What are you working on right now?

[Brill_C-37M_Bus]

I’m also working on wiring.  Lots and lots of wiring!  I’m chasing a short in the gauge lights or sender circuits.

 

And that means crawling underneath.  It’s actually kinda nice under my bus, the ground clearance means I can even sit up in some places.

 

 

I gave the old stateside Korea vet some subdued decoration, and the best occasion-appropriate message I could think of, for last Friday’s somber anniversary.  Trying to draw block letters in pseudo-cursive was strange, but it got the feel I wanted.

 

-Steven

[nick8086]

Looking over my extra parts.. I just open two boxes..

 

Everything is 1954 Kaiser Darrin stuff.

Edited September 15, 2020 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[dei]

11 minutes ago, nick8086 said:

Looking over my extra parts..

 

 

Doing the very same thing.

[auburnseeker]

Thought I had the Dodge finished up, so I went to fire it up so I could get it out of the garage for some nice photos.  Hey no big deal it drove in the garage and started nice when I got it.  Grabbed my little squirt bottle of gas (dad was down) so he sprayed some in and I cranked it over.  Nothing.  Tried it a few more times,  still nothing.   Not even a stumble.   Must not be getting spark,  So I pulled my handy dandy spark checker out.  Nothing.  So I checked to make sure I had power to the coil as I had messed around pretty aggressively trying to free up the ventilator swing arm and had a bunch of stuff out under the dash.  Maybe I knocked a wire loose.  Nope I had power,  so I double checked the points and coil.  All good.  Pulled one of the plugs and cleaned it as it was sooted,  then decided to just see if the plug itself was firing (that spark checker for some reason doesn't work right). I had good spark across the gap in the plug.  OK.  I took a squirt of gas right down the plug hole.  Well that should atleast fire that cylinder.  Dad cranks it over and nothing. Now that makes no sense. 

Now I have cranked it over enough short bursts it's starting to build oil pressure. I start poking around a little more.  Actuating the carb I don't get a single squirt of gas.  By now there should be some gas in the carb. 

Well the battery is getting pretty tired by now,  so I pull and charge it,  then go ahead and clean the rest of the plugs.  Can't hurt right. 

Put the battery back in (dad's gone home by this time so I get my wife to crank it).  Only three  things she helps with, rolling the starter over,  bleeding the brakes and pushing the dead carcasses around the garage. 

She rolls it over,  I spray in a few more good blasts of gas,  still not a single pop. 

I chat with a buddy online he says that is strange,  try some carb cleaner just a little squirt and it should fire unless,  then he goes on a list of extreme problems it could be,  but I can rule out pretty much all as it has good vacuum while cranking and it ran/ started well about 8 months prior. 

I give it a little shot fires instantly then of course stalls.  I said wait a minute why won't it fire on the gas then.  I go dump the little bit of gas remaining in the squirt can and fill it with fresh.  The gas that was in it smelled fine and was about a year old,  nonethanol.  Fires instantly on a squirt of that.  So the whole time it was just dead gas in my squirt can.  (crazy) 

But wait why didn't it finally pull gas from the tank and fire on that? I pull the fuel line and the fuel pump is DOA.  I even found a box for a new manufacture fuel Pump from NAPA in the trunk with a near new pump in it that is dead,  so it's not the first one to crap out and the one on it is probably the new one that came in that box.

What are the chances of that scenario? 

I guess always make sure the gas in the squirt can is very fresh from now on. 

Time to get a new pump ordered in.  The flexible fuel line is also rough looking so I'll replace that while I'm at it.  

That gas was so dead in my squirt bottle that there was a puddle of it under the carb in the bottom of the intake manifold.  I pulled the carb and sopped it all up.  

Hopefully by the end of the week the darn thing will be running. 

 

I'm beginning to think it doesn't like me.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

My spare parts department....two green tubs = Model T parts, two navy tubs = Model A parts. Any cast iron parts or sheet metal I do not stock as many guys in my area have barns full of that stuff and are happy to sell what I would need.

[Robert G. Smits]

Jeff I am NOT going to let my wife see photos of your garage!!!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Jeff's garage looks like mine does in my mind... 😁

 

Put 30 or so shakedown miles on the A over the weekend with marked improvements in stopping, steering, cornering and ride overall.  About the only project remaining before winter is a decision on motor mounts, return to stock, or correct the float a motor as I am missing the trans mount they include with the float a motor kit installed sometime in the past.  I get some drivetrain vibration right around 30 mph (none under or over) which I understand either correction should fix.  That, and fixing a couple of minor rattles like the floor plate that covers the steering column & driver's door are going to do it this year. 🙂

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Chasing rattles in a Model A can be a full time job! Ask me.....I’ve been doing it for years. If one could eliminate rattles and oil leaks in a Model A one would reach nirvana!

