Luv2Wrench

Incredible! I love that color and the chrome is so sweet.

Still busy with my side project which is going great. I haven't done anything with the car but I did spot a surface grinder on FB Marketplace and managed to snag it. It is a brand ("Leach") I've never heard of before . It seems that early in the company's life they made a couple of machine tools (this grinder included) and then later became more of a dealer. The "family business" still survives to this day though the focus has shifted a bit. I'm looking forward to cleaning this old girl up and having it in the machine shop. When I went to inspect it I hung a 10ths indicator off the spindle and measured runout to the table. When it didn't really move I immediately said I'd take it. I also pressed down on the table and didn't get movement. I checked the indicator again to make sure it had travel and it did. That might not have been the best test but it was all I could think of. When I took it apart to get it loaded I could see scraping marks on all the moving surfaces so that also gave me a good feeling for the condition of the machine. I might have bought something that only needs to be cleaned up.

The the thread title might be... Roger's Incredible Shrinking Machine. Or Roger's Giant Quarter. Doesn't matter what the name of the thread is, the work is incredible!! This is one of my favorite threads on the site. It is simple incredible to see what you can accomplish and serves as a constant reminder that anything is possible.

Brings back all of those "fun" memories trying to dial in the MG TD. When you're done it will be better than factory. Great job!

I agree with that theory but I can't see where it would be happening. As a test I removed the cover that holds the shutoff switch and still no spark. I think the difference is I can turn the armature faster when it is on the bench than on the car (even with spark plugs out). The engine is basically all new with tight tolerances so it is difficult to turn very fast. My guess is the condenser needs to be replaced and I've heard that's done with a modern capacitor. I might just send it off to get rebuilt since I'll be away for a while. I got that manual from you, many thanks!

Got the magneto back together and bench tested it with a nice spark so I was very hopeful that I could get the engine fired. Unfortunately once installed on the engine it wouldn't produce a spark, even with the spark plug grounded against the base. Obviously I'm missing something. I'm going to put the car on "ice" for a bit as I have a business opportunity that needs my full attention. It might take a couple months but if successful I will have a lot more time for the cars and my shop. Seen you guys in a bit!

WOW!! What a great project! I'm really looking forward to this one. Lots of pics please!

I read the same thing about fresh charge on the magnets. I read that they had to be charged "on the magneto". I also read an article that said that was absolutely not correct. They tested freshly charged magnets and then days, weeks, months after and found little difference. It only takes a couple seconds to remove from the neodymium magnets and put them back on the magneto. I did them one at a time to minimize the time.

A set of Champion 32s would be fantastic!! I got the neodymium magnets today and charged up the horseshoe magnets. Setting the horseshoe magnet on my welding table and then lifting it off was way too easy. They were really weak. After charging it takes more effort to remove from the table but they are still pretty easily removed. I have no experience with a properly charged magneto magnet so I'm not sure what it should feel like. I put them back on the magneto and there was a big difference. I could get a small blue spark with the spark plug laying on the welding table next to the magneto while I cranked it over by hand. It wasn't perfect though. I spun it over with the drill and quickly stopped because I could hear the safety gap sparking. I only had one spark plug attached so the safety gap was sparking in place of the others. From what I read on one of those links, you don't want to do that. I put the magnets back on the neodymium magnets and left them for the night. I'll put everything back together and give it another shot this weekend. With the Champion 34 the tip of the electrode is 0.100" inset from the surface of the head. The bottom of the plug itself is 0.220" inset. It looks like the longer 32 would stick out pas the surface of the head. There are some 32s on eBay right now but only one of the 3 (for $250) looks good. I think I'll see how it runs with the 34s before I start throwing more money around.

One of the best threads I've seen in a while! Mad props to @CountryGirl36 for the excavation job and those that helped figure this puzzle out. Fortunately I don't live close or I'd own it. Very curious to see what happens next. Very much reminds me of @Landman's extraordinary restoration of the '34 Chevy Master that he dug out of the ground of his grandfather's farm.

Yes, with a feeler gauge 18 fits, 19 is tight and 20 doesn't fit. These are Champion 34s with two "gaps" so to speak. I assume that doesn't matter and they should be 18-20 each??

