Steam Car Blog

Basil Craske shows  740 Stanley Steam Car at a car show in England.

Billings Cooke and Sarah Moon drive there Stanley Steam car to the top of Mount Washington

Stanley Steamcars travel from England to attend the the Schnauferl Wander Fahrt car tour in Germany.

​P2PonSteam – Peking to Paris in a White Steam Car
follow this incredible journey in a White steam car as it unfolds

Vasily Shishka
12 hrsMy dear friends! I am pleased to announce that I have finished an uninteresting job. I now have free evenings (my wife does not think so) and continue to pursue my beloved automotive history. I have the good fortune to announce a new book on steam cars Serpollet. Wonderful automotive enthusiasts from different countries are helping to work on this book.
I would like to thank the initiator of the creation of a book about Serpollet and the main consultant. This is a man with steam in the blood, a specialist in steam technology, a collector, a restorer of steam cars, the inventor of a record steam motorcycle and just a good guy - Chris Wedgwood! He knows the device of steam cars to the last screw and can answer different questions. Many Gardner-Serpollet cars have found a rebirth thanks to his skilful hands! Thanks, Chris!
Another great person agreed to be a consultant to this book. He is a historian, archivist, patent specialist, a great enthusiast of French technical history, the author of books on the history of bicycles, motorcycles Alcyon, VAP, racing motorcycles - Didier Mahistre! A wide range of knowledge characterizes this person! He is a great connoisseur of bicycles, motorcycles, cars and aeroplanes. If you haven't bought his books yet, then you must hurry! Thank you, Didier!
My wonderful friend Alexander Kulchitsky is giving me tremendous help! His hard work greatly accelerates the work on the book. He is also a sports consultant. Thank you, Alexander!
The well-known Davide Grappolo also agreed to be a sports consultant and has already sent interesting information! Thanks, Davide!
Sherlock Holmes and Commissioner Megre in one person is my friend Dan Souday ! His help is invaluable. A huge amount of information came from this man. He also helps with translation. Thanks, Dan!
I would especially like to thank the owners of automobile treasures. These wonderful people are always ready to share a digital copy. Thank you Umberto Voltolin and thank you Fred Korthals!
Big thanks to Goupil Dubois, Michael Hortig, Laurent Zoller!
I also say thanks to Stanislav Kirilets, Рустам Бикбов, Daniel Ward, Tobias Ward, Fons Alkemade, Davide Lorenzone, Bocha Balboni, Vladimir Vershinin, Bill Fillip, Pál Négyesi, Eugene Kaspersky, Fedor Kartashov, Denis Orlov, Alekse.
The first version of the book will be in English (now there are two books in French), later a book will appear in French.
Photo Gabor Csaba Nemeth

Spring City Steam Works
 Steam stuff!! Today we bent up 2 super-heaters. We like zigzag over coils but I don't have a tone of reasoning behind it. It's working great in my 735 so why not! There are 2 shown, the more parallel one is for a 10 hp car and the slight more angled open on is for a 20 hp car. Next up on the bender..... Monotube steam generator coils!! Let's go 

Article Courtesy of ENDURORALLY.COM

Mitch Gross’ and his dream of completing the Peking to Paris Rally, with a more unusual method of propulsion

What are you most concerned about?’ I ask Mitch Gross, about his upcoming Peking to Paris adventure. ‘The roads when we hit Western Europe’ comes the unexpected reply. ‘The car doesn’t like running at high RPM for an extended period of time, so we will have a few long days behind the wheel covering the extra mileage asked of us in Europe’. The answer is a surprise, as when you immediately consider the task of travelling 8000 miles from Peking to Paris, across the expanses of Eurasia, it is the challenges of remote places like the Gobi Desert and the less than agreeable roads through Kazakhstan that one might expect to be playing on Mitch’s mind, but after some background on his car, his answer begins to make sense.
The machine in question is a 1910 White MM steam car, yes you read that correctly, and more than that there are only around three of this particular model left in the world. Two reside in museums, the last, highly original example belongs to Mitch’s extensive collection of steam propelled cars. Not as popular in Europe, the steam car was a much more common sight over the water in America, making up around 50% of the machines on the road at the start of the 20th century. The White produced cars were some of the finest and most luxurious, and the White Brothers dynasty, that began with sewing machinery and finished up with heavy goods vehicles, is still evident today with its DNA found in Volvo trucks.

March Activities on the steam cars in/around the Auburn Heights Workshop

 
Mountain Wagon

• The Winker stopped winking in this car on the trip back to Auburn Heights after Tom’s Funeral. Upon inspection of the car’s pump box, it was discovered that the oil pump’s packing nut had come unscrewed because the keeper wire had also come loose. The packing nut was retightened, and the packing nut keeper wire was reattached. The car was fired up and driven outside. The rear axle was jacked up so the rear wheels were off the ground. The car was run in place to check winker operation. The winker winks again with each stroke of the engine.
• A steady stream of water was found to be squirting from the front water pump’s outlet check cap with each stroke of the engine. The pump’s outlet check cap was removed, a lot of corrosion had formed under the cap’s seal, this was cleaned off and the cap was reinstalled. The water leak has stopped. 

 
Model 740

• New check valves were placed in the steam oil line and the car was fired up and taken out for a road test (about 15 miles).The oil delivery gauge appeared to be working properly.
• Steam case packing valve nuts were tightened.
• Volunteers drained and flushed out the water tank and replaced the oil socks. They also filled the oil tank.

 
Model 76

• A new superheater was made up, ends of pipe were threaded for new pipe union fittings, which were then installed. The new superheater was installed under the boiler of the car. The rebuilt burner was re-installed under the boiler and all fuel lines were re-connected, then it was mudded up. The next day the car was fired up to check if the burner backfiring had been corrected, and there were no leaks in the piping of the new super heater. The car ran well and eventually siphoned. Siphoning was delayed for a whole day because of stuck check balls, which were subsequently replaced.

Model 607

• The superheater was removed and measurements taken for creation of a new one.
• A new battery was installed to power the lights, which were tested successfully.

 
Model 725

• A new superheater was bent and modified to fit the burner, with the ends trimmed and threaded and then installed in the car. The burner was then installed in the car, the main fuel and pilot piping was hooked up and the burner was then mudded up.



Thanks goes to all the volunteers who made such a wonderful event possible. They have now done it year after year for over 2 decades.
They are incredible,thanks again.

Video taken during the 2019 Steam Car Tour,Melle German.

First few cars arriving for the Melle tour here in Germany.