JV Puleo

Various bits and pieces came in at the end of the day but this morning, before I went to work on them I finished turning the oil filler tube. Here it is with both diameters turned. I will now have to thread them but that is a "first thing in the norming" job. With the spring in hand, I shortened the plunger so all the pieces fit in the housing. Then finished the cap. I cut the thread deeper so that the 1/4 NPT plug would go in as far as it could then drilled and tapped it 1/4-28. The plug went in a bit too far so I had to trim the inside surface as well. At this point, I discovered that the thumbscrew I intended to use didn't fit the threads correctly - why I'm not sure but the printing press it came from was probably as old as this car is and it may be that the parts weren't as precisely made as we'd expect today. In the end, I gave up trying to modify it... I can make a thumbscrew if I have to but for the moment I don't even know how this will work so I'll leave it unti I've had a chance to test everything. Here's the relief valve assembled... I suspect the spring may be too stiff but only a test will demonstrate that. Before I go home I'll set up the next operation on the camshaft bearing but I'll wait until the morning to do the milling.

I took a break today and worked on the bronze camshaft bearing. This is for a friend, largely to repair what I am certain edinmas would (rightly) refer to as hack work. I won't go into the details, but the only way I can think of to repair it is to cut off the old one and replace it. But, in order to do that, it has to be in two pieces. I've never made one of these but I will have to for the Mitchell so this is good practice. The bronze stock was turned round oversize and two flats milled on it. These are for alignment. It's impossible to take something round out of the machine and put it back in exactly the same place unless you have some reference surface. I calculated the position of the cap screws that will hold it together. Using a center-cutting end mill, I put a flat where each screw goes. As soon as the flat was milled I changed the collet and put a center hole there. By doing them one at the time I've eliminated any chance of them being even a tiny bit off. I then drilled holes the size for the tap through the entire piece. I did this in the little drill press because I wanted to be able to "feel" the drill and because if I do it in the milling machine it is extremely tedious to crank the table down to clear the chips. By drilling all the holes in the piece before it is split I'm assured that all for will align perfectly. And here is the piece with the holes in place. The next step is to mill the ends but I forgot that drawing so I put this aside and went on to the oil filler tube. This is the same brass stock used to make the nuts but in this case, I'm incorporating the "nut" in the piece. The first step was to drill and ream to 5/8" - the finished inside diameter. Then I turned down the end that will screw into the crankcase to .875 for the 7/8-14 thread and undercut it at the end. I suspect this is going to be tricky to thread because I have to get the threading tool quite close to the "nut" portion. Most of the other end will be turned to 1" diameter but I got to this point at 4 PM and decided I'd had enough for the day.

I have one last major piece to make for the oiling system, the oil filler tube with a line incorporated to return excess oil to the sump. Here's the problem... The crankcase has this boss on the front left side. It looks as if it was plugged and I don't know if this was original to the car (although it looks as if it was) or if it was done later. This is the location PM Heldt recommends for an oil filler but my engine, as far as I can tell, just had a pipe fitting screwed into the left side. It was very crude and when I got the car all that was there was a rusty street elbow. I've put a crankcase breather in that hole and plan to move the filler to the front using this place to mount it. I made a filler tube earlier but I'm changing it to incorporate the return line. But, screwing pieces directly into this old - and fairly soft aluminum is a very poor idea, something that was known and appreciated at the time. Nevertheless, Mitchell did it all the time and I've several places where steel screws have solidified in place, never to be unscrewed. The correct way to do this was to insert a brass or bronze sleeve which was probably held in place with some sort of hardening varnish. I am trying to do that everywhere I can but in this case the available space is limited. My feeling is that I can insert a sleeve of a maximum diameter of 1". But, I still need to be able to screw in the oil filler. Until I am certain my sleeve will work, I can't make the filler tube should the dimensions have to be changed. A 1" long piece of 1" brass bar... I drilled this and reamed it to 3/4" so that it would fit on one of my expanding arbors. When that was done, I threaded the outside 1"-20. Ordinarily I would never use such a fine thread in old aluminum but in this case, the only purpose of the thread is to lock the sleeve in place. I will probably use locktite on the threads or I may use their method and use something like Gasolia hardening pipe varnish. I failed to take a picture because while doing this the line returning the oil to the saucepan on my test rig jumped out and dumped about half a gallon of oil on the floor. When the outside was threaded I put it in a collet, drilled it 13/16 and threaded it 7/8-14, the standard 7/8 fine thread. Mathematically this works out so that the bottom of the outside threads and the bottom of the inside threads are about .030 apart so it was critical that everything is straight. And, it worked. As you can see, the sleeve is very thin but once it is screwed into the crankcase this won't matter. That lump of bronze behind it is going to be a split bearing for a camshaft I'm making for a friend so perhaps I'll work on that tomorrow.

