Engine Block 
Unscrew elbows from the engine block and remove copper covering. It will expose oil soaked insulation which needs scraping off.

                                                                  Valve Cover
The valve cover has a hole in it for the drip valve. The pipe used to help take the unit out of the car can be used as a fulcrum to wrench the cover off. It should be so oil soaked that it should screw off easily after you get it loose. One of the ears is missing which led me to modify a pipe to use against the remaining ear. It worked fine. When reassembling, the cover has packing in the top and needs removed and replaced with a strip of 1/8” packing. The cover was replaced with a new one Don Hoke had in stock in 2019.

​The valve surface should be smooth and not curved. Steam pushes the valve against the block and creates a seal.

                                                                      Gearbox 

The oil level in the gearbox should be about 1 1/2 “ from the bottom while in the car.
Bearings and sliding/turning surfaces should have minimal of .001-.003" clearance. It is easy to over-tighten bolts, and looser is preferred over too tight, especially with cam and crank rods. Make copper shims to space everything appropriately.

                                                                   Crank gear 
The crank gear is significant as it has a larger gear welded on top of a smaller gear. This was a fairly common practice as road conditions improved over the years allowing higher speeds and welding an existing gear over the original one was a low cost option to replacing the entire crankshaft. 

                                                                 Rear Axle
Differential
Removing the rear wheel requires a special puller that fits in the hub. The complete axle with wheels weighs 394lbs.
The main item to keep in mind is that play between the planetary gear and the spider needs to be as close to 0.001" as possible with less being more desirable than more. In the case of this car, there was so much play that the gears barely connected, resulting in catastrophic failure of all three spider gears as well as damage to the case.

                                                                        Axles
Moving the planetary gears in ended up causing the axle to shift inwards on the rear end and the clearance between the wheel and rear-end disappeared causing the wheel to lock up on the driver's side and rub on the passenger side. In 2018, I disassembled the rear end again. Jim Wright built up the steel and I machined the end up a quarter inch further out. The Wheel is a press-fit with the nut torqued to around 200 ft/lbs on the 5deg cone splitting the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" section. The end result is that the wheel fits better but there is no longer space for a washer under the nut on the end of the axle ,and in the case of one of the axles, a 1/16" cotter-pin hole needed to be drilled at the end of the shaft.

​The end result pushed the wheel out about 1/4" inch. The collar was turned and polished to accept the new oil seal from McMaster: 5154T29 (SKF 17231) for shaft 1.750" and bore 2.250". The collar is put on the axle with some gasket material. One axle has a middle diameter of 1.325" whereas the other is wider at 1.360". I did not change it. The outer bearing is a sealed unit and should not need any care.

​Before and After (2018)

                                                         Oil Pump Adjustment

​The absolute longest would be a point where it almost reaches the intake port. Very little oil will be pumped with this setting. 

The rod is adjusted by moving the nuts in or out and then tightening them against each other.

To set the limit of the primary piston, place the metering rod towards the end of the hole, push in the primary piston until the two meet and mark the spot with a marker.

​Once back in the car, screw the piston into the mount until the most forward motion reaches the mark.

Brass Cleaning 
As There is a lot of Brass/ Copper on this car, polishing it will take a fair bit of time.
Polishing very tarnished Brass/Copper is best done with a soft cloth polishing machine and red rouge for a rough clean. White rouge on a finishing cloth seems to leave a build-up and the finish does not improve.
The likeliness for a Polishing machines to grab and throw parts to the ground at great velocity is directly proportional to their fragility and replacement cost.
Polish 
The best way I have found to clean by hand is through the Wizards product line. A buddy introduced me to Wizards Metal Polish, which is an impregnated piece of cotton. It worked well but not nearly as well as when I added Wizards Metal Renew to it.
Other products tried were :
Mothers Billet Cleaner (Good)
Brasso (Poor)
Most products sold at flea markets and products like Oxy-clean have found their way into the trash bin.
Saving the shine 
As of 2019, I have not found a suitable product that works.
I stayed with Wizards Metal sealant as it came in a package with the other Wizards Products. It seems to help a little. Eastwood has a product in a spray can that almost looks like a clear coat. Neither really kept the Brass from turning yellow and the Eastwood product required the buffing wheel to remove it.

                                                                            Paint
By the end of 2018 the paint started coming off sections of the car in sheets. On other parts like the hood and the front, there was a lot of burn damage. For a short time, I considered stripping the car down completely and have it repainted professionally, but veered away from that as the vehicle is getting a lot of use and the time it would take to do so would probably turn into a full restoration: as well as the slim chance of a fine pint job remaining that way for any length of time lead me to search for an alternative Gloss paint that would be durable. I eventually settled on Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel. My Neighbour Arthur helped with prep and paint of the large flat section, as I did not want brush marks. The hood is a combination of prep styles as well as some brushing and some spraying.
The paint on the side was in very poor shape, and was not sticking to the wood at all. The passenger side seemed to be less affected by it.

