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San Francisco circa 1919. "Velie roadster at Golden Gate Park." Latest entrant in the Shorpy Concours of Kaput Konveyances. 5x7 glass negative. View full size.
My '27 Chevy has two wheel only brakes. They're external contracting mechanical-style which means that the linings are on the outside of the rear drums. Stopping distance is already long in the dry so you DON'T want to be caught in the rain or run through standing water with these. The parking brake (on the inside of the rear drums) works better in the rain.
Yet another fancy car with no front brakes, hope the rear are enough. Even the family's '36 Ford had front brakes -- and Ford hadn't adopted hydraulic brakes until a number of years after '36.
Velie automobiles were made in my hometown, Moline, Illinois, which is more famous for being the the birthplace of John Deere's first plow factory. Velie was a maternal grandson of John Deere. The Velie was produced from 1908 to 1928. The company made trucks and airplanes, too. There are only about 200 cars still existing. I lived only a few blocks from Velie Park, which had a wonderful hill for winter sledding, as well as trees for climbing.
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