Terry Harper

Yesterday at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum we hosted a film crew. It was a magnificent, crisp March day with a beautiful coating of fresh snow. Needless to say, since they were working on a film project about Alvin Lombard, we just had to get one of his wonderful machines out and and play in the snow with it. It won't be long before mud season is upon us so we made the best of the opportunity - and my daughter got another driving lesson. And we had the 1928 Lombard Model 'T' out and about a bit too

From the Smokestak Antique Engine Forum. These track conversions usually command a premium but this one might be bit optimistic. 1930 Model A with Super Snow Bird Attachment. Converted to 12 volts. Gear reduction boxes in rear end. Front wheels swivel 180 degrees when on pavement. Runs and drives. Ready for the snow. Located in Phoenix, AZ. $30,000. More photos here: https://www.smokstak.com/forum/threads/1930-model-a-ford-with-super-snow-bird-attachment.220380/

From Smokestak Antique Engine Forum for sale section: Hate to but I gotta. For Sale: Nice straight & solid for a 99 year old car, spent a lot of its life in a barn. Rolls. Engine spins over, transmission shifts. Suicide doors. Grille shell/radiator is 1924/25 Studebaker. Has Gabriel Balloon Snubber canvas strap shocks on the rear. Parts shown are what I have to go with the car. Located in Excelsior Springs, Mo. Being sold with a bill of sale. No trades. More photos available. $4000 or make offer. More photos here: https://www.smokstak.com/forum/threads/1923-24-studebaker-light-six-roadster.221178/

Great work Joe! Do you have the tool to dress the stone? Also, wetting the news print with WD40 or light oil will help keep the grit in place. Know that you have used it, I am thinking your going to find the tool post grinder a helpful tool!

Didn't work on anything today.. just went to the Maine Forest & Logging Museum and let the beasts out to play in the snow. This particular Lombard was setup to plow roads - thus the front wheels rather than skis as most of them had (they can be swapped out quite easily) Hopefully we will have a set of skis for it soon. I guess I miss spoke. We did do a bit of work. Just getting to the museum was an adventure. Its about a mile off the paved road. Here is a photo of the road in. It was total ice. We ran the 10 ton Lombard up the road a bit and down the hill to try to break-up the ice a bit for better traction. The area to the left is where someone piled their car into the snow bank. You can see by the tracks that we tried to turn the beast around but the front wheels just slid so we backed up the hill and found a better spot to pull a three point turn. These machines were designed to run on ice roads so side slip isn't much of an issue though you still have to be careful. A birds eye view of a rare beast out in it's natural habitat.

OK... that is cool! You don't see one of these up for sale very often and colors and materials aside its pretty neat!

Nothing wrong with fitting by feel. You know what you want the end result to be. Your doing the job of a skilled fitter from back in the day.

Tim, That clarifies a lot. (please correct me if I am wrong) your goal than is to utilize as much of the original "fabric" as possible even though it may be imperfect. That's a refreshing approach and interesting topic and one that has perplexed many restoration efforts across the spectrum. I remember the debate over Ray Brooks SPAD XIII at the Smithsonian. It was in a sad state of decay with, among other things, the original fabric severely deteriorated. Some parties called for a complete restoration including new fabric painted to replicate the original, etc. as opposed to stabilizing and conserving the original material. The other issue with such an effort is defining the degree of "replacement" and restoration versus conservation. Is the end goal an operating exhibit or static? To what degree do we compromise to achieve the goal? For instance, the museum I am involved with is a hands-on "living history" museum - all our major exhibits (and vehicles) are fully functional and demonstrated to our visitors on a regular basis. As such, things are going to wear out and or break. Could we modify or replace components with improved or more durable materials and components to reduce down time and repair costs? It could fast become a slippery slope wearing away at the original fabric. Its an interesting debate! As others have stated I really appreciate your efforts to preserve and document such an interesting part of automotive history.

That is really cool!

You would be surprised. There is quite a significant group of collectors out there and several highly active organizations such as the American Truck Historical Society https://aths.org/ and the Historic Construction Equipment Association https://www.hcea.net/ Looking at the Liberty truck in the offering I can't help but think of the Historic Military Vehicle Forum based out of the UK. Several lengthy threads detailing epic restoration of these beasts are worth the time including: https://hmvf.co.uk/topic/35087-ww1-peerless-lorry-restoration/ and https://hmvf.co.uk/topic/9672-ww1-thornycroft-restoration/ They might not be fast or comfortable or stylish but they are a lot of fun and represent interesting history and technological evolution.

Looks like some nice heavy Iron. March 24-26 https://www.mecum.com/auctions/east-moline-tractor-2022/collections/hays-museum-antique-truck-collection/

Looks can be misleading. For the most part the engine appears to be all there which is a significant part of the battle. I had an engine that looked very rough but it had been in dry storage and unloved since 1933. I was shocked as could be when it turned out not to be seized-up. Now if only all the missing bits and pieces had been at hand life would have been perfect.

