1919 Mcalughlin model HA63 project

[Dodge1934]

I bought this car back in 1989 in Coutts, Alberta, Canada. It is coming along but I have moved a number of times and life has got in the way of completing this project... I will get there... Just now getting a shop built will be my first project. The car has been back and forth across Canada twice and I still seem to have all the parts... I will start at the beginning and bring this story up to date over the next few months.

In 1989 there was an auction of a "museum" in Coutts Alberta. It was a 5 day auction and there was lots of non car stuff there as well.

There were about 80 or so vehicles in various states of completeness... Only 2 actually ran. I went down ahead and determined there were 5 cars I would be interested in (all touring cars). I ended up buying the second best one (in my mind) and also the cheapest one at $350.00. I think the 1922 Studebaker would have been a better car and it was the larger model of Studebaker. Mine was marked as a 1917 McLaughlin but as I found out later it was a 1919. It also turned out to be a HA63 special... besides the tag the references I have found say that the specials had the yellow painted wood spoke wheels... and this car had that..

I only lived an hour or so from the auction so after paying for my car I headed home rented a trailer and went back and picked it up... It was a bit of a zoo there as people were picking up vehicles but they did have a make shift tow truck there helping people get cars loaded.

Mine happened to be behind a post so we had to lift it sideways before pulling it out.

The pics attached were taken a few days later after i took all the stuff out that was piled in the back. I don`t have a pic of that but I suspect it was why most people took a pass on this car.... The back was full of what appeared to be junk and the fender and the door on the top of the pile definitely didn't belong to this car.... My good fortune was that everything else down the pile did belong to the car and I would say the car was at least 90% complete... but it sure was rough.... my kind of project.[ATTACH=CONFIG]222977[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222978[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222979[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222980[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222981[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222982[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]222983[/ATTACH]

[20Premier]

Its never to late to start. Looks like my kind to project too.

Chris

[Luv2Wrench]

Looks like a fun project. I also bought a car before I had a shop. I'm still working on the shop, though it is pretty much complete. I probably have put too much time into the shop because over the years I always wished to have the perfect shop... I'm taking time to do that now. I'm looking forward to following your progress.

[sfair]

Had a 1920 K63 light six, had yellow wheels but not a Special. What else makes it a Special? I thought that that term only applied to the big six.

[Dodge1934]

So moving along.... I was missing a few parts for this car when I pulled everything apart

I was missing , the generator, half the hood, The clock, the rad cap, some of the screw on wheel caps, part of the window frame,headlight ring, rear roof window, roof cradles and of course most of the wood was toast. Not bad for a shot in the dark at an auction. Of course the extras weren`t there either

Some of the things I got and felt very fortunate to have were , all 4 seat springs all the metal body parts including the skirt part between the front frame arms, the original roof bows.

Turns out the they were building the Reynold`s Museum in Wetaskiwin about the time I bought the car so I headed up there to get pics of their unrestored 1920 Mclaughlin. I now knew what the generator should look like... it is a unique item. A few years later when the museum was open I was able to get copies of various manuals for teens Mclaughlins... they have been price less.

One of the big problems with restoring these old Mclaughlins is that the factory burnt to the ground in 1923 or24 and all the records and company history were lost and the only thing left was the paper work out in the countryside and as this was only a Canadian car, that wasn`t much.

As you may know Mclaughlin became Buick over the years and for many years some models of Mclaughlin were very similar to the USA Buick. My car which was McLaughlins` small six did not have an equivalent in the USA Buick lineup. The most similar car in the USA was the 1919 Oakland model 34B.. the same Northway drive train.

What have I found over the years

I found the hood for the large 1919 McLaughlin in Southern Saskatchewan. Turns out the vent hole were identical and the only difference is the Big Sic hood is 4 or 5 inches longer .. I now had a full hood and an extra half.

I tracked down a guy in Montana who had a pile of Oakland parts but he wasn`t sure about much except that the price was right and I had to take the whole pile of stuff he did have a generator. Turn out it was the right engine and even the generator was the correct model for my year... some of the wrong ones fit but there was an evolution in the generators and starters over the 1916 to 1921 period when they made the 63 series models. I sold off all the stuff I didn`t need and only have one valve cover piece left and Mclaughlin didn`t have one that year.

The rad screw thread pattern was a bit unusual and it took me a while to find the right dog bone... I found this on my first visit to Chikasha OK swap meet

I found a large motometer.. the fancy sort when I lived in BC. Separately I found the inside plates for the motometer that said Mclaughlin... a very fine find indeed. Also while in BC I found a n original rear window complete with aluminum accent piece. it had 1918 scratched in the corner of the beveled glass.

I started looking for spark plugs for this thing and before you know it I have a couple baskets of plugs most of which are not correct for my car... I did however get a set and in fact have several sets ... they are like OEM but I only have one of what I believe to be the original sparkplug used in 1919. The later numbered plug is 78S by AC but the original plug in 1919 would not have a number on the plug itself and of course it would be real nice to find a set "Made in Canada"... I do have some 78S made in Canada.

