Posted 4 years ago
dav2no1
(823 items)
1930s Jadson Valve Ruler
JADSON - J.A. Drake and Sons
Hold 16 Automotive valves.
Material: Wood
Lots of great advertising quotes on the ruler:
" Jadson's valves keep your motor full of power"
"The special fercrome steel will resist the fiercest heat of modern high speed motors and will continue to function perfectly!"
"A product of Jadson motor valve company"
" Jadson's valves stand the gaff"
"The life of your motor depends on your valves"
"That is why they hold more speedway records than all other makers combined"
"They will not warp or burn out under the most intense heat"
GAFF - Take severe criticism or other adversity in stride, as in If you can't stand the gaff, don't try running for office. [ Slang; late 1800s]
In 1937, Thompson Motor Products bought J.A. Drake and Sons (JADSON). The company made high-performance valves that were used in many racing engines of the day, including the Miller Offy (Offenhauser engines). Dale Drake (son of J.A. Drake) bought the Offy engine design with his partner Louis Meyer in 1946 and won the Indianapolis 500 twenty-seven times, more than any other engine design.
Thompson Products and Ramo-Wooldridge merged in October 1958 to form Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.,unofficially known as "TRW".
Offenhauser engines
In 1946 the name and engine designs were sold to Louis Meyer and Dale Drake. Meyer was bought out by Drake, his wife Eve and their son John in 1965. From then until Drake's son John sold the shop to Stewart Van Dyne, the Drake family designed and refined the engine until its final race days. It was under Meyer and Drake that the engine dominated the Indianapolis 500 and midget racing in the United States.
My favorite saying: “This mark protects you”
:-)
Ain't never sen nut'n lik this.
When I first saw it I thought it was for sizing Plumbing valves. I had no idea it was for automobile engines and had so much racing history. It has a lot going on for a wooden ruler.
This can not be from the 1950's since JADSON's Motor products did not exist then.
I laid out the history as best I could. If you have different information, please share.
Dav2n01, Your history is correct. Its just that the yard stick is pre 1937. When the company was sold to Thompson. It's my family :-) The one I have seems very 20's but I am unsure.
I did some extensive research and could not tell when they stopped using the Jadson name. So your saying when they sold to Thompson, they stopped using the Jadson name?
Seems take sense, and even cooler! I will update the post to reflect this new information. Would love to see your stuff...very interesting!
**UPDATED INFO - new information says this is pre 1937 vs 1950 as I thought. Thanks to agno3