Projects Giant speedster project

Check into the Bronco fuel tanks, I had a 1986 it had a 33 gal tank that fit between the rails. You could probably use two of them

 

33 gallons! At $93.00 I couldn't afford to fill it up. Let's see though, if I only get 5 MPG, that'd give me a range of about 70 miles. My 16 gal tank will be about 35 miles. Damn, 35 miles will barely get me to the next town! Too late. I already bought the Mustang tank. I'll be pissed if I run out of gas. LOL

Jerry
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No problem. Take a page from the motorcycle folks and just switch to the reserve. In your case, you've got room for a lot of reserve!

Worst case, you'll draw a big crowd and they can push you to the next station.

 

16x5=80.

You needed help with the math

If you get 5mpg you should get 80 miles per 16 gallon tank. But if you get only 2MPG then 32 miles per tank would be right.

Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see this bigass machine finished!!

 

You're the second person to point that out to me this afternoon. Hey, I never said I was any good in math. Thanks. Anyway, I can't even drive a modern car 85 miles. I like to get out and shoot the bull every 20 miles.

Jerry
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16 gal tank, two gallon red can, cell phone.

That's all you need.

I worked at a place that used to have some big Hall-Scott inline sixes. Before I got there. They thought they were pretty good, being overhead cam hemis. They got 3 mpg.
Your old technology might not even do that good.

 

Those Hall Scott truck engines were about 300 HP, weren't they? I love those engines! What about an oil injector into the exhaust on the Seagrave so I can smoke everyone out when I pull into a car show. Maybe a back fire and flame thrower thingy too! Yeah!!

Jerry
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More door work

I worked on the left door. It needed to be beefed up and have some supports welded in for the door panel to attach too. I also worked on building a latch but soon realized I'd be better off to buy something. That's where Mike's "A" Ford-able Model A parts came in. http://www.mikes-afordable.com/ The door latches and striker plates from a 1928 open car will work perfectly on the Seagrave doors--and they're reasonably priced thanks to Mike. You can see one in the last picture. I also bought some footman's loops for the door stops. Might use some other parts too. Got to read the catalog.

Jerry
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Quick question for you...with the clutch so darned hard (impossible) to disengage, I have to ask, did you get the clutch-fork and related linkage ratios correct? I imagine you did...just a thought.

If you have any doubt on this, I have the same power plant still in a Seagrave Hook & Ladder truck. The steel rollers that act on the release cone are larger than your brass ones but the geometry could still be correct. Pictures & measurements are here for the asking.

Are the hood & gas tank still around from your engine donor truck?


Another question - what is the clutch driven disc made of? Mine is stuck & I need to know how to attack dismantling it.


Thank you,
Jack

 

Thanks for the offer, I may be asking you some questions. I might have changed the geometry of the linkage somewhat but I think the real problem was I changed the seating position. Before you could push down and put all your weight on the pedal. Now you have to push with your back. Regardless without the ladder trailer to pull I think it'll be fine. As you see in my very first pictures of this thread there was very little left of the bodywork The firewall/cowl was about it. I do have the fenders though but they're pretty beat up. Judging by the wheels your truck is later than mine. There is a gas tank and seat and radiator shell on ebay but the guy wants quite a bit for them. He might come down it you take all three. The clutch disc was made of regular clutch material. Probably asbestos!! (Oh Horror) Here are pictures of some reman units. (not mine) The main problem with mine was that in this setup the throw out bearing turns all the time and the race in the bearing was quite rusty. I bought new balls from McMaster Carr and cleaned up the race as best I could but it really needed to be remachined. The bear will be noisy but I guess I can live with that. Have you gotten yours running yet?
Jerry

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Looks alot like a ginormous version of the early Chevrolet 4 flywheel/clutch- the recommendation I was given was to mill a good bit off (don't have the specifics with me) and use a modern clutch.

That may also give you a few more blocks between refills

 

Jack, here is a pic of a painting of the truck!
Jimmy

 

Thank you Jimmy for the picture it is of great help.


Jerry,

Thank you for the clutch pictures - they really tell me what to do next.

I studied the clutch release mechanism on my truck today & see what could have caused you some difficulty.
If you look at the attached picture the following may make sense.
From the c/l of the arc of the pedal to the c/l of the upper shaft it is 13"; from the c/l of the upper shaft to the c/l of the upper bell crank pin it measures 2.5"; from the c/l of the bottom bell crank pin to the c/l of the throw-out shaft it measures 4.5"; from the c/l of that shaft to the c/l of the rollers it measures 4" (approximately).

The mechanical advantage given by the different lengths of the bell cranks is about 1.8 to 1 . The clutch travel would also be altered by the same ratio.

Jack

 

Jack i tried to send you an email with the pics but it didnt work. Here are a few that might help you out. I also sent you a pm.
Jimmy
sorry to get off on a tangent on this thread guys BUT THERE MUST BE A TON OF PICS OF THE WEST HEMPSTEAD RIG OUT THERE BEING IT WAS A FRAME OFF AND I REMEMBER THEY EVEN YEARS AGO HAD A PARTS TRUCK TOO BUT ITS NOT THERE ANYMORE. JACK I THINK YOURS IS A 30 CAUSE THE BUMPER MATCHES WESTHEMPSTEADS PERFECTLY!