As an aside I now have a truck load of spark plugs and a reasonable amount of knowledge about them,,, any one need OEM spark spugs???

So what was a wreck on this car

Well every stick of wood had to be replaced. I bought one board to start and it was over $60.00 at the time and I figured this was going to get expensive... so when I was talking to my folks one day Ken said he was quite sure there was some ash in the barn from some trees they cut down 25 years ago... turns out he was right so I thank my step father for the supply of wood... and air dried for 25 years.... you just don`t find that kind of stuff

Mclaughlins were built with Ash rather than Oak because that was the common hardwood available in Ontario at the time.

The rear end is an unusual thing with an adjustable crown and pinion... this was not a good plan because if people can mess things up they do. I purchased 3 rear ends before I found one with an intact crown. I`ll be looking for advise when I reassemble the rear end to get the gap correct.

The bows were a wreck except as a pattern. I sent the metal parts to a guy in California. he was 80 or so and My set was the last set he made before selling his business and equipment to another fellow.. not sure if he is still in business or not.. tapered and rolled and oval with a fancy seem... not something I could tackle.

I`ll stop for now and get some pics of some of this posted soon.

[sfair]

Convert the rear axle bearings to modern rollers and the crown and pinion adjustment bearings to tapered roller. That gets rid of those goofy spiral bearings.

[Dodge1934]

Had a 1920 K63 light six, had yellow wheels but not a Special. What else makes it a Special? I thought that that term only applied to the big six.

I`m not positive about 1920 But I have adds and descriptions for the 1919... the only other difference I can think of without finding my adds and manuals is the car color.. the special was maroon as I recall the regular one was a different color. I have a few other interesting points that I will post the adds when I dig them up again.

[Dodge1934]

Convert the rear axle bearings to modern rollers and the crown and pinion adjustment bearings to tapered roller. That gets rid of those goofy spiral bearings.

I`ll have to look into this thought.. I am not a bearing person so I`ll get some pics and compare but not likely for a while... those parts are in the trailer.

[Dodge1934]

Oh yes. on the specials the top would be a different color.. forget the name but a tanish color rather than black

[sfair]

I have a model line up for 1919 McLaughlin cars and it lists:

H44 Master 6 Roadster

H45 Master 6 Special touring

H46 Master 6 Coupe

H45 Master 6 Extra Special Touring.

H49 Master 6 Touring 7 passenger

H50 Master Six Sedan 7 passenger

H62 Light Six Roadster

H62 Light Six Coupe

H63 Light Six Touring

H63 Light Six Sedan

No mention of a special in the light six, but I am curious if you have information to supplement this.

[sfair]

As an add, the differential bearing conversion has been done.

[Dodge1934]

There are several sheets I have on this topic... there was a special in both 1919 and 1920. the regular car was green and black ... the special was maroon and black. Sadly my copies are copies of copies so quality not the best.. I believe I gor this paper work from the Wetaskawin Reynold museum

[Dodge1934]

I see the K series had a special as well in the 63.. in the pics further down the page it is listed on the right hand side but is partly cut off...There is a bunch of copies on the K series at the Reynolds museum. including details parts pics ... i would encourage you to try and get a copy. I would send you a copy of mine but I think mine is already 3rd generation and is rather tough to read.

[sfair]

Thank you for the information. It seems that the "special" specified a certain color/upholstery combination without it being an actual separate model.

[Mark Shaw]

I know a couple of Buick guys in Canada that might be helpful in your search for info and parts. I will send you a PM...

[Dodge1934]

While I have never seen it listed anywhere in type I do have the original manufacturers model tag for my car and on mine it is listed as a Model HA63 rather than

H63... fyi

[sfair]

While I have never seen it listed anywhere in type I do have the original manufacturers model tag for my car and on mine it is listed as a Model HA63 rather than

H63... fyi

And here was my confusion. Mine was stamped K63 but had all of the "special" appointments as listed in the information above. Oh well....

[Dodge1934]

The Green McLaughlin was in Mossamin Sask Canada. I met this guy a few times over the years and did get a ride in his car when he was finished. sadly he died and I have lost track of this car

The black and white pic is a car from Ontario. I never saw it in person but I`m told it was painted baby blue.

Seeing these keeps me chugging along

if there are small pics still attached they are of my rear window and show the aluminium trim and the wood base... though some wood is gone and will need to be replaced

Edited December 7, 2013 by Dodge1934 (see edit history)

[sfair]

[Dodge1934]

Do you still have this car.... do you have pics of the front dash... and other interior aspects.

where is this car located

[sfair]

The car was sold after being in the family for over 50 years. Was a sad day, indeed.

I might be able to help you with any questions as your restoration moves along.

[Dodge1934]

Thanks for the pics.

