http://www.oldcarsweekly.com September5, 2019 ❘ 15Q.
I bought a pair of these head-
light assemblies at an auction.
I’m unable to identify them. Any help
would be appreciated.
— George S. McGuire, via e-mailA.
It’s clear from the backside
photo that you’ve got a sealed-
beam conversion kit. These became
popularafter7-inchsealedbeamswereadopted by most manufacturers for the
1940 model year. (Contrary to collec-
tive wisdom, they were not mandatory
— a few makers, notably Graham and
Bantam, held out). From the rounded-
off-square shape of these I believe
they’re for a 1939 Plymouth. The little
lens at the top is for the parking lamp,
which was embedded in the refl ector on
the bulb-type 1939 lamps.
The sealed beams not only gave a
better lighting pattern, they also simpli-
fi ed the supply chain, since (nearly) all
cars used a single standardized part.
It spelled the end of an era, though,
the last vestiges of individual art deco
designs. Many of the 1938-’39 lenses
remain iconic art works today (until
you need to replace a broken one).Q.
In a book set in the early 1900s,
naphtha was noted being
produced by Standard Oil and stored
in huge tanks. Is naphtha the same
as white gas? Back when I was just
beginning to notice mechanical things
in the late 1940s, we had a lawnmower
that ran on white gas. When my father
purchased a new mower, it ran on
regular gas and thus a separate can was
kept for each mower. The white gas
was purchased at the gas station, but
I don’t remember if it was available
from one of the island pumps or from
another source at the station. I suspect
the white gas was used for engines with
a low (less then 6:1) compression ratio
and before the makers added lead to the
fuel. An internet search was inconclu-
sive.
— Chuck Klein, Georgetown, Ohio.
https://chuckklein.comA.
I have always understood “white
gas”tobegasolinethatwasunleaded and colorless. Yes, in the
1940s and ’50s many people used it in
lawnmowers, and it was a must in camp
stoves and the like where lead would
clog up the jets over time. I remember
those days, but like you I don’t recall if
you could buy white gas at the pump —
it was phasing out by the time I grew
to lawn-mowing age. In the back of my
mind is the idea that it was preferred
for outboard motors. Later, in the
1960s, Amoco stations sold an un-
leaded premium at the pump that would
serve the same purpose, but was more
expensive because of the higher octane.
As for the name “white gas,” the
frequently useful Wikipedia gives three
defi nitions: “a generic term for camp
stove and lantern fuel, its most popular
current usage; pure gasoline (without
additives), commonly used when leaded
gasoline was the norm to prevent foul-
ing in situations where the properties of
the lead additive were not required; and
un-dyed gasoline.”
Naphtha, on the other hand, is
described as “a fl ammable liquid
hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labeled
naphtha have been produced from
natural gas condensates, petroleum
distillates, and the distillation of coal
tar and peat. In different industries and
regions naphtha may also be crude oil
or refi ned products such as kerosene.
Mineral spirits, also historically known
as ‘naphtha,’ are not the same chemi-
cal.” Does that clear things up, or have I
just muddied them?Q&A WITH KIT FOSTER
To submit questions to this column: E-mail
[email protected] or mail to: Q&A, Old Cars,
5225 Joerns Drive, Suite 2, Stevens Point, WI 54481.SINCE
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