1921 MERCER LIFTER AND LIFTER GUIDE NEEDED

[Marty Roth]

Not Mine - for Seal Cove Museum - Maine

HELP NEEDED

We-- the Seal Cove Auto Museum-- are working on our 1921 Series 5 Mercer Touring Car. It has not been run in many, many years. In the process, we find that we have one destroyed lifter and lifter guide.

Is it possible that anyone out there knows where we can find a replacement???-or even advise us where to go to have a new one made? Any leads would be most appreciated. If you have any leads, I can have someone, who is more 'in the know' than me, get in touch with you.

We are always most appreciative of our 'car friends' who come to our rescue.

Barbara

Barbara D. Fox, Pres.

Seal Cove Auto Museum

1414 Seal Cove Rd.

Seal Cove, ME 04674

207-288-3810

Check our new website--

Seal Cove Auto Museum :: Mount Desert Island, Maine

[Dave Mellor NJ]

I would say to contact Fred Hoch at Schaeffer and Long Restoration in Magnolia, NJ. Schaeffer & Long Inc.

[Ivan Saxton]

If Fred does not have one I am sure I can make one for you. My 1918 engine is mostly apart because of a broken crankshaft, so it is not stress to pull a lifter out to copy. ( Whatever lower primate bored the main bearings for the man who rebuilt the engine for me years ago line bored them without the block bolted down. It took about 3000 miles to break the crankshaft. I do all my own work now.) Just make sure it has not damaged the cam lobe. If they did the same silly thing you find on the detacheable head T head Stutz 4 cylinder you would have to make all new cam follower bodies. Those ones were made of diecast which swells and jams everything: Of course they were economical to make, and they did not know that trace lead or cadmium in the diecast alloy would cause dimensional instability. But they never dreamed that we would be restoring and driving these cars 90 years later.

[Ivan Saxton]

I understand that there are two variants of cam follower that do the same job. One has a slot milled in one side at the top, with two 5/16 NC clamp screws to adjust the clearance across the thrust faces. This was probably never needed, even on cars that had covered vast distances over decades. I cannot guess how one of yours came to break, because they are very well made. Nevertheless........