Don,
You mind sharing the vendor on the 7.50 X 16's on Ebay? Or maybe it was a private one-time sale. If you can get Cokers now, they are through the roof price-wise. Chris.

Steve,
Why that '40 didn't sell four hours after the listing went live is beyond me! If I didn't have my '39, I would go and buy it. Looks to be awesome value for the dough. Chris.

Leeedy,
I notice in the various ads that 'coaster brakes' are available at a premium. I know 'coaster brakes' as the rear hub drum brake that one would activate by pedaling in reverse. My understanding is caliper brakes came along later, so if you didn't pay the few bucks extra for coaster brake stopping, does that mean there were NO brakes? That seems a little crazy to be scooting around on a bike that can reach considerable speeds and have no provision to stop!?!? Chris.

I agree with Don, and even when I got my manifolds to 'agree' and be perfectly on one plane, I still had to 'chase' the manifold nuts for some time, as the heat cycles create enough 'movement' of the whole assembly as to require several re-torques. I can only imagine stacked gaskets would exacerbate that issue. Chris.

Thanks JWL & JT120; now I know!!
Chris.

'Brass nuts to fasten the manifolds to the engine block'

John, I'm curious - why brass nuts?? Mine were brass when I took the manifolds off my car and I replaced with same. I thought it odd at the time that they were brass, but figured there must be a reason and reused the originals. Chris.

Hey BSer, I would sure investigate JT120's suggestion, as when I put my manifolds together, they were way out of alignment. However with the suggested straight edge and some adjusting, I got a perfect 'plane' of alignment and they bolted on to the engine with no leaks. They can be moved around more than you might think before the manifold to manifold nuts are tightened up. Worth checking anyway, might be an easy fix! Chris.

Interesting stuff, Tim. I brought up the nautical spelling as so much automotive vernacular comes from maritime roots. After all, ships were around for a couple of centuries before cars. Chris.

Me too Dave, 'nough said!

OED cites 'bale' as a variant spelling of 'bail' so I guess both are acceptable.
Chris.