Jump to content

edinmass

Members
  • Posts

    16,840
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    540

Posts posted by edinmass

  1. This weeks project.........install new springs on a JN Duesenberg. I’m getting too old for this sxxt. Rear springs are 100 lbs, fronts 75. Did it on the floor. I’m wiped out. Feel like I just ran the Boston and New York Marathon. Dave S sent a bottle of Woodford Rye. Thanks Dave...........half cocked and still hurting. At least the car is sitting correctly. First test drive and we have the best death wobble you could ask for at 20 mph. I’ll align it tomorrow. That’s if I can get out of bed in the morning. Getting old sucks............Steve M.......how do you do it’? 

    • Like 3
  2. 2 hours ago, alsancle said:

    I assume all aluminum?   Who are we ordering this 35k trailer from?

     

     

    A CCCA car is almost never over 19 feet long. Add one foot from each end gets you to 21 feet. Then the reach for the tie downs.........24 is a MINIMUM for any CCCA car. Then you don't get any extra room to balance the trailer either. My tag is 34 feet plus the extended A frame for a 38 foot total length. It leaves 8 feet for luggage, a golf cart, ect. I can also center the car and balance the trailer perfectly every time.........try towing your 35 V-12 and have it sitting back a bit........you will learn the hard way. 24 is the minimum and not that great for the big junk. 26 would be perfect............ trailers come in shit junk cheap, middle of the road almost OK, and then the real nice stuff. By going triple axel and middle of the road you get a gvw of 21K which makes for a stiffer and heavier frame. Standard frame trailers at 10-12k will flex and crack hauling big heavy iron.......even if from a decent manufacturer. Everyone is making things too light today to save material costs.........

    • Like 1
  3. 21 minutes ago, alsancle said:

    I want to revive this thread because I need to replace our 25 year old trailer.    It seems to me that the 7000lb axles with 16" wheels are about 1/100 car trailers?   It is a requirement for me but it eliminates almost every trailer.

     

    Anybody have any thoughts?

     

     

    Easy, Pry your wallet open with a crow bar.............get the BIG one, and then order what you want. A good friend here just purchased a used trailer.......and the guy made off with his money. Order a extra tall trailer to fit any car.......including a big brass car. I like the triple axel options with the spread.........very stable, and makes loading and unloading the trailer while not hooked up easy. You could go a triple with 15 inch wheels......but you will loose braking power compared to the 16's. 24 feet minimum.......26 or 28 is better for luggage. In a perfect world for you...... a featherlite would be expensive but they never rust. Will last you till you croak, or sell it to me. I can give you a long list of things..........like the new rear door with remote winch that opens and closes it since you're almost collecting social security. You need to decided...........kind of cheap and a unit with compromises or just pull the trigger and get it over with once and be done with it. 

    • Haha 1
  4. I think it’s interesting to see so many people chime in on the ignition systems. One poster referred to the Kettering system, while others refer it to Delco. Lots of fun things at play from early trembler systems, magnetos, single-dual-and triple spark plug set ups. Also the real obscure stuff like a dual spark single plug system using both battery and magneto. Different era engines and carburetion, F heads, T Heads, L heads, OH V’s. Compression ratios, flame speed, octane, combustion chamber design, oil control rings, and modern computer and pollution controls. Remember the 80’s setting up the GM feedback carbs.........and my personal favorite........twenty vacuum lines running everywhere. Today’s coil at plug is fantastic. Hall effect sensors, variable cam timing...........and now all the new crazy automatic transmissions with more gears than you can shake a stick at. Driving some of today’s insane super cars are really mind boggling. The technology coming down the pipe is actually too much in my opinion. Half a dozen cameras or more looking at traffic control, and the bumper in front and behind you. I just helped out on a 2021 Porsche that had not been delivered to the customer yet...........both batteries went dead in a commercial car hauler. The car wouldn’t move, the doors wouldn’t open. They had to drive the truck to the dealer to hook it up to a jump pack to open the doors and hood/trunk. After a while on the charger, it started. I really enjoy rolling down my windows in my twenty year old Ford that’s the every day driver...........how much junk does a car need in it? 

    • Like 1
  5. Sure......it’s called a repaint. There is no free lunch when it comes to car paint surfaces. Either its done well, or it’s not. Repainting a car is LOTS of work.....weather you do it right or wrong. The paint job could easily exceed the value of the car if that matters to you............it’s a decision you have to make. For me......I rather have some decent touch ups and live with a twenty footer than tear it all down.

    • Like 3
  6. 4 minutes ago, padgett said:

    That is why I think an audio file would tell us a lot, a spark misfire sounds a lot different from a choked (intake or exhaust) condition which sounds different from a broken/bent valve/spring.

