Projects Giant speedster project

whoa! I don't want this thread closed! Hold off on all this "rat" talk

 

It's not rat....... Just the burger meat they served to us at the high school back in the 80's.

 

Jerry,

The wooden things are commonly referred to in old parts books & in the restoration trade as "Hood Shelves"

You really have to stop feeding your Scouts rats! If it would help I could send them some possums. They have invaded Ontario & are not very welcome.

The car is looking great ---- and a butcher is not a butcher if he admits it!

Jack

 

mmmmmnmmm
dat lookin good needs cheese ..
would them cookin skewers be call r-- r-ds

by the way how hot do they need to be served so its safe 800- 1000 degrees ?

 

What's the difference between a opossum and a possum? Rat is best served charred on the edges. Rat rod.

 

I suddenly have a craving for Chinese "U waa fwied wice?"

 

O





Unfortunately Jed Clampet is no longer with us to explain the fine technical linguistic nuances involved.

 

No work done. My son still has the rat blues so I had to stay home with him. Nothing to do so I watched my favorite video. You can find it here.
http://www.thegreatestautorace.com/

Might can get to the shop tomorrow.

Jerry

 

Oh, Jerry...I have not had the pleasure of watching that film yet, but I am Dieing to! I LOVE the history behind the "Great Race": the courage, strife, accomplishment, honor and heroism behind it. I was VERY fortunate to finally see the Thomas-Flyer in person....that is one car I would give almost anything to drive for just a day....open her up on the highway or in the deserts of Nevada.....sorry

Have you read George Schuster's book, his memoirs of the trip? They are VERY hard to come by...been out of print for 40 years now. I managed to find a copy....IMPRESSIVE STORY. I will get the title and stuff for you tonight if you haven't read it and want to track down a copy.

 

I've read all the books, including the one written by Antonio Scarfoglio, the leader of the Italian car. I've also got the book by Hans Koeppen of the Protos, but it's in German script so I can't read it. There's a book called The Long Road by Alise Whiticar, out of print a long time but you might find one on Amazon. The DVD is well worth the money. The company called me before they made the video because I knew the email of the guy who acquired the Zust. I saw the Flyer in the National Auto Museum. It was like a religious experience. Is that weird? The NY to Paris race is a story that few outside the old car world know. I'd like to see their video on the history channel.

Jerry

 

Hey, I found 8 copies of The Long Road on Amazon. The cheapest is $27.50. One guy wants $250.00! Also: The Race of the Century, and The Great Race: The Amazing Round-the-World Auto Race of 1908 The last two are cheap.

Jerry

 

Misc.

I worked on different things today. One was a new mounting pipe for the carb. I had it attached directly to the intake, which worked fine but made the carb interefer with the throttle and advance controls at the bottom of the steering box. There a neat set of levers and gear that attach through the steering box and shaft to controls in the middle of the steering wheel. I would have taken a picture but my card was full. That's another thing. Like my son, my computer has been down with a virus. He's recovered but the computer has not. TDSS Google Redirect. A nasty bit if work. So I've forced to use the wife's computer. Jack, if you get a chance could you post a picture of the steering wheel controls as well as the setup on the bottom of the steering wheel. Some of my pieces are missing. Thanks.

Jerry

 

I love the redneck rotary table

 

Toastmaster comes though. Goes with the pizza pans, no?

Jerry

 

set it and forget it.........

 

Carb Mount

I cleaned up the shop most of the day. The only progress on the Seagrave was welding up the new carb mount and going to the store for two 7/16 studs. Well, I did cut down my son's Red Ryder BB gun because a rusty BB got stuck in the barrel, but that doesn't count. He liked it though.

Jerry

 

Jerry,

Here are some pictures of the steering column controls. The lever in the wheel controls the spark only. Both the magneto & the distributor are connected to it.
The hand throttle & the choke are controlled by cables with knobs half way down the steering column.
If the pictures are not enough I can go under the vehicle & try to get better shots -- when it stops raining!

Jack

 

More Misc.

I ground off the welds on the carb mount then bead blasted the whole thing and put some JB Weld on it to make it pretty and seal off any pin holes.
After that I modified the seat back to give me a bit more room. I've still got to redo the wood. Also the traveling paint guy is coming tomorrow to show me his wares. I'm thinking epoxy primer on the body then begin the bondo work.

