Story and photos by Mark Wing (unless otherwise noted)

The Covid-19 pandemic had canceled most Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque activities during the past year. Fast forward to current times, in mid-April, we’re pleased to report that our State of New Mexico and local community are making progress in vaccinations and reductions in Covid-19 cases, so our pre-Covid lives are starting to resume. During the Covid-19 crisis, Larry had stopped larger-scale work parties in favor of assistance to few members on a case-by-case and prescheduled basis.

Projects at Larry’s garage have recently included work on “Buster”, Kirk Peterson’s 1925 coupe that will be entered in the 2021 Montana 500 race. Buster is now stripped down and optimized to attain sustained speeds of over 50 mph! Mounting the headlights and bodywork/painting are still on the “to do” list. On this day, Kirk was troubleshooting and reinstalling an intermittent ignition switch with the assistance of Dave Ferro.

Andy Andrews, our club member from Durango, CO, and his beautiful Dalmatian (Jackie) had come to Larry’s Garage to correct a low compression problem. Prior to the Espanola Valley, NM tour in late September, Larry had improved Andy’s compression and engine performance with new valves. With compression still too low, Andy’s 1923 Model T touring was back for new high-compression pistons and rings. The high-domed pistons and new rings were ordered from Lang’s and were scheduled to arrive the day after this Work Day.

Another task that Larry thought would greatly improve engine performance was recharging the magnets in-situ. Larry connected four car batteries in series with a combined output of 54 Volts. With Andy in charge of the jumper cables, Larry made the electrical connection to the magneto post. The whole car shook as the charge pulled the engine and transmission. After repeating this procedure several times, the touring is now ready for a road test once the new pistons and rings are installed.

Paul Duncan was working on his rear differential for his 1918 pickup truck project. This was one of the cars originally purchased by Marilyn Duncan’s father in the 1950’s and stored in the family barn in Kansas. The truck, an early touring car conversion, will be restored and returned to Kansas for use by Marilyn’s brother. The engine has been restored and was awaiting installation on an engine stand.

Don Neidigk wasn’t present at this work party, but his engine was on Larry’s engine stand. The engine on Don’s 1926 Model T coupe was very worn out but is now near completion of a total engine/transmission rebuild. Here Larry is reminding himself about the magnet placement in preparation for recharging Andy’s magneto magnets.

Dave Ferro’s engine was recently completed for his speedster project. Dave’s rebuilt 1926/27 engine features a SCAT crankshaft, a Stipe 280 camshaft, and a high-compression head. With the engine done, Dave was focused on mounting the front and rear spring assemblies to his frame.

Mark Wing brought two front hubs for his 1915 Coupelet project. The hubs were purchased on eBay from the Model T Haven. Both of the hubs have the cast shoulder for the “Ford Special” speedometer drive gear. Cleaning in Larry’s parts washer revealed that the ball bearings were rusty and pitted and would need to be replaced.