1926 Locomobile Junior 8 Update

[Patrick J Reeve]

Hello! I wanted to apologize to all of you for not acknowledging your responses on my prior posts. I am not the most technologically advanced (lol) and it is very difficult for me to get on here and attach photos so I have to wait for my daughter, however, they are appreciated. 

Attached are updates from our most recent purchase of the 1926 Locomobile Junior 8. My father had been looking for a Locomobile for quite some time but couldn’t afford the Model 48 of his dreams. We stumbled across this gem a while back and decided it was a go. My son, father, and I couldn’t wait for her to get delivered. She arrived around October of last year and we were so excited we stopped mid-day to get her unloaded. (Ignore the work clothes, we were ready to get started). It has been slow going due to us working full-time at our machine shop and taking care of my mother, who recently had a stroke and needs round-the-clock care.

I apologize for the number of pictures, as previously stated, it is hard for me to upload consistently. As you may be able to see, this car was not running upon delivery and has needed a lot of care. We quickly discovered that the valves were stuck and in the process of freeing them, one of them broke. In order to repair, we needed to pull the front head but decided to pull both due to wear. We are working on making valves at the moment and rebuilding the head, a large part of our business. Unfortunately, this is a case of the shoemaker's kid. 

Even though mechanical problems have arisen, her interior has not faced the same wear. She has been very well taken care of, as shown through her original interior and paint. Other than the window handle dilemma (pot metal) that I will explain more later, we have no complaints. The trunk was not intended to be used on this car, my son and I bought it for my father to use on another early car. We tried it out on her but quickly realized it was a no-go.

I apologize again for the lack of responses and will try to be more consistent with updates and get my daughter to upload photos more frequently. Thank you for your time and any advice you have given.

[alsfarms]

Do you see much wear problems in the rocker arm assemblies? Are you considering a bottom end evaluation to determine more the exact size and magnitude of engine work needed. How many hours are showing on the odometer? As the engine looks like it was run on non detergent motor oil, wear might be a circumstance you will be dealing with. Maybe now is the time for a full teardown and rebuilt? I am impressed with the original platina your Junior 8 shows. Lucky you! I hope you sort out and learn a convenient way to post your pictures as we all like to follow your progress.

Al

[alsfarms]

Have you had any luck locating a valve cover?

Al

[prewarnut]

I like the colors too - looks honest.

[alsfarms]

Hello Patrick,

What is the latest on the Junior 8 project?

Al

[Patrick J Reeve]

Progress has been very slow. No we haven't found a valve cover yet. Worst that happens is we can modify a modern one off of an industrial engine that we can make work. To have one metal printed was astronomical.  We also have the option of just making a sheet metal one. The odometer shows 45k. Who knows? I will say the interior is absolutely super nice other than some moth holes. It also has the original carpeting in the front and back. Also another testament of its easy life is that the clutch and brake pedals don't show any appreciable wear. I don't have any plans on tearing it down any further unless needed. We'll see how it sounds and runs. I did talk to the gentleman with the suburban version a couple of weeks ago. He still owns it and we plan on meeting up sometime as he's only about 60 miles from us. A real site to have happen if it does. . .