scott12180

Still looking for Blue Crown 76-comm. These are 7/8" plugs. --Scott

Good point --- I really don't want a huge truck if I only need it to tow once or twice a year. My car weighs less than 3000 pounds, and if I use an open trailer like a Featherlite, it's a fairly easy package. Question is: Can I tow with a 4.6 liter V-6? I've always thought that the V-6 was a low torque engine not capable of towing, but this F-150 I came across has a towing capacity of 8800 pounds, which seems highly optimistic. --Scott

On the tow vehicle. . . . Does anyone ever tow with a manual transmission? Or is the slipping of the clutch just too much when you are loaded up? I'd really prefer a manual. . . just a lot more fun. (It's a guy-thing). --Scott

Not exactly original pistons, but replacement pistons which were not fitted properly. The previous guy who did the engine work wasn't too knowledgeable on 1920's engines, let alone Franklin air cooled. I had new bearings made for the mains and rods, and in looking over the cylinders discovered that the clearances were set up too tight for my comfort. While it's apart, if I could find someone to hone them in to the correct clearance, it makes sense to get it done right.

Thanks for your advice, guys. Yeah, this is the way we learn. Screw up, then figure out what we did wrong. So now I know the difference between honing and glaze breaking, and the proper tools for each. And then when we've finally got it all figure out, we die. :-) But this is fun stuff. Thanks again. --Scott

I should add that I am using a three-armed spring-loaded hone/glaze breaker. Yeah, it's the cheap one at under $30. So my question is, can a glaze breaker like this remove 0.001 to 0.002" of metal in a cylinder, or is it not designed to do that? Continued poking around on the net tells me that a hone and a glaze breaker are two different things. True? --Scott

I'm getting a little frustrated so I thought I'd throw this out. I've been measuring the bores of my Franklin cylinders with a telescoping bore gauge and a micrometer. I hate the thing. I get a different number every time and the only way I get an idea of the true diameter is to take LOTS of measurements and use statistics to throw away bad data and take an average of the rest. Other than the several hundred dollar bore gauges, is there any other way to measure cylinder bores? Second, I've been advised to hone the cylinders out anywhere from 0.001 to 0.002" for a better clearance. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO REMOVE 0.001" ???? *sheesh* ! I've honed and honed and honed and I keep getting the same numbers for the diameter. I'm afraid to go any further because I don't trust the telescoping gauge readings. . . . .unless you need to hone with a medium stone for about 20 minutes straight to remove 0.001". I don't have a feel for it, but don't want to ruin my cylinders. Any help appreciated. This isn't going as well as I thought it would. --Scott

No -- wish it could but perhaps that's not reasonable to expect. I figure a good clean reliable truck for the $5k mark, then I need to look around for a trailer. Haven't gotten that far yet, but I don't want something hugely bigger than I need for this car. --Scott

>>I'd look for a 2001+ or so GM 2500HD single rear wheel with the 8.1 gas engine (6.0 can do it too, but for as little as you'd drive it, the power would be worth it). Good suggestion, but why 2001 or newer? Anything wrong or to watch out for on the older truck? And I live in the northeast near southwestern Vermont. I don't mind buying a truck/car in a less-salty southern climate and driving it home. Rust is the main killer up here. --Scott

Hi all ---- My little 1995 Toyota pickup is nearing the end of life and I recently bought a brass car which I'd like to be able to trailer to meets. So it's time to get a new truck, and now capable of towing. Any recommendations on what to buy? I've never had a big tow vehicle before. Considerations: --The brass car is about 2800 pounds. 15 feet long. --I'd like to have an enclosed trailer. --I'd like to keep the cost down. Way down. Maybe $5000. I don't need comfort or gadgets, just reliability. --I don't commute to work, so the truck will only be used for occasional trips to the store, to visit mother on a 300 mile drive, and towing. --And this will be my only modern vehicle. What should I look for? Thanks -- Scott

Hi all --- Anyone have a recommendation or advice on buying a car in England and having it shipped to the USA? The car is an American-made brass era car, coming from southwestern UK (Cornwall) and going to New England (Boston or New York ports). I'm pretty much looking for someone to handle the whole thing, customs and dealing with transport. I can get the car to a UK port, and might be able to pick it up at a USA port, but in between is the question. Thanks very much ! --Scott

Hi all --- as the subject says, I am looking for a speedometer cable which would fit a Series 10 and 11, maybe a Series 12. My car came with the speedometer but the cable got lost over the years. This cable mounts onto the right rear of the transmission and runs under the floor boards, up the firewall and to the speedometer head on the right side of the dashboard. It is about 4 feet long with a 3/4-20 screw nut to mount onto the transmission. Any help much appreciated . Thanks --- Scott

