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RedeX Oil Additive
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RogerB



Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 177
Location: Suffolk Coastal. U.K.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:24 pm    Post subject: RedeX Oil Additive Reply with quote

I'm researching the pre-WW2 activities of Wayne V Myers Co.Ltd who produced the RedeX oil additive. During this period the Motor;Autocar and Light Car all referred to the product and its effects on the running of cars.
My question to you all is- do you have memories of using the product: were you a member of the 'RedeX tune up' Club; did you take part in the Vauxhall Economy Rally in 1939 and does anyone have any RedeX badges or leaflets from that time.
Reading the above it struck me that if you did complete in the 1939 Rally you will be possibly in your late 80's or early 90's....heigh ho......!
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:59 pm    Post subject: Re: RedeX Oil Additive Reply with quote

RogerB wrote:
if you did complete in the 1939 Rally you will be possibly in your late 80's or early 90's....heigh ho......!

Not late 80s. Minimum 17 years old in 1939 would mean a birth year of 1922, which means at least 93 years old. Very Happy
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roverdriver



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Posts: 1210
Location: 100 miles from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry, I'm not old enough to have taken part in that run, however I did use Redex many years ago. It never seemed to make a lot of difference in a good engine, but did reduce noises in worn ones.

At one time I owned a 1930 Model A Ford that had been rebored to 100 thou oversize, but still had 23 thou clearance in one cylinder. It certainly 'klonked'. Redex did not help, but it did behave better if I added a pint of diesel fuel in each four gallons of petrol. I did about 20,000 miles in that car in that condition then sold it on and the new owner continued to use it for years.
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Dipster



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 408
Location: UK, France and Portugal - unless I am travelling....

PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am too young to remember the old runs but I do remember Redex. We sold it on the forecourt as Redex "shots" from their old conical shaped guns. A good number of customers replied positively to the pump attendant`s request of "Redex shots sir?". One shot per gallon was popped in to the tank before delivery of the petrol. I think it was a penny a shot.

Redex was an extra source of income for the garage but also for less honest pump attendants as accurately checking sales of it against income was virtually impossible. As most sales were still cash at that time it was easy money for them! But the guns were a nuisance on a well run forecourt (as ours was, of course!) as the Redex attracted all manner of muck to accumulate and had to be cleaned regularly.

Did Redex actually work? I always thought if it as automotive snake oil so did not bother.
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RogerB



Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 177
Location: Suffolk Coastal. U.K.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:57 pm    Post subject: RedeX Oil Additive. Reply with quote

Many thanks for your responses; of course, any one taking part in the 1939 Economy Rally would be seriously old by now.....maths was never my strong point....!
However, any post-WW2 memories; observations etc. of using RedeX are most welcomed.
I'm also looking for a pre-war RedeX badge; it has a red cross across the middle and the words 'tune up club' underneath...
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have one of those chrome Redex guns and I filled it with Redex to squirt into the carbs intakes when idling to clean things out and make a lot of smoke#

I was going to put Lead additive in it but never got round to it and no have longer used the stuff for years anyway. Still inject the Redex though on occasion
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RogerB



Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 177
Location: Suffolk Coastal. U.K.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:52 am    Post subject: RedeX Oil Additive Reply with quote

Phil,
Is it possible you could email me a photo of your RedeX 'gun' for my file please?
Thank you
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BigJohn



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Location: Wem, Shropshire

PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This might interest you:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RED-X-Engine-Tester-Vacuum-Compression-Gauge-Boxed-Vintage-Classic-Car-/262560798869?hash=item3d21d7d895:g:U9oAAOSwNuxXZ7TM
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RogerB



Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 177
Location: Suffolk Coastal. U.K.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 7:53 pm    Post subject: RedeX Oil Additive Reply with quote

Big John,
Thank you for drawing my attention to the e-bay item, however a classic car owner in Woodbridge has one of these. He will be surprised at the value of it!
Rogerb
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BigJohn



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Location: Wem, Shropshire

PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Asking price and actual price sometimes have a great distance between them!
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MVPeters



Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 822
Location: Northern MA, USA

PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Redex also marketed a dashboard mounted gauge, connected to a small 'tank' of Redex & the intake manifold.
Press a button on the gauge & one shot of Redex was sucked into the engine. I think the 1 pint tank was supposed to last a year or more.
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Roger - I will photograph it shortly
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roverdriver



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Posts: 1210
Location: 100 miles from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2016 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Roger, in your research, don't forget Australia. Mention Redex over here and (certainly with older people) the first comment will be about the Redex Round Australia Car Trials which took place in 1953, 54 and 55. I remember the excitement created by them and the great coverage by the press and wireless. There was no T.V. here at the time, but plenty of newsreels at picture theatres. Here is a sample-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoQYM7TOnLI
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Ronniej



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 239
Location: Blackwood, by Lanark, Scotland

PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2016 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dipster wrote:
I am too young to remember the old runs but I do remember Redex. We sold it on the forecourt as Redex "shots" from their old conical shaped guns. A good number of customers replied positively to the pump attendant`s request of "Redex shots sir?". One shot per gallon was popped in to the tank before delivery of the petrol. I think it was a penny a shot.

Redex was an extra source of income for the garage but also for less honest pump attendants as accurately checking sales of it against income was virtually impossible. As most sales were still cash at that time it was easy money for them! But the guns were a nuisance on a well run forecourt (as ours was, of course!) as the Redex attracted all manner of muck to accumulate and had to be cleaned regularly.

Did Redex actually work? I always thought if it as automotive snake oil so did not bother.


Dipster's contribution strikes a chord with me as I worked in a filling station in the mid '60s. Redex was sold exactly as described and I suppose it would have been possible to fiddle a few coppers as it was not metered. However if I was going to become a thief I think I would have aimed a bit higher. Even back then I regarded it as snake oil but many customers swore by it. I think they were deluding themselves in the motoring equivalent of the placebo effect.
The site I worked in was a Shell site and in the summer of '66 Shell began a promotion for their Super grade which was quite significantly more expensive than the basic grade. There was a TV campaign with an experienced looking mechanic talking nonsense about the benefits of Super for ALL cars. We pump attendants were expected to promote it by asking every customer"Super Sir?" but I never did as I knew it was pointless for most customers.
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peppiB



Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 686
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2016 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As petrol was 2/5d a gallon in the 60's, I would get 4 shots and 4 gallons coming to exactly £1 so no hanging around for change.

In the event of any misfires, I just used to take the air cleaner off and get a shot into the top of the carb. The forecourt would then disappear in a huge fog.
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