[dei]

Have been plugging away with my Nash to get running after a 9 year slumber.

An evening here and a weekend there and it is running/starting dependably but the gas tank needs to come off, brakes to be checked and... there is a bad noise in the rear end.

Anyone have a few days they can spare?

 

[John_Mereness]

[George Cole]

Today and for the past 3 days?  Scraping, cleaning, and sanding oil/grease from an unpainted wheel on the 1920 Cole Car.  Trying to decide if it's salvageable or not.  No splits or cracks, but one small piece of wood came out at a seam.  Also found several very small knots...probably only been like that for 100 years.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by George Cole
Add pictures. (see edit history)

[George Cole]

Got the wheel sanded and ready for marine varnish.  It's supposed to be here tomorrow.  I noticed there were 2 incorrect bolts in the outer wheel hub...the ones with the square heads.  The bolts connect the inner and outer hub plates, with the wooden spokes sandwiched in between.  On closer inspection of the rear hub plate, those same 2 bolts had incorrect square nuts.  At a quick glance they looked okay, until I used a pick and cleaned all the crud out the inside of the nuts.  I discovered the nuts were barely threaded on the bolts.  I removed both nuts.  Each nut had 5 internal threads...one nut was held on by 2 threads and the other by 3.  And both of the nuts/studs were stripped.  The bolts should have been 2 3/4" long, but were only 2 1/2.  My guess is the short bolts were used because there was insufficient clearance between the inner hub and spindle to allow for a 3" bolt.  So rather than cut 3" bolts down to 2 3/4, someone just used 2 1/2" bolts, which didn't expose enough threads for the nuts.  So they barely started each nut, stripped it out, and left it that way.  But the potential for disaster didn't stop there.  The holes for those bolts were 7/16" in diameter.  The bolts were 3/8".  Hate to think what might have happened had they failed at highway speed.  The wheel would likely have come apart.  I have no idea how long it had been that way, or if the car had been driven in that condition as I have been unable to find any history on the car prior to it being advertised in Hemmings about 6 months ago.  The good news is that it will be fixed correctly.  And I will definitely be inspecting everything else on the car much more closely.  

[edinmass]

George, common problem with old cars that have had some hack tractor mechanic working on it.After many years......I never trust any wheel or tire work to anyone but myself. You can never inspect a 100 year old car too much........nice catch. Looking forward to visiting with you soon.👍

[John_Mereness]

 

\

[alsancle]

I like the maroon John.   Is there still a chassis stamp over on that right front frame rail?

[John_Mereness]

28 minutes ago, alsancle said:

I like the maroon John.   Is there still a chassis stamp over on that right front frame rail?

The color is 1972 Mercedes 280 SL Dark Red 542 - which is pretty dead on to 1936 Cord Rich Maroon.  

Yes, the Chassis Number  is on the frame rail on the passenger's side - they are stamped probably close to 1/2 inch tall

Edited October 5, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[AURktman]

Bit by bit on the Pontiac, a buddy of mine is working on the 57 sheetmetal.  It has now new floors, rockers, rear metal under and around the trunk, and the roof is fully rust repaired and smoothed.  Soon to put new quarters on the 57 and new wiring in the Pontiac.  

[dei]

Finally dug out the back of the garage in preparation with putting in another overhead garage door to access the pad behind which will become the addition I need to house three of my cars leaving me room to work on the Limited.

 

WHAT A CHORE!

Gathering, marking and packing parts in selected bins, then moving out to storage is a process. This is only temporary and can't thank my friend enough for it's use!

 

 

At this point need to measure twice (maybe three times?) and cut once.

 

Found this sign in the mess and hung it up as I thought it was appropriate. LOL

 

[Tate]

Nice progress, I wouldn’t measure enough and cut the hole the wrong size so good luck to you. 

Edited October 26, 2020 by Tate (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

On 9/21/2020 at 8:20 AM, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Jeff's garage looks like mine does in my mind... 😁

 

Put 30 or so shakedown miles on the A over the weekend with marked improvements in stopping, steering, cornering and ride overall.  About the only project remaining before winter is a decision on motor mounts, return to stock, or correct the float a motor as I am missing the trans mount they include with the float a motor kit installed sometime in the past.  I get some drivetrain vibration right around 30 mph (none under or over) which I understand either correction should fix.  That, and fixing a couple of minor rattles like the floor plate that covers the steering column & driver's door are going to do it this year. 🙂

 

 

Steve, what did you do about the motor mounts? I have a vibration in my A 28-32 mph. Thinking motor mounts.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Jeff funny you ask.  My float a motor is still in there, and I am still thinking.  I have stockers so I figure if I have to spend 100 bucks on new float a motor kit to get the part I need, I could buy a frame spreader for a little more and go back to stock.  Les Andrews says you can change the mounts while the engine is still in the car.  I did tighten the mounts a bit, they were really loose, odd as I replaced the rubber biscuits a while back and thought I socked them in ok...

