Taylormade

You have several problems here. First, in the very unlikely event that you found a replacement, the Babbitt on the rod will probably not match the circumference of the crank. Your best bet is to have the rod rebabbitted and bored to match the crank. Second, the crank appears to be scored and in poor shape. Based on your picture, I wonder what the rest of the rods and the crank look like. I hate to say it, but I think you're going to have to have the crank turned, have new Babbitt poured in the rods and mains, and have everything line-bored. Anything less and the motor could self-destruct at any time.

At the moment I'm sticking with the original design. The problem is with the rubber "hinge points" in the top corners of the windshield opening. Mine are rock hard. I'm going to make a pattern and see if I can cast new ones. We'll see how that experiment works out.

Those wheels are going to be spectacular! Worth all the trouble you've been through and then some.

I'm afraid modern clear coat would give a "plastic" look to the spokes that would kill the original look you're going for. Again, I'm not an expert, but I've always heard that the wood spokes can "breathe" with spar varnish made for wood, while the clear coat will seal them up and cause problems. Of course, I may have been misinformed - I often am.

I have a 29 Plymouth distributor. Unfortunately, I sold the right angle base a few months ago. I can post pictures if you're interested.

Ragtop, you're in luck! No Countrysides are known to exist, but an Aerocoupe was found. This is from my previous post. A photograph of what is believed to be the only Zapmobile in existence. It was found in an abandoned garage outside Ashtabula, Ohio by Thomas "Chuffy" Heidkamp in 1963. Chuffy always meant to restore the car, but after pulling it out of the garage, it languished in his backyard until 1987 when he was killed in a freak accident with the automatic milking machine in his barn. A bitter family dispute over ownership of Chuffy's car collection ended in the infamous Ashtabula Shootout. Thankfully no one was injured, but it took twenty two years of litigation before what was left of the car was finally awarded to Chuffy's son-in law, Carl "Shifty" Munson. Unfortunately, in 2013 the car broke into three pieces during an attempt to load it on a trailer in preparation for transport to Barrett-Jackson. Shifty decided to keep the car, repairing the damage with J B Weld and chicken wire. It will go up on eBay sometime in the near future with a reported reserve of six-point two million dollars (American).

Who knew my cheap gag would turn into a serious discussion about the dangers of linseed oil? Maybe we all have too much time on our hands.? As as far as the date of the fire, I had limited photographs of Auto Show fires - one to be exact. Since I set the fictional Zapmobile as a 1938 model, I was forced to use dramatic license. In other words, "It's a joke, son."

Another disaster that befell the Zap Motorcar Company was the rushed introduction of the Zapmobile Countryside Cabriolet. An attractive, if overpriced, automobile, the Countryside featured wood trim. This led to disaster when one of the display cars at the 1938 Los Angeles Auto Show burst into flames. The resulting conflagration leveled the Auto Show. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but all the cars at the show were completely destroyed. The cause of the fire was believed to be the highly volatile linseed oil used to treat the wood on the car In the rush to get the Zapmobile to the show, the Zap engineers had not let the mixture dry sufficiently.. A stray cigarette butt is suspected of igniting the linseed oil and sending the car up in flames. This rare photo shows the carnage. An assembly line shot of the Countrysides being built. The cars were built without ashtrays. None are known to survive.

Sorry, I wasn't disparaging Restoleum paint products, but I seriously doubt they are industry leaders in the spar varnish category. I, too, use the etch primer and it works great, as does the gloss black. My only complaint is with the nozzles on some of the spray cans. The old style nozzles work fine, but the large, flat "all direction" nozzles are impossible to clear and I have had to toss many half full spray cans because the nozzles clogged. I even tried replacing the bad nozzle with a new one from another can to no avail. Calls to the company got me nowhere. Now I only buy this type of can when I know I have a large area to paint and can use most of the can in one sitting.

Spar varnish for marine use is the best there is. Glad you found a solution. For some reason, even the thought of Rustoleum varnish gives me pause.

I'm no expert, but the concave curve of the rim and the lack of reinforced support on the edges of the rim make me believe these wheels were designed to work with tires of some type, either solid or inflated. i don't think most early farm equipment used tires.

Phil, was that your current car or Daphne?

