Hello all. I am trying to find out whose mfg emblem is on this center horn button. It is for an automatic tranny, and my guess is it's from the late 50's to early 60's. If anyone knows or has any guesses, I would appreciate it. P McLoad Houston
Thanks Jim, you are correct! I appreciate the reply. Now I need to find someone who owns a 52-53 Lincoln for some questions about motor mounts and other stuff.
Thanks 56premiere...I can use all the advice I can get! This is a rather long story, but will make it as short as possible. Back in the early 50’s, my Dad designed a single-piece fiberglass car body known as the “Venus”. It’s only real claim to fame was being on the cover of the May 1954 Motor Trend Magazine. He had the US Design Patent for the body. Only 12 or less were ever made, though no one really knows as documentation was poor to nonexistent. I purchased one in Massachusetts about ten years ago, and I’m nearly finished with the restoration, needing only a good paint job, upholstery, and custom wiring harness (yeah, right...like those are just “minor” expenditures!). The only other Venus known to be in existence was stored in Bellville, Texas for about 35 years, and it is now mine. (I had known about it for many years). So I guess I’ve cornered the market so to speak, until another one shows up. As shown in that earlier post, the steering wheel is from a ‘50’s Lincoln with automatic transmission. Since this Venus did not have an engine or transmission in it, I am now trying to determine which Lincoln engine may have been in it. As seen in the photos below, there is a modification on the inside of the frame that simply looks like two triangular pieces welded to the frame. Do these look to be correct for a Lincoln engine? And there is a rear-support cross-member that is much lower than that for a Ford flatty V8. Does this look to be “correct” for a Lincoln transmission? See photos below. Since I don’t own any manuals I really can’t tell. The front motor mounts sure do look odd…no holes to bolt anything down. Another question I have is did the steering column have any mechanical linkage to the transmission or was it all electrical? I think I found a broken-off metal nib that may have actuated the tranny. Otherwise there are 5 wires coming out which I assume are turn indicators and horn. (See photo) It has been awhile since I’ve posted a new page on the Venus Update blog, but if interested, it’s at http://mcload.wordpress.com Seems I having a problem with posting photos other than the one above. Maybe send me an e-mail and I can e-mail them directly to you? Thanks in advance for your input. Patrick McLoad [email protected]
Will try again; if it posts, thisis a pic of the Venus body on a rolling body dolly I made. The interior surfaces have all been reinforced, primed, and painted. Just need to concentrate on the outside portion.
a couple more pics from the blog. I saved them on my computer and resized them, then uploaded the smaller size. I don't know how much you know about playing with images on computers, but you probably just need to "resize" them so they are less than 2000 pixels wide. Raw digital photos are usually too large of file size to upload to an internet forum.
I had lost this thread so had not seen the restof the story. A very cool story it is. The mounts don't look Lincoln , at least not 56 7 368. I'll see if I can get you some pictures of the ones in my cars and I have an extra frame section. I have a column too and see if pictures can help. Jack
Here's an old photo (circa '54) of a Venus in front of a house on MacGregor Dr. A friend sent me the address of it, and to my amazement, it had been restored and looks exactly as in this old photo. I hope to have chance to reproduce this photo with my restored Venus some 60 years later.
The Jalopy Journal
