Ejectors and Two Barrel Sets
 

Larry; Babe and Lawrence showed me the ejector drilling jig. They also told me they had worked on a 5 digit s/n gun that was drilled with the manufacturing jig, not the retrofit jig.

George; I once had four two barrel sets; grades 1,2,3,4. I am not sure what you consider as "lettering". Two were ordered as two barrel sets, and two had second barrel sets fitted a short time after delivery. One is a one gauge, two steel match weight set; one is a one steel two gauge match weight set, one a two gauge, two steel upland and waterfowl set, and the newest a one steel, one gauge upland and waterfowl set.

Best, Austin

Walley, nice find on this interesting gun. He could have spent another $50.00 and had two guns. Guns ordered as two barrel sets are on the rare side.

Mark

Some "Southern Wisdom" not for Byrning after reading
 

James Byrnes was indeed a Gentleman of the great Palmetto State, and refused endorsement by the KKK- this was back in the era of the "Yellow Dog Democrats"--and when tacit endorsement by the "Three Circles Interlocked"- from Kuklos, the Greek word for circle- insured re-election. I didn't know he was a guest at Hobcaw Barony- as was the late Tar Heel Stater Robert C. Ruark, who also shot "buuurds" with Mr. Baruch--

In Ruark's story about that, he mentions Baruch shooting a well worn but fine grade 16 bore double- George, do you have any idea what make a grade double might have been Baruch's pet quail gun??

Just as FDR's Veep- James N. Garner once said, when asked what it was like to be a V-P, and gave a straight-forward reply alluding to a bucket full of lukewarm spit, a reporter once asked Harry Truman for some advice, and Harry said "Never kick a fresh dog turd on a hot summer's day"-- Our Country needs straight talking politicos and elected officials instead of a "Disney on the Potomac Chiefed by the Double-Tongued"!:cuss::cuss::eek:

Francis: My favorite quotation from the man my dad called "Jimmy", James F. Byrnes, is:
"Too many people these days are concerned with SECURITY instead of OPPORTUNITY. It seems folks are woried more about LIVING than the are of DYING". I don't know what the gun was that he hunted with, but I know that he Bird Hunted (bob white quail) with Havilah Babcock and ducks & marsh hens with Bernard Baruch. If I had to guess I would say that it was either a Parker or a Fox.

The Parker automatic ejector is a needlessly complicated system with way too many parts that need to be in precise adjustment to funcion properly. (No wonder it added over 25% to the price of a new gun!). If you want to see a really ingenious and simple, also utterly reliable auto ejector design, examine the drawings of the Holland & Holland and Boss ejector systems. The H&H system is rediculously simple with very few moving parts, and the Boss system is a masterpiece of gun engineering, inclluding a mid-position detent that elevates unfired cartridges way out of the gun for easy removal if desired. The H&H system is to the Parker system what Elmer Miller's single trigger design is to the first generation Parker single trigger design. Owning and trying to shoot a Parker with a bad ejector train (or a malfunctioning single trigger) is like owning and trying to drive a bad-running vintage Jaguar - the worst is yet to come.

I like the analogy.My buddy just inherited a 54 Jag.

I owned a 54 jag XK120M Fixed Head Coupe back in the 50's and the need for a good Jag mechanic was always in my mind. However there were good Jag mechanics and they kept mine running very well. There are good Parker mechanics who can keep an ejector running well, in spite of Kevin's skepticism. David

A hunting friend built a 1954 XK120 for his son who was approaching driving age several years ago. He had obtained it from an old gal who had installed real leopard skin seat covers and a few other sacrilegious modifications. My friend tossed the Jag engine and installed a hot 289 Ford engine and transmission. I have no idea where that car is today, but I bet it is still running.

Austin: I see your point. There are two types of two barrel sets. Those originally ordered with the second barrel and those sent back to Parker for an additional set. Both types are mentioned in Mark Conrad's letters. I have a couple of each kind.

