lifting the rear wheels off the ground!
Just put the heavy friends in the back seat, does the same thing. Make sure they wear seat belts so they don't all shift to one side in the corners.
i seem to recall reading about the virtues of these things in an old pop sci? but know that i couldn't put a finger on it now.. I don't recall that they were filled with mercury.. but rather were a weight "suspended" with springs on either side.. I must admit that I have used something similar for a similar purpose on a much much smaller scale.. and it seemed very ineffective..
New York State Police used them in Impalas in the 60's. I bought a few State Police cars at auction back in the 70's that had them bolted in the trunk.
I'm not saying those cars didn't have a tuned absorber, but I don't remember that being the case. Some antennas are installed with what's called a "cavity". It's essentially an empty can with connectors on it. Any chance that's what you saw?
They were a completely useless bit of (solidified) Snake Oil. The spring loaded bob weight inside the tube was supposed to move opposite to any unintended lateral movement of the rearend of the car-thus counteracting skids. how a 20 lb. weight was supposed to have any effect on the 1000 lb. + weight of the rear of the car is anybody's guess. These things were marketed by a variety of flim-flam men back in the '40s thru the '60s. They came and went under various names and even outward designs. The purveyors would have some machine shop build a batch (usually with a promise of a share of the sales in lieu of direct payment) then go out and beat the bush -selling at least one sample to gas stations, independent garages, parts stores and the like. Soon as the batch was sold, the promotor would disappear leaving the fabricator holding the bag and a bunch of merchants with a dust collector. I remember one sitting in the Pure Oil station I hung around in in the early '50s. it was there for at least 3 years. In the '60s a guy in Flushing Michigan "reinvented" the idea and conned my father-in-law, who had a machine shop in Fenton, MI, into building the things. My F-i-L was a gullible type who not only bought into the idea but applied his considerable mechanical skills to "improving" it. The weights now rode on Thompson Shafting (linear ball bearings) inside a custom extruded aluminum case capped with more custom aluminum end caps/mounting brackets. My F-i-L ended up holding the bag for several $K in materials. I have one of those artifacts here in my shop now. There was no convincing certain people that what kept cars on the straight & narrow was tires & suspension-not some gimmick bolted in the trunk.
I saw the first and only one in 1968 when I was in the Army stationed in Alabama. It was mounted in the trunk of a Chevy Chevelle. At the time they were trying to get it allowed in NASCAR. The guy selling them had an 8mm movie that he played showing how it improved a cars handling. I then took a ride with him and the car stuck like glue in the turns. Years later when I built and drove Super Modified race cars I attempted to find one to sneak into the back end of my Super. I couldn't find one anywhere. Any time I was bench racing with my buddy's and mentioned about the "Gyrostabilizer they had the same attitude as most of you. I didn't know they had mercury in them, the guy would never say how they worked, but they did. The price at the time was around $385.00. The most important thing is no one gives a fuck if anyone believes this shit or not especially this bunch.
Here's the one i have.... Here's another thread on them... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=601389
You guys ever haul water with a tank with no baffles? Believe me, the last thing you want is loose weight shifting around in a corner! The whole idea sounds like a snake oil salesman's dream.
To get back to the original question. It seems to be a contemporary accessory and part of the car's history so I vote to keep it on the car. It won't do any harm even though it won't do much good. Or, for the hell of it you could take the car out and test it with and without the unit and see for yourself if it does anything.
The reason they don't work is they contradict the laws of physics. That said, if they are filled with mercury, they are very hazardous. I would take it out and dump it in the nearest ocean. Or, if you don't live near a body of water, wrap it up in old newspapers and dump it in the garbage bin of a fast food restaurant after they close up for the night. Or one of those unmanned Salvation Army drop off boxes would be a good place to leave it, too.
It may not be filled with mercury-in fact that's unlikely given the cost of mercury and the underlying marketing scheme. Is there any evidence of a "thru-bolt" tying the whole assembly together (like a bit nut on each end.)
Are you for real??? You don't drop a tube filled with mercury into the ocean or a pond!!!! If you had something like that just call the proper recyclers or the EPA and then drop it off or have it picked up. The LAST thing you need to do is pollute a fishing area or ground water with mercury! Besides...get caught doing it and I bet you'd get a bunch of jail time...never mind a big fine!
There is no Gyro in the device either, a true Gyro stabilizer does work and they are used in ships to reduce 'rolling' they are also used in aircraft as a way of stabilising the aircraft in strait flight and to smooth out control surface effect on the aircraft (IE:so it is not 'jerky' when turning etc). All a gyrostabiliser is, is a spinning weight like a 'spinning top' the centripetal force of its motion smooths out sudden movement. Doc.
we just filled the left side frame rail with lead......... I remember reading about this in Popular Mechanics in the early 60's
The best thing to do is to drag it outside, wipe all your prints off it and report it as being dumped in the middle of the night. If the EPA or someone similar has to come out to your place and perform a scan and cleanup you will most likely be on the hook for the cost. Does the Government need more of your money?
The Jalopy Journal
