SCOOTS!
By noderel:
The war had not been over long, and there still were practically no new cars available from Detroit. I was helping my dad in the body shop at Albany Motors, a Ford dealer in exotic Albany, California, right there across the bay from San Francisco. I had longed for a hot roadster (we called them Gow Jobs), but the quickest way to independence seemed through a motorcycle. Except the Harley’s and Indians were in short supply, too.
Then I saw the answer, right there in a store front window in Berkeley. Yep, just the ticket, a brand spanking new Salsbury motor scooter. Bright red!!
Now, I was no stranger to scooters, I had owned a pre-war Cushman for some time, but it was a dullard in capitals. DULL! And this was a behemouth in the scoot world, even today when I see a restored beauty, I marvel at how large the Salsbury was/is.
The ‘bury was about five foot long, with a streamlined step through body. There was a flat floorboard that included the foot brake and the foot throttle. The six and a half horse engine kick start lever was out the front portion of the main body. Nothing unusual, just in a great package. Later in my ownership, I replaced the foot throttle with a handlebar twist throttle. I especially liked the “automatic” trans, which was a centrifugal variable V-belt gizmo that really worked. I see the same idea being bandied about for modern small cars.
Working in a body shop, I had an almost unlimited supply of unused paint left-overs, in both enamel and lacquer. Naturally, as one does, I painted the scooter every Saturday. That original bright red became every possible color, including one month-long stint in a purple Flock. Yep, trade name of Flock. Intended as a repair of anything Mohair-like. I used it on dashboards, kick-panels, headliners. First I brushed on a thin coat of cement, then using a “spray gun” that looked exactly like a fly spraying pump gun, I would spray a coating of short fiber. The result was a finish that looked and felt like velvet. Kinda. I notice in Hemmings that this product is still available.
Neat enough, until trying to remove the furry covering. It was hell. Finally, the body grinder and a box of 30 grit grinding discs did the job.
One time, up in Idaho, I had a malfunction. The oil pump gear broke into three pieces, and it didn’t look like I would find a replacement. A neighbor, whose daughter I was sweet on, was a regional sales manager for a major welding supply company. He suggested he could weld the gear with Eutectic, which is a kind of lower temp brazing/soldering. Incredibly strong, and when I finally traded the Salsbury for a milk separator McCulloch supercharger, it was going strong as ever. You know what they go for now? In the sixteen grand area. I seem to remember I paid 150(?) new.
Next Salsbury I ever saw was at Bonneville, under the command of a major force in street rodding. He had found it buried in a barn somewhere.
Neat as that particular scoot was, however, I always liked the Mustang semi-motorcycle better. The one with solid wheels. Well, actually I have a hankering for a Powell. Look ‘em up on the net. Then, maybe one of those fold-up paratrooper scooters from War Twice, and in my shop in Idaho I have the end result of a major laydown of a large modern import scooter. Most plastic body parts departed this life, but mechanically I have the basis of my own stylized body ala Salsbury. All for the garbage pit take-home fee of twenty bucks. I do not have, nor want, a Cushman. That original pre-war push-to-maybe-start version cured me of the brand name. Buddy Ron Ceridono, he of Street Rodder magazine infamy, has a Cushman he has been rebuilding for at least 20 years. Probably take him that long again to get the thing started.
Now there is a kind of sub-industry of supplies and information about scooters. Magazines, which include most of the American scoots, while the net is full of sources. Clubs, registers, associations……and any restoration extravaganza seems to have a small area set aside just for scoot fanatics. They do make good projects for restoration, since they are basically hammer and tong simple and don’t consume much room. Well, except for Salsbury’s.