c. 1941 Montgomery Ward SPEEDMASTER Zephyrweight Chest and Socket Wrench Set

Private Lugnutz · May 16, 2019

I walked up on this little chest at the flea market this morning.

As I said on the '2019 Garage Sale' and 'Toolboxes of GJ' threads, I was attracted by the leather handle and the rounded corners. When I opened it, the first thing I noticed was the decal under the lid.

The box was filled with all kinds of stuff, including solder wire, solder paste, and a mess of period sockets, wrenches, and tools (including SK, Husky, Craftsman, etc), E-Z-Outs, etc, including some tortured Plomb end wrenches! (He oldtimer obviously didn’t like anything about these wrenches, not the number of heads, the original angle of the heads, or the length!

)

I immediately started sifting through the mess, pulling out anything that wasn't marked Speedmaster, and I made the seller an offer on the box and tools.

The box has a drop-front panel, a single pull-out drawer, and a lift-out tray on top of that. Here are some shots after I sorted everything out.

Private Lugnutz · May 16, 2019

I can’t find any information or another example of this box/kit in any of the usual places (AA, elsewhere on GJ, etc), and I don’t really know much about it other than what I can derive from the decal ("Speedmaster" was a Montgomery Ward brand name in the 40's and 50's), the tools (the OEM is assuredly, unmistakably Wright Tool & Forge in Barberton, Ohio), and one Snippet-Only view tidbit I got from a Google Books search, indicating that a 33-piece version of a Ward's Speedmaster "Zephyrweight" wrench set was advertised on page 697 of the 1941 Montgomery Ward catalog.

It's a combination kit, 1/2- and 3/8-inch drive, totaling thirty-five (35) pieces. All 35 pieces are marked, simply, "SPEEDMASTER", and "MADE IN U.S.A.", with no model numbers. The handles are chrome. The sockets are chrome or possibly polished steel with a satin finish base.

The 1/2-inch drive handles include a ratchet (with a selector I have never seen before), speeder, 18-inch extension, 12-inch extension, 6-inch extension, a sliding tee, a male-to-female universal joint, and a male-to-female adapter. The 1/2-inch drive sockets range from 1-1/8" to 3/8", with five (5) 8-point sockets (3/4", 5/8", 9/16", 1/2", and 7/16"), a 6-point socket (9/16") also marked "NOT GUARANTEED", and a drag link bit.

The 3/8-inch drive handles include a speeder, a 12-inch extension, a 6-inch extension, and a sliding tee. There're only four (4) 3/8-inch drive sockets, including 3/4", 11/16", 7/16", and 3/8". I suspect it is missing a few others.

Given the various compartments in the lift-out tray, I suspect there are a few other missing pieces. Given the size of the box and the pull-out drawer, there may have been a set of end wrenches in the set as well and perhaps a few other tools.

I didn't even get it home yet. When I clean up the box and tools a little, I will post additional photos, including close-ups.

Outlawmws · May 16, 2019

Cool Find!

So it looks like you may have the complete set or close to it? the ad said 33 piece, (not sure if the box is counted) and you mentioned 35?

Private Lugnutz · May 16, 2019

Thanks, Outlaw! I saw that, and I think this set must be bigger than the set in the catalog. It has to be missing at least a couple 3/8-inch drive sockets. And there is room for a set of end wrenches and other tools in this box. I think this was a master mechanic type set/box. But I am just speculating.

I love everything about this kit, especially the ratchet (an N-60, but with a distinctive sliding button selector), and the name! Not a heavyweight, not a welterweight, and not a featherweight - but a Zephyrweight!

I'll post pics tomorrow. I have a night game.

Oldtuleguy · May 16, 2019

Very nice! Great research as well, love the old wards stuff :thumbup:

r_olson_06 · May 16, 2019

Interesting pick up lugs.

