1909 Alco-6 Racer

[Calais]

Out of the over 2,100 Alco vehicles made in the early 1900's, only 12 are known to still exist. Of those 2,100 only 4 were race cars and only one is known to still exist. This Alco won the Vanderbilt cup two years in a row. It is the rarest, oldest, most historical and most expensive vehicle I've ever had the pleasure of working on. Looks like I may end up working on a few more of this client's cars, including a 1966 Hertz Mustang. This thing is a real piece of American history and certainly a history lesson for people unfamiliar with cars of this vintage: no gaskets so the thing leaks oil on purpose, rigid tires that are only a few inches thin and a hand pump to manually pump gas (no gas pump).

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/1909-alco-6-race-car-still-roars/

[Calais]

Re: 1909 Alco-6 Racer

PS: working between a 1961 Cadillac limo with 30k original miles and original paint and an REO Speedwagon was certainly making me jealous...

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 1909 Alco-6 Racer

Cool car. I'm unclear what you did to it. Are those all AFTER shots?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: 1909 Alco-6 Racer

Shane, how lucky are you. Getting to work on automotive history.

What was your process?

80/83?

[Calais]

Re: 1909 Alco-6 Racer

Cool car. I'm unclear what you did to it. Are those all AFTER shots?

Sorry, I was in a huge rush during the detailing so I didn't get a good shot of the after on the engine metal, which was the most important part. I didn't get enough shots on the swirl abatement or the removal of a gas stain around the cap on the gas tank. I was up for a full 24 hours yesterday between that job, school work and fraternity activities...

I polished all the metal (copper and brass on the engine)with NXT, there was LOADS of brass and the owner likes the bright and shiny look versus the duller "patina" most people are looking for. M205 on all the paint, 105/205 on the tank to remove the stain, Aloe Leather Conditioner on the straps, Westley's and APC+ on the tires, Pinnacle Souveran on the paintwork, APC+ on unsightly dirt, QID on the seats and Hyperdressing on some engine spots.

The 205 and Souveran really vamped up the gloss, though I couldn't really do too much correction for fear of thinning out the paint too much more. A good deal of those swirls are not going anywhere, I don't have a PTG and I saw a couple of thin spots.

(BTW: It's James, not Shane.)