Everything was ready to start the Metz this Saturday. As usual, I tested for spark as part of my checklist... and nope. While I had bench-tested the magneto, and it was "fine" I remember thinking it could be a little hotter. The bench test involved a short ground wire from the spark plug to the bottom of the magneto, i.e., optimal conditions. When installed in the engine, the ground path is a bit longer, and unfortunately, the magneto wasn't strong enough. I remember enough of my EE courses to vaguely understand why, and I think it falls down to either the magnet charge or the condenser (or both, I guess). I ordered some grade 52 neodymium magnets and will attempt to recharge the magnets on the magneto. If that doesn't do the trick, then I'll look at replacing the condenser. I have a couple of spare Bosch DU4s that are in unknown condition, so I guess one option is testing the condensers in those. I'm hoping charging the magnets will do the trick. The great news is that most everything else leading up to the "no start" went very smoothly. The gas tank held gas, the carb held gas, and the radiator mostly held water. The radiator has one leak and possibly another. The one leak I can see will be fairly easy to fix. The radiator was a huge unknown. It was in very, very rough condition, and I was expecting to have to either completely rebuild it or build a new one. To have it hold water as well as it did was a big and very welcomed surprise. The radiator still has a long road ahead as it needs the "skin" replaced, but having it hold water offset the disappointment with the magneto. Magnetos are easier to repair than 110-year-old radiators!!

Yeah, that's the danger of advice from afar, lol. I know I got to the end of the TD restoration and while I thought I had test fit everything... some things still didn't line up. It is very frustrating.

That thing looks sweet!

I can't tell from here if it is an option, but I fix a couple gap issues by rotating a panel more than translating it forwards/backwards. Again, I'm not there so I can't tell, but when you've got not enough gap in one place and two much in another, sometimes rotating one (or both) of the panels can help even that out. You can get that touch-up down to where you'll never notice it. Are you making a single stage touch-up paint by taking the base and mixing it with clear? I did that on the TD and I found it was helpful because you could be more aggressive wet sanding to get it just right. Obviously you're not going to sand through the clear, lol.

No, you're wrong. It doesn't look good from a distance. It looks great! When dealing with these fitment issues I find it best to evaluate and then move on to something else. Come back to it later, think about it again and then move on to something else. Do that enough and your subconscious will come up with a brilliant solution for you. If I try to force it I'll end up cutting something and making it worse.

Oh right, I forgot that didn't I. Here's one with the other head. I'll update next week when it gets a bit warmer.

Got the engine in the frame! As usual there was another problem. I test fit the radiator and realized that the radiator is made to fit the cylinder head and, of course, I'm using a different cylinder head as the original head had a chunk missing from the water outlet. The head I had installed is about 600 units newer according to the serial numbers. It has a separate water outlet that sits between the head and the radiator. Problem number 1 is that sticks out further than the original head so there's not enough room. While that might be corrected problem number 2 is worse. The castings for the heads are slightly different and the water outlet is offset (left to right) by nearly 2". As such, the original radiator connected to the newer head sits 2" left of center. Of course in a car this old the radiator is the front of the car and not sitting behind a fake radiator grill so that doesn't work. The solution was to fix the original head and that's what I did. I chose to do the repair by using JB Weld Steel Stick around a copper wire mesh. I've done this repair on two of my machine tools and it has more than stood the test of time. Hopefully it will work the same way on the cylinder head. Original cylinder head: Drilled holes into the edges (about 1/2" deep) and ran 12 gauge copper into them. Copper soldered together and into head. This gives a very strong platform for the next step. JB Weld Steel Stick molded into place around the copper mesh. Painted and ready to install

The paint looks fantastic! The combination of white, chrome and black is intoxicating. Love it.

I have a scan of that but it isn't very good quality. I'll try to buy that one, thanks!

Did you ever find out what it belongs to?

Phil started his restoration a few months before I bought my parts. I've read that thread quite a bit and Phil has been very helpful with my Metz over the years. I'm very appreciate of people that take the extra time to document their process.

Well the deed is done. I have a pile of chips around the mill and pistons in the block! This was another learning experience and we'll find out later on if it was a positive one or a negative one. That wasn't all the mill action. This morning I put the valves in the ER-40 collet block and milled 80 thou off. I cleaned it up on the grinder, belt sander and buffing wheel. I'm happy with how they turned out. I very much appreciate the prompt responses and detailed information.

I do not have the extra, extra long reach as pictured in your post. I have Champion 34 which are longer than the 25 but not quite as long as the 32. Hopefully these will do and I'll find the proper length one later.

The connecting rod is the original Metz rod. The pistons are Model T aluminum pistons that I purchased. I can't use Model T connecting rods because the Metz crankshaft is too narrow for the bottom end of the connecting rod. Any by too narrow I mean there isn't enough meat to machine off, that was a path that was looked at. The block was sleeved and honed for 2.5 thou clearance with the aluminum pistons. The Metz piston's wrist pin sits 70 thou lower in the piston than the aluminum pistons so it is 70 thou further away from hitting the cylinder head. I don't know of anyone else that has rebuilt a Metz engine other than sending it off. You and this forum are my antique engine builder. I took one of the extra connecting rods and milled it to fit with 25 thou on each side. You're right it is forged and not cast (well.. it certainly didn't machine like cast iron). I think this is the correct way to go.