Projects at Larry’s Garage on this last work party of the year ranged from starting a rebuilt engine for the first time, replacing a commutator and fan pulley, magneto rebuilding, reaming front spindles, and  modifying rear differential housings for floating hubs.

Phil, Zack, Danielle, and Jessalyn Lance have been working on the restoration of a 1919 engine for the past several months and the last major hurtle was the restoration of an Atwater Kent (period correct) distributor.  The original capacitor in the distributor had been replaced, so now it was time to mount it and other miscellaneous items (such as a water outlet) to the engine.  The engine was rolled out on the test stand and it started very nicely and sounded great!

Gerald and his granddaughter, Faith, brought a magneto for disassembly and rebuilding.  They took magnets off and checked the triple gears for wear.  There was just enough wear that Larry recommended that the triple gear pins be replaced as well as the bronze bushings.  Once this was done, Gerald and Faith honed the bushings and filed the oil passages on the bushing ends to ensure a good fit and generous supply of oil to the bearing surfaces.

Dave Ferro trailered his 1918 Depot Hack to Larry’s Garage to replace a wobbly crankshaft pulley and to replace the original roller commutator with a brush version.  Since a recent rebuild, Dave had had problems starting the Depot Hack.  No doubt some of the problem was the tightness of the engine, but another contributing factor may have been the adjustment of the timing rod.  It’s possible that ignition was too retarded.  Dave installed a new timing rod, this time running over the water tube, instead of under, and the car seems to be easier to start now.

Mark Wing brought a couple of projects for his 1925 Model T touring restoration.  The last thing to be done for the front end assembly was to ream the new bronze spindle bushings.  Larry had the correct reamers and now the front axle is ready for final assembly.  Mark brought a new old stock (NOS) wishbone and the ball had a casting nub that had to be filed down and polished.

Mark’s 1925 touring car will be modified for better and safer touring and will include disk brakes.  At the time of purchase, the only version of the disk brakes available were the larger diameter (26/27 style), so this car is being built with the later (larger diameter brake drum plate) rear differential and Ruckstell housings.  Also to improve safety, floating hubs were purchased from Dan McEachern at the Bakersfield swap meet. The differential tube ends needed to be shortened to accommodate the new hubs.  Larry cut off the excess tube on his large lathe and the tube ends cleaned up for the hubs to slip inside.

Although it was a chilly December day, a lot was accomplished at this last work party of the year.

Thank you Larry for your generosity in sharing your shop and knowledge for another year!