1910Hupp

Some more investigation and I've worked it all out! Electrical tests on the switch suggest it should be working ok and after a little lubricant its not sticking any more . But still not cutting the engine off. So I looked at the magneto end and found the the little carbon button that earths the interruptor gear/magneto inside the cap had fallen out hence the mag switch can't ground anything . I found the button inside the cap and have reinstalled it . What I think happened is the button fell out for some reason and interferred with the interruptor mechanism so the car stopped . When I got it home removing the cap to inspect the points (plus the towride home) acted to dislodge the button so the mag would work but not turn off . Should be fine now:)

It's a lovely Sunday afternoon here in New Zealand and I took the opportunity to take the Hup for a drive Was going really well then suddenly it quit on me followed by a backfire then nothing . Ouch :confused: Pulled over to the side of the road and it wouldn't start. Towed home by my wife and went over it in the garage Fuel system all ok , Compression good No holes anywhere or fluid on the floor. Phew ! No spark at the plugs Turned the mag switch off. Took the cap of the mag and checked the points all ok Turned the mag switch on then we had spark We started the car and it ran fine but turning the mag switch off didn't stop it- had to short out the plugs. Now the mag switch won't even turn. So a dud mag switch. Once the relief of it only being a dud switch had worn off I'm now thinking where do I get a mag switch from . The Dud one is a American Bosch S12 -I'm not sure if this is original but it seemed to work ok until today Can anyone help me out with a replacement switch ? Karl

I'm after the above American Bosch switch to get my car back on the road following the failure of my old switch. Does need to work but I don't need a key . Thanks Karl

David Who has the gears and does anyone know what the rearend ratio is surposed to be ? My rear end I suspect is non original and it would be nice to have it stock Having never seen the inside of my drive train I'm enjoying the pictures and videos -Karl

Fixed I found that the copper asbestos gaskets were to thick and interfered with the seating of the rings . So I hand cut a gasket . The ring OD is 1 3/8" and the inlet ID on a Leyland 4 Inlet manifold gasket (of all things) is the same. Now running very nicley and all plugs colouring up as they should . Temperature running cooler and much more low end pick up . Satisfaction ! (for now )

I have the inlet manifold off. I do appear to have the rings but also some (badly) hand cut gaskets . The front gasket has a gap on one side of at least 1/4 inch from the ring -I can't see how it ever sealed . I have included a picture which is not very clear but still shows what I found .

Interesting enough I appear to have two logins on the go here 1910Hupp for Work and Hupdoc for Home -Not sure how that happened -Karl

David I looked in my original parts book and there are the rings you mentioned ("Manifold centering Rings") but also an inlet gasket . Unfortunately the gasket is not pictured. The Model A has exhaust rings to centre the manifold but also a crushable copper gasket . Most of us dispence with the rings as in practice they are fiddley to install and achieve little ( during production Ford eventually did away with them as well). The crushable gasket works very well - You can buy them in various sizes and I am considering using them. The only concern is the thickness of them and the amount of force that can be applied to to crush them I doubt if the clamp system will apply the 35 foot pounds of torque we use on the A manifold Karl

Probably not David - I will find out this weekend when I take the inlert manifold off. If they're not there sounds like they will be interesting to find /fabricate -Karl

Well some experimentation in the garage and its definitely an intake manifold leak to the front cylinder block. Squirting gas on the the inlet manifold/cylinder block junction virtually doubles the revs at idle for a few seconds. I can't wait to drive it when this is fixed . I need some advice as what is best to use as a gasket. I'm tempted to use the gasket in a tube but am aware that this is denatured by gas. I would appreciate advice as to what others have used as an inlet manifold gasket . Thanks Karl

Tonight I was fooling around in the garage with my 1910 Hup. I've discovered, although it appears to run well, if when it is running I short out plugs 1 or 2 then it doesn't appear to make any difference to the engine but if I short out plugs 3 or 4 then the engine stumbles as I would expect. The compression is good on all cylinders both on the crank and with my thumb over the priming cups . I have good spark on all the plugs. The plugs on 3 and 4 have always carboned up faster than the front 2 . Trying to put all this together I think I must have a fuel (? to lean) problem to the front cylinder block - I suspect the most likely thing is a inlet manifold leak . Before I pull off the manifolds do you agree ?? Karl

Tom That makes me feel better If my clearence had been to tight I would expected the performance to be well off but it seems to go alright for a 100- year old car -Karl

Edgar Thats interesting. According to the previous owner/restorer (and what he has engraved on on the exhaust manifold as a memory aid) of my car The valve clearances on my car are 5 thou on the inlet and 7 thou on the exhaust. However I'm sure that the valves are not original and therefore would the clearance be different ?? I know one of my friends who builds racebike engines gets very excited about thermal expansion rates affecting clearances ie modern valves expand at different rates to the old valves due to different compositoin ie the old clearences may not work for new valves ??? Was on the Goldcoast 2 weeks ago. Had a great time although the weather was little better than New Zealand

