I have a 31 Franklin that weighs a little over 4,000 Lbs. It has neither power steering nor power brakes. You can keep it going down the road with one hand, but for any serious direction changes, you need both hands. You know, they used to sell necker's knobs for these things. We must have been a country of jolly green giants, before power steering. I have 1 collector car with power brakes, my Imperial--but they don't work. I need to figure out how to adjust them properly. I have actually succeeded in locking all 4 wheels on the Franklin. I have done that with a Model A, too. And had 3 friends who cold open the doors and drag their feet to get the damn thing to slow. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brad Hogg" <roadhogg@xxxxxxx> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 5:58 PM Subject: Re: IML: Powerbrakes.... > Well, I don't know about that. It has to do with steering ratio etc. I've > driven vehicles WAY bigger than any Imperial that had no power steering and > they drove just fine. Sure, you had to put a little more effort into it but > it was totally manageable. Actually, for a couple years, I drove a city bus > that had a power steering gearbox but no power steering. That was a bit > more of a challenge as the ratio was still low but I had no help. It was > easiest in the winter when the temperature was between 0 and -20. If you > had to make a fast corner, you pressed the brakes enough to make the front > wheels slide on the snow and then steering was easy...hold on when you > realease the brakes though cause it then took off in a different direction. > ahhhh the old days! > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <dardal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 2:05 PM > Subject: Re: IML: Powerbrakes.... > > > It depends how much car you drive. Imperials were very large and heavy > cars. > Power brakes and steering were beyond comfort, they were absolutely > necessary. > Without them, the car cannot be driven. In a car of the size of a Toyota or > a > Honda, these accesories can be optional. D^2 > > > > >