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Engine Blueprints from 1920


ersatzS2

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I live local to Trenton, and have always wondered how much Mercer ephemera is lurking in the garages and basements of Mercer county. Today a neighbor produced a set of 14 blueprints: 8 as a set describing the upper crankcase housing, and 4 of the transmission case. (2 were duplicate pages) Lots of great annotation in red crayon, both modifying some measurements, and also warning the "castings are coming undersize"

Amazingly, this is the exact part I would most like to reproduce for my car, which is developing spider cracks in the AL casting where it mounts to the chassis. Maybe these will help!

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Edited by ersatzS2 (see edit history)
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Mercer 4 cylinder engines were newly cast a few years ago, but I do not know who had them done. They are sitting on a shelf somewhere.

That is half-true, sadly: a longterm Mercer guy went through astonishing time and expense to produce a run of cast iron cylinder blocks which was a huge service to the Mercer community (and returned his Raceabout to service prior to selling at Gooding circa '09) but unfortunately it was only the iron block, not the crankcase. The aluminum crankcase is a complicated casting, so much so that even the 3-D printers and CNC shops I've spoken with aren't tempted. Having the blueprints is a baby step closer...

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Sounds like you are well on your way with the discovery of the blueprints. I am in a similar situation with a Teetor Hartley for my 1912 Staver. Unfortunately I have neither blueprints or an original crankcase. You need a skilled pattern maker. A CNC shop while talented in what they do probably has little or no experence in patterns for complicated castings. They usually machine from billet , or machine a finished casting. Good pattern makers are a dying breed but a few are still out there. You are probably looking for someone who has retired from the trade, but has a shop at home and the energy/ interest to take on such a challenging job. Quite a few engines now have reproduction crankcases available, it just takes time , money and the person with the skill. Try the Horseless Carriage club forum. There are probably more people with experence with problems of this sort. Brittle fatigued crankcases are pretty common on early teens cars, and lots of them have been made to run again with new castings. Someone will be able to put you in touch with the right person. There are a fair number of surviving L head Mercers. If your crankcase has cracked there are probably others. You may want to get together with two or three other owners to spread the cost . I would think I had died and gone to heaven if blueprints turned up for my Teetor crankcase.

Greg in Canada

Edited by 1912Staver (see edit history)
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Hi guys - Just a thought on the crankcase ideas: Steve Littin at Vintage and Auto Rebuilds Inc. , in Ohio, (http://www.ghostparts.com/ ),

has recently started casting crankcases for Silver Ghosts. Maybe he can steer you to who is doing the castings, my new one just completed a several thousand mile tour of New Zealand/Tasmania/Australia without issues.

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Mercer crankcases are quite readily weldable, because mine had a number of cracks repaired forty years ago. You need to make sure that it is welded with the block bolted down, so it remains straight. It is probably a good idea to stress- relieve it with a gas torch, too.

If you need to make a new cylinder block for an antique car, it can be an easier job if you can avoid the complex coring work. A friend has a 6 cylinder French Cottin et Desgouttes, which had been the family car when he was young. He made his own pattern with the water jackets open. The block was cast in steel, so he was able to cut, and shape, and weld on the outside of the water jackets. It worked very well.

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