What’s
Happening! |
The tremendous efforts of the 17
"hands-on" volunteers have made major progress since we last reported last
summer. This group meets at Don’s almost every week to help. Key accomplishments
include:
- Removal of the engine, three transmissions and the rear generator.
- All doors have been removed including the 4 large 16’ side doors, 2 rear doors, the
front cockpit access door, the engine access door, the hatch in the drivers compartment,
all the lower side compartment doors and the top light bar "fin". There are a
total of 19 doors on this vehicle!
- The cockpit is being disassembled including the dash, instruments, sheet metal panels,
trim, air conditioner and assorted plumbing and duck work, stairs to the cockpit,
upholstery and seats. In the process, the #10 was found on many parts indicating that ours
is #10 of the 12 vehicles.
- Wiring, air, gasoline and lines have been removed. Wiring diagrams are being developed
as parts are removed to assist in rewiring later.
- Purchased spare parts from the people who own the Futurliner in Montreal, Canada which
Don personally picked up and returned to Michigan. (His fun with customs is another story
and longer than will fit in this newsletter. Ask him about it sometime when you have time
to kill.) This was a rare opportunity to obtain parts that they made as duplicates and
that would have cost us many times that to duplicate again. The parts obtained include a
windshield, rubber molding, large and small aluminum moldings at a total cost of $10,760.
- The primary and spare gearbox (i.e., the 3-speed/PTO unit) has been disassembled and
cleaned. They are now in the hands of a professional truck transmission builder. Again
another volunteer. In addition, a major Michigan bearing supplier has volunteered to
supply the needed bearings for both our primary and spare manual gearboxes. The cost of
these bearings is well over $1,000.
- Sandblasting of the framework has started now that much of the interior is gutted.
Replacement of some of the interior panels has also been started.
- A spare engine and Hydramatic with the two speed transmission is being made available to
us in Calif.; all we have to do is figure out how to get it out of the vehicle and crated.
GM will ship it back for us.
- An excellent presentation has been prepared by Stu Allen to use in group meetings
to help publicize the project. We would encourage use of this presentation to car clubs,
civic organizations, and professional groups. If you need a copy of this presentation
contact Dean Tryon.
- Joel Dirnberger
is building a scale-working model of the Futurliner. We have already
seen an excellent set of computer drawings for this model. This should be very helpful in
publicizing the project and securing additional support.
|
Powertrain
Details |
The Futurliner is powered by a
302 inline 6 cylinder OHV GMC engine. It is coupled to a Korean War vintage four speed
Hydramatic automatic transmission. Bolted to the backside of this is another two-speed
gearbox. A selector in the driver’s compartment controls all of this. This gives the
driver the option of 8 forward speeds. Located about three-quarters back is another
3-speed/PTO gearbox. To shift this gearbox the driver must leave the cab and unlock two
shifters and then shift a long lever and relock the shifter. The vehicle has the option of
24 forward speeds depending on driving terrain. This 3rd gear box ratios from
drive shaft speed to the shaft into the rear end is:
1st position 2:1 ratio
2nd position 1:1 ratio
3rd position 1:1.25 ratio (overdrive)
(Plus, the rear end has another reduction that
we have not sorted out yet.) |
Work
Group |
The following people are the core
"hands-on" work group meeting most every week at Don’s to accomplish what
we described above. Jim Baker, Bruce Beimers, Del Carpenter, Connie
DeJong, Ed DeVries, Bud Dinger, John Homeniuk, Wayne Jackson, Don Mayton, Jeffrey Miller,
Dick Modzeleski, Wes Myrick and Jerry Sigler. Carol Mayton, Sue Carpenter, Dee Beimers,
and Lois Jackson have provided much-needed food for the group. Our thanks to all of
them on the project. |
Other
Volunteers |
We don’t want to forget the volunteers
who are working remotely. We already mentioned Stu Allen in mid-Michigan and the
presentation he has developed. Dean Tryon in North Carolina not only does the
Futurliner News but he spent a few days here in August and removed the carburetor,
distributor and governor and took them back to the "south" for restoration.
While he was here we drove over to Grand Rapids to visit Northwestern Parts;
"THE" parts store in Western Michigan for old cars. Not only did we find a
rebuild kit for the carburetor and distributor but also a rebuild kit for the vacuum
operated governor. Phil Mayton in Ohio gets all the publishing, postage, and
mailing of our newsletter done at his expense. We have even had some Buick Club of
America members in California drive a considerable distance to look over the
Futurliner to see what it will take to get the engine and transmission out. Charlie
Glick in Southern Illinois is working on another project for us at present. |
| Paraders |
Don has received considerable information
about past participants in the Parade of Progress. They have been helpful with photos,
historical information and technical assistance for example:
- Louanne and Dick Kay
supplied an excellent set of 35mm slides that Dick took during
the Parade of Progress. We want to thank Louanne for taking the time to dig these out, as
they are excellent. Every time we hear from a former Parader we learn something.
- Douglas Dean
and his wife took the time to drive from Lansing, Michigan and spent 5
hours in Zeeland going over the project, showing his slides taken during the Parade of
Progress. Douglas also had some of his slides converted into photos. In addition he
converted his better slides into a video presentation. Don was so impressed by his work he
asked if Douglas could take the slides that Louanne sent us and do a similar video. He did
and the results are great.
- Ed Harben
sent us some published materials about the Parade of Progress. The logo on
this issue of the Futurliner News is from one of those publications. The other materials
he sent contained information we had not known about before.
- Richard Phillippi
supplied a video of the Parade of Progress.
