Sloth

Hello Al, Well, it was a nice weekend with limited shopping. We went to Rotterdam, it is the largest harbor of Europe. Nice shopping, but very bad weather, a lot of wind and rain. So instead to continue shopping the whole Saturday, we went in the afternoon for a harbor tour by boat. We were impressed, a very busy harbor. Stayed the night over, and had a very good "surprise diner" at one of the restaurants (good wine too 😋). Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Yes, I worked out the degree of slope, the pictures of the Crestmobile were of a great help. Will let you know, as soon as I assemble the front seat, probably Monday. Today I assembled and glued together the side panels. Tomorrow some shopping is foreseen by Anna 😒, no Cleveland wood work. So my degree of happiness is a bit declining 😁. Regards, Harm

@Mike Macartney: Hello Mike, thank you very much for making this effort. I am very pleased to tell you, the dimensions of the Cleveland seat are within 1/2" identical of those of the Crestmobile. I am reassured and a very happy Harm now, so I pored myself a hearty drink, and toasted on your health. This is just what I needed to continue (the dimensions, not the drink...😊). This forum proved invaluable for me, as I have no frame of reference or help for restoring a 1903 American car of which only two exist. Regards, Harm

Hello Mike, It would be a great help, if you post some measurement of the body and seating area, it seems that the body of the Crestmobile looks nearly identical to the Cleveland. Thank you in advance! Yes Mike, I am human with all the quirks belonging to it. Horizontal flat surfaces magically collecting stuff, can hardly do anything to prevent this 😉. But nothing gets lost, I think... (Takes sometimes more than a few minutes to find something back....🙄) Regards, Harm

Hello Gary, thank you for your advice, will take a look at my Buick of 1910 seats. Regards, Harm

It was a very productive day. Last night I got an idea how to fabricate the front seat. The seat will consist of two left/right main pillars, with notches for the side panels and a notch for the rear panel. The pillars provided me with some fabrication challenges, the rear panel is curved, and the side panels are on an angle. For the pillars, I used mahogany I had in stock, the ash I have is just to small. I like milling/routing mahogany, its reasonably dense and not too bad for the tooling. Sectional view of right side main pillar Curved back side of the main pillar. A lot of milling and sanding was needed to get the notches right. Quarter rear view of main pillar and side panel Side view of right side side panel and main pillar Main pillar angle Gentlemen, the angle of the main pillar in last picture presents me with a problem. I have no idea if the angle is OK, or must it a bit more leaning outward? What do you think about it? Things to do tomorrow, rounding the main pillars, I searched for a router bit with the right (large 1 1/2" radius. Found some at €150-; mmm where did I leave my spoke sheaves... Further, make a top board, an underside beam and 3 small trusses between the top board and the under beam. Alan, I told Anna what you wrote in an earlier post, she liked the idea of the sitting very much.... I am in a hurry now 😁 Regards, Harm

Hello Mike and Al, Gentlemen, you are welcome. I bookmarked this website several years ago, I found many very useful tricks and tips. The "Rolled Wire Sheet Metal Hems" trick I used myself several years ago, when fabricating new wings/fenders/mudguards 😉 for the 1909 Buick. Alan, the Alvis TA-21 is (in my humble opinion) a desirable car, some of them have very nice bodies. Well the Cleveland, a good progress today, but have some problems with the camera, I hope to sort it out asap. Would be very satisfying sitting in the new seat, I really wonder how many years ago the last person sat down in this Cleveland (although I realize very well, that my Cleveland body is newly build). Regards, Harm

Hello John, thank you for the compliment. The wheelbase is 72". Regards, Harm

Hallo Al, I must figure out how it originally was made. But as now, I think, it is a hatch with a 1/2" 90 degree edge, with on the top (near the dash) a hinge. For fabricating the louvers I have to make a simple die. But this item is for the time being on the back burner. Below I include a link to a very interesting project, the fabrication of louvers is shown in detail. The writer describes how to fabricate a simple die for fabricating louvers. To me, it seems a very elegant solution. And another benefit, I can easily adjust the dimensions fitting the Cleveland louvers. And above all, as I am a Dutchman: its cheap 😉 . One note, I only need 5 or 6 louvers, so the die can be very simple and if it breaks I make a new one. Further more the nearest shop who can make louvers is about 160 miles away, and they are not interested in it. So I decided to make the louvers myself. Link: http://www.madaboutmorgans.com/handmade_louvers-html/ I plan to build the seat with rounded corners, I spend the afternoon with drawing and visualizing the seat, how to to fabricate the corners. The back of the seat is also slightly rounded, making it a bit more complicated. Tomorrow I plan to make a mock up (building up one edge, made of slices of plywood), just to see if I have the dimensions right. Pictures will be taken... Regards, Harm

Thanks Al, I hope to have the front seat ready before Christmas (this year...😄). Regards, Harm

@keizer31, thank you for your kind comment. Yesterday and today, I spend on making the middle part of the hood. I used a flexible kind of plywood, this type of plywood is used mostly by furniture makers. The plywood proved less flexible than I had hoped for. But on the end I got it done. Whats left is rounding the corners, sawing the hatch for the petrol tank and water tank and fit the quarter round moldings on the lower/bottom sides. Furthermore, I made the dash board. Slowly, it begins to look like an automobile. Regards, Harm Hood, left side view Hood, right side view