​Early attempts included trials with and without primer as well as brushing VS spraying. Arthur was of great help here.

Eventually, we settled on a sand-able primer and spraying the enamel after making sure the primer was smooth. The gloss is not nearly what I would expect from automotive paint but I will try wet sanding it next winter. It takes a long time to dry.

​The dark blue stripe with the 1/8" light blue stripe within was achieved by putting a 1/8" piece of masking tape and paint the dark blue over it. I found that this paint came out very well if the masking tape was removed immediately after painting, as it allowed the paint to flow. Multiple coats of enamel tend to cause it to crinkle, probably since it takes so long for this paint to dry.

                                                                     Resources
Steam Oil: Siphon-a-min 1000     Brennan oil 970-247-3054
Machining of complex parts:  Rempco 231-775-0108
Boiler repair: Don Bourdon (802) 457-3787

​Tank Sealer: CHEMSEAL B2 TANK SEALANT CS3204
Brass:    Wizards 3004.2982 11011 Metal Polish.
            Wizards Metal Renew_Silver Polish, Aluminum Car Care, Motorcycle Copper Cleaner.
            Wizards 11021 Power Seal Metal Sealant.

                                                                    Steam Tables

                                                                Fuel Filters
​​I installed 2 fuel filters/water separators in 2017 after noticing how much filth got into the system. I feel the pumps, Fuel automatic, Check valve and steam automatic will be well served with clean fuel. In addition to that, the 55gallon drum holding the Jet-A seemed to not get rid of water after rain, so I had some worries there. Parker industries introduced the RACOR SNAPP 2 micron water diesel fuel separator. It is a one piece unit of which the insert is easily replaced. Water settles in a transparent bowl and is easily drained. The valve is the main shutoff at the fuel tank. Fuel was unable to pass through anymore.

​For the Hexane system, I installed a RACOR 110A 10 micron fuel filter. It can be pressurized and it was plumbed in with copper tubing. It should perform to 35 psi

                                                            Steam automatic

                                                          Exhaust System.. 
The initial system had big gaps from where the engine pushed it out before the engine steam intake was shortened. Welded the system closed to where the steam discharge pipe came in. I’m puzzled with the pipe. It is simply soldered together and seems to hold fine

                                                             Tailpipe. 

I had soldered the tailpipe in the past/ it did not hold so I ended up welding it (TIG with High Silicon Brass rod from mcmaster)

                                                              Pilot Light. 
Bottom unit was a Propane setup. I converted it back to Hexane. Pilot body by Don Bourdon

                                                Sight glass (Gauge glass). 
An extremely useful study source is the klinger product catalogue at http://www.klinger.kfc.at/index.php/en/component/jdownloads/send/3-product-catalogues/19-product-catalogue-gauge-glasses
The unit on the steamer is as size 1B reflex gauge and can be found at mc master at https://www.mcmaster.com/#gauge-glass/=1cljafz

              The following came from Pat Ferrell in Washington state after a facebook inquiry:
​
I do use the McMaster reflex gauge gaskets, as they are a good value and they fit well. I use an antisieze on my gauge's bolt threads and I torque them starting from the center bolts like torquing a car's head gasket. Tighten a little at a time. I torque them when the gauge is cold, and then I re-torque them after the gauge has been fired and has cooled down again. I re-torque them every spring as an annual service. How many pounds? I torque them firmly, as I don't use a torque wrench, I don't want to guess the torque. In the 33 years of steaming, I have never had the quality of a reflex gauge glass degrade from use. Through the years I have lost about 3 gauge glass gaskets while on the road. I always carry spares with me.

 
​                                                 Burner (Baker Style. Made by Blazik)
Remove and install: the burner will not come out with the car at its normal level. Lift the body and install two pieces of 2x4 to keep it up. A long enough piece of plywood held up in two spots will help finesse the thing out of the car but is indispensable to tweak it back in
Disconnect the steering bar to give more room

                                                        Burner make-up. 
The burner sits in an insulated pan. The easiest way to take the burner assembly out of the pan and put it back in is by doing it upside down. The gas diffuser is simple but the pipes are above the pan. If the pilot goes out and raw kerosene is blown in, there is no way for it to leave other than by burning it off.
I used muffler repair dope to seal the halves together and furnace cement to seal up everything else
Use masking tape to cover the slits and protect them from cement. Use insulation between pilot and burner
“Imperial hi-temp stove and furnace cement, Grey” seems easy to work with
Everything is screwed together with #10 button heads

