1907 Cartercar - Fountainhead Museum - Fairbanks Alaska

Driving our 1907 Cartercar Model A Touring with Friction Drive trans.
For more antics from Wedgewood Resort - visit our TH-cam Channel
/ fountainheadmuseum

[@matthewpaulargall9102]

Nice looking car.

[@Modeltnick]

They called it the “Car of a Thousand Speeds”! The liner on the drive wheel was either leather or rubber a d often had flat spots worn on it that would cause problems.

[@mommair]

we just dug out one of these cars... finding parts. the spindle makes alot of sense!

[@jsails93]

Just like on a metz...
I would love to visit your museum sometime, too bad it's all the way in Alaska

[@shopdog831]

Paper pulleys where commonly used in saw mill carriages the mechanism is almost exactly like a saw mill demonstrated by Keith Rucker

[@FireDropTechnologies]

Winston Made a friction drive as well,
But theirs used double contact disks.

[@alexfox3394]

I can't imagine that it would do too well on a hill more than 5 degrees.

[@TheFred1952]

nice car what did they use for friction material just metal on metal or some other type

[@2packs4sure]

Just like my old Snapper lawn mower.

[@Raekken1]

The tranmission.

[@2packs4sure]

Yes

[@lamentest]

Hi, any drawings from this car. I wanted to make 3D model. but cant find anything on the internet. Im mainly interested about the frame details and stuff what is between the wheels. Everything is for help. THX

[@junkdeal]

I just posted a long message below on the theory of how many ways you could accelerate this car, but I am looking for an answer from someone who might know! I heard that the early engines, especially, I guess, some that had a system of fuel delivery more primitive than a carburetor, had a narrow range of RPMs from idle to full tilt, limited I guess from engineering difficulties at the time. what I heard was the friction drive was the best option for these engines, that normal gearing wouldn't have worked as well. Is this true in any way?

[@dondesnoo1771]

Early sears had friction drive 1908 or so wheel material disentegrated easily was 2cyl.opposed

[@junkdeal]

No one ever seems to explain how many variations of throttle combinations with points on the flywheel to achieve economy, high-speed power acceleration, or hill climbing to give 3 possible scenarios. A steam locomotive has a similar variable method of "notching" and throttle position. But the best example of what I am trying to say is to consider the modern Bobcat loader with the hydrostatic drive. I can't believe no-one I know seems to understand the principle of fuel savings and making the engine last in these! They just rev it to the max for all the work they do. At max with levers full forward, you can fly! But if going half that speed driving around, what is the sense of screaming the engine and then half-positioning the levers? Instead of one-half engine speed and full forward on the levers? You don't need the full horsepower delivery capability of a screaming engine only to waste it in the powertrain! If you're digging hard, then full throttle and easy on the sticks might be needed to gain the power in the dig.The whole thing I guess I'm trying to say that an understanding of what engines and powertrains can do helps in operating machines like this car. That is why the big trucking companies teach "progressive shifting". The understanding of what horsepower is needed at different increasing speed points, so the drivers don't over-rev the engine when they don't need the power, and shift up as needed, to match delivered horsepower to the wheel at low speeds!Now imagine all the different tricks you can do with that car in the video above, depending on whether you're going to the feed store or robbing a bank for instance!