Today I officially started the restoration of the engine. This morning I came home with two packages, one from Studebaker International and one from StudebakerParts. They contained a few parts I still need for the prop shaft and the rear brakes but most importantly a gasket and seal set for the engine.

I started the afternoon by installing the rear brakes with the new parts but I soon found out the one of the springs was delivered wrong. Two versions of the left spring and none of the right wheel version. Stalled again. I decided the is week to replace the center support bearing of the prop shaft and I hope to pick that up next week in Washington so I could not continue in that area either.

Since the engine is the next episode, and I installed in on the stand a while ago, I thought I’d start on the engine. It looks dirty, really a mess but it is in a super shape. It gives me hope that a cleanup job is all that is needed. The pistons can be moved by hand, the valves open and close more or less in time and oil is everywhere it is supposed to be. Tomorrow I’ll start checking the wear on the bearings an pistons and decide where we go from here.

By the way, the pictures in the blog are “clickable” for an enlarged view.

The first put them in a context of the forward stabilizer bar and the second in the context of the rear axle.

Scanning the parts catalog did not help. Fortunately there is always the SDC forum. It took a while but the winning tip was from Brad Bez. They are reinforcement plates that go between the U brackets of the forward stabilizer bars and the frame. The hole in the middle takes the forward bolt of the body and thus forms a reinforcement.

I also installed the front springs. This is an interesting procedure which normally uses the weight of the car to balance the jack. Since I still miss this weight I had to use a pair of threaded rods and nuts to pull the lower A-frame up against the spring force.

Just make sure the springs stay where they are. The forces are great so I think they would cause considerable damage when they start flying around. All went well so in the end the lower hinge was bolted to the frame.

December 31st I had to vacate my workshop. The guys I rent it from moved to another place and I was lucky enough to be invited to move with them to a new hall. It is however quite a lot of work to move the mess I made during the last years.
One TR7, presently not driving, one donor car in pieces, definitely not driving and a Studebaker, mainly in boxes and plastic bags except for the bigger parts. All in all a truckload of pieces, workbenches, storage racks and tools. The first three weeks of December I spend packing and preparing the new place. 

It has the same floor area (65 square meters, 700 Sq ft) but It is high enough to build a second floor of about 40 sq meters. Not high, on most of it I can’t stand, but a huge improvement over the old shop. All the parts and the less used tools are out of the way. The last week of 2011 I moved all my stuff. I also bought an old car lift from THF in Hoek van Holland, and repaired and installed it. Today I finished all of that. The chassis is on the car lift, the body and the parts are stored in the attic.

So here it is: Clean, roomy, light. Time to get to work.

After my last report I cleaned the rear axle. It’s beautiful now.

All the parts of the rear brakes are clean now and ready to be installed and just this evening I started on the drive shaft. In the universal links it has some very interesting needle bearings. They don’t come out too easily but as soon as they are out they spill all the needles.  Fortunately I saw it coming so I think I still have all the needles. If any of you has a tip how to but hem back together, keep them together and join the universals links again, feel free to mail me. It looks as if I’ll need a trick.

This month I’ll be moving to another location. I get the same floor size but I’ll be able to make a second floor over part of it. This will give me a little more storage room.

While he was at it, John also took care of my wheels. They were in a bad state, with lots of rust so I had to brush and blast them first. The result is as blinding as black wheels can get.

In the meantime I took care of the last parts of the front wheel suspension. Here you see the lower arm before I cleaned it. I had to take out and almost forgotten tool to remove the rust and dirt from the lower control arm.

By now the front is really taking shape. The old brake lines show rust so I had to replace them. I heard so many bad stories about copper lines that I decided to install CuNiFer lines. Thereby knowingly compromising originality for safety. 

To clean the inside of a tank without opening it is quite a challenge. A week ago I picked up a package of three fluids at Blankers Unusual Classics in Est, near Tiel. Marine Clean is there to remove the usual contamination like gum and vanish from the tank, Metal ready is there to remove the rust from the inside and POR 15 tank sealer does what the same suggests.

