Long time since my last post but summer time events have kept me busy. I have got some things done however. Supports for the rear bulkhead have been painted and fit, the main wiring harness is in place, header tank is mounted, wiper motor is mounted and the heater/AC unit is in place. I've also got the battery box in place and the light weight Braille battery in place but not yet secured. 780 cranking amps, 22 pounds. A few pics will show the work done. Body work goes on at a different location. Small steps but still moving forward.
Tornado in Vermont
- Thread starter Steamerbill
- Start date
No photos to show but both half shafts are now in place. A note to all Tornado builders, run a 8x1.25 mm tap into all c-v joint mounting holes, both inside and outside before trying to assemble. I found that the retaining bolts won't screw in due to crap in the threads in both the inner and outer adapters.
Going on a weeks vacation with Sarah and my 1912 Stanley Steamer. We're going to Gorham, New Hampshire, the area around Mt. Washington for a steam car tour which is the highest peak in New England, 5,280+ elevation. There will be 25 other steam cars on the week long tour. We hope to get my Stanley to the summit of Mt Washington a 7.5 mile auto road that has been open for 150 years, I'll let you all know how we made out. Bill
Going on a weeks vacation with Sarah and my 1912 Stanley Steamer. We're going to Gorham, New Hampshire, the area around Mt. Washington for a steam car tour which is the highest peak in New England, 5,280+ elevation. There will be 25 other steam cars on the week long tour. We hope to get my Stanley to the summit of Mt Washington a 7.5 mile auto road that has been open for 150 years, I'll let you all know how we made out. Bill
I'm sorry to report that we didn't fare to well on our Mt. Washington climb. The steamer was running well and I was able to hold a steady 450# steam pressure. We stopped at half way to pump water into the boiler but my stop was to late. I had run the boiler to low on water and burnt the bottom of the boiler loosening about 100 of the tubes. A Stanley runs a fire tube boiler, if the bottom crown sheet gets to hot the tubes will loosen and your day is done. It can be fixed I'm happy to say.
On a better note work has continued on the GT. After fitting the half shafts I went on to finish running the fuel lines from the pumps to the filters then to the carb. Work continues on the heater/AC unit with getting the lines run for both system. Small steps but moving forward.
On a better note work has continued on the GT. After fitting the half shafts I went on to finish running the fuel lines from the pumps to the filters then to the carb. Work continues on the heater/AC unit with getting the lines run for both system. Small steps but moving forward.
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Hi Bill,
Just hearing on the news that Vermont was one of the worst hit areas by Irene. Hope you and your family escaped unscathed.
Just hearing on the news that Vermont was one of the worst hit areas by Irene. Hope you and your family escaped unscathed.
Hey Bill, sorry to hear about the steamer. We've got a Stanley near here in the Nat Motor Museum, and of course the usual suspects are attacking the land speed record soon with an updated version!
Hope you're all OK up there, and I'll lay a bet that when you first titled this topic you never ever imagined............:stunned:
Hope you're all OK up there, and I'll lay a bet that when you first titled this topic you never ever imagined............:stunned:
All is well here although much of the state was hit hard. I'll have the Stanley fixed soon and work on the GT will continue. As the words of the song say
" don't worry be happy".
Bill
" don't worry be happy".
Bill
Bill, I can't imagine the time warp in working on a Steamer, then walking over to work on a 40. Wow! Although in traffic, some 40's become steamers, of course.
I can't think of a good way of sensing how much water is left in the Steamer boiler, as a safety measure. Don't know much about them, but does it have a sight glass on the boiler?
I can't think of a good way of sensing how much water is left in the Steamer boiler, as a safety measure. Don't know much about them, but does it have a sight glass on the boiler?
Dalton,Yes it has a boiler sight glass. My problem was because of the angle of clime the gauge,which is located behind the boiler, was giving me a distorted reading of the level of water in the boiler. I was aware of this and just pushed the drive further than I should have. I just plain pushed the envelope to far. It is an interesting mix of cars in the garage '03 Grout steamcar, '09 Maxwell, '12 Stanley, FFR Daytona Coupe and soon to be born the 40. We all need more toys. Bill
Been away for a while but work does go on. Because I'm working with a glass rear window we built up the area around the window so that it would fit flush. This is to deal with the thickness of the glass vs the use of the thin lexan rear window..