Started this morning with the construction of the slope nosed hood. Made the sides 1"ash boards. After a lot of try and error, got the slopes right (I think but not sure, as I have no comparable model to hand). See pictures. Tomorrow, I will saw the horizontal part, and glue the whole thing together. The pictures show some dimensional distortion. During the writing of this report, I walked two times to the shop to convince myself that the slopes are there, and the sides are similar and have the same tilt 🙄. Won't write down the comment made by my wife, . The small slats in the front are temporarily distance keepers. Regards, Harm

Hello Mike, Hardinge collets = top quality equipment. Congratulations with the shaper! Shapers are a nice and useful addition to the shop tools. I have one and use it often, they are more versatile than most people think. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Nicely written! The quarter round is some kind of pine, I would rather preferred ash. But this is what I only could buy in a small quantity. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Next: front seat with its curved backside, dash board and the "slope nosed" hood. The tonneau with the rear door will be last, I must sort out several design issues.... The tonneau is not identical to Cadillac or Ford. (To be honest, the Cleveland body looks like a Cadillac or Ford body, but differs on most dimensions). From the front seat on, the Cleveland body is totally different. So the tonneau presents me with some headache. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, That is a very nice made box! I guess the ignition box for the two cylinder Cleveland, is mounted on the dash board. For the one cylinder car, it is mounted near the engine, with the switch mounted on a small strip of sheet metal under the passenger side of the front seat, rather primitive and not very convenient. I think that the 2 cylinder car is a much more sophisticated (modern) car than the one cylinder car. This is something I must sort out. Regards, Harm

Yesterday evening Anna and I started gluing the body parts. Work progressed well, it took us just 3 hours to complete the task. One has to work fast, as the glue sets after 15 minutes. This afternoon I sanded the whole body and where applicable routed the edges. Also made the under frame for the front seat. What I nearly forgot: putting small wooden pieces (blocks) under the body frame beams. They will hold the body 5/16" above the steel chassis rails. So this is done to prevent moisture becoming trapped between the steel chassis rails and the body frame beams. Below some pictures. Regards, Harm

Hello Al, Company left early in the afternoon, the weather forecast warned for thick fog, and right they where. So yesterday evening, Anna and I started gluing the body parts. Work progressed well, it took us just 3 hours to complete the task. One has to work fast, as the glue sets after 15 minutes. Regarding the ignition system, I really don't know. I have the timer, but not much else. I have no coil and no switch, I guess there must also be a battery box for 6 standard cells? Regards, Harm

Hello Mike, I read all the pages of your blog. Mike, you show exceptional craftsmanship. I like this kind of restoring a car, performing all the work yourself , and learning a lot during the process, most satisfying. Reading about the engine, it seems to me as very compact, but rather a complicated and well designed engine. I am anxious to see the first start of the restored engine, keep my fingers crossed. A question: are the crankshaft bearings made of bronze with a Babbitt lining, or just bearing bronze without Babbitt lining? Regards, Harm

Hello gentlemen, Sorry to disappoint you, no gluing today. Got unexpected visitors, nice, so my planning came to nothing. Well Monday I will start again. Have a nice weekend, Harm

Hello Luv2Wrench, I fully agree with you. A kind of Dykem blue usable for wood would be very welcome. I too have problems with the small lines, to be honest I can't hardly see them, so I use a very small pencil line. The problem with this is I have to remember on which side of the line I must saw or mill. Regards, Harm

Today was a productive day, I started at 7 o'clock. First, inserted the timber at the rear side of the front seat and also fitted the quarter hollow. Took some time to get it right. Further more I made a lot of small adjustments and sawed both side boards. The whole affair took the whole day to finish. Both sides are now less than 1/16" equal to each other, I am happy with the results 😊. For my wood work I use the same calipers as for the metal work, some friends thinks its way over the top.... I don't think so, to get the parts dimensional correct, you have to work with tight tolerances. Question to you all, what are your thoughts about this? Tomorrow its gluing time, all the joints and side panels will be glued, and were needed, screwed together. Regards, Harm Detail of inner left side Detail picture with the quarter hollow Inside view, right side. Beam for the holding the floor boards is clearly visible. Front view Side view, right side Left side of the body

Hello Alan, The tanks are not original. I made them several years ago. The material I used is 18 gauge brass sheet. The tank are build by fabricating two sides left and right with 1/2" flanges. I made the flanges 1/2" by using a hard wood pattern to work the brass on. After that I folded the middle piece and rolled the round part on a slip roller machine, I used one long piece of brass. I used a 40" 3 in 1 cheap metal working machine. This machine its a bit flexible, but good enough for my needs. After test fitting I soldered the sides on the middle piece The outlet parts I turned from brass stock with 1/4" pipe threat in it. See pictures. After the soldering both tanks where water tight, no leaks. Regards, Harm Petrol tank Petrol tank bottom view Water tank side view Water tank three quarter view Water tank bottom view

Hello Alan, Thanks, nice house you have, I like the architectural style. The weather, mmm, looks to me as one of those "stay in bed with a hot chocolate and good book" days..... Is the snowfall earlier than normal? Tomorrow, I expect to show some visible progress. Regards, Harm

Hello Alan, This evening (just a few minutes ago, local time, its 17:15 hr) I received the quarter round molding. Today I spend with cleaning the shop and started with the lay-out of the side panels. Furthermore I made patterns for the side panels of the hood (scuttle) and patterns for the front seat. Tomorrow, I start the gluing of the under body and fitting the side, front and rear panels. Regards, Harm To all readers: Anna and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.