                                                                 Hubcap. 
  lost a hubcap in Iowa, decided to make a new one from ultra machinable brass from mc master

                                                                Headlights. 
 
 made headlights operational with a small Acetylene tank and regulator from Trico

                                                         Brakes (Front).
​ 
Front brakes are Tokico A1 2-pod systems. They were used on a number of Kawasaki and suzuki 500 models in the 90’s. Seals are skf 22441 (3.25”X2.25”)

                                                          Brakes (rear). 
The outside brake is for parking and emergencies. As you pull the handle, it will get tighter and you may have to stop completely before it releases. The wheel can be removed with everything in place but you will need a wheel puller. Adjustment is done through the large yellow screw in the back (Pic Below) and the adjustment barrel is standard tread so to tighten, you have to push the ears up on the driver-side and down on the passenger side. A grease seal was installed in 2018 to try and keep oil off the Brake shoes

                                                                   Tires. 
Contrary to what I thought, Tire and Tube repair on this car is not likely something that can easily be done on the side of the road

                                                             Tire removal 
I have found it easier to keep the wheel on the car for this
Remove the valve stem
Mount the clamps on the tire and push the outside of the tire in enough to allow the outer rim to come off.

                                                                    Outer Rim.

                                                      Mounting the tire.
DO NOT INSERT THE INNER TUBE
Slide the tire over the rim as far as possible. Use the tire-me-bob and a mallet to pound the inside on the rim past the first lip. You can then put the outer tire on and pound the entire blessed thing in. use the clamps to help. Progress will be tedious and, unfortunately, you will chip paint Continue until the tire covers the valve hole

At this point, install the rim. You can leave the pulling mechanism on it. Inflate the tire with a rubber-tipped air chuck until it seats on the interior part of the rim.
As the outer rim is lubed well, you may be able to work it out with a large screwdriver, pushing the tire in enough in the process without distorting the rim
Put reverse rolled duct tape in the groove where the rim fits through so that no air can escape
Blow up the tire with the airchuck until the outside tire pops off
Place the inner tube as outlined in the next section

                                                 Inner tube replacement. 
Remove rim as described earlier. DO NOT REMOVE THE ENTIRE TIRE if you can avoid to do so
Clean, reshape and refit the outer rim
If you’re only replacing the inner tube or if the tire is stuck, take the valve from the tube and use an air gun to blow up the inner tube and allow it to push the outside of the tire off the rim. Even if the inner tube has a very large hole in it, this will work

​Place the 1 1/4” dowels between the rim and the tire. Push out the valve stem. It is a rubber stem and is a press-fit. Remove the inner-tube, working around the dowels.
If you are only replacing the inner tube, don’t remove the rest of the tire
Use baby powder
Once the tube is in place, again inflate it to allow the tire to fit back over the outer rim, then pop it over the inner lip with screw-able wood vises as shown. Use of a hammer and dowel will help getting the area in between the wood vises to comply. There is extremely little wiggle room once the tire is on. Push the tire in far enough in so the outer rim will go back on. Replace the outer rim and gently blow the inner-tube to set the tire on the rim. Replace the valve and blow the tube to at least 60PSI
Keep a little air in the tube while pounding the tire back on the rim to avoid getting it pinched between the tire and the rim

                                                                    Roof. 
After return from Maine in 2017, we noticed the front bow had snapped in two. On inspection, the wood appeared to be quite brittle but I felt a suitable repair repair would be to drill a ½” hole in both ends and insert a ½” tube into the holes, putting it together that way. It should be structurally sound and undetectable as it’s covered up well

                                                                   Engine removal

 The easiest way to remove the engine is to do so with the rear axles attached. Remove the drip valve from the engine, screw in a ½” npt pipe around 6” long. the one in the box has a solid insert for added strength.  It will support the engine on a floor jack
Place the lifting strap under the body but on top of the exhaust pipe. Connect to the hoists and remove all slack
I took the springs off with the axles this time as they had sagged and needed removed. If this is needed again, I would likely leave them on the car
Remove brake lines, pump rod, exhaust and the steam line at the coupler
Remove pitch pole nuts. They are mounted on a threaded rod and one of them did not go back on well
Place the rolling floor jack under the pipe you threaded in and keep the handle under the differential lift until a slack is removed
Unbolt engine from front strap and pull strap of the engine
Lift the body until there is a gap between the spring and the axle and roll out the entire assembly                      

                                                                   Reinstall
Reassembly is easier if you put the wheels on lock jacks to help manipulate the assembly

-                                                         Maintenance log. 

                   This is the maintenance log I have kept since I acquired the car.


