JV Puleo

Mike...nothing's wrong. It is supposed to be relieved in the inside. The "ears" of the cross fit in past the edge of the nut. The headache here is that my nuts are a lot larger than the original so the fitting is a bit fussy but so far it's working.

The second cross with the end milled. I then tried them in the hubs after which I reassembled one of them on the axle to get an idea how deep the recess on the front face had to be. It looks as if .150 will work but I may go to .200. That will leave the bearing surface in the square hole about .050 shorter than the original but I sincerely doubt that will make any difference. Set up to mill the front face... And part way through...the first one always takes longer.

This is just suggestion but have you thought to try looking at a contemporary edition of PM Heldt's "The Gasoline Automobile." Heldt was the editor of Horseless Age and a very competent engineer. He published an engineering manual that was updated every few years. I'd look for an edition printed shortly after this car was built. His books are, by far, the best source I've seen for period engineering solutions. Unlike nearly all the others, they are aimed at engine designers rather than mechanics. In fact, not being an engineer myself I am not qualified to understand many of his explanations and I don't have a copy that is late enough for your car but there is a very good chance he discusses oil slingers and how they work. I'd approach this problem from the direction of "how do they work" and "how can I achieve this" rather than "how did they do it".

More likely a Boss or Holland & Holland shotgun.

Thanks Terry...and also your student that calculated the tapers. It's clear the 3-degree taper was correct and as much as the rest of it was difficult, without that information it would have been much worse. When I tried to figure them out using a set of taper gauges I did come up with 3-degrees and probably would have tried that first but I would never have machined the pieces until I'd made test pieces.

The 1950s stuff is probably coir. It is still available. You can also get real horse hair. It's more expensive and I suspect there are differences I don't know about but it's all sold as an upholstery stuffing material.

Well...despite a few interruptions – all good ones – I'm managed to finish the raised boss on the first cross. I'd had to change the cutter and also take the piece off to shorten the cap screws that are holding it down. Fortunately, the fixture is such that I could do that (although this wasn't planned...I was just lucky). Then I put it in the drill press to chamfer the threaded holes on the milled side. I'm doing this because it will have to be bolted to the fixture upside down to mill the recess in the other side. It fit...and what's more, it fit just about perfectly. At least as good as I could hope for and probably better than I'd expected. Then it was bolt on the second piece and start over. Needless to say, this is not a 3-day project. In fact, I could have finished this one today but decided that, since it was already 5PM maybe I'd better wait and take the last .100 off when I'm more likely to be alert. It won't make a bit of difference in the long run but I'd sure hate to ruin something now. Doing a job like this makes it very clear why "prototyping" is so time consuming. In the end, I'll have spent about 4 times as much time on fixtures and tests as I have on actually making the part. If anyone wonders why it can cost so much to have this sort of work done...that's the answer. Practically everything on a car like this is a one-off job that you will never be called on to do again.

I'm glad I got to see it before it left...it will be a treat to see it again when the body work is done.

Not too much today. I have so much work to do on my house that I've decided not to work in the shop on weekends unless it's raining...and even then there is plenty to do inside. After I repaired my shower valve I got to work machining the back end of the crosses. This has a boss in the center 2-1/4" in diameter and .400 deep. I'd bought a new carbide indexable cutter for this but when I used it the finish wasn't as good as I'd gotten with the high speed steel cutter I'd used before so I went back to the original cutter. This isn't difficult work, especially as the tolerances are very forgiving but it is tedious since I have to turn the rotary table by hand and I don't want to take very aggressive cuts.

Very nice! I'm almost jealous but I have a similar plan for the garage I hope to eventually build...I'd like to do the same thing, with a shop separate from the car storage big enough for the machines but not too big to heat in the winter. I'll have to consult you when the time comes because most of the machines are 3-phase which isn't a problem where I am but is a major problem at home. This is going to make the Metz project soooo much easier. (Easy is perhaps the wrong word but it should eliminate the frustration of sending things out and waiting months for them.)

Yes...the Ghost could also run on one or the other distributors...it worked the same when there was one distributor and a magneto. The carburetors look similar but are not at all alike and certainly not interchangeable. The Ghost intake manifold actually runs over the top of the engine so the intake side of the jugs is on the opposite side from the carb. The Ghost also had what was known as the "starting carburetor" on top of the intake manifold and controlled by a rod through the firewall that you operated with your foot. I actually have a lot more experience with Ghosts and I can't remember if the PI also had one. The RR carbs were unique to that car...they fit nothing else and were never made by one of the major suppliers. I think this was the case with all models up to WWII. I don't remember what the post war Silver Clouds used...it was a single barrel downdraft, but the MkVI Bentleys used a pair of SU's.

Not to me...but, since in my case this is pure fantasy, given a choice I'd like a bid RHD sedan...though I do think the American ones are superior!

It is a completely different engine. Although modified over the years it is essentially the engine introduced in 1908. It has jugs with blind bores, thus no detachable head and side valves which, except for the late LHD American cars, were not enclosed. The PI has overhead valves. This car has dual distributors, another feature of the late American cars where most Ghosts, including earlier American-made cars, have a distributor and a magneto. The rest of the chassis was changed very little between the Ghost and the PI which was, essentially, an "interim" model introduced because the market was resisting the "old fashioned" Ghost engine. The LHD American cars were made simultaneously with the earliest British New Phantoms as a stop-gap measure while RR of America tooled up to make the new model.

I like it...I wish I could afford it. That's exactly the condition I would like to find one in.