As far as the chassis work,here is a series of shots showing the run of the AC lines, the fitting of the 'glass cover,fitting of the drivers seat and steering wheel. At this point the cooling system is tight, having been tested at 20lbs. pressure. I will say that the fitting of the compressor and the lines was interesting due to lack of space. If all goes well the GT will come to life by the end of the month.
As far as the chassis work,here is a series of shots showing the run of the AC lines, the fitting of the 'glass cover,fitting of the drivers seat and steering wheel. At this point the cooling system is tight, having been tested at 20lbs. pressure. I will say that the fitting of the compressor and the lines was interesting due to lack of space. If all goes well the GT will come to life by the end of the month.
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Once again it's been a long time since I've put up a progress post. I've tried to stay busy but a medical issue has slowed me down. It seems that I have several compressed disks in my neck that may need surgery to repair. X rays and MRI's are all in play to figure it out,I will tell you all I'm not a happy camper. I am working with it as best as I can.
I have managed to get all of the chassis and dash wiring done. All of the A/C and heater hoses are in place between the engine and the under dash A/C heater unit, so at this point I thought I'd fit the dash. All though it might have to come out I wanted to fit it and plug in all of the wire connections to check all of the electrical circuits. If all checks out I'll have a running GT by weeks end. I'll let you all know.
Any way, here are some pics of the dash in place. I"m hoping all systems will be a go. I ran out of energy today so I'll continue during the week.
I have managed to get all of the chassis and dash wiring done. All of the A/C and heater hoses are in place between the engine and the under dash A/C heater unit, so at this point I thought I'd fit the dash. All though it might have to come out I wanted to fit it and plug in all of the wire connections to check all of the electrical circuits. If all checks out I'll have a running GT by weeks end. I'll let you all know.
Any way, here are some pics of the dash in place. I"m hoping all systems will be a go. I ran out of energy today so I'll continue during the week.
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Cooling system full; fuel in both tanks,fuel system tight and oil in the sump. If all goes well I'll check ignition system tomorrow and be ready for first start of the engine in the chassis.
The bad news is that after my neck MRI I'm now waiting to get an appointment with a back and spine surgeon to discuss the repair of the damage in my neck. It seems that the damage to the disks with the bone spurs and other things I don't understand at this point, leave me no other option for future comfort and quality of life but to go under the knife. We'll see.
Bill
The bad news is that after my neck MRI I'm now waiting to get an appointment with a back and spine surgeon to discuss the repair of the damage in my neck. It seems that the damage to the disks with the bone spurs and other things I don't understand at this point, leave me no other option for future comfort and quality of life but to go under the knife. We'll see.
Bill
Sorry to hear about your back Bill, I hope the docs can do something to help you. Also it's good to see that your fighting on and doing work on your GT40, it shows how determined you are to get your car finished. If you can you should video your first start, I am sure everyone on here would love to see your pride running for the first time.
Hope all goes well with the engine fire up Bill. I have been following the build with great interest. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
" Gentleman Bill, Start you engine ! ".
epper:
" Gentleman Bill, Start you engine ! ".
epper:Well for a change I have some good news to post. After getting the dash in place and plugged in I did a check on the electrical system,operation of the fuel pumps, pumps work fine,leaks needed to be tended to, now tight. So with nothing left to do I turned the key. I'm pleased to say that I now have a GT40 with a heartbeat! All of the vital signs are where the should be,all of the gauges function,the fans cycle on and off with manual over ride working as well. It was a good nights work.
Found a few coolant leaks this morning tightened all of the hose clamps checked all systems again and ran the car again. All systems go. Time to watch some football!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Found a few coolant leaks this morning tightened all of the hose clamps checked all systems again and ran the car again. All systems go. Time to watch some football!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
