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Hello Mike, Thank you for your kind words. That is a beautiful machine, I like it very much. How did it behave on the road? Your striping work looks very good, nice colors too. I must admit, I never heard of Wright-It paint, found the website with specifications. Regards, Harm

At last, this morning (Monday) the package with the striping paint arrived! The delivery person told us, that the company was overwhelmed with packages. It got out of hand and they hired numerous (untrained) workers to keep the deliveries going, but most of the packages are a week or more delayed (so was ours). Well, as the weather is very nice, I started to stripe the wheels. First striping the felloes, now they are drying. Tomorrow I hope to stripe the spokes. First wheel partially striped (spokes will be done tomorrow) Four wheels done. Regards, Harm

To impregnate the wooden body of the Cleveland I ordered West Systems epoxy 105 + 206 slow hardener. I have read a lot about impregnating wooden bodies (yachts and cars), on a number of forums, and most of them advice West Systems. One drawback, its not cheap... but available at Water sports shops.

Hello Mike, I use 'OneShot' striping paint, have good results with it. When I tried to learn my self striping (some 25 years ago), I experimented a lot with different kinds of paint. Car paint was useless for this purpose, to fluid. Household paint for wood, would do, but depending on ambient temperature, sometimes to fluid. Hammerite is OK but just a few colors to choose off. So in the end I used the OneShot paint (advised by a friendly coach builder) Regards, Harm

Regarding the HVLP spray gun, I forgot to mention that the make is: SATA, type NR95 (the green one). I also have two conventional The Vilbiss spray guns, I use them not so often anymore. Further more, today I ordered the special paint for my Beugler pin striping tool. The special paint is a bit thicker than regular paint, and so much easier to apply (won't leak out of the Beugler striping tube). Problem with it is, that there are not many vendors around who have all the colors on stock. But I found one in Belgium, it should arrive end of the week.

Hello Mike, Thank you for your kind words, good to see you on my blog. Necessity is the mother of invention, even for such a simple solution, keeping parts separated of each other during painting.😊 Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, I adjust the air pressure to 85 PSI. As I have one of the first HVLP spray guns (bought it 30 years ago), it also has a build-in pressure regulator, needed to stabilize the air pressure in case you use a long air hose. Its keeping the spray gun internal air pressure between 30 and 45 PSI. I am very fond of this spray gun, it has served me well over the years. Just one drawback, there are no parts (needles and nozzles) available anymore. Yes, the undercarriage is painted Moss Green (RAL 6005). As written in the the 1903 Automobile Review; the under carriage was painted Coach Green, with red stripping. The body was painted dark red, with green stripping. Regards, Harm

Hello Terry, Thank you for your kind words. Most buildings in my neighborhood are farms, and most of them are thatched. When these farms where build (around 1850) roof tiles where very expensive, thatching with reed was cheap. Now a days, its the other way around, roof tiles are (relatively) cheap and thatching is expensive (labor intensive). Regards, Harm

Very nice weather today, no wind, very sunny and a temperature of 70F. Ideal weather to paint the rear axle and wheels. As I prepared the axle and wheels during the last 2 weeks, everything went very well. Just some small runners, but no insects landing in the fresh paint...😊. Now waiting for the the paint to dry, will do the striping next week. Rear axle As you can see, the caps can not be removed of the axle. So I made 2 small 'gallows' to hang the caps at during spraying, just to keep them free hanging of the axle. Worked very well. Rear axle with small 'gallows'. Painted wheels. I use MIPA PU paint, its flows well and is not too expensive. Applied it with a HVLP spray gun. Two layers of paint, and everything was fine. In the past I used Dupont Centari, but that is hard to come by these days. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Got two wheels done today, one to go. Are you, due to the Corona virus, locked in? What measures are take in Utah to prevent spreading the virus? I hope you and your family and friends are in good health. When I read about the situation of some of the USA States, I makes me very worried where this crisis will end. Regards, Harm

