blog518

Thursday, May 3, 2018

I spent all day installing the new seat back. It looks like crap, but it's cut and all tacked in so I can't do it over. I'll just have to live with it.

Friday, May 4, 2018

The main job today was removing the roadster's old top from the bows. I hope installing the new top goes better than the seat back did. In the afternoon Shorty rode with me to the water district office when I paid the bill, then I went to town to buy some brushes. When I came out of the store and tried to start the runabout it got stubborn again and made me crank it multiple times before it would go. This evening I tried it again and it was back to starting on the first pull. It has me stumped why the thing sometimes starts easily and sometimes takes a lot of cranking.

Saturday, Cinco de Mayo, 2018

A good day. It started with two auctions. The first was in Atlanta, way up at the north end of the county. I'm glad I went, because one of the items for sale was a dog bone wheel puller. I've been waiting a long time for one to come up at an auction. I had to wage a bidding war that drove the price up to $24, but I got it. I was hoping for one of those deals where I'm the only one who wants the item, but $24 is still a lot less than prices I've seen online. The puller was all I wanted at that auction, so I drove over to Oxford to see what they were peddling at the auction there. Absolutely nothing I wanted. So I came home and spent the afternoon working on the differential from my truck. For my customary Saturday night in town it was delicious enchiladas supremas at La Fiesta and Bad Samaritan at the theater. I always enjoy the food at La Fiesta, and the movie was a nice example of good old-fashioned cinematic story-telling.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

This morning I finished reassembling the differential and set about reinstalling it in the truck. I soon realized that I'm too old and feeble to lift the thing into place while lying under the truck. After balancing it on a jack and rolling it into position I found that wouldn't work either. I had to make a little platform and bolt it to the jack. With a trip to town for bolts of the right size the day was spent. Shorty rode along, and it seems she's becoming a rider. I just opened the door and she climbed in without any help.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Progress! This morning I got the differential back in the truck, then reinstalled the right side axle shaft and brakes. The left side needs new brake shoes, so I took the old ones to Wichita and left them at the brake shop. They will find replacements or reline the old shoes. Meanwhile, I need some bleeder valves and all the ones sold these days are too short. I'll have to get new ones, build up the ends, and grind them to fit. This evening I took a bit of Model T therapy with the first after-dinner evening cruise of the season, so I shot a little video.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

More progress, but slower than I would prefer. I discovered that one of the new wheel cylinders I bought was the wrong one, so I had to box it up and send it back. What took more time was tracking down the right one online and ordering that. I did get the left side axle shaft and bearing back in the truck, and installed the new brake line, and wire brushed the caked-on oil and dirt off the backing plate. Tomorrow I'll bolt up the drive shaft, and that will be all I can get done on this project until I have the wheel cylinder I ordered today and the new brake shoes.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

When the supply of clean sox gets down to one pair it's time to do laundry. That's how I spent my morning. After hanging the wash out to dry I made the run to Wichita to pick up those brake shoes for the truck. Next came grocery shopping. I did that in the runabout and Shorty rode along. She is now a regular rider. If I leave the car door open, she will climb in. After putting away the groceries I had some time for a little work on the truck, so I reattached the drive shaft to the rear end. I'm heading down the home stretch on the truck project, and if I'm lucky I may have it running this weekend.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

That was a short spring. Highs in the seventies lasted about a week. Now we're having high eighties and low nineties. The last real rain was almost two weeks ago, so today I started hauling water to the seedlings I planted along the lane down to the wood lot. I got to about half of them, so I'll need to do more tomorrow. I was happy to see most of them are leafing out. One dogwood looks doubtful. All I got done on the truck was buying a couple of bleeder valves. The main delay on that job is waiting for one more new wheel cylinder to come in the mail.

Friday, May 11, 2018

All work was on hold as I spent the day at an auction. Some of the things I bought were a shop vac for $8, a hole saw kit with several sizes for $4, a pair of jack stands for $1, a pump jack for $1, a box of hammers for $2, an extension cord for $1, three boxes of small springs for $1, five gallons of ATF for $5, and a few other items. I would have bought some bigger stuff if I'd had the Suburban there to carry it home.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Score!!! I went to another auction today. As usual, it started with all the stuff you'd have to pay me to haul away. But I was perfectly willing to wait. I found a comfortable chair that hadn't been sold yet, and sat for a couple of hours sewing a patch on a shop coat. When they got through the junk and started selling things I actually wanted, I paid 50¢ for the web chair I had been sitting in. I bought three almost-new garden hoses for $5 each. But the best thing came last.

