TonyAus
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Posts posted by TonyAus
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2 hours ago, MikeC5 said:
Watching this video closely, It also appears the distributor drive end slot and drive gear slot are more/less aligned.
Thanks again Mike
This video was interesting but unfortunately it doesn't show the old shaft coming out (he lost charge on his phone) - bugger! The new shaft he used is from Myers and has the key slots in line - the arrangement I have questioned. Perhaps I worry too much. At least it confirms my conclusion to another problem that the impeller pins were drilled for individual fit. Regarding your photo , I think that the apparent offset may be an optical illusion caused by the camera angle.
Has anyone else got an old shaft which might kill my doubts? Please!
Tony
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Thanks for that Mike. Looks like it's time to come clean with the full story. Since getting the car back on the road I've been plagued with variable overheating - mainly associated with hot weather and higher speeds. Most of the usual suspects, blocked radiator, lean mixture, loose fan belt etc have been addressed. I've now turned to the possibility of not enough spark advance or that the water pump impeller has somehow come loose. Both these could be associated with the stainless steel water pump shaft I had made up nearly forty years ago. In any event I was not happy with the fit of the impeller on the shaft and raised the surface with a series of centre punch marks (a bodge dictated by not knowing better). Being slightly under size the new shaft also has a habit of chewing up and spitting out the packing - another source of annoyance. I also didn't check that the key slots were in the same places as the old shaft which had been cut in half to release the water pump (another bodge on my part). Before pulling the whole mess apart to check I decided to order a new shaft from Myers but noticed that theirs has all the key slots in line. The remains (front) of mine has the impeller key slot offset to the others which, of course, has no significance to the ignition timing. As the magneto end is missing I started to worry that the problem may be the relationship between the drive gear and magneto yoke slots - and without a way of checking. I also thought that having all the slots in line was an easier way to make the reproductions and may have relied on the use of a distributor, timed by the method dwollom suggests.
Mike, I take it that the fan pulley end of the shaft is at the right side of your photo. If so, I can't see a key slot at the left hand end, which is the one in question. There should be four slots rather than three. Have my eyes failed? If the left hand end slot is further around the shaft than the drive gear one you may have answered my original question. I'd be grateful for clarification.
Regards
Tony
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1 minute ago, dwollam said:
It really has nothing to do with correct ignition timing. You can move the distributor a tooth at a time and the way to set the timing is to loosen the points cam screw and turn the points cam where ever you need it.
Yes - but I have a magneto which doesn't have this luxury.
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The question is whether the slots are aligned or not. If not I can make suitable arrangements.
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For reasons too long to explain here I need to clarify one aspect of water pump shafts used on single electrical unit (starter/generator) DB engines. Does anyone have an old shaft that they can check for me?
These shafts have (from the front) a woodruff key slot and cross drilled hole for the fan pulley, a key slot without drilling for the drive gear, a key slot and hole for the water pump impeller and a key slot and hole for the distributor/magneto drive yoke.
Clearly the positions of the drive gear and yoke are critical to ignition timing. What I need to know is are the key slots for the drive gear and yoke in line along the shaft or are they offset from each other?
Thanks in anticipation
Tony
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The short answer is no. But you might like to consider painting the joint faces with cavity wax (non hardening) before assembly to avoid squeaks and rust. See your automotive paint dealer for the wax.
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Yes, that's the bolt (a particularly daggy example). The head is 9/16" AF and the thread is 5/16" UNC. The bolt fits into a cup washer which is 1" in diameter, 1/4" thick and has rounded edges. The original nut is 3/4" square but can be made larger to engage flush with the inside of the dumb irons where it is inaccessible after the front valance is put in place (held down by the front guards). See attached photo.
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To answer your specific questions:
1. and 2. The correct material to use between the chassis and the body is uncured rubber. This material , prescribed for such usage, is available from Spectrum Rubber in Sydney or from Peter Jackson (Old Era Services). The rubber goes on top of the chassis as far as the front of the scuttle - not under the front guards.
3. The valances (side skirts) sit on top of the rubber and should have clearance notches for the body bolts and chassis rivets. They do not have bolt holes as such but are secured by a combination of the body being bolted on from the top and the running boards holding down their lower edge.