Hello Larry, Thanks for the tip. Regards, Harm

Hello Allan, Yes, most of the jobs are done. Wife reasonable happy... At the moment we have very nice weather, dry, sunny and day temperatures around 61F, the nights are still cold. Most of our fruit trees are blooming, very nice time of the year. Regarding the Corona virus, all car club events have been canceled. I doubt if we will attend any classic car related event this year. Rumor goes that our government will forbid all events this year, including sports, cars, parties, shows, and so on. Well, better staying at home, healthy and grumpy, than 5 feet below the Daffodils. That reminds me, a trip to the Barbershop would do me a lot of good.....😊, but they are closed. Less progress on the Cleveland than I wished for. I need the green PU paint. Ordered it by mail, but I have to wait 2 weeks 😒 , its Corona virus related.... Yesterday I sanded one wheel, took a few hours, afterwards my arm fell off ☹️. Clearly not used to this kind of job anymore. Sanded wheel Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, Not much going on here. Good to read that you and your family are OK. Anna and I are fine too. This is the 4th week we stayed at home. No visitors and no shopping, no problem for me, but Anna becomes a bit restless. The Corona situation in the Netherlands: according to the health authorities, the number of new cases and the death toll from Covid-19 virus, is decreasing slowly. But, due to Easter, there could be a time lag in recording. We will see tomorrow. Regarding the Cleveland, I made 12 nuts for the rear axle compensating gears. 3/8" UNF x 11/16" spanner width. One nut (bottom up) 12 Nuts Further, I have to mention a set back. At close inspection, the top rear spring leave (right side) showed a crack near one of the two eyes. I guess something went wrong with the manufacturing 😰. Looks to me they forgot to temper this leave after the hardening, the file test showed no marks what so ever... Well, long story short, at the moment no spring manufacturer has his business open. All closed by government order. I have to wait till the whole Corona thing is over. Next, as the temperatures are improving, painting the rear axle and the wheels (for the final coat). That means wet sanding 48 spokes etc. Most of you know what this means..... Next job will be, mounting the front axle and steering assembly. Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, Sorry to hear about the unions, what kind of unions did you plant? Not much Cleveland progress. Saturday I made a bearing dust cap, I need 2 for each bearing. One bearing is complete, the other not. Missing one dust cap. So I made one. Turned a two chunks of steel to 4 " diameter, cut disk 5" diameter, of 1/16" steel sheet. Put the sheet centered between the steel chuncks, and clamped the whole lot under the shop pres. Hammered an edge on the disk (used some heat to get it crisp and sharp). Later I turned the cap to original dimensions. The result can be seen below, the green one is the original one, the metal colored one is the new one. Bearing dust caps Tomorrow I continue with the brake drum pattern. The pattern consists of two halves, not complicated to make, just a lot of work. The non Cleveland related activities: building a front end loader (FEL) for the Iseki mini / midi tractor (see picture) . Last week I completed the FEL towers left / right, see picture. But now I am in need of some steel slab, but at this moment I don't like it to go to the steel shop to get it. Well, it can wait, helping Anna with the erection of the temporary green house. Its a diy kit; steel tube and plastic sheet. FEL tower Iseki tracktor "Landleader 235", cat always keeps me company, I feed and cuddle her. (cat belongs to our neighbors, cat is not so sure about it.... 😁) Regards, Harm

Hello Jeff, Thank you for your kind words. Yes, its called "total loss lubrication". After pouring in the heavier oil, it drips a so now and then a bit, I am OK with it. Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, Thank you for your generous offer, I will keep it in mind. Yes you are right, the rear axle is indeed a piece of unusual engineering, even in 1903 it was considered as somewhat 'old fashioned'. To my opinion, it is a rather clever design. No complicated gears, reliable and sturdy, good enough for a light car, considering the road conditions of that era. The axle bar is a massive 1 1/2" piece of C45 carbon steel. Today I put everything together, pored some oil into the compensation drum and.... it leaked like a sieve😡. Remedy: very thick oil with a grease like consistency, now it does not leak anymore. I wonder how it behaves when we go for a ride (well, that will take a while ☺️). Regards, Harm

Hello Terry, Thank you, that is a wonderful idea, never thought of that. Did not find Dutchmen at the Facebook group, I will ask my British friends. I will keep you informed about the progress. Regards, Harm

Hello Joe, Thanks for the explanation. Seems doable for me. So a casting model is the first thing to make. Would be a challenge to find a foundry who is still in business, most of them scaled down or suspended business. The Corona virus has a lot of impact on our lives. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Yes I determined the issue. Started this morning at 6 o'clock, wanted this issue solved. When I bought the car, the compensation gear drums were heavily beaten up. So, after a lot of hammering and using some heat, I got the drums back in shape. But after assembling and using all the nuts and bolts, as were foreseen by the manufacturer, the bar axle drum bushing became slightly deformed. That is, not parallel anymore with the a axle bar. The deformation was not very much, but enough to cause a snug spot. So after a lot of measuring and using machinists blue, I got it fixed by using the shop press. Pressed one side of the drum a little bit down, that did the trick. As usual: finding the cause of the problem takes a lot of time, the remedy not so much. The Corona virus: our government will announce tomorrow what for the next couple of weeks the measures will be. I expect a prolongation of the already taken measures. Medical experts say that the curves flatten a bit, so new stricter measure are not needed (yet). But, hospitals are scaling up their intensive care departments and that worries me a lot. In the larger cities, temporary emergency hospitals (700 beds and up) are build, some hotels are furnished by now, for patients other than Corona victims. The medical army corps is also put on duty at the hospitals. As I live in the neighborhood of a large army base, we see a lot of movements with trucks and ambulances. It seems they are gearing up for quick deployment. Its is a fact that our country nearly has come to a stand still. Also are our neighboring countries. Very depressing indeed. Regards, Harm