A very poor idea if you want the threads to be secure... I doubt you could even torque it properly without what remained of the threads pulling out.

Thanks. I'm flattered but I think it's easily missed by someone who hands are as full as yours must be with that Lincoln.

Have you asked Mike West? He has a huge supply of Franklin parts. The proper tap is readily available...look on ebay, the cheapest I saw was about $28.00. You will need a piece of hex stock the proper size - try speedy metals. Making a nut like this is about 2 hrs work. I'd offer to single point one for you but without the crankshaft to fit it to, I can't be certain of the fit. A tap is the right way to go. If you are willing to pay for the material, I'll make it for you and take the tap as my profit.

The pump had now run for 20 hours so, first thing Monday. I took it apart to check the inside and finish one last piece. I needed to insert the dowel pins that locate the pump body in perfect alignment with the top and bottom plates. They have to be tight in the pump body but a slip fit in the end plates because one thing you cannot do is pry them apart since they rely on their lapped surfaces to seal. I opened up the holes in the plates a tiny bit with an expansion reamer, just enough to allow the pins to slip in and out freely. I also gave the surfaces a final lap on the lapping plate then reassembled the pump with the dowel pins in place. I also changed the oil so it would be completely clean and restarted the test rig. The oil is clean but appears to be picking up some air bubbles which are discoloring it for these photos. While it was running I went back to the pressure relief valve. I need a lock nut for the adjusting screw, one that can be hand tightened. The thread size is 1/4-28 - selected because I happen to have a thumb screw saved from a printing press I scrapped about 35 years ago. This is 1" brass bar in the lathe. Making this presents a bit of a problem because the knurling tool places tremendous pressure on the piece...to much for a 1/4" screw to take without bending. So, I drilled and tapped the end of the brass bar for the thread then used the cutoff tool to put a deep groove in it. I then knurled the piece while it still was connected. When that was done, I finished cutting it off. This went really well although it was the second time I'd done it. I managed to get the threads slightly crooked the first time and decided, with all this effort, it had to be right. Here it is on the adjustment screw. I still have to modify the cap to receive it but a trip to the local hardware store didn't turn up the right pipe plug so I'll have to order that.

That is really interesting. I appreciate knowing my design is similar to a real one. I think your plan for the plunger is fine. I might put a tiny bit of grinding paste on the end and lap it against its seat. I doubt these have to be absolutely airtight.

As an addition to what Mr. Harwood has already said, I look on ebay regularly for a few brass car parts. It is extremely rare for a seller to have a clue to what he or she is selling - most often they have a box of old unidentified items, many of which didn't even come from cars in the first place. I never expect to see an accurate description - and I'll say this is largely true with major auction houses selling antiques that I also collect. The specialized knowledge needed to identify obscure items is very rare and almost exclusively in the hands of enthusiasts, not retailers. What I do find frustrating are the over-the-top descriptions that always include "rare"... like the "rare" early Cadillac side lights. Did anyone ever junk an early Cadillac and not save the lights? There must be 5 sets of lights for every extant Cadillac. I guarantee that if you actually needed some there are some for sale every day on ebay. And, they are nearly always overpriced. That would be an easy enough mistake to make if you don't know the subject but there are LOTS of sales recorded that should give a reasonable idea of what they really sell for. I always get the feeling that the sellers think I'm stupid or "have more money than brains". I realize it's childish of me to react that way but it leaves me not bothering to look much of the time.

After I was done with this, a way of making the pressure adjustable came to me. I'll fit the cap with a little adjustment screw that can compress the spring and increase pressure. All I have to do is make sure the spring isn't too stiff, to begin with.