Those look really great Gary...thanks again. It's actually been an unusually productive day with Gary's news that the hub cap tops came in because I'm getting very close to being able to fit them. I tried the two crosses in the hubs. As you can see, one goes down a bit too far. Here is the better of the two crosses compared to the good original... I also tried the hub cap over the cross just to make sure it was right... To correct the long cross, I put it in the lathe and removed .100. This brings the thickness down to 1.250. Since some of the other measurements can be adjusted, the amount of material in contact with the axle may not change at all and, if it does, only a very small amount. Now the taper fit is very close to the original. Then I removed .100 from the other cross but this time on the large end. And ground them...the small end on one, the large end on the other so now they are identical. And tried the again. they may not be perfect but they are very close and I'm certain will work as intended. The last step today was to set the mill up to remove .400 from the big end. It was too close to the end of the day to start this and I'd forgotten to get a short 1/2-20 socket head screw so I'll get back to this on Monday. We are getting very close now. When these are done I can take the measurements for the hub caps and send the crosses out to have the square holes put in.

I finished the flutes today. Then dismantled the rotary table and set up the dividing head to put a bevel on the flat portion at the base of the taper. I have to do this because, as it is, the flat area is slightly too wide and prevents the cross from slipping in. I did one side, then turned the cross around and did the other. Aside from the tapers being in exactly right position, the other measurements aren't as perfect as I'd like. Fortunately, none of them effect the way the piece works. This is the second one I milled and, as you can see, it actually slips in a little too far. I have a solution for that you'll see tomorrow.

Likely done with an airbrush. This sort of illustration was very common. It was also very time consuming to do and, as such, expensive. Car makers...and all sorts of other industrial customers were very hesitant to re-do an illustration over minor detail changes which is why you have to be very careful, or perhaps skeptical, in placing too much emphasis on small details. The Mitchell catalog I have is completely illustrated like this and several of the illustrations do not agree with the finished product...also, it appears the catalog was printed before the cars were ready to be sold and several of the specifications listed do not agree with the car as it was eventually built.

Years ago I attended one of the Long Island Vanderbilt Cup meets. One of the cars that showed up was an unrestored Locomobile 48...if I remember correctly it was a town car. The gentleman who drove it had come down from upstate NY...and said his wife didn't come because she didn't like getting her hair mussed up by the wind. In any case, it was riding on old, cracked tires and he told me he'd just "re-grooved" them!

Today's project was cutting the flutes. This went very smoothly. The first one... Then all four cut. And I had enough time to set up the the second one and cut the first flute.

I wonder if you shouldn't have added a reference or a link to this thread. Anyone seriously interested in bidding should read it.

I have to say that you have posted the most complete and honest description of an antique car that I have ever seen on ebay. If I were in the market for a car like the Nash I'd be bidding and if anyone were to ask me about it I'd say they could not go wrong.

I finished the remaining three tapers today with the machine still squeaking but I decided to take a chance since taking it down at this point might well make it difficult to finish the part. These tapers actually came out exactly perfect in that the small end is what I was originally aiming for. But, I'd like them to be identical so I'll have to modify this piece eventually, but not until after I've put the flutes in and gotten them to the point where I can try then in the hubs. I dismantled the fixture and turned the vertical head on its side. I had intended to take the front part off but it's very heavy and I'm afraid of dripping it on the table. The only time this has been off was when I originally assembled it and for that I had a helper. If I take it off its probably prudent to ask one of my friends to give me a hand. With it turned on it's side I took the plate off that covers the retaining nut on the top of the spindle and noticed that it was scraping...exactly the sort of issue that would result in the noise I've been hearing. The plate itself also shows this sort of wear and there is a burr on the inside. So...I put it back together and tested it with the plate off...and the noise was still there, albeit not as pronounced. I then tested it at a lower PM (it had been running at 430) and there was no noise. When it was on it's side and I was able to turn the spindle by hand the bearing felt smooth with no indication of a problem and there appeared to be plenty of grease in there. So, whatever the problem is, it does not appear to be critical, at least at this point. Since all of the remaining procedures are done at the lower rpm I decided to press on and I'll take the head off later when I won't be needing the machine. With that in mind, I set up the rotary table to mill the flutes.

I spent most of today visiting with Ted Brito (i.e. Christech). I wanted to see the Olds DCR before it heads back to the owner. In my opinion, Ted's work looks better in person than it does in photos. It is really a remarkable job...solid as a rock with every joint firmly glued and screwed together. I suspect it's the proverbial "better than new." I got back in time to mill one of the 4 remaining tapers... I could have gone further but the vertical head is making a squeaking noise. I sounds like a bearing noise...though that is just a guess but it really bothers me. The problem here is that I need to finish the the tapers without removing the piece from the machine. If I make it through without anything going bad I'll take the vertical head off and look inside. It's very heavy...maybe 300 lbs so it isn't something easily done but even if I confirm it's not the bearings I'll feel a lot more confident. If it is a bearing this could be a major problem because I they are probably the super accurate ones and may not be available...and if they are, very expensive. As it is, there is no indication from the way the end mill is running that this is the problem...but we'll see. To finish up the day I put the piece I'd already done on the fixture... Three of the four cap screws that hold it went in easily. The fourth one was tight. I'm not sure of the reason but this isn't a major problem because all these do is hole the piece down and I did it with two screws the last time. I may even go back and take the tight one out. In this case, the salient feature is the hole in the center which I align with a piece of 1" ground bar and that worked as I'd hoped.

Saab Sonnet? It looks familiar and I had a friend who had one when they were new.

I won't bore you all with a step-by-step description of today's work since it's a repetition of what I did yesterday and the day before. I got all of the "lugs" milled on the second cross and set it up for the first taper by the end of the day.