2013. 
We bought the vehicle from Phil Lewis in August 2013. This was my first exposure to steam and most of the year was spent just on learning. Met Robert Wilhelm, Mr Marshall and his steam museum in Maryland and towards the end of the year, while in Maine, I met the Stanley Steam team at the Museum there. I did not steam the car up for the first time until the end of the year.
Installed replacement Burner Phil had acquired through Allen Blazik.
Mapped plumbing.
Converted Propane pilot back to hexane.
Tried to fix leaky valves.

2014. 
2014 was generally spent learning how to fix valves and pumps. I experimented alot with different packing material.
Replaced packing in water pumps.
Replaced Packing in fuel pumps.
General cleaning and polishing. Many local rides.
2015. 
Machined water pumps for balls to run at 1/32” clearance. Replaced with Delrin Balls (7/16”). Replaced Packing again.
Disassembled Oil system, cleaned and fixed oil tank where a screw was put through it, disassembled oil pump and reassembled to different specs.
Disassembled oil pump again due to intermittent lack of pumping oil. Removed a check-ball that did not show on the drawings, it did not fit and was probably added in error.
As the result of an oil leak, found damaged gears in the differential spider. The drive train completely removed and disassembled. Broken parts sent off to Gilbert Hall at Rempco in Cadillac. Rear suspension sent to Detroit Spring to fix sagging. Finished the Canadagua Tour this year, which was our first Steamcar tour with no real issues.

2016. 
Repaired plugged fuel line.
Reassembled engine with some newly built bearings (Rempco). Reused valves and repacked guides.
Reassembled rear end, refitted axles and clearances in repaired housing (Jim Wright) and powder coated parts (Creative Powder-coating).
Repaired water  tank. 
Had multiple issues during Maine tour. Pilot kept going out. Squeaking in the pumps and fuel delivery failure eventually forced us to trailer it back on the very last day.
Replaced pilot casting with new one from Bourdon and built a new needle from 1/8 steel rod using lathe grinder. Threaded it to standard #6 and threaded the casting accordingly.
Main fuel valve at the tank was completely plugged up.
Much squeaking in the pump assembly resulted in repacking with more high pressure packing from Mc-master.
Iowa Tour brought more issues with pilot and leaking main throttle. We finished the tour with poor fuel delivery issues (plugged valve).
-Participated in two tours: Kingfield Maine put on by the Stanley Museum and Prairie du Chien in Iowa. Neither were free of problems but the car performed well
2017. 
Removed burner, disassembled burner. Cleaned and reassembled with new bolts and nuts. Disassembled the main fuel vaporizer completely and flushed the system. Replaced into the burner assembly with hardened bolts.
Removed and disassembled throttle. Straightened shaft, machined cone, reassembled and tested. Seated with minimal leakage. Shaft moved freely after repair.
Replaced the assembly from the boiler to the throttle with a single medium thickness black pipe,  connected with a Swagelok part number SS-8-RSE-6 elbow.
Got ¼ pipe and elbows as well as “Key Graphite Paste” from Mc-Master to start sealing piping.
Extended the whistle valve and redid that assembly.
Re-seated both valves for the sight glass and re-seated the blowdown valve into the exhaust
The smoke hood had started to crack at a point where it did not match the boiler hold-down bar. The bar was re-positioned and the top TIG welded.
Removed the fuel automatic and disassembled the bottom part. Repacked shaft and reassembled.
The entire assembly was filled with water and tested to 750 PSI. Steam automatic restricts at 550 psi and closes completely at 600. Checked for leaks.
Because of ongoing poor performance on the water pumps, I decided to replace the packing in the water pumps with #247 John crane packing from vintage steam products. The check valve cap broke and I remade one.
Took apart fuel automatic. Remade nylon valve. Fished extra bearing from pipe that had occluded the system. Re-seated check valve and cleaned the system out. Reassembled and set for 130 psi.
Don Bourdon is building a new boiler. Picked up 8-17 and put in storage.
Removed old electric box for propane equipment. Ran electrical wire for brake lights to wicker basket. Replaced brake lights with LEDs.
Installed water separator for both main and pilot systems.
Plumbed acetylene tubing to the lights from the running board and hooked them up.
Made a new hub cap.
Exhaust leaks. Sealed up leaks in the exhaust system. Welded the front part and screwed the rear end together to get rid of all the gaps.
Rebuilt the tailpipe by welding it rather than soldering it.
Rebuilt the front brakes (Well, Mike from Kennedy’s did as he found the parts) turned the rotors down .020 which made the units fit better.
Repacked the front wheels and replaced the seals.
Removed water tank and had it fixed by Thomas radiator. It was still leaking a tiny bit after last year’s repair.
Replaced some of the covering on the smoke hood.
Late 2017: Replaced front tire right side (left from front).
Made bigger bolt hole and tighter treads in front right kingpin (left seen from front). Put in 5/16 soft bolt, kept upper hardened bolt in place.
-Participated in Vermont tour with no issues other than running over a screw on the last mile of the last day, causing a flat tire.
​2018. 
Replaced rear tires, a job I hope never to have to do again.
Fixed front roof bow which had somehow broken.
Removed water reservoir as it was leaking again and brought it to Thomas Radiator to see if they could fix it.
Fuel starvation again due to main fuel valve plugged up. Cleaned and reinstalled.
Replaced water separator as it had gotten so dirty you could no longer see the bowl.
Tightened all bolts holding pump housing to the car.
Repacked water-pumps again and found pump-shafts to be concave, likely leading to premature failure. REMPCO machined new ones from hardened material. They need oiled after each use to keep from rusting
- Participated in Pennsylvania tour, hosted by the Auburn Heights and Mr Marshal as well as the Washington, Missouri tour put on by Dick Friedeman and Joe Graziano. Both were trouble-free.
2019. 
The Water reservoir started leaking again. Top and one of the sides was removed. Copper was thoroughly cleaned, and bottom was welded back together with poor results. The rest was soldered back together, and aircraft tank sealer was used to waterproof the seams the top was then soldered on again
The steam siphon system was repaired as described extensively in that section.
Rear axle shafts were re-machined to allow more wheel clearance.
Oil seal system fabricated on the outer axles to keep oil out of the brakes as described in that section.
Steam box cover replaced with new one from Hokes.
Driver side rear perch pole nut repaired.
A lot of the worst paint damage was taken down to the wood, re primed and repainted with Sherman-Williams industrial enamel. The flat section on the driver side was painted with an airless system.
The throttle was removed and rebuilt by Gil at Rempco in Cadillac. The smoke hood was remounted and the holes were refilled with refractory cement.
The kingpin in the Passenger front wheel was tapped and fitted with a hardened bolt, similar to the driver side. The wedge in the lower part remained.
The Fuel filter was replaced.
Replaced the hinges on the windshield with reproduction Brass-era model-T hinges.
Fabricated a new end to the siphon hose out of brass and copper parts.
Eric sewed a patch on the driver side shroud as the material had worn through and the rod started coming out.
Learned to pinstripe and did quite a bit of that.