     

    Otherwise ROAD TRIP !


     

    After the half bottle of Woodford’s Rye this afternoon to ease my pain.......(fixing a heavy chassis on the concrete for hours on end.) I’m already on a “TRIP!”

    • Haha 1
  7. 5 minutes ago, Frank DuVal said:

    Ed, I know your talents (from reading on this forum), that's why I was surprised at the words you used. Yes, I make mistakes typing too. 🙄 

     

    Thank you for correcting to the fact of cheaply made spark plug wires are not for any engine, not just 6 volt ignition systems. I see so much misinformation of 6 volt systems being written, hence the spreading rumor comment. Without a correction, a future person searching this post would think there was so much high voltage in a 6 volt ignition system that they needed to buy those superior woven cloth wires instead of just good carbon wires. Of course, if going for original looks, one needs to get the correct woven style.👍


     

    We will call it a misunderstanding............no harm, no foul. I should have commented in detail on cheap Chinese junk ignition components, and what is sold as parts fit for automotive use by most of the car supply houses. I fell victim to them as a fifteen year old kid with no money, and thinking I was fixing and improving my car at the time........when all I was doing was adding additional running problems due to sxxt parts. I’m not certain that new wires will fix Dave’s problem. It’s certainly possible, as I have seen wires in a loom cause misfire under load several times in the past. Unfortunately this problem on Dave’s car has come up now that we are very busy in the shop, and the holidays and upcoming shows are going to prevent me from driving up and helping him for a while if he need one site assistance. I have told him if necessary I would get up to his place to help him......just hoping we can get it done here........it’s a 18 hour round trip for me.

    • Like 2
  8. The new super cars are fun. They sure are fast, and the technology used in them is hard to comprehend. Even a lowly Tesla is much much quicker than most cars you have ever driven.  It will be interesting to see if such limited platforms will still get service updates, parts, and components when they are ten or twenty years old. Some of them are more prolific than you think, others are as rare as a SSJ. I don’t think working on them in the future will be much fun........unless your a masochist.

     

    I think the Tesla’s will always find service. The crazy super cars not so much.

    • Like 2
  9. 4 minutes ago, Oldtech said:

    Dykes says .001 for each inch diameter so .003  ( 3 thousandths).  Cast iron pistons can be fairly tight as they don't expand a lot, so .003 would be plenty IMHO. 


     

    I agree........3-4 for cast iron pistons. Modern pistons with modern ring packages and materials may call for something different.

    • Like 1
  10. 1 hour ago, Frank DuVal said:

     

    OK, no one said by a cheaply made set of wires, just a standard FLAPS* set. A six volt system does NOT make anymore kilovolts than a modern ignition system. Quit spreading untruths/ old wives tales/ other crap. You may have had a real cheap set that would not have worked on any engine, so they failed in your application, but don't blame that failure on how many kilovolts a standard 6 volt Kettering ignition system can develop. I'm sure you have used ignition scopes in your years in shops. Are you really saying you saw 6 volt systems always develop more kV than 12 volt systems on the 'scope?🤔

     

    In most cases, the kilovolts of a Kettering ignition system is set by the gap of the spark plugs! Once the spark happens, the voltage stops rising, as the coil is now supplying current to the "short" of the arc, and then falls off. Want to change system secondary voltage? Change spark plug gap. I haven't seen any 6 volt system engines call for over 40 thousandths gap. 

     

     

    *FLAPS  Friendly Local Auto Parts Store. I would have put on a used known good set from another engine for troubleshooting. And NOT run them through the shield/brackets.😉


    Frank, I was underneath a car on the floor since 7am when I quickly dashed off a fast note and used a poor choice of words to be very brief about the cheap carbon core wires. 
     

    Quite spreading rumors..........???? You have to be kidding me to make a comment like that. And the accusations are asinine. I’m guilty of being way to brief......not in any attempt to misleading anyone. I won’t bother defending my skill set or abilities............I think fifty years of working on the worlds best cars and fixing things that most other people can’t and my scope of work more than proves my skill set. 
     

    The good news is the car I was working on today is now correctly fixed, after a bunch of others attempted to and failed. Tomorrow, I’ll be spinning wrenches on another car.............and so it continues. 

    • Like 1
  11. The last asking price was WAY below 50............since you can count on your hands guys who throw down 20 million or more for cars, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure where it went........I have no clue, and don’t care as I only follow American cars. I know for a fact the number being tossed around as well under 22 in the not too distant past. Take into consideration that a fantastic Alfa will run way over 75 million, and the Type 41 isn’t the big boy toy of yesteryear. How that for high end car snobbery! It’s time for me to go for a ride in my 1915 Ford T. 😎

    • Like 1
  12. 23 hours ago, lalautze said:

    Thanks for the feedback.  The red looks wrong but not bad and I wouldn't offer anymore than 15k if I pursued it. 

