ricosan

Hey guys, I was really scared about pounding these "tacks" into the trunk's thin board. I needed to bend them over so that they will hold tight. I used a 5 lb barbell to absorb the blows and bend the tacks over beautifully. It took two people to do the job but it went quickly and efficiently with all of the tacks bending back into the wood on the backside. This afternoon I'm going to try to get the clasps attached. ricosan

Hi David, This was my first Muster. Brad and Kellie did a fantastic job of setting up activities that kept us all entertained and busy. I had a blast! I got to ride in a 1931 Buick roadster, a '25 and a '27 Marmon and a '32 SIXTEEN! The weather was great and the scenery was outstanding. We voted to have the next Muster in Alabama. It's going to be in March so the weather should be perfect. I plan to drive my '32 to this Muster. Pictures I didn't do so well with. I'll check my photographs and see if I can post some. If anyone else has photographs, please post. I hope to see you next year! ricosan

Hey Guys, I finally got up the nerve to start fitting the new canvas to the trunk's exterior. I coated the wood surfaces with a brush coat of contact cement and used a spray contact cement on the canvas. I was surprised at how easy the canvas was to fit into tight turns and over edges. Once the fabric was dampened by the contact cement, it was much softer and proved to be more pliable. I had to replace another piece of wood on the front panel after several attempts attempts to salvage it failed. Some of the "relief" cuts were a little sketchy but overall I'm pleased with the outcome. Next: Replacing the hardware. PICS so far

Hey Joe, You have a different set of challenges than I do but the end result will be worth the effort. That's a beautiful red trunk! ricosan

Good morning, Auburn, Thanks for the tips. I took lots of photographs of all of the areas where the pieces of canvas came together. I hope they will give me enough detail to see how it was joined previously and where to make the relief cuts. Today I am going to have to hand sand the top with the slats as it still feels a little bumpy. I don't know how forgiving the canvas will be but this is the only area that isn't absolutely flat. After that I'll coat with polyurethane and hope to start with the canvas on Sunday. Clamps - I hadn't thought of that. I have lots of clamps and even though I'm using contact cement, there are a number of challenging bends to be addressed. Clamps will do it! ricosan

The heat gun worked really well. It took about 2 hour to strip the remainder of the canvas. Then I sanded the remainder of residue off. My next step will be covering all of the wood with a coat of polyurethane to seal everything. After that it's time to start putting on the canvas. I have to admit I'm a little intimidated at the thought of replacing the canvas. This is all new territory for me. ricosan

I'm going to try contact cement. The canvas is pretty stiff and I think contact cement will help with corners and curves. I bought a heat gun for $22 at Home Depot and I've tested it on several areas and it looks like it's going to work. After striping the canvas off the bottom I discovered more rot. I replaced the bottom this morning with new wood. Tomorrow I'll attack the rest of the canvas and then sand the box smooth.

Canvas is some tough fabric. I tried using a belt sander with 80 grit paper. It won't take it off. I am going to try using a paint stripper heat gun today. I also found more wood damage on the bottom. I will be replacing this today also if I can find the time before it gets too hot. I have to do this work outside because of the dust and or chemicals and it's supposed to be 97 this afternoon. ricosan

Thanks for all the great information! With your help, I was able to find all the rivets, nails, tacks and a few doo-dads I needed for the job. I've started striping the canvas covering (2 layers). Most of it came off without too much hassle except where someone used wood glue to stick the canvas to the trunk. The box has some damage in a few areas. In these areas I've restored the wood where I could and replaced areas with wooden slats as the same thickness as the plywood. Here are some pics of my progress. Tomorrow I plan to sand the box. I purchased canvas from JoAnns Fabric store. I'm not sure if it is the same quality as marine canvas. This trunk will rarely if ever see rain. I plan to coat the sanded box and lids with polyurethane. I think this will produce a water resistant box and hopefully, long lasting too. I am unsure what to use to attach the canvas to the trunk. My plan is to use contact cement unless someone can recommend another product. Thanks again! ricosan

thanks Guys, This is looking more and more like I can do a full restoration myself. With a hundred or more rivets on the trunk, the job seemed daunting. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get all of the rivets back and holding like they came from the factory. I think the trunk will be a perfect addition. I'll try to provide pictures as I go. ricosan

Hey Auburn, Thanks for all the info. It has a lot of "peened" rivets that I don't want to tackle. I'm thinking of covering the canvas with a brown or black paint and then replace the leather. I will have to remove some of the rivets but but hopefully I will be able to get them back on. Any product would you would recommend for covering the canvas? ricosan