Once the cap ends were the proper diameter, I threaded them and tried them in the cap. Then put soldering flux on the threads and set it up on my camp stove for soldering, After it had cooled, I set it up in the lathe screwed to the fixture I'd made earlier. At this point, I don't even remember what I made it for but it is the correct thread. I turned the end flat and threaded it for 1/4 NPT. This cap will get a plug. The thread size was determined by the oil filler cap, which I haven't made yet but will have a breather valve with that thread screwed in. I then turned the diameter and knurled the cap without removing it from the fixture. Here it is screwed on to the end of the valve. This is a very simple valve. It consists of a spring-loaded plunger that should be pushed back, thereby letting excess oil return to the sump. The plunger is a piece of 5/8 ground stock which fits perfectly in the 5/8 reamed bore of the valve. In order to make sure the end of the plunger is perfectly flat, I surface ground it. And there is it. I still need to calculate the spring rate - which may be a guess and will need some experimentation to get right but this leaves me with only the oil filler tube to make.

The pump ran for 7 hours today...still no noticeable change in output. I threaded the body of the cap... Then went on the end. These pieces of flat stock are too thick and too big but they were the only flat stock I have that is big enough to do the job. I drilled and reamed them 7/16", the hole size for a 1/4" NPT plug. I have to put a hole in the center because I've no other way to hold them when threading. Unfortunately, I didn't have a fixture to hold those pieces that set up for a 7/16 hole so I had to interrupt the job to make one. This is an old piece of line shafting. Turned down and threaded 7/16-14. It would have been easier to thread if I'd taken it out of the lathe but by doing it in the lathe I am assured that the round section is perfectly concentric with the lathe spindle. Turning the pieces from square to round is a pain in the neck but I've no other way of getting two pieces of uniform thickness. I actually finished this part of the job today but I'll wait until tomorrow to thread them. There are two of them because making two is the same work as making one and I will need another for the oil filler cap which has the same thread.

I was thinking of a cheap electric hotplate set at the lowest temperature.

I think so. I'd intended to run 10W30 n the engine but the test oil is 15W40...mostly because it was the cheapest.

The bricks are an optical illusion. The lathe is about 2 ft. from the wall. It is tight behind it but that was intentional. My shop is crowded enough so that I'm sworn off any more big machines. Some of the smaller ones, like the valve grinder, are on casters so I can roll them out of the way when not in use...I haven't used that one for two or three years so taking up bench space with it would be a waste. The pump is generating very little heat. It's slightly warm to the touch after running for hours. By the end of the week, I should have about 20 hours running so it is probably time to open it up and take a look. So far, there has been no change in the oil flow. If all is well, the next step is to set up the entire oiling system on the test rig with the lines going to a "dummy" crankshaft. If that is ok, I'll continue to run it until I have a good 40-45 hours. At that point, I will probably feel some confidence in its performance. I have no way to test it with hot oil so I'll have to make some allowance for that.

I ran the pump for another 5 hours today...so far so good. And kept working on the oiling system. First I drilled the oil passages that go inside the banjo fitting. It doesn't show well here but I also pressed a 3/8 x 5/8 bushing into one end of the relief valve. This is intended to keep the plunger from sliding into the oil manifold. I couldn't resist the opportunity to do a rough assembly and see if everything fits. First is the oil filter housing... Then the entire oil manifold... and the relief valve... Everything fit so I started on the cap for the end of the relief valve. bored out to .950 - the hole size for a 1" x 20 thread.

Unfortunately - or maybe, fortunately, I'm going to take the chassis apart and put it back together. Another mistake they seem to have made is that it is too light. They "solved" this by inserting reinforcements in the middle of the frame rails - sort of like double thickness rails. But, they did nothing to seal them so they are actively rusting and there is no way to address that except to take them apart. Mike West did it with his Mitchell S chassis so I know what it involves. Since I have that ahead of me, taking off the brackets to bore them is minor. Actually, the rear brackets which also hold the brake equalizing shaft have to come off. I don't think they are even perpendicular to the chassis which would make getting the brakes properly adjusted almost impossible. All of them have Babbit bearings in them. Babbit is great stuff but it was never intended for shafts that only make half a turn - it was intended for rotating shafts. This was well known in the early 20th century but Mitchell still took the cheap & nasty way out.

