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#287707 Tue Nov 29 2011 08:37 AM
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Anyone know anything about a Weaver Brake Tester.It looks like a miniature gas pump(approx. 6 feet) with glass tubes in the cylinder(although it is actually four thick panes of glass). Came out of an old service station. Dave

weaver brake tester.jpg weaver side007.jpg

Dave Jones
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Catauladave #287715 Tue Nov 29 2011 09:15 AM
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Dave--I don't know anything about it but it sure is a cool looking item! Looks like it should be a coin-op item! LOL Would look good in any display as condition looks really good!
Gotta LOVE that art deco top!

Last edited by K W FRITH; Tue Nov 29 2011 09:15 AM.

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K W FRITH #287717 Tue Nov 29 2011 09:23 AM
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Yep. I have a 1935 model w/ a round cylinder & Alignment Dial [for lack of a better word I can't think of].
Each Tube inside was attached to a flat plate on floor. As car was driven on & mech. stomped the brake [hopefully each wheel was on a plate], ea. tube inside would register the Foot Pounds.

Dick Bennett #287718 Tue Nov 29 2011 09:31 AM
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Here is some info I found on the 'net and a photo of the tester in action;

This brake testing machine was developed in the late 1920s, and was designed to test the braking of motorcars that came into a garage for servicing. The illustration shows a two door car (with distinctive windscreen arrangement), parked on a set of ramps alongside the robot-like brake testing machine alongside, dwarfing the mechanic chap stood at the controls.




The Weaver brake tester was intended not just for use by the garage staff, but also by passing motorists who wanted to do their own brake check. A garage would offer this service in the hope that a motorist doing the test, and who received a poor brake rating, would summon the attentions of the nearest mechanic, and arrange for the brakes to be adjusted at the same facility. The system was also illuminated, so could also be used by the public even after the garage had closed for the day. The system was designed to test the braking efficiency at all four corners simultaneously, simply by driving the car onto four movable plates at steady speed then jumping on the brake pedal. The machine would then report to the driver on his car's braking status, via four glass gauges at the top of the 'tower'. Each gauge contained a coloured liquid, giving an instant reading.
I've never heard of these testers before, do any survive I wonder? I doubt any are in use, but it'd be nice to find one perhaps in a museum, or in the dusty stores out the back of an established garage somewhere! No mention is made of the price, so perhaps only the slickest of service bays would stump up the required £ to buy this ingenious piece of equipment. Cheaper options would come on to the market, allowing driver's to test their own brakes - the in-car Tapley Brake Efficiency Indicator being a classic example.


PS: The Castle Equipment Company still makes the Weaver Brake Tester....

Last edited by Bob Richards; Tue Nov 29 2011 09:35 AM.

Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
Bob Richards #287723 Tue Nov 29 2011 09:46 AM
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Years ago I was high bidder on ebay Twice, But seller refused to call UPS for pickup shipping!

Weaver_001.JPG Weaver_002.JPG
Last edited by Dick Bennett; Tue Nov 29 2011 09:54 AM.
Dick Bennett #287739 Tue Nov 29 2011 10:53 AM
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Weaver made these for years, I have a number ads for them.

Incidentally Bob Richards, that is not a windscreen, the windshield folded out from the bottom on many of the cars in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly expensive cars.

Jack Sim


Author, 1st & 2nd editions of Gas Pump ID book, 3rd edition is now available at www.gaspumpbible.com
Air Meter ID book also available
Jack Sim #287742 Tue Nov 29 2011 11:07 AM
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Jack; The text and photo are copied from a British website. And in Great Britain what we call a windshield is called a windscreen.....

The owner's manual for all my Triumphs, (have had 4... 1- TR-3, 1- TR-4, 1- TR-4 IRS and the best one a TR-250, the styling of a TR-4, but a 6 banger instead of a 4 under the bonnet) they are called windscreens......


Looking for Tide Water/ Tide Water-Associated/ Tidewater items
Bob Richards #287745 Tue Nov 29 2011 11:14 AM
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I drove a Cheap '28 Ford [Model A 4dr Deluxe] to school & it had a flip out windshield, AC !

K W FRITH #287753 Tue Nov 29 2011 12:01 PM
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I appreciate the comment. The top is the only piece that is cast iron! LOL


Dave Jones
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Bob Richards #287755 Tue Nov 29 2011 12:03 PM
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I appreciate all the time you gentlemen spent. It is a strange piece for sure.


Dave Jones
It's All Just Stuff
Dick Bennett #287756 Tue Nov 29 2011 12:06 PM
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So what happened to the brake tester? Dave


Dave Jones
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Catauladave #287762 Tue Nov 29 2011 01:06 PM
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I still have mine, bought it at IG maybe 12-15yrs ago.

Last edited by Dick Bennett; Tue Nov 29 2011 01:07 PM.
Dick Bennett #287764 Tue Nov 29 2011 01:16 PM
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So the one pictured is yours? Looks too cool.
Dave


Dave Jones
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Catauladave #287892 Tue Nov 29 2011 09:43 PM
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Awesome piece. I found one of these last summer here in Iowa but it was already sold to a collector in California. He had a Weaver can to go with the pump. I really like the glass tubes in the middle but couldn't understand why they were glass.

racecop #287903 Tue Nov 29 2011 10:53 PM
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I HAVE ONE OF THESE EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE PICTURED, EXCEPT NO GLASS PANELS{MISSING} BEEN WANTING TO PUT IT TOGETHER, BUT HAVENT MADE THE TIME, I WOULDNT MIND LETTING IT GO FOR THE RIGHT PRICE, ANY INTEREST??


keith a. johnson
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