What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[oldford2]

Vic,
Are the Cigar City Flatheads gathering Saturday? Maybe I can stop over.
John

[oldford2]

Vic,
Are the Cigar City Flatheads gathering Saturday? Maybe I will stop over.
John

[Vic Piano]

Hi John, it's too early to tell but... I've got plenty to do so, give me a call on Friday and I'll have a better idea. I've got a bunch of "house stuff" to do as we are hosting our first Thanksgiving in the house and we've got family coming in from all over.

[Vic Piano]

We've got a new UPS delivery lady and today she brought me a radiator for the '51 F-1 from LMC Truck. It's too late in the day for me to open the box and check things out... got to perform my domestic duties first... So, tomorrow will be just like Christmas morning when I was a kid... I'll run out to the garage and open the box... etc. I wonder if the UPS lady likes cookies and milk? One thing is for sure… she liked the ’51 F-1!

[Vic Piano]

It's Christmas morning...

Well, almost... I opened up the box from LMC Truck to check out the "new" radiator for the '51 F-1... Everything looks good, now, if only the Flathead Elves would show up tonight and install it...

[TomT/Williamsburg]

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Ummmm, make sure you provide ladders for the elves to install the rad into the truck and provide THEM with cookies and milk!!! LOL ....

[Vic Piano]

Good idea Tom, I'll be sure to do that... and make sure they have plenty of Indian Head Red Shellac on hand too, to help with the hose hook ups...

[Vic Piano]

Boy, getting things ready to host the family for our first Thanksgiving in the "new" house has turned out to be a lot more work then I anticipated... As a result, my last two weekends have not included any "Flathead Fun". I need to remove the old, and install the new, radiator in the '51 F-1 and I'd like to be able to get to it before Christmas rolls around... We'll see.

[49fordv8f4]

I bought a radiator for my '49 F4 from LMC a couple of months ago. I am very pleased with it, it looks like a well made radiator. I did have to widen the slots for the mounting bolts with a die grinder about a 1/16" to the outside, as they weren't wide enough to match the radiator frame.
Mark

[Vic Piano]

Mark, this is the second radiator I've bought from LMC. Five years ago I got one for our '53 F-100 Panel Truck. The OEM shroud did not line up with the LMC unit so I had to do some modification but, the radiator has been fine otherwise, hopefully I won't have any issues with the one for the '51 F-1

[Vic Piano]

A giant "THANK YOU" to Ken/Alabama from me, for the side sections of the '39 LZ consol. Ken had an extra set of unmolested side panels (the ones in our LZ had been butchered by a previous owner). I have been searching for replacements for a long time. Thanks again Ken, I really appreciate it. Vic

[Vic Piano]

Question for Lincoln Zephyr V-12 Gurus.

I was in the process of removing the distributor from the ’39 LZ to have it refurbished by Bubba and the coil done by Skip. After a little over 10 years of driving (and I mean real driving, not 7 miles a day…) the distributor is getting tired. Also, one of the water pumps had developed a slow leak so… I pulled both off and will send them to skip as well.

Now for the question; I noticed that the rubber between the fan blade assembly and what I’ll call the fan hub, has deteriorated some what and the fan can separate about an eighth of an inch when revving the engine. (I saw this yesterday after changing sparkplugs). In the LZ parts books I have they list a Vibration damper, part #8601 however; there is no corresponding part in the exploded view of the various assemblies. The fan is listed as part #8600. My question is; is the part that I’m calling the hub actually the vibration damper or is the rubber insulator/cushion actually the vibration damper? Either way, does anyone know where I might locate the rubber that fits between the fan and the hub?

Sorry for the long winded explanation with no pictures (they all came out blurry). As always help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Vic Piano]

I got some bad news concerning the fan assembly for the '39 LZ. The fan, vibration damper (rubber) and the hub, were assembled as a unit that is only replaceable by another such unit. However, this fan assembly is not reproduced and "good" originals are hard to come by after almost 75 years... The good news is; I think, with a little ingenuity, I'll be able to bring the assembly back to serviceable condition, we'll see. Does anybody know of a rubber product that starts as a liquid and solidifies once it has been used?

