What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[Vic Piano]

Bill & Tom,
The product is called "Speed Shine", its blue in color and you do apply it with a microfiber towel. It is easy to apply (no excessive force is needed) and you don't let it dry, you wipe it off with anther microfiber towel. As for the longevity of the shine, I left the car outside yesterday afternoon when I went to the airport to pick up my sister. Don't ya know, it rained while I was gone When I got back, I pulled the car into the garage and wiped it down with the microfiber towel and it came up shining (the photo I posted was taken after the wipe down), we'll see how long the shine last.

[Vic Piano]

Too many Cooks...

I'm sure you've all been subjected to that scenario, you know, when you’ve got a bunch of guys over helping you work on a Flathead… There are usually three or four conversations going on and more then one or two guys working on the same thing at once… Everyone is having fun and (you hope) paying attention and finishing up their job in relation to everyone else’s.

Well, apparently that distraction is what caused the problem with the ’51 F-1. Allow me to digress… You may remember all the transmission related problems I was having with the F-1 and the fact that Mike and I rebuilt it twice. After the second rebuild, we installed it (with a bunch of other guys helping). No sooner did we get everything buttoned up and take the truck for a ride, when all kind of strange noises started emanating from under the truck and the transmission would not shift as it should. That’s when I decided that we’d install the ’49 Merc O/D transmission in the F-1. Fast forward to last week, John and I pulled the transmission out of the F-1. Today a bunch of guys came over and we decided to fire up the Flathead with the transmission removed so we could see if the transmission was the problem. As soon as we fired up the Flathead a scraping noise started… We decided to remove the bell housing, pressure plate and clutch… Once the aforementioned parts were removed, I noticed that not one but two of the four flywheel bolts had partially backed out… This goes back to the “too many cooks” situation. Obviously, whoever it was that installed the bolts, did not finish the job, most likely due to distractions caused by everyone else… The good news; the Flathead is fine, as is the transmission (we hope) however, the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate will need some attention. I’ll order new flywheel bolts, chase the threads to clean them up, etc. and hopefully, in a week or two, have everything back together and working properly.

After messin' with the '51, we tightened up the front motor mounts on Steve's '46 and ran a makeshift wiring harness from the stop light switch to the brake light harness on the '39 LZ, so that the Zephyr could once again have brake lights... I should also mention that Steve brought donuts for everyone so, we never did get over to the Deli to have PIZZA...

Thanks again to all the guys that come over to play, we have a good time even though we might make a mistake once in a while... I'm looking forward to the next time we can get together.

[Gary in La.]

Vic,
I've been using Griots Speed Shine for years. It's the best quick detailer I've found. Great for use between car washes providing there is'nt any heavy deposits of grime on the surface. A California duster will get the dust off but the speed shine will bring out the color. Great for the modern cars to. Considering how little it takes the price is'nt that bad.

[Vic Piano]

Gary, I'm sold on Speed Shine.

[Vic Piano]

Can anyone give me the torque specs for the flywheel bolts on a Merc crank? Thanks.

[VeryTangled]

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Hey Vic, Got the dash plaques! Look nice! I hope you have to order more!

You can maybe ball-park it with this info. I wonder if fine thread vs. coarse is taken into account in this table?

http://www.raskcycle.com/techtip/webdoc14.html

-VT/Jeff

PS. NO SNOW HERE, WHOPEE!

[Vic Piano]

Jeff, glad you liked the Dash Plaque and thanks for the informational chart; it gave me a headache… LOL Vic

[VeryTangled]

Mission accomplished! I'm wonder if there are some (snow shoveling) readers who are amused at your pain?

-VT/Jeff

[mike42]

Yeah amused ! Ice storm on its way here !

[Vic Piano]

There was a time, long, long ago, in a land far, far away (Long Island), when I shoveled snow and froze my butt off... Then one day I had a revelation. I’ve never had the urge to be apheliotropic, and I realized that there is a better way to go through life, driving convertibles in the sunshine just about every day of the year... I made the move south over twenty years ago (I traded in my snow shovel for suntan oil) and I've never regretted it.

[Vic Piano]

I called Mac VanPelt and he is sending me four new flywheel bolts. Hopefully I'll have them before Saturday so I can install them and we can get the transmission back in the F-1.

[Vic Piano]

Ready For Work...

[Vic Piano]

Got the new bolts for the flywheel in the '51 F-1 from Mac VanPelt yesterday so, we'll try to get some work done on the '51 this week (lunch hours) so we can reinstall the clutch, pressure plate, bell housing, starter and transmission on Saturday. Hopefully everything will go back together and function as intended… What a concept!

[Shadetree]

Hopefully everything will go back together and function as intended… What a concept!

Alright Already! As my New York Air Force Buddies would say.

[flathead4dr]

check the ring gear on the flywheel. I had one move forward ( the starter bendix slams into the ring gear from behind, and it caused the ring gear to come unseated from the flywheel in one spot. It rubbed on the engine block and made a real loud knocking noise, especially when pushing the clutch in. (this would move the crankshaft fully forward against the thrust bearing and cause the comotion.
To fix the problem I just drove the ring gear back into place and tack welded it in 4 places. No further problems. Bill

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by flathead4dr

check the ring gear on the flywheel. I had one move forward ( the starter bendix slams into the ring gear from behind, and it caused the ring gear to come unseated from the flywheel in one spot. It rubbed on the engine block and made a real loud knocking noise, especially when pushing the clutch in. (this would move the crankshaft fully forward against the thrust bearing and cause the comotion.
To fix the problem I just drove the ring gear back into place and tack welded it in 4 places. No further problems. Bill

Thanks, I'll be sure to check that.

[Vic Piano]

This is somewhat off topic but still automotive related.

In addition to the Ford-Lincoln organizations we belong to, my wife and I are also members of the Studebaker Drivers Club. A number of years ago, before we broke ground to start building our house, we saw an ad in Turning Wheels, the SDC monthly magazine, featuring post & beam wood (that had been used in the construction of a factory in South Bend, Indiana in 1903, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Studebaker). The wood had been salvaged when the building was razed, and milled into tongue n groove flooring. We bought enough to cover the floor in the “game room” in the house. We are also having an inlay of the Studebaker “Lazy S” logo made to install in the floor. I think it’s very cool and another unique aspect of the house. Here are some photos of the as yet unfinished installation. We are looking forward to moving out of the "garage" and into the house. To keep this Ford Flathead related, we should get the '51 F-1 back together this Saturday.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[Brendan]

Vic, are those vintage light fixtures? they are kool!

[Vic Piano]

Brendan, Thanks. The lights are reproductions of old movie theater & soda fountains (I think) we had been thinking about buying them but they were pricy, than we found them at a lighting store in Georgia, the line had been discontinued and they were all on sale at 80% off the retail price... we lucked out. We are planning on making the "Game room" look like an old soda fountain/diner.

[TomT/Williamsburg]

Vic - the floor and lights are perfect for that setting - almost a "speak-easy" like atmosphere but of course you are WAAAAYYYYY to young to know about that -