4. The bolts holding the lower parts of the front guards at the clash strip and dumb iron ends are of a special type - 9/16" thick head with a taper under which fits into a countersunk washer. The nut is an oversize square which bears against the side of the chassis for tightening purposes. I had to make these as the old ones tend to rust and break. Send me a PM if you can't find any and I can turn some up for you.
5. I'm not sure about that hole. The later guards are different to mine in that they appear to have integral clash strips.
Tony
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11 hours ago, RichBad said:
Scott's is an agent for Spectrum
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You need T section rubber - 3/4" for the sides and 1 1/2 " for the bottom - which will need trimming to the profile of the scuttle. These are available from Clarke Rubber or their supplier, Spectrum Rubber in Sydney.
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Thanks to all. Looks like our best bet is to find accommodation in Hershey and cab/Uber it to the swap.
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Thanks for the suggestion but we will be travelling light from Australia. My preference is not to drive in the US . Cost is also a consideration with $US400+ car hire for a week plus $15 per day parking. Would cab fare could be less than that? I find it hard to believe that a local shuttle bus service is not available - could be a good little earner for someone. More suggestions please.
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Thanks Dave. I thought about a rental car but was concerned that due to the size of the event the nearest parking available might be in Harrisburg! Any alternatives?
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Sorry to get off topic but I have to start somewhere. After a couple of false starts we've decided to do a tour of the US later in 2019. As Hershey is on the bucket list it will be included. In researching the logistics it appears that Harrisburg should be good for accommodation over the week but I can't seem to find anything about transport between there and Hershey. How far is it in terms of distance and time? Is there a bus service or similar? What about cabs? Does anyone have any general tips about getting around? I'm sure that many on this forum are well versed in this annual pilgrimage and hope that they might share their experience. Of course we'd be looking at attending the Dodge Brothers Club dinner. Thanks in anticipation
Tony
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This task is not as hard as you might think. If you don't have bead blasting facilities work over the face thoroughly with a wire brush. The rust pits can be easily filled with ordinary acrylic primer/surfacer from an aerosol can. Just go easy around the lettering or apply one thin coat then cover the letting with masking tape. Apply heavier coats around as necessary. Any edges or imperfections can be then rubbed out with with 320 wet and dry paper (after a black mist guide coat). The guide coat will show you where to rub. Then paint your preferred background colour and let dry thoroughly (at least a week for enamel). As I indicated previously, the letters can be highlighted with ENAMEL using a very fine artist's brush. Trim up any excess by carefully wiping around the letters with a white spirit dampened lint-free rag just after the enamel becomes touch dry. I've had success with this method.
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Correction to my last post - I notice that you've bent up the aforementioned tags with no result. Looks like the plates are rusted together. Try applying WD40 or similar around the periphery and around the light switch lever from the other side, leaving to soak. Some non-flame heat from a heat gun might also help to release the rust through a process of expansion. Gently tap the lever to push the whole assembly out the back.
I don't think my theory of a worn lock cylinder is your problem. Rather it appears that one sprung contact on the ignition switch is not holding as it should. Time to look for a replacement. Sorry, I can't help but someone else on the forum may have an old switch which could be cannibalized.
Pity you're so far away - this looks like a candidate for my bead blaster.
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To get the barrel out you'll have to carefully bend up the tags around the periphery of the plate holding it in. With regard to the screws mentioned at the beginning of your post you could secure them in place with a little epoxy (leave for 24 hours) or high strength araldite. Don't put too much grunt into tightening the nuts.
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Ray, there is no real trick to dissembling these switches. With my earlier version this is achieved by bending back the tabs. Yours appears to have nuts on the tabs to facilitate their removal. In any event It appears that someone has been there before you - the light switch lever should point up rather than down. When apart you'll find only three parts - two sets of contacts and the lock cylinder. In your case I strongly suspect that the cylinder is worn out or, being made of diecast zinc, is on the point of disintegration. Its a simple wafer lock and, I think, common to all Clum switches. A replacement should not be hard to find from an earlier or later version. Your key can be made to fit by swapping around the wafers so they all lie flush with the cylinder or by filing off any that protrude. If you get a number 25 cylinder I can help you with a key.