[Dodge1934]

Headlights:

In 1919 WW1 had just finished and brass was still hard to get for manufacturing. In this car the reflectors in the headlights were iron. Mine wedeteriorated but still salvageable. The headlight rings had been twisted during their life and at the time I couldn’t find others so I worked on straightening the ones I had ... the rig I made for this is in the pictures. When I did the headlight rings and the reflectors I lived fairly near a plating location and I would have them plate the item with copper and then do some work on them myself like adding silver solder then plate them again and eventually chromed them. There are some pics of this... no I did stop at the nickel... I likely should have but didn`t.

The drawback to all this is that the weight of both the ring and the reflector are much heavier than they would have been originally. We’ll see what problems that causes when I get them on the car.

One thing I don’t have yet are the clips to hold the lens in place... looking for a source of these. It took me a long time but over the years I have picked up 3 of the correct sized lenses for the car.

[Dodge1934]

Headlights:

In 1919 WW1 had just finished and brass was still hard to get for manufacturing. In this car the reflectors in the headlights were iron. Mine we[ATTACH=CONFIG]229331[/ATTACH]deteriorated but still salvageable. The headlight rings had been twisted during their life and at the time I couldn’t find others so I worked on straightening the ones I had ... the rig I made for this is in the pictures. When I did the headlight rings and the reflectors I lived fairly near a plating location and I would have them plate the item with copper and then do some work on them myself like adding silver solder then plate them again and eventually chromed them. There are some pics of this... no I did stop at the nickel... I likely should have but didn`t.

The drawback to all this is that the weight of both the ring and the reflector are much heavier than they would have been originally. We’ll see what problems that causes when I get them on the car.

One thing I don’t have yet are the clips to hold the lens in place... looking for a source of these. It took me a long time but over the years I have picked up 3 of the correct sized lenses for the car.[ATTACH=CONFIG]229329[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]229330[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]229331[/ATTACH]

[Dodge1934]

Sorry having trouble sorting out what is posted and what is not... couple things posted twice

[Dodge1934]

Painting on the interior:

Spray painting wasn`t introduced until about 1922 so cars prior to that were hand painted. When I took the wood out of the door I discovered the most of the metal on the inside of the door was not painted. Only the part that would have been seen in the little compartment was painted. In the picture you can see the paint drip down from the board that would have been at the bottom of the compartment. When I took the wood out of the top edge of the door and the unpainted metal was still shiny after being unused since 1930 and sitting out in the weather... not really profound but I was surprised.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Dodge1934
typo (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is amazing that our old cars survived all this time considering their time out in the weather during their long lives. Enjoying your journey.

[MikeC5]

Neat project! I like the OHV 6.

[Dodge1934]

Click on pic to enlarge and see details in the ad

The “Whiskey Six”

In Canada the McLaughlin became to be known as the “Whiskey Six”. The name was coined during the 1923 trial of Emillio Picerelo also known as the “King” or “Emperor Pic” He was the rum runner down in the Coleman, Alberta area and got himself in serious trouble when he shot and killed a police officer while evading a road block. There is a small book on this fellow available at the Coleman museum. The trial occurred in the summer of 1923 and it was during this trial that the term Whiskey Six was coined. But did this refer to the standard six or the light six? The re-enacted pic taken for the paper in 1923 was of a standard six but in 1918 there was an ad pronouncing the light six as the most powerful car for its weight available... see the ad for the E 63 model above. The details of the trial are available at the Calgary library by going the through the Calgary newspaper of July of 1923, but I haven`t done that yet. Also I have tried to find out early information on who owned what cars but that information seems very hard to find... not sure if it was all destroyed or not... I have the last plate used on my 1919 from Saskatchewan (1930 plate) and I have not had any luck tracking down any registries from that era.

[sfair]

I too have heard reference to "Whiskey Six" for both the light and big six. Have not been able to determine, for sure, which was correct.

In reality, I always wondered about the name being attached to the light six. Powerful, it is not. Those are pretty dinky little pistons running around in that small displacement engine. I cannot imagine it running past a big six, and if it did, not for very long.

I have heard of the tag "blizzard six", but that could have been a local name only.

As for the advertisement, well it is an advertisement.

Edited February 10, 2014 by sfair (see edit history)

[Dodge1934]

Mine is not done but word is top speed on this car sgould be 55mph... that isn`t bad if it is true.

Thanks for your input

It sound like a lot of cars claimed the name...

[Anthony theriault]

On 11/24/2013 at 12:12 PM, Dodge1934 said:

I see the K series had a special as well in the 63.. in the pics further down the page it is listed on the right hand side but is partly cut off...There is a bunch of copies on the K series at the Reynolds museum. including details parts pics ... i would encourage you to try and get a copy. I would send you a copy of mine but I think mine is already 3rd generation and is rather tough to read.

hello my name is anthony from Quebec, Canada I just bought a McLaughlin k49. It’s possible for me to have a copy of your book too please 

[cranknchrome]

On 12/9/2013 at 9:59 AM, sfair said:

Cool pic...i have this car now.  Still in Alberta.  Never seen it with the curtains on.