JV Puleo
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Posts posted by JV Puleo
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I have the same problem. The reason I haven't done it is that the project that would have needed metric threading didn't work out and to set the lathe up I have to make at least 4 gears, including a special extended drive gear for the quick change box to engage the compound gear. I'll make them out of aluminum since extreme strength isn't needed for threading but it's still an expense and probably a weeks work...or more. In the end I decided to put the calculations aside and do it if I need to some time in the future.
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I've never heard of an automobile engine with interrupted ignition. From the beginning they all seem to be constant speed engines. Speed was controlled by some sort of valve related mechanism and/or by shifting gears. They were not flexible engines and that engine doesn't look like one with the massive flywheel that stationary engines had. I know very little about early marine engines but they seem closer to stationary engines than any early auto engine was. For one thing, the big flywheel would not have been a problem in a marine application.
I have some very early material...like 1898–1900 that I should take a look at. Hot tube ignition was the norm when this engine was built and you wouldn't be able to interrupt that.
Terry makes a good point here...we should be looking at steam engine practice. Far more was known about that and many early automotive mechanical details were based on what was know at the time.
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Could it be exhaust over intake and the valve on top is the exhaust? That was not common later but my own car has the exhaust valves on top. If so, perhaps the intake is the lower valve and it worked on some sort of cam to vary the lift of the intake valve. That would have been almost necessary if it had a constant speed carburetor – which it must have had because the butterfly hadn't been invented yet.
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Jeff, what is the tpi of your lead screw? I seem to remember you have a quick change gearbox. Some time ago I calculated how cut metric threads based on the gearbox I have. It does need a transposing gear (or two) but I think I've got the numbers down. I've attached a screen shot.
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True enough...It could have had cams that operated the intake valves directly or any number of clever means of doing it. The 1903 Mercedes used a really complicated variable lift system that compensated for the fact that it had a constant speed carburetor. I had a 1903 Panhard engine that had atmospheric inlet valves and exhaust valves that worked of a camshaft on the outside of the engine.
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I certainly hope that is true. I confess that I don't even think of post-war cars...or even late pre-war cars as being "collectible" so I should have qualified my statement. My notion of an "old car" is at clearly at odds with the AACA definition. That said, we have several ongoing threads here where enthusiasts like Matt are working to make a so-called "restored" car actually driveable.
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Because it's in white. This was a common way of marking photos at the time. If you write it in black ink on a negative it will come out white when the photo is printed. In my real work I deal with a lot of old...i.e. pre WWI photos and this is commonly seen.
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The picture itself notes a mechanically operated inlet valve and the note must date from when the picture was taken since it was written on the negative. It also indicates that whoever wrote the note knew what they were talking about because a mechanically operated inlet valve that early was quite an innovation. Whoever labeled that picture knew turn of the century engineering and I see no reason to question it.
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I wonder how many neophytes get sucked in by those idiotic television shows where the do a "restoration" in about 2 weeks. Even members of my family who know I've been grinding away at mine for years seem to think it's the sort of thing you can accomplish on a few weekends. Of course, the people who think that way nave never actually made anything in their lives more complicated than a ham sandwich.
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There were two rallys, one in the US and the other in the UK. It looks as if your badges belonged to the same person and he participated in both. I'd guess that both cars are still in existence. It would take some digging but the names of the participants are out there. Of course, they aren't going to be worth much but I'd bet whoever owns the cars now would like to have them.
Take a look at this...you may see the car.
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10 hours ago, alsancle said:
I think we need to distinguish between prewar cars and post war cars. Post war cars typically have a much greater source of correct usable and reliable parts. Also, there are many more qualified mechanics for post war cars. Sorting a postwar car can absolutely be done.
Prewar cars a different kettle of fish. Parts and expertise are much harder to find. The cars are more complicated. The amount money you need to spend to bring it back to "new" is a lot more.
AJ is spot on...but I wouldn't say the pre-war cars are more complicated (at least most of them). They are just different and if you (or whoever is doing the work) doesn't know how they worked there is very little chance of fixing them so that they do work. They are not amenable to simple "parts changing" because most wear parts simply aren't there or are very difficult to find. (And if you do find a part its likely to be just as worn out as the part you have.) I'd go so far as to suggest that brass cars and nickel era are a great deal simpler than anything from the late 20s on but they require a lot of imagination and specialized knowledge of HOW they are supposed to work to sort properly.
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It's very simple. American car collecting is all about appearance...paint, upholstery, sexy body styles etc. There is little or no emphasis on mechanical condition and, as long as cars are being toted about on trailers to "show" them, about 90% of the collectors out there don't care how they run or drive. Matt did not buy a "fixer upper"...he bought a restored car, supposedly "tour ready." In fact, you'd probably be safer with an unrestored car that has never been mucked with than with a large percentage of the restorations out there.
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2 hours ago, West Peterson said:
Makes no difference. If it's in a public place, it's a free-for-all in regard to legality. There's nothing that prevents the posting of such photos other than ethics and morals.
Right...and the fact that it's legal doesn't make it ethical. Given a choice, I'd come down on the ethical side. Lots of things are legal that aren't either ethical or moral. I find the popular fascination with pouncing on other people's travails to be both unethical and immoral.