The rims from Universal were the 4mm version. The 3mm type was in the correct original width (2.76 inches) but they called back and said that they were out of stock or something (I forget) but said that the 3mm was a marginal thickness anyway. He recommended the 4mm thickness which came in at slightly wider than original (2.83 inches) . I agreed, bought them, and found they are slightly wider but still work out fine. If anything it gives a "firmer" wider profile to the tire, and the mounting was not effected. They look good on the car -- give it a beefier appearance without being oversized. I didn't measure to verify the thickness of the original versus the new rims --- but 1 mm is a little hard to tell without a direct comparison. I recall years ago the advice to buy any rims when you saw them at flea markets because the originals tended to rust. That was before new rims were available. With new rims on the market, I recommend that you buy them if you can and save your originals for spares. Eventually they will not be available anymore. And besides, once you get your old tires off and look at those original rims you may find one or two (or three or even four) that are pretty buggered from 90 years of ham-fisted wrenching. I only had two really good original rims out of five. --Scott

It's for a 1924 Franklin. I could try to post a photo. . . But it would be great if someone had a spare. I suppose they fit many cars of the 1920's. Speed dial above, odometer to the left below that with trip-meter to the right. Drive cable comes out the bottom. Mostly I need a cable, though, as that's missing. It appears to be about 4 feet long and driven from the rear of the transmission. --Scott

I should finish this thread by saying that I did get it figured out. The key ---- the ABSOLUTE secret --- is to use plenty of lubrication to slide the rubber onto the rim. It's astounding how well dry rubber sticks to the rim. A little lubricant makes a world of difference. Takes me maybe ten minutes to do a tire now with a decent rim spreader. I used a paste-like substance called (something like) Euro paste or Euro Lube. The guy talked me into it at the auto parts store. I'd have to look at the thing again for the exact name, but it really did work very well. It's an glycol-based lubricant that eventually dries helping to seat the bead, but also has a rust inhibitors. Dish detergent may be OK but I question the residue. This gallon-sized tub cost me maybe $13 and ought to last the for rest of my life. So now the 10-B has four new shoes and a new spare. Oh, and it helped to use new rims which I got from Universal. I figured to buy them while they are available. . . --Scott

I have a 1920's Stewart speedometer with the rotating numbers --- not a needle. Actually, I have parts of at least three, none of which are good, from which I am looking for someone to do a repair/restoration to give me one good unit. Can anyone recommend a good, reliable speedometer repair shop who is knowledgeable on 1920's speedometers? Thanks --- Scott

Hi all --- Shopping around for a truck and came across a 1996 Dodge 2500 Cummins diesel. The truck has 200,000 miles on it but is in a rust-free southern climate. I'd fly out to drive it home. I've no experience with diesels nor the Dodge Ram, but is 200,000 a lot of miles for this truck? Or are they good for a lot more? I want to find something closer to 100,000 miles but the budget doesn't allow. Thanks

Thanks for your help, Franklin31 --- much appreciated. Yes, I looked up Service Station 113 and saw the write-up on split rims. I had to laugh because Tim spends a lot of time on removing the tire and mounting the new tire, but quickly glosses over expanding the rim . That was the hardest part ! I could do everything else with ease, but it was that last 1/4 inch to lock the rim that blew me away... The other thing is Tim did not mention lubricating the tire and rim before mounting. Is that so obvious that it doesn't need to be mentioned? Well, I learned the hard way. I think it's essential. (The first time I mounted a motorcycle tire I did not lubricate and encountered the same impossible situation. After much complaining to friends, the next try used lots of dish detergent. The thing slid on so easily I was dumbfounded.) Also, in the drawings Tim places the rim spreader exactly opposite to what others have recommended. . . . I guess that means any orientation is OK as long as it works !

To follow up on shipping my engine parts to Minnesota, A couple of weeks after the engine was delivered I got a notice from Frieghtquote.com that my weight was revised to be DOUBLE what I declared. Estes Express raised my weight from the 270 pounds that I claimed to 515 pounds. (!!) With no explanation given, they billed my credit card directly for the extra amount, without my consent. Now 515 pounds for what I sent is absolutely absurd. I weighed it myself and got 250 pounds, then added 20 pounds for the crate material. If I was off, it was only maybe ten pounds. Freightquote has been sympathetic. They filed a dispute with Estes on my behalf. I supplied photographs, a spreadsheet of individual component weights, and had the shop to whom the engine was shipped write a professional declaration that the weight could not possibly be any more than 270. Further I disputed the additional charge to my credit card with Bank of America. All these disputes could take up to three months to resolve. The upshot is, when you ship, it would benefit you to get the crate weighed commercially with a written declaration. Or have your trucking company weigh it right there in front of you, like UPS does when you ship a package. Otherwise you are at their mercy if you state a weight and they accept it when you ship. How Estes could revise my weight to nearly DOUBLE what I claimed is astounding. Needless to say, I cannot recommend Estes Express. And now I've got to figure out how to get the engine back to Vermont . . . .

