Dave Young

The Batsto Country Living Fair was today in Southern New Jersey and we took our 1928 Chandler because it was a little too chilly for my wife to ride in the Model T. The crowds loved hearing that big straight 8 sit there and idle as smooth as velvet. Great show with steam engines, tractors, make and breaks, and lots of other neat old stuff.

And yet she runs beautifully! When that vacuum tank came back from the rebuilder, the nice black paint on it looked way of place. I couldn't stand it, just the way some guys need to see all of the screw head heads aligned. The paint came off.

Funny!

Thanks. I'll take a look, this car has 3 more doors and my other Chandler is just as bad.

I finally got around to making a camo cover for the air filter on my '28 Chandler. A Folgers coffee can, some steel wool dipped in acetone and a shot of clear. Done.

The task is done. A Model T fan belt, a Speedy Stitcher and a hunk of scrap copper. Should be good for another 40 years!

I didn't alter the design at all, leaving the compression the same. The car is basically "over powered" as it is, given the gearing. I only run it 45 mph and she'll pull along in high from anywhere around 10 mph on up.

I just happen to have the Steele catalog. Thanks, I'll take a look.

Thank you for the contacts. I'll give them both a try. I'm making one up right now from an older Model T fan Belt, cloth type, that is stiff enough to slide into the socket, but plyable enough to stitch a T-bar onto. 29Franklin: I wound up having Ross Pistons make me a full set of 8 for my '29 Chandler. The one you saw at Batsto runs all the time and is what I'm working on tonight... besides the 3 model T's and the 29 A. Is that your Franklin sitting over in EHT?

I'm in the process of making the doors work better on my '28 Chandler. The door stops are a heavy rubberized strap with a spring steel core and have become a hazard to my wife's legs as she gets in and out on the passenger side, as the steel band core has come out of the webbing. Is anyone reproducing such a thing? I was considering making a nylon web sling stop but it would have to be smashed between the door and the jamb when the door is shut. The way they did it originally was a perfect solution. Here's a picture of it. It's about 9" long.

Wheelmang, we do have a $1M "Drive other Car" endorsement on the company policy to cover the two of us. JC Taylor wasn't willing to meet the requirement of the AC Boardwalk Engineering Office so I missed their deadline to obtain a permit to be in their parade. So, the Grand Marshall of the St. Patty's day parade was pushed along in a Rolling Chair. Whatever. I'm over that. I reached out to Hagerty and they had no problem whatsoever with policy limits of 100/300/50 and I would be able to drive my cars to whatever tier level of coverage I was willing to pay for. The Boardwalk required the 100/300/50 and would not accept the 35/5 that I have a this moment. I'm going to moving all 4 of my cars over to Hagerty this week.

Thanks for all of the advice. My situation is a bit unusual in that over the past year, my wife and I have each now drive company cars full time and no longer have a personal auto policy nor have any modern cars in our names. I have had my antique cars with Taylor for a number years but now have run into this issue. My idea is to put a full policy on one of my cars, but certainly not drive it as daily transportation. Just getting feedback from all of you is helpful.

I realize that I need to speak to my insurer about this, but is it possible to get a full-on personal auto policy on an old car, such as my 1929 Chandler? I would like to drive it whenever I want and to wherever I want without having to be concerned about being covered or not. I currently have 3 vehicles with JC Taylor and came upon an issue with the Atlantic City Boardwalk permit office regarding having my car in a parade there because of inadequate liability limits. Out to dinner, out to yard sales, grocery store or overnight trips are my goal. Driving to a car show is pretty low on the list.

Thank you.

Bob, may I ask what the set of 8 cost you from Arias?

I like how this is getting narrowed down. I have reached out to both Ross and Arias through email, being a Saturday. Does anyone know of any old hoarder who may have this stuff in a box in a shed somewhere?

No one has said anything about the crack on the piston in the photo.

This is all excellent information. Thanks to everyone.

Curti, who is Ross? I think the chances of finding one are about as low as chances can get...

I need one standard piston for a '29 Chandler Royal 8. This is a 3-3/8" cast iron with 3 ring groves. Old stock would be my preference. The hunt is just getting underway as I saw a hairline crack on one of them as I began the reassembly process. I wish I could just look away and run it with the crack.

It looks like you're in for quite a project! Best of luck.

How old are these belts? I have a 29 Royal 85, but NAPA has belts that fit it. Black, of course.

I need a rear main rope seal for my '29 Chandler. Is there a good/better/best with what is available and where should I get this from? I did a quick online search and came up with a product name of Graph Tite. What about NAPA or Tractor Supply? Thanks

The job is going along nicely by poking the piston out the top of the block and installing the rings, then pulling them back into the bore. I tried making up a ring compressor to use inside of the block along with the bottom tapers, but it was just too cramped in there to be practical. Now, I realize that I haven't got the rear main seal on hand. Any tips on rope seals? The ones I have tried to use on my Model T's have been rather annoying.

Your mention of a taper on the bottom of the bore made me go take a look at my block. Indeed, it also has the taper. Do you suspect that the factory pushed the pistons in from the bottom with rings attached by using some sort of ring compressor that would come apart and clear the big end of the rod?