                                                            Repair Guide. 

Water pump check valve bolt.
Check ball clearance 1/32”. Adjust by machining excess off lip.
Raw material: 3/4 “hex rod from McMaster.

​The tank is made from copper sheeting soldered together into a shape that fits under the seat. The seat top is removed with wood screws under the base. The water return line has to be removed in pieces and requires some creativity as shown below. The siphon hose and the water feed also have to be removed before the reservoir can be removed

​
The water tank has been seeping since I've had the car but it had gotten worse in 2017. I had tried to fix it at that time but it leaked again in 2018. I removed it again and Thomas radiator went at it, but by the fall it was leaking again. I removed the worst side, cleaned it and attempted to weld the bottom with extremely poor results. I ended up soldering the thing back together and sealing the seams with "CHEMSEAL B2 TANK SEALANT CS3204", which is extensively used in aircraft pressurized cabins and fuel cells.
Instructions for use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbNqw_qqCPI
The top edges were cleaned and the top soldered back on.
Function of holes and tubes in the tank clockwise starting with the small hole towards the top center: sight glass. steam powered siphon, overflow, main water feed.

A simple device, just make sure the ball bearing does not fall into the body and plug the passage. I was surprised with how much dirt got into it, likely leading to its extremely poor performance.

​The black plastic part is MDS infused nylon, turned to fit snugly in the hole. The diaphragm should seat flush on its base and the nylon valve should just touch the seat.
Important: the one-way valve bearing ahead of the assembly will easily travel down the pipe and block the entry to the assembly. If the ball shows up missing during reassembly, that’s likely what happened.
Pressure setting is extremely simple. Pump the handle. If you reach past 140 psi with a steady stroke, loosen the spring tensioner. If it does not build up enough, tighten it.

​The throttle works pretty ingeniously. Steel shaft, steel barrel and brass seat held on through a press fit with tiny roll pins.
Has to be removed for disassembly and hole has to be realigned with exit hole for it  to work.

​The 2019 rebuilt throttle with the original slide.
The slide was also made a little shorter and the steam feed pipe a little longer to allow for better clearance. The three divots have to line up with the out port.

