While in the shop we decided to pull the oil pan. We do this on almost every car in the collection to see just what condition everything is in. As you can see, (and we knew) in the 1950's a connecting rod went thru the pan and really messed it up. This is what aluminum welding repair consisted of way back then. There was also (sadly) a large amount of "Gunk" in the pan, so we got that all cleaned up. The 1932 Duesenberg parts catalog lists a replacement oil pan at 269$ !! Keep in mind an entire new Ford was like 695$ Reproduction pans are available @6900$ we like this being original, and the story that goes with it...
The float has this tiny gear that runs a shaft up so that when the pan is installed a lever on the side of the engine shows how much oil is in it. (I will get those pics later)
That pan is a work of art in itself. Oil pump appears to have a floating pickup. The pump and pickup fits down in the removable well? Pretty tricky. So, you can clean the pickup screen and possibly service the pump without removing the pan, eh?
Forged Steel Crankshaft with bolt on bob weights. A really nice piece of machine work. Here you can see the polished rods and an early "4 bolt" main cap! The car's engine # ("J" number) is stamped into the crank, but we had already moved it around by the time I took this picture. (trying to take pics AND get work done) This is "J-476"
Yes Rocky, you can remove that bottom section. It is getting re-repaired, that is almost exactly where the rod went thru!! Also, there is not a drain plug, but a cool (over complicated) lever and seat that lets the oil out of the (missing from pics) bottom piece.
Here is the "secret"(?) of how/why these Duesenberg straight 8's were so smooth. The piece with the two dowel pin holes is one of two mercury filled canisters that act as a harmonic dampener! The other is hard to see in this photo. this is on the very front crank throw. you can also see how/where the bob weights are attached with bolts that are made to break off (the heads) when fully torqued. all cool stuff from a time long since passed....
One rod per throw on the crank...interesting. I can see why it tossed a rod....those rod caps look thin!
And a quick shot of the rear axle. leaf springs, torque tube, AND torsion bars! These cars are really "Truck" like when you consider the sheer size of some of these components! But they have lasted 80+ years and are still quite collectible!. hope you all enjoy the pics!
I dig it and thanks for the close up pictures, that is really neat to see how it was made and the engineering involved. thanks for sharing, keep going.
Mr Weps,a question for you....In the photo in post #10.it looks as there is a filler plug(and also staked)in one of the crank throws..Was this where maybe some heavy metal was added for balancing? I know we did this back in the 50s for cranks that needed it.
Well, this is certainly not stuff I get to see everyday. Thanks for sharing. You get to play with Duesenbergs? It sounds like you have a dream job, my friend!
The exhaust is a stainless replacement, the muffler is HUGE! Also,you are correct about the "heavy metal" used on the crank throws. I am not certain that it is "Mallory metal", I will have to ask. As far as my " dream job", yes I am pretty lucky to be around these cars, I just work as a volunteer at the Museum, my "regular" job is a whole lot different. Keep in mind that the big ACD festival is on Labor DAY weekend, if anybody is close and wants to visit, you really should, you will enjoy the cars
The sheer size of the rest of the car is pretty "truck-like" as well. You never really realize just how big the high end luxury cars from that era are till you stand beside one. They are BIG. Great thread, thanks for posting this stuff.
I volunteer at a machine shop doing old stuff & they make me work on Power Wagons .... life ain't fair !
I'm late on this, but I just ran across this thread. What look like a plug is actually the remains of a shoulder bolt that attaches the counterweights. After the weights are bolted on, the heads are removed when the outside diameter of the crank is machined. The remaining shoulder of the bolt is staked so it doesn't back out. the attached pictures show a bolt, and the bolt on weights.
I remember looking at a bare head in a machine shop in Seattle years ago had bean picked out of a field in Canada and neaded all the freeze cracks welded up but the fineness of the casting was just amazing beautiful work
The car is back together, and was sent to a show in Boca Raton,Fl a few weeks back. We just put it back in the Showroom this past week. The car is still "wet" (has all fluids for operation) and we plan to drive and run it a lot this year.
The Jalopy Journal