 

I had maybe 30 minutes to tinker this weekend so I adjusted e brake, i initially wanted to be sure nothing was dragging so I hadn't snugged up up those rods really well on purpose.  I like them tight enough so anti rattle springs provide some spring when you go to engage the e brake.

Edited October 26, 2020 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[dei]

Made enough progress in the garage the last few days to finally see the front and back bumper for my Limited.

Took a rag and some polish to them.

 

Eventually they will mate back up to the car but for now that garage door needs to be installed first.

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[dei]

My life changed the intended plan to work on my cars/garage today with a phone call saying a car looked like it hit my other house!

Fortunately for me it did not but the elderly couple in it were banged up badly after another 72 year old woman ran a stop sign sending the car into my front garden.

 

 

Everyone went to the hospital and after the car was removed and the truck left, I was left with plastic parts and pieces to be cleanup up all over.

Needless today was shot.

 

[auburnseeker]

Still dealing with Dodge Manifold Woes.  Broken intake manifold after finding a replacement exhaust manifold for the broken one.  Had a replacement intake sent in,  but it was the wrong one,  the guy sent another one,  but it has a rough gasket surface and two stripped out bolt holes.   For $160 I would have expected a clean undamaged intake.   Anyone have a good 49-54 Dodge or Plymouth flat 6 intake manifold laying around?  Didn't think this would be such a PIA to find one.

 

[Taylormade]

I may have one.  I’ll check tomorrow.

[Taylormade]

auburnseeker, I do have a manifold.  I can't believe I remembered I had it!  It took some searching and just as I was about to give up, I found it on a top shelf in the garage.  I sent you a PM with photos.  I hope it's what you need.  It either came off my 48 Plymouth or my 50 Dodge Wayfarer Sportabout - can't remember which.

[auburnseeker]

Thanks I'll review the photos and see if it's a match. 

[JV Puleo]

19 hours ago, BobinVirginia said:

My Haynes lurking. In my great grandparents garage. 

 

Tell us more...it looks to be one of those remarkable "survivors" (though I've come to hate that term). Year, model...etc. I can't say I've ever seen one though perhaps they didn't sell many in New England.

[edinmass]

There was a dealer in Boston in the early to mid 20’s. They took a 1897 Haynes Apperson in even trade for a new Haynes. We ended up working on the 97 car............lots of fun!

[edinmass]

In a private collection........and it’s properly maintained and used. 

[Terry Harper]

Today we worked to prep the 1928 Lombard dump truck for its winter slumber. Earlier Herb made sure the 

antifreeze was up to snuff.  Our task today was to check all the drive line housings for condensation. Many times we have

large swings in temperature from well below freezing to well above freezing in a very short period of time (24 hours or less)

Since we are off the grid there is no climate control in the Log Hauler bay. (or any area for that matter!) These large fluctuations
 causes a considerable amount of condensation to form.

 

Since the 1928 Lombard dump truck and our other Lombard log haulers have very large cast housings we have to make sure

that we drain-off any collected condensate otherwise when the temp. plunges to 20 to 30 below we could end-up with

broken castings. Or, if we operate the machines, as we sometimes do during the winter - broken gears, shafts etc. 

Its not unusual to drain a pint or more of water out of the compensating gear housing on the steam log haulers.

 

Today we tackled the dump truck - dropping the drain plugs for the transmission, differential and final drive pinion housings.

Its a messy job but all was well. 

 

Here you can see the differential housing in the middle and the large final drive pinion housings just inboard of the tracks.

 

Next job was checking the fit of the new cab doors. At some point the cab was modified so our goal is to back-date it to factory original

which was sort of a "C" cab. We fabricated the new doors from lumber cut from an Oak that was salvaged on the museum grounds.

I wasn't there for that particular saga but it did involve use of a bow and arrow  - by all accounts cutting that tree was a heart stopping

adventure that the volunteers wont forget anytime soon! We left the doors a bit wide so we can trim to fit any irregularities in the squareness

of the openings. The rear door post will be cut down and a new cap installed that slopes upward from the top of the door to a fillet corner piece.

That's why the door is lower than the wood cap to the rear of it.

 

The 1/8" steel panels for the inserts were generously donated by Freddy Haines of Haines Manufacturing in  Presque Isle, Maine.

Thanks Freddy!