​

​ 
History: This car is a re-creation by Basil Craske from England that started with an Alan Kelso project body. Basil Craske Bought the body in Ireland in 1999 and recreated the car around it in time for it to be shipped to Australia in the early 2000’s for their inaugural steam car tour. Sold it after a number of tours to Phil Lewis of Cleveland in 2006 while on a steam car tour in the Ohio area (Berlin). In 2013 Phil Lewis sold the car to me along with a new Baker style Burner delivered by Allan Blazik

​By the time I got the car, Phil had taken it on a number of tours and it had not ran very well for a while. He was well into his 80’s and crawling all over the vehicle became impossible.
The brass had not been polished since 2006, the burner had warped and cracked due to serious undetected back fires and everything else performed very much sub-par. ​ 

 
The Contents of this part of the story are as below 
Basic Operation. 
Water System.. 
Oiling System..
Oil Pump Operation.
Check Valves in the water system.
Blow-down and Siphoning into boiler after cool-down. 
Steam powered Siphon. 

                                 Basic Operation
                                                   Water System ​

​When the wheels are turning and the boiler is pressurized, one-way valve (H) is closed with up to 600 psi of pressure. When both valves (D E) are open, water meets resistance at (H) and flows back into the reservoir. When you close valve (E) on the steering wheel, water from the front pump, unable to pass through (G), builds up enough pressure to overcome the boiler pressure and flows through (H) into the boiler. the rear pump still flows freely back to the reservoir. If you also close Valve (D) water from the rear pump will no longer be able to go back to the reservoir and is forced through the one-way valves into the boiler as well
The manual handle has the option to add water to the boiler by opening valve (F) under the floorboard and closing the other valves. When doing so, you’ll suck water through the main pumps one-way valves and push it through the system that way. The volume amounts to no more than a couple of ounces per stroke. Since there is a sizeable amount of pressure to overcome when the valve is open, for routine operation it is advisable to close the valve while the pump handle is as far forward as possible or you won’t be able to manually pump fuel.

​The manual handle has the option to add water to the boiler by opening valve (F) under the floorboard and closing the other valves. When doing so, you’ll suck water through the main pumps one-way valves and push it through the system that way. The volume amounts to no more than a couple of ounces per stroke. Since there is a sizeable amount of pressure to overcome when the valve is open, for routine operation it is advisable to close the valve while the pump handle is as far forward as possible or you won’t be able to manually pump fuel.

​
​                                                     Oiling System
The Oiling system is a brilliant design in simplicity. There are no check valves and the gauge is a disk pressed against a window by a spring but the system requires some care in setting up

The oil used is a 1000W mixed with animal fat. It has to be formulated for the higher pressures a steamcar runs versus a locomotive or steam tractor. Condensing cars are even worse as they need an oil that can be removed from the feedwater before it hits the boiler again
When oil gets in the boiler, it coats the insides, creating an insulating barrier and requiring more heat and, therefore, more damage. Condensing boilers tend to have a shorter life span then non-condensing boilers
I have been using Green Velvet products from Bill Petitjean. Bill’s oil is very dark and seems to stick to everything. The best way to dispense it seem to be through a laundry detergent bottle with a big spout. In 2018, bill sold the green velvet line to Brennan oil in Durango, CO 970-247-3054
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                                                Oil Pump Operation 
An ingenious device. It is adjustable to give a metered quantity of oil with every stroke the concept is simple. There are two pistons in the pump. The one on the right is connected to the drivetrain and the one on the left is held in place by a spring
 

​When the driven piston is the way out, oil can only come in through the inlet

As the piston moves in past the inlet hole, the reamining oil has no easy outlet and starts moving the left piston

​Once the left piston gets to the outlet hole, the oil escapes

​​Until the entire metered amount is gone. When adjusting the piston, it is important the driven piston cannot go further than this position as it would try to press oil in a closed container

​As the driven piston is pulled out, the secondary piston stops at the preset area 

​The vacuum created at this point helps fill the reservoir up again for the next stroke
 
The actual pump and metering rod looks like this:

​Adjustment details are in another section

​There are a number of check valves with two in each of the main pumps, one between the pumps and one at the boiler
The ball is held in the assembly by a special screw that allows the ball to travel about 1/32”
The balls in the pumps as well as the check valve below the floorboard are 7/16” Delrin. The one in the check-valve at the boiler is stainless steel
Delrin is preferred as steel would eventually hammer out the seats. Obviously that material cannot be used In valve (H) as the heat would destroy it
Since the balls deal with pressures in excess of 600 psi, replacing the delrin ones annually is probably prudent. The boiler valve should not be touched until it leaks, which is characterized by steam pushing into the reservoir

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Blow-down, other than a great piece of entertainment or annoyance, depending on the neighborhood, is crucial to get sediment out of the boiler. Each corner of the boiler is connected to a valve on the front of the car.
Try to blow down as soon as possible and at as high a pressure as possible after every run to avoid stuff to settle. The purpose is to get as much crap out of that boiler as possible. Make sure the pilot is out and no fuel can go to the boiler before blowing down. This is an extremely loud event. Wear Ear protection and turn off the hearing aids
The water in the boiler at 600 PSI is roughly 500 degrees Fahrenheit. When you let it escape, it will turn to steam instantly forming a characteristic tulip shape at the nozzle. Open all four valves three full turns. Let the steam escape until the steam shape turns from a “Tulip” to a straight flow. Close the valves as quickly as possible. You should still have around 400 PSI remaining which will allow you to park the car.