Early on, while looking over the goods when I first arrived, I spotted this Neway valve seat kit. When it finally came up for sale I was shocked and delighted when the auctioneer started at five dollars. Instantly I raised my hand and tried not to look too overjoyed when there were no other bids. I love it when nobody else at an auction knows or cares what something is and I'm the only bidder. If I had waited a couple of minutes I probably could have had the kit for a quarter or half a dollar, but I was glad to get it for $5. A new kit of this type costs over $1000.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Everything takes longer than you think it will. Getting my truck running again will take at least one more day. Today I installed the new wheel cylinders on the left side backing plate and reinstalled it on the truck, and filled the rear end with gear oil. But the left drum needed turning, so it's in town for that and I'll pick it up in the morning. Maybe I'll have the truck usable sometime tomorrow.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Done! I got the brake drum back on the truck, put the wheels on, started it up, and drove it from the spot where it's been sitting since December 16. There's a lot of yard work to do, so I hope the ground will be solid enough for me to use it without getting stuck. Suddenly, after a long dry spell, the ten day forecast shows a lot of thunderstorms coming. Meanwhile, the 1915 runabout has come up with a problem to solve. When I got home yesterday I parked it in front of the shop. Later when I tried to start it to back it inside the coils wouldn't buzz. The battery was dead. It was getting dark and I didn't want to work on the thing by flashlight, so I just put a tarp over it and left it outside. This afternoon I borrowed the battery out of the touring car to start the runabout and get it inside. The next job on that car will be to track down the short that drained the battery.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

After an overnight storm left 1.23" in the gauge, the ground was nice and soft for weed-pullimg. So I pulled weeds out of the lawn by the west drive and mowed it. I gathered up piles of branches and other yard waste with the pickup, then I ended the day with planting. I put an American sweetgum and a red maple west of the west drive, added three new forsythias along the east side of the drive, and planted one forsythia by the west porch. There's a lot more yard work to do, but I'll take at least part of tomorrow for work on the runabout.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Today I went to school, in the form of instructional videos. The subject was installing a new top on an open car, like my runabout. I learned that one of the tools I'll need is a curved upholstery needle. I knew better than to try finding one locally, so I did some calling and found a place in Wichita where I could get one. So I made the drive and got the needle, then went to Harbor Freight and got a pneumatic staple gun. The old Arrow mechanical stapler takes more grip than I can muster. Another stop on this trip was at AAA to see if it was worth joining for the maps. The answer was no. I want maps that show all the local roads, not just the main highways. No luck. I can download very good county maps from several states' DOT websites, but a few states have no such thing. Remarkably, some of the biggest tourist states have miserable websites. I wish Colorado, Wyoming, and Michigan could match the excellent county maps found on the Kansas DOT website.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

With my truck back together and usable, today I enjoyed yard work. I gathered up branches and other yard waste, pulled weeds, and mowed in front of the shop. I also put on the tire chains so maybe I won't get stuck when I drive on wet ground.

Friday, May 18, 2018

First on today's agenda was a nice hour of pulling weeds in the back yard. The recent rain softened the ground and made it easy going. I set about rounding the edges of the roadaster's top bows. The bows are good, but they have sharp edges so I want the give them a 3/8" radius. But I'm at a standstilll because I can't get my router to work. I wasted over an hour on it, but it's a no-go.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

It was Auction Day again, and I drove up to Udall hoping to come home with a working router. There was one in the sale, but I dropped out of the bidding when it got up near the price of a new one. I did buy a good web chair for $1, and over 200 bricks for $15. I brought the chair home, but I'll go back with a trailer to fetch the bricks. On the way home I stopped in town and borrowed a router from my cousin Wally. I finished work on the top bows to the ominous sound of thunder, and felt the first drops of rain as I was putting the tools inside.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Progress. After an overnight storm the outside was too wet for yard work so I worked in the shop. I got the top irons and bows painted, assembled the new upper windshield, and painted the hinge hardware for the new windshield. Tomorrow I'll install the windshield and start installing the new top.