 

Byron Aubrey, our very talented blacksmith finished fabricating the door hardware. Most excellent job! The shaft will

pass through a bronze bushing pressed into a hole in the top rail of the door and secured by a handle on the inside.

 

Another item we worked on was our mock-up for the reverse lever quadrant. The reverse gear is actually in the differential

housing and is worked by separate lever which provides four speeds in reverse as well as forward.

 

Unfortunately the original quadrant vanished long before our time which means that the beast likes to jump out of gear.

Using a CNC Laser cutter I cut a plywood mock-up of the quadrant so we can verify fit and come up with how we

want to fasten it in place.

 

 

Last week the 40 hp Lathrop marine engine arrived. We looked that over a bit today..... 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

Today we started milling out the new radiator cap for the 1928 Lombard dump truck. Last year one of my students reverse engineered the cap based on old photos. We also fabricated a set of patterns to have it cast. However, me being the impatient type and always doing the "I wonder if I could..........?" game I decided to try milling it out on our Tormach 440.

 

We are not blessed with a big 5 axis machine that can make the massive chips fly so gentle feeds and speeds are the rule. End of day one we have the perimeter profile cut and the inside roughed out. Thursday we will use a ball end mill to take the inside down to the final surface and smooth it to nice finish. Then flip the piece so we can run the operations for the top profile.

 

In the photo below we used a 3D printed mock-up so we could check fit and appearance. It  came out OK.

 

Here are the 3D printed patterns for the knob and the cover.

 

To check the setups and G-code we made a trial run using machinable wax. Because of the size we had to

glue two blocks together.

 

 

Here it is at the end of the day. I thought about milling it out of a chunk of cast iron but as thin as it is I think the internal stresses would

have caused it to warp so we opted for aluminum. Later, when we are able to get it cast in grey iron we will swap it out. 

 

While a fun project I would hate to think what it would cost if we had to pay someone to do the design, machine work etc.

Having it cast would be the most cost effective method.

 

All good fun right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[dei]

With temperatures around the 70 degree mark this past week, taking advantage to put stain/preservative on 1 year old fence boards and garage structure since wood supply is on a back order (to be a Looong Wait so am told) and want it protected too.

75 feet is completed plus 20 feet of side fence so far.

 

 

There will be plenty of time for inside jobs when the weather turns and have my Limited inside again where it will be warm.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by dei (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

I've been putting in walk ways around and to the big shop.  It was sloped gravel on the one side which had a pretty good step down when you left the garage and tracked all the gravel in to get stuck under the jack and creeper wheels.  The back turned to mud in the spring for a few weeks  Of course I decided to make them more fancy than utilitarian so it's taking quite a while. Alot of cutting.  I don't know if the weather will hold to get it all done,  but I'll keep working until it goes the other way.   Prep work has been taking quite a while as well to dig down 6 inches and bring it back to grade with gravel.   The dirt there is fill from the driveway I had to dig down so it's really bony. 

I also added gutters to each end,  so I don't get drown going in and out in a rain storm and it will help prevent the stone from washing until it gets settled.   It's raining today so I get a day off from that. 

With all he curves you actually walk a pretty straight line to the other garage,  so I did it for both visual and function. 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[dei]

Very Nice!

And it compliments your good looking building. 

[auburnseeker]

I appreciate the compliment.  The wife thinks I'm going way overboard,  but then when it's all done,  as with the garage,  she acknowledges that she likes the way things come out. 

[Terry Harper]

This morning we finishes the first setup for the radiator cover. The inside is looking acceptable. Tomorrow we zero in the second setup and rough out the top.

 

 

Meanwhile, one of my students is making progress on the early impulse coupling project. The prototype model is almost done so we can verify function. This has been a long project - there is a lot that goes on inside this thing. All we have had to work with are the patent drawings and the patent application itself. Its hard to explain to people how much effort a project like this takes. Usually it moves fairly fast then that last 10%-20% takes forever and this project has been true to form. At this stage its all about coordinating all the parts and a ton of minor modifications both to maintain design intent, enhance functionality but also the ability to be manufactured - its a time of intense effort and concentration. You also have to be willing to scrap a part and start over or at the very least modify it as needed and multiple times at that. This last push makes the difference between just finishing a project versus actually "Finishing" the project! For the past two weeks the 3D printers have been running almost around the clock printing one part or another.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2020 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[dei]

Having taken good advantage of 70 degree weather last week it is time to prepare for the next inevitable season.

 

 

Somewhat appropriate as it went down to "0" last night and found ice in my pails that I hadn't emptied...

[Akstraw]

Mounted the freshly-painted body onto the restored chassis of a 1932 Detroit Electric.  (Thanks to the crew at Blacktop Studios in Drexel NC.) 

[keiser31]

Added anti-freeze to the old, blue '31 D.B.