Could the pine-tar/kerosene/linseed oil mixture be preventing the spar varnish from drying? It may be incompatible with the varnish.

Could be, although I can't make out any print on the paper. It also appears to be under the gasket, so you could remove the speedo without disturbing the paper. It was obviously put on there for some reason, but I can't figure it out.

Continuing on with the breathtaking saga of the instrument cluster...hey, no yawning out there! The biggest pain the the you know what was trying to make a pattern for the cork gasket between the glass and the outer trim piece. The original had crumbled to pieces and further disintegrated when I had to pry what was left out of the groove in the piece. There was no way to trace the shape, so it took a lot of cutting and fitting until I had a decent pattern in card-stock. Then I cut the cork from a rolled sheet of the correct 1/8 inch thickness. The only cork I could find that was large enough came in a roll and it was very difficult to cut, as you can see in this shot, as it constantly wanted to roll back up. I finally got it cut out, cleaned the glass and put everything together, bending the tabs back to hold the four pieces as a unit. Next I cut the gaskets for the gauges. It's a fiddly, if not all the difficult, job. Not as perfect as the factory cut gaskets, but i doubt anyone is going to crawl up under the dash when this is finished. The cleaned amp meter in place. The oil pressure gauge gasket in place. Here's a question that gets pretty deep in the weeds - what's that paper around the speedometer opening? it's obviously there for some reason, but...? There is a gasket for the speedometer, you can see a piece of it under one of the screws, so why the paper? The oil pressure gauge in place. This area was a real mess - there was oil all over the back of the gauge. It cleaned up rather easily. i suspect the fitting on the back was a little loose and the oil residue accumulated over the years. I tested the gauge with compressed air and it seemed to be spot on, corresponding to the air pressure I applied measured with the very accurate gauge on my compressor fittings. I still need to clean up the gas gauge and speedometer and send the water temp gauge out for restoration. It needs a new bulb and tube and the gauge face restored. I'm pretty happy with the way this is going to look in the car.

Yeah, I figured it would probably be more of a pain than it was worth. It's still easy to get at the gauges since the seats and steering column are not yet in place. I'll just wire everything up and see what happens when I start the motor. The oil pressure gauge is the critical one, and at least I know that works.

I'm restoring the dash cluster on my 1932 Dodge Brothers DL and need some help. What is the best way to check gauge operation? I know the oil pressure gauge is ok as I tested it with compressed air and the readings were spot on. The temp gauge, a bulb type, needs to be restored, but I know the pot of boiling water routine. But, how about the amp meter and gas gauge? How do I check those two? The gas gauge works on the resistance from the float in the tank - which also needs restoring - but can I test the gauge without the float mechanism? Thanks in advance for for any advice or suggestions.

Started work on the instrument panel. When I first owned the car back in the sixties, all the original instruments were still in the car with the exception of the water temperature gauge, which had been replaced (in the instrument cluster) by a black-faced gauge. I have found an original DL temp gauge, but it will need rebuilding and the face restored/replaced. I really like the art-deco look of the gauge cluster and the gold instrument faces. The panel with the incorrect temp gauge removed. The surround was filthy, corroded and generally in disrepair, but it was solid and not dented. I carefully separated the surround from the rest of the gauge cluster by bending the metal tabs back. It was a delicate job, but I managed to get it off without braking the glass or snapping off a tab. I polished the surround and removed the dirt and corrosion. Here it is halfway through the process. Here is a breakdown of the cluster parts. once the surround was removed, the rest just separated with no problems. The glass hasn't been cleaned and shows the faint outline of the cork gasket that goes between it and the outer surround. i went to make a new gasket and discovered the cork sheets I have are 3/16" rather than the 1/8" needed. Looks like I'll have to order the correct stuff. The inner piece of the cluster has a very interesting metallic silver design to it. I'm not sure how they did this at the factory. Dipping it in unmixed metallic paint? Some sort of transfer process? Anyway, it looks great and I was lucky that it's in perfect condition. There was a bit of corrosion on the outside flat areas, but they don't show and most of it came off with a gentle rubbing with a cloth. The instruments themselves all work and are in good condition. The faces may need a bit of gentle cleaning, but I'm going to leave them with a bit of the "lived in" look rather than making them look brand new. It's always amazing to me how much time it takes to do a simple job. The cross-bars between the firewall and the radiator are a perfect example. They had 80 years of rust and grime on them. It wasn't too much of a job stripping them down with a wire brush, but it still took two hours to clean everything up. it's these times when you realize just how many parts there actually are in one of these cars. Now, if the weather just stays warm enough to paint these tomorrow...otherwise, I'll keep the parts and paint in the house to keep them at the correct temperature. Then race out into the garage, hang up the parts, quickly paint them with the warm paint, then rush the parts back inside and hang them in the back hall. My wife, of course, just loves the smell of drying paint in the house. I'm praying for warm weather!