While the switch is apart you might consider stripping the face, repainting in black and highlighting the indented script in white. enamel Don't go too heavy with the black. Fill the script with a fine brush and wait until it's nearly dry - then carefully wipe over with a rag moistened with white spirit or turps. This sharpens up the edges and gives it a professional look.
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Heavy handed?? Looks like someone with little imagination or skill took to it with a toothbrush. The overrun on the screws and instrument rims indicates that he didn't learn to colour within the lines in kindergarten. I'll stick to my guns and suggest that it should be black.
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My understanding is that the US assembled standard Dodges (at least up to 1925) were all black baked lacquer. Hence, the dashes would have been black. However, I'm not sure about the Special Roadsters and Special Tourers which were available in other colours, as were the Fisher Coaches which came in Blue. I suspect that all dashes were assembled off the vehicles for ease of production and that they would have remained in black lacquer. Any advance on these theories??
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10 hours ago, R.White said:
Thanks for your suggestion, dbtravis. Fortunately, the knock has been eliminated. There was too much lateral play on the con rod big. end journal causing it to slap. There was also too much crankshaft end float. All these problems could have been eliminated had I bitten the bullet and had the crank reground with new Babbitt poured; the clearances being governed by the amount of white metal at the edges of the bearing shells.
If only the problem had been the exhaust manifold. This was one of the first problems that I dealt with when I got the car. The problem with these manifolds is that the edges of the ports wear to wafer thin and fail to seal against the copper compression seals. It is sometimes possible to machine the surfaces back to good metal but in my case the manifold had also been broken and brazed before and looked quite poor. I was incredibly fortunate that Ron Lawson in Oz was able to source a better manifold (among other parts). Even with the replacement manifold I still had leaking past the copper gasket so I replaced them with compressible motorcycle gaskets which give a more positive seal.
One of the minor problems that has arisen since refitting the exhaust has been the manifold attachment. There are just three studs holding the manifold to the block. Unfortunately, the threads in the centre hole have deteriorated and are at the point of stripping so I will have to helicoil the hole to restore maximum grab.
Hi Ray
Sorry to give you bad news but if those compressible gaskets are the steel variety you will still have problems. I burned through two sets before finding a solution - a set of large thick copper washers purchased from China on Ebay for about $A5 each. I can't remember the exact dimensions (metric) but you can work that out from your old ones. I think that the inner dimension was about 1-2 mm smaller than the port but that's not a problem. I also applied Maniseal to both sides of the rings. You should be able to source an equivalent exhaust sealant (which expands on heating) from an automotive parts store.
Tony
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Ray, I think the five thou variation quoted by the manual is correct, given that it specifies this figure for a worn crankshaft and two thou for a new one. Allowance for heat expansion and an oil film would preclude thinking in tenths of a thou as would usual manufacturing tolerances. Have you looked at the crankshaft end float - as specified in the manual? Not that any of this is of use - I give up!!
Tony
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Hi again Ray
After a little digging I think you may be able to eliminate a bent crankshaft. The Mechanics' Instruction Manual states that a sprung (ie bent) crankshaft can be detected using a dial gauge on the centre main jounal. The upper and lower bearings should be removed in this process and up to .005'" variation at the journal is permissible. You previously mentioned being able to fit the main bearings to less than this figure so I'd take the crankshaft to be OK. Not much help with the noise but something else to eliminate!
The manual also mentions a loose piston being the cause of a light tap at low speed (piston slap?) which can be eliminated by shorting out the appropriate plug. Did you fit split skirt pistons? If so, are the splits all opposite the thrust side of the bores? Like you, I'm running out of ideas.
Tony
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Hi Ray
My point was that the rods need lateral movement. Has your tinning exercise reduced the specified 10 thou? Perhaps this is the minimum? Check the other rods with a feeler gauge and if equal to or over 10 thou this may be your problem.
Tony
1925 DB Roadster Rear Shelf Trunk Access Panel Question
in Dodge & Dodge Brothers
Posted
The purpose of this hatch is to provide access to the trunk when the top is folded back. The folded top doesn't allow the trunk lid to fully open.