What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[TomT/Williamsburg]

Man, Vic, you get to do all the neat stuff - great post and looking forward to seeing the entire interview.

[Vic Piano]

Thanks tom, I really did enjoy doing the interview and seeing bill's collection. I'll be working on several other segments for the pilot program before I start the editing process however, I might post some of the interview on You Tube...

[Vic Piano]

Meanwhile, Back at the Garage...

Mike and I got into the Zephyr and pulled the transmission (again)

to be able to open it up and see what went wrong with the rebuild that we did... There was a lot of silver "dust" and a few small particles of metal in the oil when we drained it but, it wasn't until we were into disassembly that we found the problem... The front bearing on the main shaft had come apart, destroying it and the thrust washer.

We both were surprised that the bearing came apart the way it did, but happy that there was no other visible damage. The plan is to gut the '46 Ford transmission I've got (with all new gears, etc.) and put them into the Zephyr gear box but, that'll have to wait until next week...

[Byron Warwick]

What a great thread you have going. I haven't seen all of it, but it sure is entertaining. But of course that is what you do, and you and we all enjoy it. Byron.
PS. How long would it take to get to Florida in a '34 PU?

[Vic Piano]

Byron, thanks for the complement on the thread. We try to have fun with our Flatheads and share our misadventures with everyone, I'm glad you enjoy it. If you want to come to Florida for the "Barner's Bash" next March (in your '34 Pickup), I would leave right after Christmas... Not because it'll take that long, but because it's a lot warmer here that time of year...

[Marv]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Vic, those weather men in Florida lie a lot . Every year at the end of Febuary i would go to Bradenton and visit my daughter and go to Zepher Hills for the car show ,flea market and car auction. Almost every time i was there the weather man would tell how cold it was in Ohio and how much snow there was. I would call home and sometimes it had not snowed for a month and was 60 degrees. Marv

[Vic Piano]

Yeah Marv, but how warm was it in Zephyrhills... LOL Merry Christmas.

[Shadetree]

Vic,
I envy you my friend. Warm weather and a nice garage. I have my`51 F1 tore down again because of clutch chatter. But I have to pick my days to work on it, just too darn cold...

Bud

[JM 35 Sedan]

Vic, thanks for sharing your adventure. Looks like you and Mike had another great day in the old car hobby.

Update...I was looking at page 28 with all the cars and the interview shot when I made the above post....didn't realise there was a page 29 with a bunch more recent posts

[Marv]

Originally Posted by Vic Piano

Yeah Marv, but how warm was it in Zephyrhills... LOL Merry Christmas.

Vic it was usualy in the 80'S. However one year it was cold and it snowed in Zepher Hills. I am not sure of the exact year, or the temperature, but it was in the late 80'S i think. They were selling those $10 windbreakers at that time for $30 and sold out. Marv

[Vic Piano]

Bud, John & Marv, thanks for your kind words, I appreciate them and will continue to bring our Flathead Follies to the FordBarn. As for the weather, it can get cold down here however, everything is relative... When I lived on Long Island, it was cold when the temp dropped to 40 degrees... Now that I've lived in Florida for twenty years, I'm cold when the mercury drops to 80 LOL

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

[41ford1]

Vic, Keep posting. I always like to see whats happening with your Flathead Follies.

"The front bearing on the main shaft had come apart, destroying it and the thrust washer." Was it a new bearing on the last rebuild? It looks like it tore things alot.

[BILL WZOREK]

Hey Vic:
How many miles did you drive turnning up the raido louder & louder While repeating to your self WHAT NOISE ? I DON'T HEAR NO STINKING NOISE. LOL LOL

No seriously how far into the trip till the noise showed up?

[Vic Piano]

I'll keep posting as long as we keep having fun with Flatheads... Yes, it was a new bearing... it lasted around 1,500 miles... I tell my wife to "turn the radio up louder", when she tell me of a noise in the car... as for me, I'm always listening for any unusual noise. In the case of the Zephyr, there was no discernable "noise", I just stopped at a traffic light and, when the light changed to green, I shifted into low and took off. It wasn't until I tried to shift into second that I had a problem... strange thing was, the car was shifting with no indication of a problem up to that point. Hopefully we'll get the '46 gears, etc. installed and that will be the last time we'll have to pull the transmission on the Zephyr.

[TomT/Williamsburg]

You keep posting Vic and we'll keep reading them - there's always "sumpthin thumpin" at the Vic Piano garage!

[Vic Piano]

Tom, thanks, we'll keep it up... Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas. Vic

[Vic Piano]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

[Vic Piano]

Potential Disaster Averted...

Wow, the Flathead God’s must have been with me today… Last Saturday Mike and I pulled the transmission out of the Zephyr. We left the transmission jack (supporting the V-12) at the rear of the bell housing, with the car up on the lift. I don’t know what caused me to notice it (my previous reference to the “Flathead god’s”) but, as I was walking through the garage I glanced over toward the Zephyr and saw that the transmission jack was no longer supporting the engine. Upon closer inspection, I saw a puddle of hydraulic fluid under the jack. Apparently a seal in the jack had failed and the fluid escaped, allowing the support shaft to fall away from the bell housing. The rear of the V-12 was down from its normal position about two inches. I quickly positioned the sliding tray on the lift to the rear of the engine; put some wood and a bottle jack in place to bring the engine back into alignment. After that I lowered the lift and opened the hood to see what (if any) visible damage had been done… As luck would have it (thanks to those Flathead God’s again) there didn’t appear to be any damage… We’ll have to wait until after Christmas to reassemble the transmission and put it back in the Zephyr.I'm sure glad I caught this in time, before any real damage occurred, never a dull moment...

[don-wi]

Glad to hear all is well. You might want to check the radiator to make sure the fan didn't touch it.

[Vic Piano]

Don, thanks. Actually, the first things I looked at when I opened the hood were the radiator and the hoses. Everything looks ok, but that was a close one...