Hello Joe, Yes you are right, but, it still leaves my question unanswered: how are the two brake drum halves on the ends connected to each other? I guess the two halves are bolted to the axle with the large square headed bolts, and secured by a key. But I don't think the ends are mounted flat on each other without any means of securing. Regards, Harm

Yesterday and today, I worked on the rear axle (to cold and windy for working outside). First I had to mill two key ways for the bronze compensation gear on the axle bar HE 36 on the drawing. Next, milled the key way for the brake drum. After that and thoroughly cleaning the axle bar, I soldered the bronze compensation gear on the axle bar. After cleaning, at long last I assembled the compensation gear and large chain sprocket. Wonder how many decades this axle was last seen assembled and functioning. Milling key ways Bearing sleeve axle Compensation gear drum, sleeve axle side Compensation gears with bronze trust rings Completed compensation drum, sleeve axle side Completed compensation drum, axle bar side Assembly of the axle and compensation gears went OK, but after tightening all the nut and bolts I detected a 'heavy point'. I can rotate the bar and sleeve axle independent of each other for about 5/6 of a full rotation. After that, I feel more and more 'friction', must investigate it tomorrow. To brake or not to brake, that is my question. Mitchell 1903 brake drum Mitchell 1904 brake drum Gentlemen, I have a question, when I purchased this car there where no brake drums included😉. As I have no idea other than a blurred picture from a catalog, my question is: does any of you, have any knowledge of this type of brake drums? I have some pictures of the brake drums of a 1903 and 1904 Mitchell. As a last resort I can make a model and have them cast.... But if one of you have them laying around and is willing to supply me with the dimensions and some details I would be very happy. As far as I can see the drum is split in the middle. Are both halves identical, and how are they assembled on the axle? Regards, Harm

Today, got the sleeve end of the rear axle completed, its sleeve end axle HE 37 on the drawing. Soldered one of bronze gears of the compensating gear (differential) that is HE 25 on the drawing, on the sleeve end. Furthermore assembled the bearing HE 26 on the sleeve end. Had some trouble adjusting the lock nut against the adjustable bearing flange, guess that I have to make some special tools for it. Drawing of the rear axle. Sleeve end axle with part of the compensating gear housing Tomorrow I will show more detailed and better pictures, the camera battery got empty (forgot it yesterday to put it on the loader). Regards, Harm

Today, I started with the rear axle. First I needed the the retaining rings. Could not find the retaining rings 😡, searched high and low, no rings. So after some bad language, I decided to make replacement rings 4x (Position F on the drawing). Furthermore cut out the felt rings 4x (position I and K on the drawing). Fitting the retaining rings took a lot of time. Those things are not flat, but are slightly upward curved, just enough to keep the balls in, and enough play to cause no friction between the ball and the retaining ring. Diagram of rear axle bearing Result of to days effort Completed rear axle bearing, left side of axle (left side of bearing). Completed rear axle bearing, left side of axle (right side of bearing). Regards, Harm

Hello all, To night, our Prime Minister announced new stringent measures. Most importantly, we all have to stay at home, all non essential shops will be closed, gatherings of more than 2 persons are forbidden, mayors of large cities may legally close parks, beaches and so on. Fines for not obeying these rules/law will be in the range of $ 450 for persons and $4500 for companies. All measures are valid to at least the first of June, and will be forced, where necessary, by the police. To summarize all this: the Netherlands are in practice, locked down (although our government does not call it so). I just listened to the British prime minister, same message, same measures. So that leaves me with a lot of time to continue with restoring the Cleveland. No need for preparing my other cars for the summer outings. All car club activities are suspended. Weird times.... Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, O boy, the Corona virus alone is more than enough to conquer, but having an earthquake on top of it, is terrible. I hope you an your family stay well. Alan, are earthquakes more or less common in Utah? Heavy earthquakes are unknown in the Netherlands, we have some small ones in the northern part of the Netherlands, they are caused by natural gas winning. Social life over here is coming to a full stop, many shops are voluntarily closed (nearly no customers anymore). Restaurants, sport clubs, museums, well all public facilities are closed. Many (most) manifestations are canceled. We are asked by our government to stay at home, we expect that after the weekend it will be law. No Cleveland progress made, this morning I received the felt for the oil seals of the rear axle bearings. In between, I started building of an front end loader for my Iseki tractor. Its not complicated, just a lot of work. Some years ago, I build a small front end loader for our John Deere X740 garden tractor. But the X740 is just a bit to small, although we did a lot of work with it. (absolutly better than a wheel barrow 😃). Regards, Harm