The key to this does seem to be to well lubricate the tire and flap. . . and the rim before using the spreader. I tried that using advice also given here, but dam. . . . it still didn't work well. Part of the problem is that the rim spreader does not apply pressure to the inside middle of the rim --- it's off to one side, so the rim locks on one side only. Then you need to flip the tire/rim the other way and try to force the other side to mate. And it is impossible using just a screwdriver or pry bar. What seemed to work was after getting one side of the rim together, I used a hydraulic jack and wood blocks to push in the center and lock the whole thing. That might have worked in the first place. . . . or you might be able to use the rim spreader on the other side. But my god almighty. . . . this is the hardest thing I've ever done in 35 years of old cars. With what came out of my mouth I'm going to hell for sure, one way ticket and throw away the key. And when I finally got it, I found out that in all of my tribulations I destroyed the rim. Now it's all bent out of shape and I need to buy new ones. Actually, I'll buy four new rims because they all are a little warped. Part of the problem is that I buggered up the ends of the rim so badly trying to wedge it with a pry bar that now it won't hold --- when the ends do meet they just slide off one another. That's another reason to just get new rims while they are available. Perhaps the rim was bad to begin with and that contributed to my great difficulty.Yeah, that's it. Blame the rim. I knew what I was doing, it was the RIM that was the problem. Good. Now for lots of beer. BUT, Mr." Impacsys" in Sugarland, TX --- could you please explain your idea with the tie downs? I don't see how they will expand and lock the rim once the tire is on. I'm looking for ANYTHING that will make this easier. --Scott

I can dismount the rim and mount the new tire easily enough with the rim spreader. My problem is that last 1/4 inch of the rim ends overlap. There's nothing that seems to overcome that little bit of overlap. Any suggestions? I am really at wits end. I just can't do it ! -Scott

Hi all -- I am mounting new tires to my 1924 Franklin. The car has 23" wheels using split rims. I have a rim spreader. The theory is to make the tire slip on easier to a collapsed rim, then expand it to normal size. But even with the rim spreader I worked on the thing for about a hour until I finally got it. And I've got three tires to go still ! Dam but that was hard. There's got to be a right way to do this but darned if I know what it is ! Any advice on WHERE to position the three arms of the rim spreader? Say if the split is at the 12 o'clock position, where do I want the three arms? --Scott

Hi all -- I am mounting new tires to my 1924 Franklin. The car has 23" wheels using split rims. I have a rim spreader. The theory is to make the tire slip on easier to a collapsed rim, then expand it to normal size. But even with the rim spreader I worked on the thing for about a hour until I finally got it. And I've got three tires to go still ! Dam but that was hard. There's got to be a right way to do this but darned if I know what it is ! Any advice on WHERE to position the three arms of the rim spreader? Say if the split is at the 12 o'clock position, where do I want the three arms? --Scott

Hi all --- I'd like to find a set of Blue Crown Husky spark plugs --- 76-comm. Looking for at least 8 but a box of ten would be nice. Two boxes would really make me happy. I'd buy 75-comm if they are available. The 76-comm is a hotter plug. Thanks --- Scott dwyers@rpi.edu

I originated this thread and wanted to fill in on the end result. I went with Estes Trucking through freightquote.com. To Minneapolis the cost was $178, which was pretty reasonable. It would have cost me $400 in gas alone to drive out and back. That price included me bring the engine to the Estes terminal in Albany, NY and it being delivered to the shop which had a fork lift. I will advise that you can't crate the engine too well. I was fixated on weight since originally I wanted to send it UPS and they have an upper limit, unless you use their freight service. So, using what was around the barn I made a crate out of 1x3's and masonite which looked really nice but apparently did not hold up well. The engine survived with no damage but the crate was falling apart when it arrived. Being a novice to shipping engines, I didn't realize how often a crate must be moved from truck to truck during the process. And no one is going to be as gentle as I am. I guess I got lucky but as someone posted earlier with a photo it could have easily damaged the engine. Maybe I'll go out there to pick it up after I have new bearings made. So, Estes was just fine and the price very reasonable, but spend the bucks on good crating material, and then ask an experienced guy how to build a bulletproof crate. --Scott