For what its worth: Dyke's Automotive: Back-firing through carburetor: "Generally speaking back-firing is caused by a lean mixture which burns so slowly that the flame continues until the opening of the admission valve again, when it ignites the incoming charge in the intake pipe and shoots back to the carburetor. While an over rich mixture will also burn slowly, it rarely ever will cause back-firing. Another cause of back-firing is, of course, the faulty timing of the valves. Or in fact a leaking valve. As a general rule, back-firing is due to one or more of the following causes: (1) very slow explosion or weak mixture. (2) very late explosion; (3) a spark occurring during the intake stroke; (4) the intake valve partially open during the power stroke; (5) premature ignition. ...Slow combustion is caused by a lean mixture. A late explosion is caused by a weak or retarded spark. Nos 1 and 2 are the usual causes." Popping back or spitting through the carburetor: "... mixture is too weak and more gasoline is required." As Ed has stated there is a lot going on. The trick is figuring out what isn't the problem. Go through one system at a time - one modification at a time.

Harm, Simply fantastic!

Thanks Ed, One of my favorite threads to follow. Their current efforts to bring a WW1 era Peerless Lorry back to life is fantastic: https://hmvf.co.uk/topic/35087-ww1-peerless-lorry-restoration/ Wonderful work on the Collier! Please keep posting!

Campton, NH. 1926. Interestingly this was the third bridge in this location. The first bridge was a covered bridge and was destroyed by fire. The second bridge collapsed in 1867 under team of horses resulting in the death of four horses with the teamster surviving. It, in turn, was replaced by an iron bridge which collapsed under the weight of a Lombard tractor and its train of sleds. Tragically one person died. The large building on the left was the grist mill (once a familiar sight in many New England towns and villages) which is long since gone. The white house is still standing though the barn is gone and the field behind it is all grown in.

That's interesting. I know that was a common technique and you are correct in your fear. I have an early brochure titled: "Lubrication Instructions, T-head type engines", (Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing) which strongly warns against that stating: "... some kerosene will be trapped in the wells, and oil pockets over minor bearings. This kerosene will dilute the fresh oil and impair its lubrication qualities... draining the oil while warm will accomplish all that kerosene will do in the removal of sediment." Additionally, when you think about, it during the period of time your engine is running and pumping the kerosene through - it is indeed loosening crud but also carrying it through the bearings with a bare minimum of lubrication and since, unlike a modern detergent oil, kerosene does a poor job of keeping the crud in suspension,the heavier material drops out usually in places you really don't want it. Picture the heavier stones and pebbles dropping out of the fines carried by a stream or river. Unless your doing a rebuild and can physically clean the oil galleries and passages, draining the oil while hot, and dropping and flushing the pan, screen etc. followed by filling with new oil is the best course of action. Though a good modern synthetic is expensive I would suggest running it and doing several short interval oil changes.

Reminds me of an engineer I once worked with. He wore the most horrible color combinations. One day he told me he was color blind and stated how thankful he was that his wife picked out his cloths for him.... I have often wondered what he had done to make her so mad.

Remember that railroads today are geared towards bulk commodities. A few years ago a family member was tasked with shipping aerospace related jigs, fixtures and tooling from the west coast to the northeast. Given the size and quantity they figured rail would be the way to go. The first question the railroad people asked was "do you want it to arrive in one piece?" In spite of it being a sizeable contract for them they really discouraged it. In the end it was all moved it by truck.

I noticed the Maine tag. Interestingly H.H Linn was from Washburn Maine. A talented musician, before moving to New York, and founding the Linn Manufacturing Company, he and his wife operated a popular traveling dog show that toured New England. During the winter months he worked for the Lombard Traction Engine Company in Waterville, Maine. Again, very neat piece of history

That's a really neat Linn trailer. If its surplus to your needs I am sure there is someone out there that would love to have it to tag along behind their 1930's antique car. The Linn Trailer Corporation was founded by H.H. Linn in 1929 in Oneonta, NY. In 1930 he was granted a patent for his interesting trailer design which he initially marked as the "U-Can-Back" auto trailer. Linn advertised that the trailer had a capacity of 800 lbs. However, in the depth of the depression success alluded the venture. Later, Sears and Roebuck marketed a similar type trailer. As previously mentioned H.H. Linn was also the driving force behind the Linn Manufacturing Company which successfully marketed a heavy half track tractor. Not many of these have survived!

Walt, I agree. Seeing, hearing, smelling and indeed feeling an artifact in motion and doing what it was designed to do - be it a car, plane, locomotive or what have you is an amazing educational experience that one never forgets. To this day I can still recall the sights sounds and smells of the very first steam locomotive I saw in action. As a 10 year old boy you can only imagine the thrill of being invited up into the cab and offered a chance to pitch a few shovel loads of coal into that cavernous firebox. Likewise I see it every time I volunteer at the museum and demonstrate a piece of machinery - be it a 3hp Fairbanks-Morse engine, the water powered sawmill or the log haulers etc. Its also why I choose to drive 2-1/2 hours to volunteer at a "living history" museum rather than the 40 miles to a static museum that has pretty much the similar artifacts. Will things break and need repair and replacement in spite of careful use? - yup! As long as the individual or organization is dedicated to performing period correct repairs as opposed to modern "improvements" than I have no problem with that. Unfortunately people with the interests and skills to maintain and perform correct repairs are becoming rather rare.