I had an XJ12 and always thought I need another one. One to drive while the other was in the shop. Bill, a friend of mine did the same with his XK 120 but with an engine out of a wrecked corvette (his uncle owned the junkyard) That one was a real bomb. Nothing around here could come close to touching it.

Best Regards, George

They were cars with there own strengths and faults. One large fault shared with many other sports cars of the era was that they were front end heavy. A lighter weight engine would be a boon. David

Actually George there is alway's the third option...Barrels added by a gunsmith along the way. Not really a two barrel set just a gun with an extra set of barrels.

A Jag with a Corvette motor...that sounds like fun...here we go again..:rolleyes:

Donald Healey ,tried to correct the problem with aluminum surrounds ,but the front was still " barrel heavy " !

Hmmmm...Jag with a Corvette motor....ever hear of a Lister Corvette? They used to race them near here at the Marlboro Motor Speedway in the late 1950s-early '60s. Once a month beginning in April the NSCCA would have qualifying races for mostly (then) amatuer drivers who could race anything they could keep on the track. Roger Penske would drive down from Media PA with a snappy little Porsche 550 on a trailer, and another guy from Bala Cynwyd PA would drive down a Ferrari California, change the rear end in the pits, race it all weekend, and change out the rear for the trip home on Sunday evening. A local dentist, Dick Thompson, was a Corvette fanatic and showed up one weekend with a Lister Corvette - sort of a cross between an Allard and an AC Bristol body with beefed up suspension and a massive 427 Corvette engine. Guys like Penske and the Ferrari driver would always beat Thompson into the corners, cutting inside him at the last minute and diving into the turns to overtake him. When they came out of the corners, nothing could stay with that Lister Corvette - the acceleration was something you had to see to believe. Best times were the late Fall semi-final races - nothing like coming home to homework on Sunday evening reeking of Castrol and burnt rubber! Those were the days - Now its Hoppes No.9 and burnt 700X - not a bad trade!

PS - The guy at the head of the block just put his 1954 Corvette roadster out in the front yard with a big "4 Sale" sign on it. Completely restored to new. Asking $68K for it -hell, you can't even buy a AAHE 28 ga. for that kind of money!! (Well, maybe a nice Del Grego restoration.....).

Thanks Kevin. A 54 Corvette! That would have the "Blue Flame 6 cylinder in it. With three carbs and I think a three speed trans.They didn,t come out with the 265 V-8 until 55. What a great car..very sexy

Dave, you are proving how young you are. We fifties types know that a '54 Corvette was only available with a two speed Powerglide. I understand that the Powerglide platform is used for some serious racing, but I have no idea how they do it.

Wow, Your kidding right? You couldn,t get a standard trans in a 54 Corvette? I learned something new today thanks Bill..:)


Ok, Now I got it.I just googled the 54 Corvette. The 3 speed wasn,t available until late in 55 coupled to that monster 265..

The slip and slide Power Glide.

Bob, Thats how I think of,em too. But they are using some awesome version now in drag racing...:shock:

The biggest problem with the Jags of the 70's & 80's was the Lucas electronics. Once Ford bought the company the car was a lot more dependable although it lost a lot of it's styling IMO. Are the works at Coventry still in use?

Front end heavy? You don't know from front end heavy until you competed (as I did) in hill climbs against a guy who had put a 389 Pontiac into an Austin Healy. Radiator was mounted out front on the bumper brackets. What an abomination

Lucas - HA!! As I recall, that's why the British enjoy warm beer.... they all own Lucas refrigerators :biglaugh:

One of the only two cars I ever lost to with my GTO in my street racing days was a Chevy-Healy, a 327 'vette engine with the original Rochester fuel-injection setup. I don't know what he had for gears but as my 389 with trips was giving it all it had his taillights just kept getting closer and closer together....

Didn't the Afrons Brothers put something like a Rolls Royce aircraft engine in a tiny little car? I subscribed to "Hot Rod" mag back in the 50's. I wish that I still had them.