Looking for the following Plomb Pebbles Wrenches 3061, 3070,

Private Lugnutz · May 16, 2019

I didn't clean up the box yet. But I had to clean the tools and take some pics. I only pulled the largest 1/2- and 3/8-inch drive 12-pointers (Pics 3, 4, & 5), all the 8-pointers (Pic 6) and the 6-pointer (Pic 7).

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

And here are some close-ups of the markings on the handles, drag link bit, uni joint, and adapter...

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Last but not least, the ratchet. Again, it is identical to the N-60 except for the selector. I have never seen this big button sliding selector on a Wright N-60 ratchet before, but I could be wrong about that and would defer to a Wright drive tools expert. The finish appears to be cadmium or paper thin dull satin chrome.

twertsy · May 17, 2019

That's an interesting kit Greg. Nice snag!

JoCoSawdust · May 17, 2019

Man what a find. Congrats!

Farmer J. · May 17, 2019

That's a nice find Lugz, and a true piece of collectable 'Americana'. The wonderful choice of name is right up there with 'Buick Roadmaster, powered by a Fireball 8'!

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Thanks, guys.

Todd,

I have an Unlock Request in with the Google Books folks to see if I can get that page of the catalog opened.

Oregon rock crusher · May 17, 2019

That is definitely a very interesting set Lugz. The Zephyrweight label is so well preserved! I have no doubt you will come up with more information on that very unique name. I take it a Zephyr is Dragon heavy? Or is is light like a fairy? I sure don't know. Perfect branding for the collector I think. Ed.

Username already in use · May 17, 2019

Nice find, Lugz! That set is really sharp. I dig it. :thumbup:

I might could help you out on the 3/8" ratchet...

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Private Lugnutz said:
I have never seen this big button sliding selector on a Wright N-60 ratchet before, but I could be wrong about that and would defer to a Wright drive tools expert.

Well, that didn't take long!

I got a PM from mrbill who directed me to a post by 3baygarage on 'the Vintage Wright' thread with an N-42, linked here. The N-52 preceded the N-60 and seems to confirm that the set is probably pre-war. The patent (2,201,705) for that Wright ratchet was applied for in 1938 and granted May 29, 1940.

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Username already in use said:
I might could help you out on the 3/8" ratchet...

Thanks, I appreciate it, but I'm going to be on the lookout for one with the button selector.

RedVise · May 17, 2019

See post #12 for a different version of the Speed Master name and logo.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402796&highlight=speed+master

Brian

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Thanks, Brian. I saw that thread and your set on that thread when I was searching GJ after finding mine. :thumbup:

Nice!

There're actually quite a few Speedermaster sets scattered around GJ. No other pre-war sets though. And no Zephyrweight. I though about tacking onto jmario's thread, also older threads from Odes and NJMarty as well as Don's Powr-Kraft thread, where OTG has posted a few of his later Speedmaster sets given the MW connection. But I thought the uniqueness of this set, box, and name, which I have still been able to find another example of, merited its own thread.

Here are some other GJ Speedmaster links I saved in my research...

OTG on that same thread you posted on...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402796&highlight=speed+master

OTG on Don's Powr-Kraft thread

Plomb-made 1/4...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7151359&postcount=17

OEM? Embossed lid...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7151359&postcount=17

Odes (no box) - OEM?...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=380196&highlight=Speedmaster

NJ Marty (Wright 50's)...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296885&highlight=Speedmaster

1983fxr (Wright 50's)...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395758&highlight=Speedmaster

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

As long as I am at it....here are some MW Speedmaster ads I found when I was doing some research.

Obviously these are all newer than my set, but I believe the box in the second 1947 ad (Pic 2) is probably a later square corner version of the box I found, and I am speculating that the 50-pc 1/2- and 3/8-inch drive combination set referred to in the 1948 ad (Pic 3) may be a later version of the set I found.

And, you guys with later sets may enjoy seeing them if you haven't before.

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

And I just paged through on-line versions of the 1941 and 1944 MW Christmas catalogs. No tools.