I've not run the pump for 7-1/2 hours with no noticeable change in its performance. I will probably keep this up all week just to be certain it is ok. I then have to take it apart and do a final lap on the pieces and insert the dowel pins that will make it easier to position the pump body. While it was running I started on the pressure relief valve and connection to the oil filler. This is a piece of 1" brass bar, drilled and reamed to 5/8". Then threaded. The unthreaded part will be soldered into the oil manifold. These strangely out of focus pictures don't do it any favors but you can just make out the threaded part. And this is how it goes together. The banjo fitting will be connected to a copper line that will return excess oil to the sump. I still have to make a cap for the end and the internal parts.

And what happens when some nitwit in a 27-year-old pickup with bald tires kills someone because he's avoided the safety inspection? There will be a hew and cry to abolish Antique registration... or at best push the dates back (which I suspect may be a good idea). Could my 1910 car pass any inspection? Of course, I can make it fulfill the requirements of the law but finding an inspection station that even knows what the laws are would be an ordeal. Years ago a friend of mine kept his 1930 PI RR in regular registration... he took it to be inspected but the fellow he took it to hadn't any idea how to check the brakes. They were fine and he passed it but that doesn't change the fact that to this everyday mechanic, the servo operated brakes were a complete mystery. And then there is insurance---can you even buy regular insurance for an early pre-war car...in a state that has a mandatory insurance rule? I'm really not concerned about enthusiasts. It's the rattletrap tow truck I see occasionally in the town where I work, sporting "antique" plates that worries me.

I can see where that could be a problem and I appreciate the warning. I was planning to use a "swing check valve" ...In any case, I will test it before using it. (Edit): As far as I can tell, the swing valves have a much larger opening and require less suction to work. I haven't bought one yet so I won't be able to judge until I do but I was very leery of the "ball & spring" valves for this purpose. I think it would be safer to have no valve at all rather than run the risk of it sticking.

If I remember correctly, RI has the same rules but I've never heard of anyone being troubled by it... especially with pre-war cars. You're more likely to get stopped because the cop wants to look at the car (something that's happened to me more than once). I haven't even heard of anyone getting in trouble for obviously abusing antique plates (although they should be).

I don't see dirty oil as a problem. By the time this engine is completed everything inside will be just about antiseptically clean. I probably will have a bit of leakage but that is to be expected. What sort of valve did you use? This pump is drawing the oil up in 10 revolutions or less. It may be more when on the engine because it may have to draw it a little higher but I hardly know of a conventional gear pump that is much better. I am considering a separate hand pump to prime the system when it is cold and perhaps that is a better alternative.

I may put a one-way valve in the oil input line so that once primed it will stay. The drawback is that in draining the oil, I won't be draining it out of the pump but I don't see myself letting the oil ever get so dirty that that will make a difference.

Here is the rear spring perch. The shackle is attached to this end. The shackles attached to the springs. They did have grease cups but who knows how often they were greased. And the dumb iron. These holes show only a small amount of wear although a 1/2" bolt is loose in them. When I tested them with a piece of 1/2" ground stock they were tighter. I'm a long way from working on these but I may ream them to 9/16". I will almost certainly make the pins out of high tensile strength steel that can be surface hardened. The shackles are also quite worn. I may re-make those out of solid blocks of steel with thin-wall high strength bushings in them.... though that may be overkill.

For some reason, these photos are out of focus. Perhaps I got too close to the piece. My cheap "point & shoot" shop camera is pretty limited and designed for outside snapshots. Nevertheless, here is the test vane with the spring in place. The vanes were center drilled, then drilled with a #31 (.120) drill then finished with a .125 end mill to give them a flat bottom. I've no idea if that is important but it wasn't much extra work to do. I then reassembled the pump with the springs in place. These are the lightest springs I could find. The pump worked as I expected it would but when I started it up I got what looked like a very fine bronze residue in the oil. I took it apart again but could find nothing that looked threatening although the rotation of the vanes is putting a high polish on the bronze liner. Very likely it is just polishing the interface between the liner and the vanes. Even though I honed it and polished the vanes they were not as smooth as they would be after running it. It does seem to run smoother this time but the only reliable test will be to run it for hours or even days. It is actually running in the photo above... the camera has such a fast shutter speed that it stops the action. One encouraging feature is that I can suck oil up and pump it by simply turning the pump by hand, suggesting that it works at a very low RPM. This time there are no gaskets in the pump. I'm relying on the lapped surfaces to provide the seal and that seems to be justified. The nearest thing to a leak is at the back but I have not inserted the brass cap that goes there - not wanting to have to take it out if I have to do anything to the bushing.