     

    My wife and I would like to look at Matt Harwood's '31 Cadillac but it is just out of our budget at this time.  We are looking for a late '20's or early 30's car to tour in.


     

    1929 to 1931 is LIGHT years ahead of 1928 and earlier. Apples and oranges.

    • Like 1
  13. On 1/16/2021 at 9:16 PM, edinmass said:

    No worries....not trying to be difficult. If you wanted to modify the block, the proper repair would be to stitch it and re-drill it. (No heat.) If possible compare a factory gasket to a modern reproduction to see if they are identical. Since you were no over heating it’s unlikely you were dumping combustion gasses into the system. It doesn’t “find its level”.............as most car do in several heat cycles. Combustion gasses would tend to constantly push while driving. You didn’t mention foaming.............another possibility causing it to air bind. 
     

     

    What would I do now that it’s apart? 
     

    Pressure test the heads.......not easy, but worth while. Check them to see if they are flat.

    Rebuild the pump. If you see lots of scoring on the shaft it’s likely drawing air.

    Run plain water while trying to diagnose the water pushing. Anti freeze and water pump lubricants tend to cover up air binding  issues. The symptoms of air should get much worse with plain water........

     

    I would use a scope to look inside the block........it looks like you may have sediment in the system. See Matt Harwood’s Lincoln thread on a cracked block and head stud issues. He used my stitcher to fix his block. I would flush the system with evapo rust heated to 180 degrees. Unfortunately, you may have to reassemble and try it without finding a definitive answer to what was causing the issue. The “go to” guy on these engines passed away a few years ago.....(Ernie Foster)....I’m not sure if there is anyone around who has done dozens of these engines anymore. Can you give a more detailed account on the water pushing out? Volume? Time? Ect.

     

     

     


    Rereading the thread, I see my comment about water pumps drawing air, and foaming. Two weeks ago, I took out V-16 Sport Phaeton out for a LONG drive. Every year or two I like to do 200 miles in a few hours to prove the car is functional at a high engine load. Since we don’t have great surface roads here that are safe to drive under those conditions, I jumped on 95 and headed north towards the open area of the county to our north. After ten minutes on 95 car was running cool and steady when all of a sudden.........a big mess of antifreeze comes past the radiator mascot..........puking and blowing a fine mist. This happened at 65 mph. I backed off and right away the leaking stoped. I’d figured it was probably a head gasket. At 55 mph all was well so we drove it a bit slower for the next thirty miles till we got to our lunch stop. On the return trip home the exact same thing.......no overheating but another mess. By the time I got to the shop, I figured out what I thought the problem may be. The thirty year old restoration had been driven 8K miles over the years. I opened the hood and checked......sure enough, my guess was correct. When restored all those years ago, a short cut was made........the water pump grease cup didn’t have the check valve in it, so at high speed the car sucked the grease out of the cup and it was sucking air.........only at high rpm...........and it certainly was the first time in twenty five years the car was driven that hard. (When testing a car, I drive them to 90 percent of their operating range.....ie to 90 percent of maximum rpm for about five minutes.) so I did a temporary fix till I can get a correct grease cup. Easy fix, big mess. I was just happy I wasn’t pulling heads. Anytime you push water and don’t overheat, 90 percent of the time it’s drawing air in the system by the pump. The other ten percent is a collapsed hose or a restricted radiator.

    • Like 1
  14. Everything looks very nice, and well done. The manifolds look good with their treatment. Glad it fired right off for you. Just on short comment, PLEASE - never pour gas down a carb, I know four people personally who have been severely burned when they did that and the car backfired. I would thermo cycle the car two or three times a day, checking the head torque a couple of times after it goes through three or four cycles. It’s a great platform, and one of the better “sleepers” in the era. And, usually a very good quality custom body. Three thumbs up for a project well done, with no shortcuts. 👍👍👍

    • Like 1
  15. The green car is a 1934. It has incorrect and missing trim. Wrong headlight lenses and rings. I interesting car that it appears to have chrome wheels on steel artillery wheels, something I have not seen on a 1934 before. Why not chrome the radiator shutters also? Side mount covers went missing over time. The single pilot ray light has also gone missing. Chrome side mount covers were very unusual in 1934 on ANY car. They are great drivers if properly sorted.

    BB05E808-77A9-4212-BA43-8A2118EB16AA.png

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
×
×
  • Create New...