Man uses Google Books to build a 1906 Oldsmobile

May 26, 2011 6:22 AM

Bob Ferry used Google Books to find old magazines that described mechanics, showed pictures and gave descriptions of a 1906 Oldsmobile Model B Runabout so he could build it 100 years later. Lots of pics and "how to" info at the article.
posted by dbooker (10 comments total)

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:47 AM on May 26, 2011 [6 favorites]

An old one for comparison.
posted by Segundus at 6:50 AM on May 26, 2011

The blog posting says he started with plans from a replica car builder and then used the old books and mags to get more detail. That is a big difference from doing it all from the old documents.

But it is really cool.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:10 AM on May 26, 2011

The internet is awesome - not just eBooks, but the fact that it supports forums for horseless carriage enthusiasts.
posted by muddgirl at 7:13 AM on May 26, 2011

"He loaded them up onto his iPad using his Google Books app and got to work."

Cool project & all, but this just screams "make me some kind of poster child for the new technology thingies!" to me.
posted by ShutterBun at 7:17 AM on May 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Neat project, but I was disappointed to find out he used a modern lawn mower drivetrain to power the car. I had hoped he had built a replica 1906 engine from scratch; that would have been hardcore.
posted by TedW at 7:50 AM on May 26, 2011

Apparently he's thinking about building an engine from scratch for his next project. Wow.

Love that 1906 Olds ad from "The Horseless Age" magazine. "The woman's favorite - because it is as safe and easy to manage as the family horse." ! And all the parts ads; reminds me a bit of late 1990s Computer Shopper magazine.
posted by epersonae at 7:59 AM on May 26, 2011

Someone needs to sue him before he does this with something more modern. We can't have just anyone replicating our precious technologies!
posted by blue_beetle at 8:04 AM on May 26, 2011

Wow, I love that Horseless Age magazine. The previous owners of my house had owned it since 1905 and soon after the grandfather of that family had bought it, he'd build a huge garage in the back to run a small bus company out of. I wonder if the buses looked like this one?
posted by octothorpe at 8:28 AM on May 26, 2011

We can snark and shit, but... damn... I would LOVE to tool around in something like that.
posted by symbioid at 11:03 AM on May 26, 2011