Marine Clean worked perfectly. Shake, rattle and roll until you hurt. In three steps the juice came out clean. The Metal ready disappointed me. I had to use two handful of pebbles to assist it with the removal of the rust. Shake, rattle and roll again as if your life depends on it. Thereafter I used Caustic Soda in hot water until it was really clean. In this phase you have to keep a good look at the inside of the tank. It is aggressive stuff and you don’t want to damage the tank.

After flushing and drying the tank I poured in the tank sealer. The can suggest the use of protective gloves. Believe me, you should. I had to use Scotch Brite to clean my hands, a scrub that outdid anything my daughter ever did to her face. No shake, no rattle but a lot of rolling this time. Once the whole inside of the tank was well covered I poured out the rest and saved it in the can. Two days later I went through  the same motions for a better coverage.

The Outside of the tanks proved to be the easy part. No picture of it yet but once it is installed I’ll show you that.

The right front brake was next. The bearings are still in excellent condition, the shoes look like they have been re-lined lately but the grease seal are dead. The felt is gone and the housing has been under a train and hammered back into shape by an amateur. Jan Telkamp provided me with new grease seals. This man is great. Every time I’m looking for something He opens a drawer and within minutes he finds what I’m looking for.

After fiddling with the self adjuster mechanism for half an hour the brakes slid together as if they were new. Too bad I have to hide this beautiful view behind the brake drum. New hoses from Rijsbergen and new brake cylinders from StudebakerParts completed the brake.

The most peculiar thing happened yesterday. I opened the steering gear box and found only 23 balls inside. 12 in the top bearing and 11 in the lower one. I checked all the oil but could not find it. Did it dissolve, did somebody, 62 years ago, forget it, did he drop it? It will remain a mystery for ever. Now it is not too easy to find a 5/16″ ball in Europe so it took me a few hours and a few kilometers. 

I cleaned it, coated the housing in a mix of 2 parts chrome and 1 part satin black. The seal for the cover I cut from paper, the oil I found at Stevens Autoersatzteile in Wesel, Germany. I use a semi fluid Penrite Steering Box Lube. A thick stuff with a viscosity between oil and grease. it is also called a self leveling grease. It is supposed to “flow” from the bottle but I had to cut the bottle and scoop it out of the halves. I can now turn the steering post with two fingers and it runs smoothly as a baby’s bottom. I’m so proud!

I also found a brand new master brake cylinder. C&C parts in Baarlo had it in stock so I picked it up while I was driving around for the 5/16″ balls. The renovated Hill Holder found its place on the back of it with a couple of new brass washers. Let’s hope it is closed.

From there I mover to the right front suspension. It was quite a hassle to install the bushings. The coating of the lower control arm is damaged by me in a few places but I finally succeeded and the pins move freely. Even without grease the steering knuckle steers as new and without any noticeable play. The front spring will have to wait: I need the weight of the engine on the chassis to keep the chassis down when I jack-up the lower control arm with the spring installed. I don’t have the spring insulators yet anyway.

By the way, this is what the front end looked before I started on it.

Today I had a few hours to spare. A good chance to start rebuilding. The first clean parts are back on the chassis. Together with the bright bolts and nuts it looks awesome.

The past week the weather was amazingly beautiful. We had the summer that we have been hoping for the last three month. Coincidentally I had a few family members from New Zealand  (also classic car nuts) over for a few days. We were so lucky to show them around in the most un-Dutch autumn weather. T-shirts and roof down.

Riki and me in the TR7

That’s my excuse for not reporting here earlier. Just to give you an update: This is how it looks now.

early october 2011

A proud coater (right) and a proud driver (left obviously).

Today my Chassis came back. It’s better than it ever was.  Just check the pics.

Roy (right) driving the fork lift so I could take the pics.