1427 Wessyngton Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30306
I’d like to tell the readers that a new and better way of
striping a new paint job has been found. Last April I made a test
panel and put it out in the sun and weather for more than three
months and the stripe did not fail. The secret is to use a felt tip
permanent ink marker. They can be bought from office supply houses
or book stores. The marker must be labeled ‘Waterproof’,
permanent ink.
Water color markers will not hold up, even for one day in the
sun. Care must be taken when striping not to overshoot a stopping
point, because it is impossible to cover up your error by using
more paint. This ink will bleed through any color paint in a day or
two. Happy striping!
Another hint is where to buy gasoline check valves that are used
in our gasoline tanks. I found two sources, one is Briggs &
Stratton ‘Pipe Fuel’ #293700 or NAPA #7-023040. Both are
made of brass with a strainer and can be bought for less than $2.00
each. The two inch long stem can be pushed into a 1/4′ O.D.
copper tube and soldered. Or, this new 1/4′ O.D. plastic tubing
will fit tightly on the check valve steam. Drop in your tank and
your check valve troubles are gone forever. Note: They must be used
vertically – will not work in a horizontal position.
If the brethren will use American Super Lead-Free gasoline,
there will be no sticky varnish residue left in the tank or fuel
lines and none to stick the check valve either, open or closed. A
stuck check valve, either open or closed will cause irregular
running and very hard starting.
A Gulf Oil Corp. engineer told me that the gasoline used up to
1924 had an Octane rating of 64. This is the Octane number our old
engines were designed to use. The nearest fuel that we can buy
today (64 Octane) is VM&P Naptha. It will run, but makes the
engine hard to start when either hot or cold, so would not
recommend its use. Also, it causes an abnormal amount of black
smoke and soft carbon which we don’t need. So, let’s stick
to American Super Lead Free gasoline to save us unneeded
trouble.
There will be no difficulty in buying new piston rings if we buy
from a well-stocked automotive parts supply house. They should be
bought by diameter size and width of the ring. Unless the engine is
honed only, standard size rings should still be used. Since our old
engines normally used wide rings eg: 1/4′, 5/16′, 3/8′
etc. a ring one half or even one third the required width can be
used by installing more than one ring per groove. By using two or
more rings per groove, the compression pressure will be increased
and the ring will seat itself with less ‘running in’ time
than when using a wide ring, per the original width. The ring width
does not have to be equal for a groove. Example: A 3/8′ groove
can take three 1/8′ rings or one 1/4′ and 1/8′
ring.
This engine is a 4 HP Doak, Shop Number 503, made in Oakland,
California. The igniter and igniter trip linkage is missing. I
would like to hear from anyone who has information or a similar
engine so that the missing parts could be reproduced.
NOTE: A ring groove must be absolutely free from hard carbon. A
ring groove carbon remover tool can be bought or a broken original
ring can be ground or filed to a sharp edge on one end and used to
cut the carbon out. If this carbon is not completely removed, down
to bare metal, the new rings will be crushed or broken when the
piston is pushed into the cylinder bore. Pour plenty of engine oil
on the new rings and piston just before pushing in place. Be sure
to space the ring gaps 180 deg. apart when using two per groove and
120 deg. apart when using three per groove.
If a flywheel is a little loose on the shaft, the ‘Gib
Head’ key can be pulled out and placed in a vise and bent about
10 deg. or 15 deg. in either direction or both directions or if the
key slot is worn too wide also. If there is a great difference in
the shaft and wheel diameters, the above operation will not cure
the trouble.
There is no reason to pay 8, 10 or 12 dollars for an induction
coil as used with a ‘make and break’ ignition system. Buy a
100 foot roll of #18 gauge insulated or varnished hook-up copper
wire (Solid) which is wound on a metal spool. Usually, both ends of
the wire on the spool are accessible. If so, a few rounds of tape
can be wound on the roll of wire to keep it from unwinding. There
is usually an opening in the center of the metal spool. If so, all
that is needed to make a complete working induction coil is to fill
the center of the spool with short pieces of soft iron wire. Your
fence or your neighbor’s fence will supply the iron wire. Cut
enough pieces the length of the spool to fill the center space,
then drive in a few more pieces to make tight. Hook one wire of the
coil to the igniter and the other to the battery and have a good
working coil for about $2.00 or less. This coil will work with a 6,
8, 10, 12 or 16 volt battery. The higher the battery voltage, the
bigger the spark. Do not hook to house wiring. Belden #8528-100,
18AWG Solid Hook-up wire will do the job. This can be secured from
a radio or electrical supply house.
For the benefit of those who may have a 3 HP Jumbo engine with a
‘no-good’ zinc Remy Bros. high tension magneto, we
recommend the following: A type RM Edison Splitdorf Corp. magneto
as is used on a Gravely Tractor engine, can be adapted as a
replacement.
A small 1 HP International make and break engine, compactly
mounted on cart. It has Wizard low tension flywheel magneto.
Before and after photos of my recently restored 4 HP Olds
engine. This is a very early one made by R.E. Olds – still
retaining some of the casting features as used in the steam engines
he manufactured before gas engines in the 1890s.
Remove the impulse starting unit, take out the armature and
turn, on a lathe, the shaft down to 7/16′ diameter to fit the
latch-off arm of the Remy. Then mill off 3/8′ of an inch of the
magneto housing base to equal the height of the Remy from the base
to the center of the armature shaft. Tap out the present base
mounting bolt holes as deep as you can with a ‘bottom tap’.
The key-way in the latch-off arm and the key-way in the armature
shaft will match up for proper timing, as is. However, the Woodruff
key will have to be filed off some to enter the latch-off arm. Turn
the plastic magneto top cap 180 deg. and screw on. This is
necessary to keep the latch-off arm ‘pull finger’ from
hitting the cap terminal. This adaptation will work like a charm
and you will be free of further magneto troubles with your Jumbo. I
do not know whether this change will work on other sizes of the
Jumbo, but it may do so. Try it!