And, unfortunately, it's not just buyers, but also some sellers. After multiple questions about NOS wheel cylinders for my 32 Dodge Brothers, I was assured they would fit my car and were exactly like the originals. I foolishly bid on them and won, only to receive four non-original, stepped cylinders with incorrect bolt patterns. My questions were specific and detailed and the seller insisted the item was correct. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I'd take the engine and gearbox out as a unit. The transmission is quite small and doesn't add that much weight. You can do it either way but getting the trans to mate up with the engine when you're putting it back in can be a pain.

It's amazing the Swiss cheese you find once the body is stripped down. On my 32 Dodge I thought I had one small hole in the strip below the doors. Once the area was cleaned I discovered the entire strip was Swiss cheese - even worse that yours. Very nice work. In most cases it's easier to work on an all steel body - I remember my trials and tribulations with my 1929 Plymouth and it's wood framed body - but in the case of my Dodge, the strip area was all one piece welded together to the rest of the body and with a curve in both directions. I envy your easy access and relatively straight panels that make repairs easier. Then, again, I didn't have to replace wood in the doors or cowl.

I agree those copper lines should acquire a nice patina over time. I have always wondered what they looked like when first installed - I assume they were left natural and not painted, but they wouldn't have polished them back then. I guess whatever patina developed while the materials sat around the warehouse is what you got. Yours should look totally "authentic" over time (and I personally think they look terrific polished, correct or not.) Very nice color on the wood. I like the darker look rather than the bleached blond appearance so popular with many cars. I know you said the metal on the wheels is black. Is there pinstriping on the rims and spokes? Great progress, this is going to be one stunning car.

Cleaned the garage in preparation for the winter months. I always find I get lots of small jobs done over the winter since I can bring many of them inside and work on the kitchen table. The garage is not heated, but stays pretty comfortable unless the temperatures really get cold. My main jobs this winter are finishing the rebuilds on the rear shocks, cleaning and assembling the window and door latch mechanisms, restoring the instrument panel and gauges, installing the rear tailpipe and muffler, installing an electric fuel pump and pressure regulator and installing the windshield and all the other glass. Most everything is now cleaned, painted and ready to install. The garage - as clean as it's been all year. Front bumper installed. Carb in place with new bypass tube installed and the air cleaner temporarily in place. it obviously still needs to be painted. This thing is basically a tin can with louvers. Horn finished and ready to be installed. Door handle/latch mechanisms partly cleaned. I had posted earlier about the cracks that had developed on all the latch bodies. Even some newer ones, with slightly thicker steel (from a 34 dodge) had the cracks. I welded them up and, hopefully, they will remain in one piece this time. Here are the new welds. This was obviously a design flaw in the cars. Nothing earthshaking, but progress continues. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is probably best answered over on the H.A.M.B site as they cater to the hot rod crowd. I assume you are building a period hot rod or a speedster. I'm sure you know you will have to box and heavily reinforce the frame to withstand the heavier and more powerful six. You will also have to extend the frame to account for the longer motor. Fluid drive would be my last choice, it's basically a three speed with a torque converter designed to work with a column shifter. I'd find a bellhousing and tranny from a non-fluid drive drive car. If I was doing this, I'd find a Fast Four motor and build a period gow job.

Funny, it's much easier to make these computer modeled cars shiny rather than rusty. I spent about an hour to apply the blue paint in the ad after I made the car. The rust took about five hours to apply. Anyway, this was a lot of fun, hope you had a laugh ot rwo.