Jack, thanks for the pictures. Your steering set up is a bit different from mine. Mine has two controls on the steering wheel, but it also has two cable controls on the steering shaft. Hey, what are you going to do with your Seagrave? It's looking like speedster material.

Jerry

 

Jerry,

I am not sure what to do with the Seagrave. I bought it because the engine was so neat but being a hook & ladder truck it is a really interesting unit as a whole. Restoration would be fairly easy since there is no tin work beyond 4 fenders & the hood. Everything else is heavy iron. It is not near the top of the list of projects. Its future depends a lot on me being able to pry a load of the correct wooden ladders out of the Toronto Fire Department warehouse.

I just had the frame & chassis parts painted for the 1911 Cadillac. It was all sand blasted then primed with epoxy primer then several times with "Feather fill" primer which is a high build primer that sort of foams up as it dries. The top coat is RM polyurethane enamel. This paint can be buffed & ends up just like laquer & does not look "milkey" like buffed base-clear. Two men spent the better part of 2 weeks at the body shop preparing it for paint. Every nut, bolt & part was painted separately (including all 35 spring leaves). I am now in the process of putting it all back together --- again.

Jack

 

Jack, that chassis looks beautiful. You have to tell me the secret of how to put the nuts and bolts together so the paint doesn't chip or crack. I always have problems with that.

Jerry

 

Jerry,

There is a secret to the nuts & bolts. Look carefully at the left picture & you will see the shackle bolts etc. are in primer. On the right, a later picture, they are green. Epoxy primer will take quite a bit of abuse in assembly, then you (very carefully) paint the fasteners with a brush once everything is tight.

Riveting the brake linings to the painted bands was a little traumatic though - the rivets are solid copper as the originals were.

Jack

 

Beautiful work Jack!... is that a REO in the background?

 

Jerry, where do you get copper rivets? I need to find some since I'm rebuilding the vent wings on my '51 F1 and the factory used copper rivets to attach some of the lil doodads.
Eli

 

Mac,

Thank you. The car in the background is a 1904 Model C Ford built in Canada. It is the only original example in existance. I am the 3rd owner & it runs & drives fine. The second owners had it for 94 years!

Eli,

Saddle makers still use solid copper rivets. You probably can order them from Jim Dix at Big Flats Rivet Co. www.bigflatsrivet.com

Jack

 

Just checked out their website, thanks for the source.

 

Mr. Bell: It looks like our picture cars for www.thegreatestautorace.com are going to Utah from the Reynolds for their Concurs in August. The Ladyslip Zust and our Thomas and Protos were together in 2008 at the Reynolds and they looked great together. I'm glad you liked the film we did. It is airing in parts of Europe and Asia ... we are still awaiting a US broadcaster. I wonder if we had made it a "makeover" film if we would have gotten a faster reception. But, I still believe that this film and the story represents the essence of America and an age when they were becoming a world leader. Lots of awards, great reviews. It is going to be highlighted in Britain and the Netherlands this July. Pass the word! Oh, and my 58 Buick wagon is out of edge-painting, the 49 Merc truck goes in for paint in two weeks, and the 64 Bird (Kerrie's car) goes in August. Cheers. Michael.

 

Michael/Frame 30,
Honored to hear from you. The Greatest Auto Race tells the most compelling true life story in the history of automobiles. I'm sure History or one of the channels will pick up your excellent film. Have you considered sending the three cars on a round the world promotional trip? If so I volunteer as one of the drivers.
Jerry Singer

 

Beautiful work, and nice 'stuff' in your shop. Now that is a suspension that can articulate. What prevents those shackles from collapsing, for example if you were to lift the chassis by the center of the rear buggy spring?

 

There are two heavy leather straps that go around the axle & go through a fitting on each side of the frame to prevent too much travel downward if the car was picked up as you described or if you go over a dip in the road too fast. Shock absorbers do this function in newer cars. The shackles do not collapse but there is a real danger of breaking the springs in such a situation.

The new straps will be ready at a harness maker's shop next week.

Jerry, you might consider shocks or rebound straps on the speedster now that the springs have been lightened up.


Below is the axle on a 1911 Cadillac near Chicago;

 

Jerry,

My dad might have a set of strap shocks up in Philly- I'll be there for the last couple of week in June. If he still has them (he has no use for them), they're yours.