Hey Guys, I found a handsome vintage trunk to replace the over sized and disproportionate trunk that it had when I purchased the car. This trunk is 3" less in width and fits very nicely within the trunk shelf. It needs some serious TLC. Structurally it is sound but the covering (canvas?) is a mess. It is put together with rivits and so I am hoping that I can just replace the leather and treat the covering with brown or even black if necessary. Any suggestions. It will not be exposed to the weather. ricosan

Of course you are right. I just don't like to take something apart and then take days or weeks to find the replacement parts. Marmon parts are scarce and hard to find. As far as the final diagnosis, I am leaving that up to my mechanic when he gets the rear end apart and examines the bearings. I will use what I need and put the unused parts in the spare part bin. ricosan

I know what you mean Greg, I've started moving things into my new garage and it all ready feels like I need another ten feet! ricosan

After replacing the bearings in the rear end I intend to continue up the drive train. I don't know if the drive shaft universals are bad but I am getting a lot of grease slung from the seals at both ends so this will be addressed and while I have the shaft out I intend to remove the transmission and check/replace the bearings in there if necessary. I haven't tried rotating the tires front to back to see if it makes a difference. I'll have to do that when I get it on the lift. I've been busy the last few days moving into my new garage. It's taken 5 month for my builder to get the job done! I'm building some work benches and organizing my tools. It's a lot more room than the place I had before (carport). ricosan

Good Morning Greg, No I haven't got it all sorted out yet. I have managed to locate and purchase 2 rear wheel bearings, 2 pinion bearings and 2 differential bearings. I'm hoping that this will lessen some of the noises coming from the drive train. I'm taking my Marmon to a car show in 2 weeks but as soon as that is done I am going to have the rear end bearings replaced. In the mean time I'm on the hunt for parts to replace the Spicer universal joints inside the enclosed tube. I want to check the harmonic balancer too. I'll keep you posted. ricosan

Good Morning All, I have 2 cracks on my steering wheel. I've seen advertisements for repair kits but I just don't know how effective they are. Has anyone here used a repair kit with good results? Or is this a job best left to a professional? ricosan

Thank you for that information Kaycee. I'm not even sure that this model came with a clock. This may have been an add-on by one of the previous owners. Also because of the opening and closing of the glove compartment, I suspect this was not an electric clock. I'll keep my eye out for a Sterling wind up clock. ricosan

Good Morning Everyone, I purchased my 1932 Marmon about 8 months ago and I am working on a slow restoration. All of the gauges appear to be originals except for the clock. I've been searching for several months for a clock to replace the "VDO" clock presently located in the glove compartment. What kind of clocks would have been installed from the factory? Anyone have a clock for sale? ricosan

Rod, I think you nailed it! ricosan

Greg, I managed to get the car up on jack stands and I stuck the dowel to the axle as near to the hub as I could. Both sides were noisy but the driver side rear was the loudest. It has a slight rumble to it also. I'm not real sure about the passenger side as the exhaust comes out that side and is loud. I ordered bearings and seals from George at Olcar. Ed, I yi yi! Say it ain't so. This is the first time I've heard of this. I was so pleased when I purchased the car that it had a set of brand new beautiful white sidewall radial tires on it. You say the wheel may explode? This education stuff really hurts! ricosan

That's it! When I put the car on jack stands and ran the car in gear I thought I heard a faint rumbling noise coming from the rear drivers side hub. I won't have time to work on the car today but tomorrow I'll put in on jack stands and try the wood dowel trick. ricosan

Hey Greg, It has wire wheels. The tires (4) are new radials. I don't recall if the noise stops when I release the gas. If the rain holds off this weekend I'll do that test as well. I hear a metalic scrunching kind of sound when I get above 35 mph and continues to become more noticeable as speed increases. ricosan

I jacked the car up this morning and put jack stands under the rear axle. I started the car and put it in gear. There is little up & down motion and about 1/4" wobble from side to side on the drivers side wheel and about 1/8" on the passenger side. I crawled under the car and watched the drive shaft while the car idled in 2nd gear. It appears to run absolutely straight with no wobble. I stopped the engine and pushed on the drive shaft side to side and up and down on both ends. I do get a clunk but I see hardly any movement. I get the same movement and clunk sound on both ends. I also had the oil in the rear end changed this morning. I haven't had a chance to drive it at speed to see if it made any difference. ricosan

R W, This is great! We need more of this to help our members with the "knowhow" to preserve these great cars. Any how-to threads for basics like, repacking wheel bearings, replacing timing chain, replacing wood, etc, etc. Thanks again for the posts. ricosan