Oldtuleguy · May 17, 2019

I think this one is from 30s

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

What does the ratchet look like? EDIT: And what are those other markings on a few of the sockets? Numbers?

Private Lugnutz · May 17, 2019

Had a chance to clean up the box a little. It's got all kinds of "character" marks and splatter and such on the exterior that I am loathe to remove because it really has retained its original finish quite well. The inside bottom, the drawer, and the lift-out tray did not fare as well, as expected, but I will probably just leave those alone, too, because it will be fairly hard to match the exterior and I don't like half-and-half jobs. Dimensions are 19" x 8" x 8". No lock.

joel63 · May 17, 2019

Private Lugnutz said:
As long as I am at it....here are some MW Speedmaster ads I found when I was doing some research.

Obviously these are all newer than my set, but I believe the box in the second 1947 ad (Pic 2) is probably a later square corner version of the box I found, and I am speculating that the 50-pc 1/2- and 3/8-inch drive combination set referred to in the 1948 ad (Pic 3) may be a later version of the set I found.

And, you guys with later sets may enjoy seeing them if you haven't before.

I'll bet one could make almost all the auto repairs needed back then with any

one of those sets.

I follow your posts and see that you have quite a knack for finding those

treasures of the past. :thumbup:

Oldtuleguy · May 17, 2019

Private Lugnutz said:
What does the ratchet look like? EDIT: And what are those other markings on a few of the sockets? Numbers?

I will take a closer look at them tonight

3baygarage · May 17, 2019

Nice find Lugz. That’s a cool kit. Someone posted that Speedmaster ratchet before. Maybe Rileysan if memory serves me correctly? Yes, same as the Wright too.

Oldtuleguy · May 18, 2019

No ratchet, as this is just a nut spinner set. Numbers on sockets are part numbers. Here are a couple more pics.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

Interesting. No part numbers on mine.

Thanks, 3bay. It's not on the Ratchets thread or any of the other threads I linked upthread, unless I missed it. There were a few other treads that return in an Advanced Search that I didn't check yet. I will be on the hunt for the 3/8-inch drive version and a few sockets, as well as a 1/2-inch drive hinge handle.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

Oregon rock crusher said:
I have no doubt you will come up with more information on that very unique name. I take it a Zephyr is Dragon heavy? Or is is light like a fairy? I sure don't know. Perfect branding for the collector I think.

I think that zephyr is perhaps one of those words that we have misused in American popular culture to mean one thing, Ed, when it really means another. Or maybe that was just me!

Because of the famous vintage automobile (Lincoln, 1936-1942) and the famous train (from Oakland/San Francisco to Chicago), I had always thought it was a reference to a stiff or fierce wind, just shy of a hurricane, as an allusion to speed. And maybe its most common use here in America as the name for many small town newspapers (flying off the newsstands?) did nothing to change my mind on that. Apparently, however, it's just the opposite, meaning "gentle breeze"!

Merriam-Webster:
"For centuries, poets have eulogized Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind, and his "swete breeth" (in the words of Geoffrey Chaucer). Zephyrus, the personified west wind, eventually evolved into zephyr, a word for a breeze that is westerly or gentle, or both. Breezy zephyr may have blown into English with the help of William Shakespeare, who used the word in his 1611 play Cymbeline: "Thou divine Nature, thou thyself thou blazon'st / In these two princely boys! They are as gentle / As zephyrs blowing below the violet." Today, zephyr is also the sobriquet of a lightweight fabric and the clothing that is made from it.

I think the shirt-and-tie people in the front office at Monkey Wards may have been going for something in the middle. Light and fast. Easily carried.

The box weighs 15 lbs empty. With the tools, missing a few pieces, 25 lbs.

bmwrd0 · May 18, 2019

I have one of those ratchets, and a nut spinner set like above. I will get some pics up tonight when I get home.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

I finished cleaning the pieces and reloaded the lift-out tray with a little more thought behind it this morning, which was instructive regarding contents.