Some sort of reliable report on what happened here may, eventually, be useful to others but you aren't going to get that from a lot of mindless internet chatter that will likely do more to cloud the issue than clarify it.
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I had the same car years ago and could lock up the rear wheels. It's a very simple system so I'll start by addressing the linings...what are they? They have to be the soft woven linings with little brass wires in them. No modern, hard lining will work properly. The brake rods must have absolutely minimal clearance around the clevis pins and the brake balancing shaft that runs across the chassis has to move freely so that as near equal pressure as possible is exerted on both wheels. The foot brake slows the car down...the hand brake stops it. Check the seals on the axle as well...they cannot leak oil onto the shoes.
Also, what do the drums look like? The external surfaces on my car were badly wallowed. I had them spray welded and I turned them back to flat. The internal surfaces were ok which suggests that most of the time it had been driven on the hand brake. I'll add that this car had a lot of miles on it, many more than is customary with a brass car since both clutch and brake pedals were worn almost smooth.
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2 hours ago, George Smolinski said:
On the not showing photos of the wreck, can someone please explain why it's ok to take and post multiple photos of a car at a show, cruise, etc. but not ok to post a photo of one that's been in an accident?
Because the owner purposely brought it to a place where he knew it would be photographed. Simply participating in such an even is giving tacit approval to others taking pictures. I don't see how that applies to this situation.
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Hook is quite right...there are no specs. I've always been amused by the RR instructions for tightening the head bolts on a PI. "A strong man with a wrench no longer than 3"'
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3 hours ago, edinmass said:
I have a photo but will not post it. Fortunately no one was hurt. 1000 to one that they walked away.
I agree. If the owner wants to publish a photo that is his choice. For others, it's just morbid curiosity.
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It would have been statically balanced, which is the best that could have been done at the time. I would have it dynamically balanced which is much better but the machines that do it weren't invented until the 30s. Anyone that dynamically balances flywheels should be able to do it but you may have to make a fixture of some sort to hold it.
Expensive cars often had a clutch that was machined all over. That came very close to dynamic balancing as long as the metal was of a consistent density.
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I think a lot of the bad reputation cone clutches have comes from them being out of balance and/or the clearance where the spin is too great so they don't go in straight. I'd check that very carefully and perhaps bush the center of the clutch so you have a running clearance of .002 to .003. Some very good cars had cones clutches, including the Silver Ghost RR but they were very well made with a lot of attention to getting them to run perfectly straight.
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Good. I'm relieved for your sake. I'm a long way from having to do that but I do remember that one way made the clutch grab too much. This is what comes from reading engineering books late at night. Nice job too!
That modified c-clamp was a really good idea. I'm going to make one!
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You should double check this but I seem to remember reading that the leather goes on with the smooth side out.
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Babbitt was the bearing metal of choice in the past at least partly because it was so easy to work with. In the early 20th century virtually every mechanic, even if he wasn't an auto mechanic, could pour a Babbitt bearing...in fact, they were far more used in industry than in automobiles. The skill has largely disappeared today so that now it's considered something of a specialty but the principal is very simple...the part is set up in a fixture to hold it...a core is inserted for the hole and the Babbitt metal is poured around it. It is then finished by boring, reaming, honing etc...whatever is necessary to get the fit and finish desired. There are dozen's of different Babbitt alloys so choosing the right one may be a problem if you don't know what was used but generally, the less lead there is in it, the harder it is.
The late Malcolm Parrot relates how, when crossing the country in a 1910 Mitchell with Frank Zirbies, they lost a connecting rod at night in the Rocky mountains. The limped to an abandoned miner's shack where they found an old pump...so they built a fire and melted the Babbitt out of one of the pump bearings. A dam and core were improvised for the rod and the melted Babbitt poured in. Then the rod was scraped with a pocket knife and fitted back in the engine. This got them to the West Coast where they were able to get a new rod sent to them.
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Only with a ball turning fixture. They aren't common. Drilling and tapping a mild steel ball would be much easier.
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You may be able to buy the balls and replace them in the ring.
I don't know the construction of that ring but not long ago I sold a friend two or three of the original bearings from my car. He'd made new races and centers but needed the rings with the balls. The balls were readily available but he needed my old rings to mount them.
As Listed: 1918 Studebaker Big 6 $3,000
in "Not Mine" Automobiles For Sale
Posted · Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
"Only ten years"? Look at any group of photos taken 1928/29 and try to find a 10 year old car. Just as 58L-Y8 has noted, it was 10 years old. That was very old for a car in 1928 and most people would have considered it hopelessly obsolete. I'll bet 90% of the surviving cars from that period were stuck in barns or outbuildings for much the same reason. They would have been junked if the owner didn't have essentially free storage...I'm reminded of two British officers who bought a 1914 RR in a Cairo breaker's yard around 1950 and drove it to Jerusalem. I drive a 30 year old truck every day. That would have been unthinkable even in the 60's.
It's a great car and a real opportunity for the right person...especially someone with patience and imagination that doesn't have a pocket full of money. I'm glad I had a good deal of experience before I found this site because the general attitude here, which seems to be driven by how much it costs to have someone else do the work, would have put me off antique cars permanently.
The fact that it wasn't junked in 1928 is a good indication that it was still roadable then.