[V8COOPMAN]

I'm not familiar with a Zep fan assembly at all, but from your description, it sounds like some sort of a vulcanizing process, found in motor mounts, harmonic balancers et-al. Surely, one of Ford's better ideas in this case.

Respectfully, I don't believe the process you're trying to duplicate at home, considering the dynamics and forces produced by spinning that fan at operational speeds, is advisable. Have you considered the possible carnage that fan can produce if it comes "un-glued" from that hub? It can become a mayhemic, flying guillotine, eating and carving radiators, hoods, inner and outer fender panels, hoses, and not to mention the danger to life and limb should any of the shrapnel exit the compartment, or Heaven-forbid...the hood be open with some humans observing as it "comes apart". That gooey stuff you dip your plier handles in ain't gonna work. McMaster-Carr offers a two-part polymer urethane that some guys have successfully used to re-build "un-obtainable", vulcanised motor mounts. I DO NOT suggest it's use for your "project". I would suggest that you should do yourself a huge favor this once and NOT "Mickey Mouse" this one. Surely you remember the old saying about "when the smelly matter contacts the rotating blades". I know, doing it "right" this time is gonna be tough, and probably expensive, at best. Just part of that ol' flathead fun. Just my humble, yet sincere advice. This is one time when "baling wire and tape" is not the answer. DD

[Vic Piano]

Coopman, I was looking for some viable solutions to the problem, but I agree with you to a point. Because you are not familiar with this particular fan assembly, allow me to enlighten you as to its construction. It is in fact as you described, a sort of vulcanizing process with the rubber sandwiched between the hub and fan assembly however, the three bolts that secure the assembly to the harmonic balancer go through the hub and into the fan assembly. Additionally, there are three "studs" that position the fan assembly, making it virtually impossible for the fan assembly (as a unit) to dislodge itself, thereby preventing the possibility of the carnage you so aptly described. Because I plan to continue driving the Zephyr while restoring it, and long after the restoration process is finished, I would not, and have not, ever done anything on any of our antique vehicles, Flatheads or otherwise with "baling wire and tape", (accusations supplied by others, for whatever reasons). I will admit to making temporary road side repairs, when necessity dictates, by any means possible. That said, I think I'll continue to look for some viable options for the fan hub, perhaps Huntley Acuff (spelling) who vulcanized the running boards on our ’39 Ford CS may have a solution. I'd like to find a perfectly preserved OEM unit for say $25.00 but we all know that's not probable. Undaunted, the search continues.

[Tinker]

Vic post some pictures. Anything can be fixed, there is so much stuff out there. Maybe there is some old 80s space program material that my be usable... Adhesives have come a long way and i bet you'll find something good if not better available.

[Vic Piano]

Tinker, I took some photos with the intention of posting them with my first post about the situation however, the photos all came out blurry... The fan hub assembly is still in one piece, it has not separated but, I originally discovered the "movement" when revving the engine after installing a new set of spark plugs. As I mentioned previously, there is no apparent danger of the unit separating and dislodging itself from the mounting.

I would like to be able to restore the assembly and/or find a good original replacement. I'll try again to take some photos (hopefully clear ones) and post them as apparently this fan assembly is unique to the Lincoln Zephyr V-12.

[39coupe]

Vic, I seem to remember that Steele Rubber used to re-vulcanize some parts. This was a while back but you might want to check with them. Mike

[Vic Piano]

Mike, thanks, I appreciate it. I'll check out Steele. Vic

[Vic Piano]

In-between work and other obligations this past week, I sent the LZ's distributor to Bubba, for a rebuild, and I hope to get the water pumps and coil out to Skip today or tomorrow... I’d like to have everything back together in a week or two. I'm still trying to fine a viable solution for the fan hub assembly... If nothing materializes, I'll put the fan back as is because it can't come off and do any damage. I haven’t noticed any unusual noise or vibration as a result of the fan rubber fatigue (guess its been going on for 70+ years) so I'll just keep an eye on it until I find a remedy or another good used or NOS fan hub assembly...