I'm considering buying a 1927 La Salle Coupe . I'm no stranger to vintage cars Owning several Model A's a 1967 Subeam Alpine and a 1910 Hupmobile . With the exception of the Hupmobile I use my cars on a regular basis. The La salle would be my first venture into a really high class vintage vehicle . My concern is parts availability to allow me to use the car like I use my others. I don't expect to to go down to the auto parts shop and buy bits for it but access to bits like points,condensors distributor caps, plugs , Brake bits are pretty important to keep it running . Advice from some owners before I spend (lots of) my money buying it would be appreciated -Thanks Karl

Thanks -It would appear that the accessory fan was a rare accessory. Originally I think there was a plate that sat below the radiator and perhaps stopped some of the draw through underneath -I don't have that plate and was considering putting it on in case it helped What you have done would work a lot better and I may well do something simaler . The other thing to think of is engine pans . Certainly engine pans on my Model A's really cool the engine down as they direct air from the fan along the side of the motor rather than out the bottom . Davic Cocco is fabricating some Model 20 pans currently I believe Thanks again for your post and a really nice car! -Karl

Can anyone provide me with pictures of the optional fan that ran off the fly wheel on 1911 onwards Model 20s. I'm trying to make my 1910 more Christmas parade friendly and would like to install a fan to cope with a parade speed driving in the height of our southern hemisphere summer . I would prefer to avoid an electric fan and stick with something that looks a bit more original Thanks Karl

Thanks useful information Penrite Gearbox 40 is apparrently equivalent to about 20w-60w as far as I can work out- seems to be working fine for me currently. I think 35 to 40 mph is about as much as my car will do . It does have the windshield which I'm sure doesn't help in terms of drag and weight Also when the previous owner rebuilt the car I suspect it was with a non original rear end ratio which is probably very relevant as well . Having said that 35 to 40 mph is ample fast enough with the brakes we have and the lack of shocks. Karl

I have an original 1910 Model 20 owners manual for sale Is complete. Has lost the R hand upper corner of the front cover and the staples are pulling through the spine. Otherwise good condition Is any one interested in it? I know I should put it on the Buy/Sell page but more likely to be seen here by those that would be interested.

I recently tried Penrite 90/140 mild EP - Is ok with yellow metal . Normally EP not recomended as will cause the clutch to slip but I fiqured mild EP would be ok. It wasn't Clutch slip +++ couldn't climb up a slight hill as the clutch was slipping so much . Now running Penrite 40 Gear Oil (actually 25W -60W equivalent) and is ok Clutch a little violent when cold but minimal judder/ clutch slip and changes are ok -So that is what I intend to stick with from now on -Wow what an epic journey to find out what works best.

Hi I'm after a small brass carbide acetylene generator as fitted to early motorcyles (Brand not important) My current one is dented beyond repair and I would like a simaler one in good condition. Any leads would be appreciated . I live in New Zealand but will pay all postage and handling costs incurred. Thanks Karl

I had a friend who has a 4 cylinder 1917 Buick. Unfortunately his distributor cap has a hairline crack in it. It is still working but he is petrified that it will stop. After a lot of effort he has been unable to find a replacement . As he is not very computer literate I have posted this request on his behalf. Thanks Karl

I do have Sidemounted spare ,Radiator Stone Guard,Quail Rad Cap,Wind wings, Early Sportslight,Running board mounted Petrol can and Luggage rack on my 1930 Sports Coupe. I like it a lot but would never put an accesory on that was not period correct. White walls,swirly gearstick knobs and V8 wheels just look plain wrong to me. As I drive my car lots I do believe in hidden modern safety/reliability features Like Brake floaters Modern points set up,indicators, safety fuses, sealed water pump and EVR on the generator but go to great lenghts to check are well hidden! One of my friends calls my Model A a Christmas Tree (ie some thing you hang decorations on) heck even my 1910 Hupmobile has accesory windsheild, top, Motormeter and Side mounded carbide searchlight

SAE 250 apparrently roughly equals 600 weight which is what the my A uses in the diff and gearbox -Karl

The Bosch DU4 is the correct mag for the model 20 But this one has variable ignition where the original had fixed ignition. No big deal you just fix it where you want or alternative you can rig up a non original advance and retard mechanism. You need to be very careful as the model 20 had an anticlockwise or left hand rotation (when viewed from the drive end) The more common clockwise rotation magneto is of no use without extensive/expensive modification-Karl

Brian the other thing is I suspect my U joint is not Hupp. Having owned a couple of Model T's it looks more like their U joint Drive shaft set up than the original -Karl