Monday, May 21, 2018

In the shop I painted the roadster's lower windshield frame, then changed the oil and filter in the Suburban. In the afternoon I took the trailer up to Udall to fetch the pile of bricks I bought at the auction Saturday. I haven't counted them yet, but the auction ad said 500+, and I think that may be right. Loading them took so long that I didn't get home until almost 6 PM.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Today I installed the new windshield hinges and started the process of installing the new top. The first step in that was setting up the top bows and getting measurements. I emailed the top maker with some questions and I'm waiting to hear from him before I start cutting and tacking. I dont want to botch this.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Weeds west of the garage were just right for pulling this morning—not yet gone to seed, and big enough to grab easily. So that was my first job of the day. With the weeds out of the way the hollyhocks there should flourish. Some of them will be blooming soon. When I went to town for groceries I took along the pneumatic stapler I picked up at Harbor Freight recently. I tried to find staples to fit it, and failed. The HF web site claimed it would take T-50 staples, and that's why I bought the thing. The website was wrong, and the stapler will be going back to the store. Having found some advice online, this afternoon I started on the roadster top installation. I've read that wrapping the bows is the hardest part, and I believe it. Wrappng vinyl around the curves without wrinkles seems pretty much impossible.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Everything takes longer than you think it will. I spent all day on roadster top installation. I got the bows wrapped, the hold-down straps installed, and the top straps tacked on. That will do for now. I'll put on the covers next week. The forecast says no rain, but I'll carry a tarp and a bag of clamps until then, just in case.

Friday, May 25, 2018

I'm off to Concordia for the Flatland Model T's spring tour. I was late getting away, and didn't leave home until 8:25 AM. As I approached El Dorado, about sixty miles north, there were rain storms ahead. Fortunately, they moved on east and I just got a few drops. With my new top not yet finished, I stopped to clamp on a tarp, but the drops quit before I even got the tarp out. That was the last threatening weather, and the forecast is for clear skies all weekend.

After stopping for gas in El Dorado I continued on north through Butler and Harvey Counties and into Marion County, and that's where the first big adventure of the day occurred. It's always disappointing when you see one of your tires go rolling up the road ahead of you. In this case the tire was OK, but the tube was toast. The replacement is a rubber-stemmed Indian tube, and the stem is barely long enough to reach through the felloe. I was lucky enough to have some help. A local guy stopped and took me up the road to his farm so I could fill the tire with a compressor and not have to use the foot pump. As it was, I spent an hour and a quarter on this unscheduled stop.

With my tire back on I went on into Dickinson County and hit the next complication. The car started running rough and losing power. I struggled into Saline County and stopped for gas in Salina, and while there I took off the timer and wiped it out, although it didn't look all that dirty. So as I proceeded northward I meditated on what could cause a loss of power. It dawned on me that running on three cylinders could do it. I did the screwdriver test and sure enough, #1 wasn't firing. I put in another plug and continued, and didn't notice any improvement.

It was after six when I finally limped into Concordia. Luckily there was one space left at the first-come-first-serve campground. After setting up the tent I went back to the car and did the screwdriver test again. Naturally, I found that #1 still wasn't firing. Why? Because the replacement plug I had put in had NO GAP! The lesson here, boys and girls, is to pay attention to what you're doing.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Concordia tour day 1. I'll report on this later.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Concordia tour day 2. Ditto.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Day Three was short, and I headed home. The full story of the trips to and from Concordia is here.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Wally and I took a spare wheel up to Butler county where I left the runabout yesterday, I installed the wheel, and he followed me as I drove the car home. I made it home with no trouble, but the car is still running rough. In the evening we had a storm that included lightning, which brought on the first power outage of the season. The power was off for about an hour and a half.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

I did some tinkering on the runabout and found that it started better with different spark plugs. I think a newly rebuilt set of original Champion X plugs may be the answer. I'll find out when I get the radiator back on the car and can test it at cruising speed. This afternoon I took the radiator to a shop in Wichita to have a couple of leaks repaired.

Thursdasy, May 31, 2018

Down to my last pair of clean sox, I did laundry. The rest of the day I worked on spark plugs. I rebuilt five Champion X plugs.