​The Stanley has a steam powered system to suck water from below the level of the vehicle and pump it into the reservoir. The system works by sending a jet of steam through a ventury and creating the vacuum needed below it to suck up water. Once cold water hits the nozzle, the pressure of the steam will still shoot it upwards, keeping the vacuum below going and most of the heat will be absorbed by the water on the way up the tube
I am spending a bit more time on it here because these principles also apply to the way fuel and air are mixed in front of the burner

​The simplest way to explain the principle is that the steam velocity from the tapered pipe on the left creates a vacuum right around it. In order to get the ultimate in suction, however, the nozzle and tube around it (ventury) sizes are relevant to each other. if the ventury is too big, air will be allowed to leak back out. The basic suction system in the model R is to the left. It was screwed into the tank where it ended into a 3/8" ID tube leading to the top but the nozzle was placed in a 2" section of  5/8" diameter tube. It never worked well so i made a test rig to see how much it could be improved upon by turning piece of 5/8" plastic, notching it at 1/4" intervals and increasing hole sizes during the tests  

​The results surprised me in how little it took to get major changes

​lessons learned: 1/64" diameter makes a difference. The "Sweet spot" appears to be for the restriction of the insert to start about 1/2" above the nozzle
another test piece at (A) 1 1/8" with a 11/32" diameter able to be screwed into the tank showed that there was a marked improvement in Suction

​since Mercury is about 13.5X heavier then Water, a conservative estimate would be that every inch of vacuum should equate to about a foot from the bottom of the tank.

                                      Roel Rasker recreates a 1915 Stanley Mountain Wagon.
                                                                PART ONE

After the restoration of my Stanley EX in 2017​, I was looking for a new project.
The choice soon fell on a mountain wagon. These cars have always had my interest, since my first meeting with Peter Williams's mountain car at the Dorset Steam fair a few years ago.
 
First I started looking for an original mountain car. Because these were not available, or too expensive, I decided to build one myself. My preference was initially for a 1909 model with a wooden chassis with 3 benches.
To be able to drive the car in the Netherlands, however, I had to work with an existing old Stanley chassis. Otherwise it was not possible to get it road legal in the Netherlands
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That's why I decided to go for a 1915 model on a 735 chassis. It was important that I could find an old chassis whose restoration to the original model was not possible.
In England on steamcarnetwork website I found a 735d chassis with chassis number. This was a great start to a big new project.

I could also buy a 20 HP engine in England. With this I already had a solid foundation. In the future I might replace this engine for a 30 hp engine but first I want to see if the engine is strong enough.
 
I had set aside 2 years for this project. But by working full time on it, I succeeded in half a year.
I did a size study on the basis of photos of a 1915 MW, which in my opinion was quite original, after which I made a dummy body with a bench in plywood.

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These sizes were pretty good and with some minor adjustments I started producing the MW. Because this is a reproduction I naturally had some freedom to build the car the way I want. Among other things, more space between headboard and first seat, exchangeable seats, and a fixed propane gas tank for the pilot light. I also preferred copper gas lamps instead of electric lamps. The floor is completely flat so that the car can also be used as a pickup

 The convertible top is made of curved ash arches. The rest of the frame is made from various existing  parts. An upholsterer has covered the convertible top and also provided the leather upholstery of the four seats.

I had the bonnet and the fenders made at Vintage Wings in England. The fenders were perfect.

I still had a lot of work on the hood. The company could not make the louvres. That is why I made a steel mold and punch with which I could apply the louvres manually.

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I have now driven the first kilometers. I had made the connecting rod of the water pump too light. This broke off almost immediately. I am also still looking for the right adjustments from the burner.  I am listening to every strange sound I hear while driving. And there are a lot of them. After every trip I get more used to the car. The boiler maintains good pressure and the fuel system also functions properly. After every ride I come across small things that are easy to solve.
 
Building this car was a nice adventure. I have met nice people and learned a lot.