The compartment on the upper right with the 1/2-inch drive 8-pointers had impressions from the sockets sitting in there that left no doubt that's where the 8-pointers go. And they fit perfectly. The double compartment to the left of that (partially obscured by the handle, sorry...) is obviously where the 1/2-inch drive 12-pointers go. There is room for a few more sockets. I have fourteen (14) sockets, but I am missing a 3/4" service opening for sure, perhaps a 21/32" and 25/32", given the era and the fact that it includes a 31/32". By default and by my experience with other similar sets and boxes, I am guessing that square compartment in between is for the special pieces.

That puts the 3/8-inch drive sockets in the shorter, smaller tray to the bottom right. There are eight (8) socket impressions in that compartment, and I have four (4). I am missing 5/16", 1/2", 9/16" and probably 19/32". And I am guessing that smaller square empty compartment is for a few missing 3/8-inch drive special pieces (i.e., uni joint, adapter, maybe even a smaller drag link bit).

The bigger handles are in the bottom.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

Here's a better, graphical view of what I think I need in terms of 1/2- and 3/8-inch drive sockets...

Also need these:
- 1/2-inch drive hinge handle/flex head
- 3/8-inch drive hinge handle/flex head
- 3/8-inch drive ratchet
- 3/8-inch drive universal joint
- 3/8-inch drive adaptor

Outlawmws · May 18, 2019

Looks like you are gong for it!

bmwrd0 · May 18, 2019

So, here is what I have:

I found the rat at an estate sale a few years ago, and the set came from my dad. I know he didn't buy it new, but this label was at the bottom of the case:

It says: Universal Auto Parts, since 1928 San Luis Obispo, CA 543-7787
To me, it looks 1950's but I could be wrong.
And CatfishDan knows the exact swapmeet my dad purchased it at.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

joel63 said:
I follow your posts and see that you have quite a knack for finding those treasures of the past.

Thank you, Joel. Sorry I missed this the first time around.

If you indulge me a moment of conceit, I do have a good eye, or one that serves me well from time to time. But in all modesty, I chalk it mainly up to location. New Jersey, an old industrial state, is full of old tools, and has good flea markets. And some of it is taste. This was one of six boxes the guy had out on a table. The others were newer. Craftsman Crowntop and the like, one of which was spraybombed yellow, the decal and all. For every guy like me there are 9 guys only looking for shiny Craftsman and Snap-on. So I had this box to myself.

Outlawmws said:
Looks like you are going for it!

HAHA. I am!

bmwrd0 said:
To me, it looks 1950's but I could be wrong.

I concur. but we need some Wright catalogs or more ads to sort all this out. Nice set! And it even has the tommy bar! :thumbup:

Please list the socket sizes. It might help me out.

bmwrd0 · May 18, 2019

Socket sizes are 7/16" - 1" in 16" intervals. No /32"s. All are marked SpeedMaster.

By the way, I bet the 3/8"s in your set didn't include a 19/32. I have a Proto set with that size, but it is not a common one in 3/8"s. Just a thought.

Oldtuleguy · May 18, 2019

Tried a little Google fu, but info is scarce! Love the old wright stuff though. Great tools.

3baygarage · May 18, 2019

It was BMW. :thumbup:

Knew it was one of the GS guys.

Private Lugnutz · May 18, 2019

bmwrd0 said:
I bet the 3/8"s in your set didn't include a 19/32. I have a Proto set with that size, but it is not a common one in 3/8"s. Just a thought.

You are probably right. I did check a number of 1939 catalogs, and New Britain, Bonney, and Duro all made that size, but Williams and Plomb and a few others didn't. I don't know what I was thinking there, anyway, because I am missing three sockets in that gap between 11/16" and 7/16", one of them has to be 1/2", and the other has to be 9/16", which makes the third almost certainly 5/8"!

c. 1941 Montgomery Ward SPEEDMASTER Zephyrweight Chest and Socket Wrench Set

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