 

Brakes

I know, I know... What is he working on brakes for? Well, I was waiting for a few more door parts to arrive so in the meantime I started to rebuild the brakes. Yes, it's boring, but they've got to be done. I cleaned up the backing plates and the drums and installed some new wheel cylinders. Now, I am waiting again. This time for new E brake cables before I can install the new brake shoes. The last thing I did was take out one more leaf from each rear spring and paint some POR15 between the leaves. I love that stuff. If only it would stay shiny in the sun.

Jerry
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I've been watching your speedster build and would love to do a speedster like yours someday. Here's a photo that I found that I thought you might like.

 

Emilio Sirtori was the driver of the Zust auto in the 1908 New York to Paris race. A misspelling of Sirtori's name? Well, this Sartori has got quite a beast there. 250 HP! I think it's a 4 cylinder. I like the exposed cams. Cool! I got my brake cables today and assembled the rear brakes and started on a bracket to hold the cable ends. None of that was worth a picture. Tomorrow, I work on the connecting rod from the E brake handle to the cables. Still waiting on door parts.

Jerry
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You made me look twice there. I finally saw the camshaft down low on the right side of the engine. Now that long piece running across the top of the cylinders...that's a coolant pipe, isn't it?

 

Yeah, that's the coolant pipe. On closer look I think it's an eight. There must be a cam on the other side too because there's only an intake manifold on this side and there's eight valves. Nice!

Jerry
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Two spark plugs per cylinder? One in the side and one in the top?

Wish there was a view of the exhaust side of this engine. I'll bet it rattled the windows down BOTH SIDES of that street!

 

I'm betting the car in the picture is being driven by Paul Sartori. On May 6th, 1905, he wrecked another Vanderbilt racer at the Brighton Beach track. Check out the New York Times article at the time...

 

Lucky man! How about the woman who tried to kill herself?

Jerry
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E brake

I worked on the e brake. It's over built but what the heck. There were four holes already in the frame so I used all of them to mount the cable bracket I fabricated. A 3/8 rod connects the handle to the cables. All pretty simple stuff.

Jerry
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Doors

Remember when Jim Morrison got arrested in Miami for indecent exposure? I was at that Doors concert. It was in 1969, my senior year in high school. Just thought I'd throw that out there since I was working on doors today. Well, I never did like the hardware store hinges I had. They were just too weak. The other day I found some real car door hinges that will work perfectly. Unfortunately using them involves modifying the door post. But, better to do it now than later. I worked all day yesterday fitting the passenger door and today I worked on the driver's door. I also had to weld in some bracing and attachments for the door panel. I'm still waiting for the driver's door lock to show up and both striker plates. I hope you can make out the pictures. Ol' Jimbo skipped bail back then and was just pardoned posthumously a week or so ago. If you're interested I'll tell you what I saw when I visited his grave in Paris.

Jerry
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Come on, you know better. You can't do that. Tell us.

 

Doors

I finished up welding on the passenger's door and started to fit the door skin. The hardest part was cutting out notches for the hinges to fit through. That required working with a tiny air grinder and then a hand file. Maybe there's an easier way but I don't know about it. Finished with that, I meticulously trimmed off the extra metal then tapped over the perimeter. I can't weld the skin on yet because I've got to fit the door lock. And I can't fit the door lock until the striker plates show up.
Oh, yeah--Morrison's grave. It was 1995. My wife and I were in Paris and I insisted on finding Morrison's grave. We took a taxi to Pere lachaise Cemetery. It's really a cool place with lots of famous dead people--Sarah Bernhardt, Balzac,Chopin,Oscar Wilde... You get the picture. But where was Jim? Then I notice in all the beautiful monuments people have scratched crude arrows. Carved above some of the arrows is one word--Jim. So we follow the arrows and find, nestled between some larger graves, off the main road, a modest marker. And seated around the marker are people, strange people, burning candles, hoping, I guess, to catch a glimpse of Morrison should he choose to rise from his tomb. Or maybe, they just wanted to get close to someone they could never get close to in life. Or maybe, just maybe, they were listening, hoping to hear that hypnotic voice wailing from the grave, "This is the end, my only friend..."

Have a Merry Xmas all you HAMBERs

Jerry
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Paint

I found this paint scheme--1913 Rolls Royce. It's dazzling. What color is that blue? Royal blue? How can I find out a paint code?

Jerry
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Go to vintagerollsroycecars.com & look for this 1924 limo. the color is close & the car is for sale by a dealer. He might be persuaded to have his paint people scan tha color & send you a formula. They are referring to this color as a bright blue. It would be a start.

Royal blue is usually darker - close to navy blue. I am sure Royal Blue is like Checker Yellow; there are 368 different shades of yellow that were used by Checker over the years!

 

Misc.

It's been so cold in my shop the past few days I had to take all the beer out of the fridge and get inside just to stay warm. Today it was tolerable. But yesterday, despite the cold, I finished all I could do on the doors. The problem was every time I'd weld on a piece of steel, the doors would change shape and stop fitting. All you real welders probably have ways to stop that. But I'm impulsive and once I get a bead going I don't like to stop. I've been waiting on one door latch and two striker plates to show up. I can't put on the door skins until I weld in the metal mounts for the latches and install the strikers on the jam. So today I drilled holes for the body mounts, polished some brass plumbing parts and bolted down the wood that supports the deck. The polishing was a pain because the corrosion was so thick only 180 grit paper would take it off. Also the shape of the piece made it hard to sand around. Maybe some salt and vinegar would take off the corrosion. Any ideas how to cut that thick patina? Oh yeah, when I got home the door latch and striker plates had arrived.

Jerry
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I like that blue. But should I paint the chassis black like in your picture? Or paint it blue like in my picture?

Jerry
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