Vintage work crew photos

[EnginePaul]

I was wondering what they are making so I went online to find:
Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Co. - History | VintageMachinery.org
Very interesting; they are the forerunners to Cadillac.

[Jon]

Workers installing boilers at the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Gas Company. Downs, WV. 1925.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...9_fullsize.jpg

[IntheGroove]

They could be removing them...

[Jon]

R.L. Taylor Motor Co. workers. Washington, D.C. 1923.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...2_fullsize.jpg

[IntheGroove]

Gotta love the torque tube...

[mcthistle007]

And What does a Torque Tube actually do? Does the Driveshaft sit inside the Tube? Would Modern Cars benefit from haveing this??

[hemmjo]

And What does a Torque Tube actually do? Does the Driveshaft sit inside the Tube? Would Modern Cars benefit from haveing this??

Not sure where this question came from, but...early vehicles used leaf springs for suspension. On acceleration, the rear axle would try to twist (torque) upward as the pinion tries to climb up the ring gear. The leaf springs had trouble resisting this twist. During braking, the axle would try to twist downward. The drive shaft was inside the ridgid torque tube. The tube was attached securely to the rear axle and the engine/transmission. The tube served as a long lever which transferred the torque forward to prevent the axle from twisting on acceleration or braking. The tube makes servicing the drive train more difficult, they are also not strong enough for heavy duty applications.

Many installed "ladder bars" on 1960's "muscle cars" to prevent the leaf springs from "wrapping" up when drag racing. They are still used today in many applications. Modern cars have totally different suspension systems would not benefit from a torque tube. If you look at heavy trucks, you will see solid bars leading forward from the axle to resist the twisting action.

Last (only) car I had with a torque tube was a '53 Chevy. I bought it for $25.00, because a guy told me the transmission would fit my '60 chevy. It did not run, so we towed it home with a rope, then discovered the transmission would not work. One of my first really stupid ideas. My dad was sure mad when he got home. But I learned from the experience.

[tedg53]

And What does a Torque Tube actually do? Does the Driveshaft sit inside the Tube? Would Modern Cars benefit from haveing this??

Before the mid-engine Corvettes, models with the engine in front and transaxle in the rear used a torque tube to connect the two, and yes the driveshaft ran inside.

[mr mikey]

Torque tubes were not fun when a u-joint needed to be replaced. My first experience when I was about 16 years old was what the?, It was an early American Motors Rambler. You had a choice of pulling the engine-trans or rear axle to access u-joints. The axle was always the best choice. Now you quote the customer $400.00 bucks when on a normal driveshaft a u-joint back in the 60's was $50.00 bucks. Glad I didn't see many of those.

[1960 Starliner]

Yup. I had a 1948 Ford that I switched the flathead out and put an overhead valve Y-block in. Drove it with the column shift for a while, and then decided to put in a floor shift transmission, I think it was out of a Ford truck. I pulled the rear-end to be able to get the job done. It was quite a bit of work.....I'm glad that things progressed mechanically to where it is different now....just drop the driveshaft by loosening the universal joint clamps on the differential. The old way was a pain if you ever needed to replace the clutch.