                                 Part three of the Mountain wagon rebuild. 
During the 400 kilometers I have gained a lot of experience with the Mountain wagon.
​ The car was finished with a few details left to do, but these details were of great importance. During the journeys the throttle sometimes squeezed which made giving gas very difficult. I had made the throttle rod too short and throttle unit was engineered too tight. Now I have moved the throttle unit and extended the distance of the rod by approximately 8 cm.

                                                      CAD Drawings in JPEG

photoalbum\rolly\axle\4.5 BC Stanley Front hub as machined.jpg    
photoalbum\rolly\axle\axle assembly-a.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\axle end.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Left Spindle.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Perch pole and spring casting.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Perch rod end.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Spindle Pin and Parts.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Stanley Hub Cap.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\Tie rod ends & small parts.jpg   
photoalbum\rolly\axle\U bolt.jpg   

                                                                 
​The rear end as built was modified slightly from the original. I have included the drawing as was original, and as modified.
The axle ends were modified and built with five inch tapered keyed ends, and the drums were made to accept them. The bearing are deep grooved sealed ball bearings and are arranged so when the wheel is installed, tension and preload is applied to both the inner and outer bearing. No side thrust from the wheel is against the planetary gears. The gears used are original.
The inner brake band cleaves and bolt was modified per the drawing so as to facilitate the ease of adjustment. The outer brakes originated in 1907 and I modified them by bonding brake lining material to the bronze shoes. All castings are 85-55-06 ductile, the axle tube is 3/16 - 4130 and the axles are 4140. The front axle is the same except for the spindle castings; they are A-148 structural steel 110,000 Tensile and 90,000 Yield and have tapered rollers for bearings.
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                                                           CAD drawings in JPEG

photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Brake cam actuator rod.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Brake cam-3.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Brake parts.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Brake parts-a.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Center yoke.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\cross brace casting.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Gear.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Modified axle end.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Modified brake band attachment bolt.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Modified Brake cleave as built.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Outside brake shoe.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear axle assamble-a.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear axle end Hub.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear axle yoke spacers.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear axle parts.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear axle yoke spacers.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Rear Perch pole and spring casting pattern.jpg
 photoalbum\rolly\r-axle\Truss Rod.jpg
  

Assembly of the front and rear end together with the perch rods is quite straightforward.
Caution needs to be taken to keep the rear end from bowing and also to keep the wheels square to each other.
The tie rods needed some forging to copy the original. The rods are 3/8-OD with 9/16 hex stock slipped over the rod and silver brazed in place. The ends of the rods are then forged in a die to a larger diameter to ½ inch to enable them to be threaded to 7/16-20.
The perch rods I used are hickory as I was lead to believe by others was as the original. Other builder of reproduction Stanley’s are using 4130 steel aircraft tubing.
The Yellow paint used was computer matched to old paint on original borrowed drums, it was wet sanded to remove dirt and oxidation. It matched up to John Deere Yellow TY25641. John Deere has six different shades of yellow paint. Other brands also had a match.
The wood wheels are original Model EX wheels and needed a lot of epoxy and finish work. New wheels are still available.

                                                  CAD Drawings in JPEG

 photoalbum\rolly\running gear\EX running gear.jpg

photoalbum\rolly\running gear\Perch rod cross brace bracket.jpg

photoalbum\rolly\running gear\perch rod cross ties.jpg 

 photoalbum\rolly\running gear\EX running gear.jpg

photoalbum\rolly\running gear\Perch rod cross brace bracket.jpg

photoalbum\rolly\running gear\perch rod cross ties.jpg

Springs, U-Bolts & Hardware

This was a main concern of mine. From all the information I could gather the springs should be 1-3/8 inch’s wide. I was unable to locate any manufacture of springs of this size. 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 were available. I decided on going with the 1-1/4 springs and I would add an extra leaf.
The Stanley springs are unique in the shape from what is on the market. Each leaf would have to be re-cut and re-arched. The main spring ends would also have to be reworked to give it the shape of the Stanley end. To do this a thick washer was obtained from the spring supplier with the square hole already punched. These washers had to be welded to each side on both ends and added weld material and grinding was needed to get the desired shape.
I ordered six springs so as to have four extra long leafs and some spare leafs if I mess some up in reworking them.
Each leaf had tapered ends both in width and thickness and had to have about three inches cut of both ends and reshaped to a round radius and tapered in thickness.
Each leaf also had to be re-arched; this was done cold by hand using a template.
About six inch in from one end a tab was welded on the underside of each leaf and ground to a little knife edge protruding down. A corresponding groove was ground into the leaf directly under it. This keeps the leaf from moving off to one side. The early cars did not have the tabs on the sides of each leaf.
I still need to make new bolts with a larger radius on each end to match the original.
This work took a little over a month to complete.  I would not want to do it again. 

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