- Victor Garske
donated a video to NATMUS showing the General Motors Caravan of
Progress, a newsreel announcement of the 1953 Parade of Progress, the actual Parade of
Progress, and Our American Crossroads.
- Jack Burke’s
four-page letter was full of the actual activities during the
Parade. His letter was filled with stories of the activities, technical items and just a
lot of good humor. In a future issue we will be reviewing some of these stories.
- Renald Goyette
sent us slides and six pages of details in a letter. He not only
remembered the human interest stories, the funny ones but also the technical details that
fills in a lot of the questions that we keep asking.
- Frank Faraone
supplied us with an excellent set of 8X11 photos of the Futurliners as
well as the Parade of Progress. Everything that gets sent is cataloged by Don. In addition
if it needs to be copied and sent back we do that. Converting slides to video that takes a
long time, please be patient.
Please excuse us if we have missed anyone. You Paraders are doing an excellent job.
Keep it up! Don has been receiving many e-mail and letters with interesting information
and history from this group. |
Financial
Status |
The purchase of the parts in Canada cost
$10,760 and has seriously depleted the funds available. As you recall these funds are
being handled totally by the NATMUS in Auburn, Indiana as are all donations received. The
project committee submits requests for use of these funds and is reimbursed accordingly. If
you or anyone you know would like to be a financial supporter, please have them contact
NATMUS or any of us. Their address is 1000 Gordon M Buehrig Place, PO Box 686, Auburn, IN
46706-0686. |
| Advisors |
We want to recognize the key advisors to the
project also. These include John Martin Smith (President of NATMUS), Arv Mueller
(Group Vice President, GM Powertrain), Joe Spielman (Vice President, GM Metal Fab
Div.) and Bob Lintz, (Retired Plant Manager, GM Metal Fab in Parma Ohio). |
Other
FUTURLINER
Status &
History |
Would you believe that of these 12 vehicles
built in 1939-1940, 9 have been located to date! That is a 75% survival rate.
However we know one is beyond restoration so is being used to restore another Futurliner.
Another fact is that there is considerable activity to save the remaining Futurliners. Our
first newsletter listed the then known eight Futurliners that we knew about. The following
is an update on their status in the same order as our first newsletter:
- (#1) Bob Valdez’s Futurliner that has been converted by him to a motor home has
appeared in a lot of publications. He did most of the restoration by himself according to
the published literature. That took a lot of patience, perseverance and dedication. Hats
off to Bob.
- (#2) Don is working closely with the Peter Pan Bus Co. of Springfield Mass as they
restore their Futurliner. We keep in contact to help each other in the restoration
process. Don visited their shop in September of this year. Their restoration will not be
to original condition but will be modernized and used as a display vehicle for the Peter
Pan Bus Company.
- (#5) The Canadian Futurliner is owned by Richard and Mario Petit and is being used by
FIDO to sell cell phones. We have been able to buy their spare parts and also have gotten
excellent technical information from them. They have donated to us their 3rd
gearbox, which they did not use in their restoration. Currently their Futurliner is
getting excellent press from the Canadians. The 1959 Michigan State Police Annual Report
has a photo and story about one of the Futurliners that was used by the Michigan State
Police as a "Safetyliner" display. It had been given to them by General Motors
and the 2 displays included demonstrations of traffic safety and activities of the State
Police Dept. When they were finished with it, it was driven to a junkyard in Spring Lake,
Michigan. Next it went to Chicago, Illinois under its own power. The group in Canada
ultimately restored this vehicle.
- (#7) In 1956 one of the Futurliners was rear ended by another Futurliner when the 2nd
Futurliner lost its brakes on a mountain road (as told to us by one of our Paraders). This
accident so damaged the Futurliner that GM chose not to repair it and it was taken out of
service. In 1959 when GM gave a Futurliner to the State Police (see #5 above), GM also
gave the Michigan State Police the damaged Futurliner as a source for spare parts. GM even
loaded up the inside with spare parts. After the State Police retired their good
Futurliner, this Futurliner was towed to the same junkyard in Spring Lake, Michigan. Later
it was towed to Chicago. The next place we find it is in a junkyard in Yuma, Arizona. Just
this past summer it was purchased and moved to Brad Boyajian’s place in California and
still contains some of those spare parts.
- (#8) This Futurliner was last in a warehouse in Indiana as of the last Newsletter. This
Futurliner is still in its original colors and some of the original cast aluminum letters
are still on it. In fact Charlie Glick used this Futurliner to make the patterns to make
the aluminum letters that we now have. Brad Boyajian has purchased it and moved it to his
place in California. Brad plans to restore it and update it. Both #7 and #8 are with
Brad’s restorer Bill Putman in California.
- (#9) With the help of Keith Silicox from Canada another Futurliner has been located in
New Hampshire (Kendrick Robbins) and has the original GMC 302 OHV 6 cyl engine, some of
the original paint, a top light bar that still works and is badly rusted like the rest.
This vehicle has "Square D" on a plastic lens suggesting that they once used it
as a display. He also plans to restore and modernize it.
- We now know that 6 of the 12 vehicles had large generators in the rear supplying lights
and power for two vehicles. Ours is one with the big generator.
- Check out the Dec. 1999 issue of "Special Interest Autos" published by
Hemmings Motor News. On page 10 there is an article on the Futurliners with 3 photos. The
top right photo is our vehicle several years ago when it was parked behind NATMUS in
Auburn and before this project was started.
Any comments or suggestions you would like to see in the newsletter can be forwarded to
the editor below. We welcome your thoughts . The objective is to publish this quarterly
this year to everyone involved or interested. This newsletter goes out to nearly 800
people who have expressed interest (or hopefully will in the near future). The response
has been rewarding. |
