Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[oldironfarmer]

This is a fine fix you've gotten us into. We ask honest questions and are penalized

Is this a new process for him or just a business decision this year? Not a lot of haylage in OK, but then again, not a lot of alfalfa. I've raised it but bermuda is much easier and bottom line is similar - more costs with alfalfa. And the easiest here is prairie grass. No inputs (not even lime) and it produces year after year.

Enjoyed the pictures.

 

[BB767]

Glamorous Pit Crew Work At Road America

Who will do the repair?

The Lola was returned to California for repairs. With luck it'll be ready for September racing.

Other activity in our paddock during Road America last week involved...



...me doing a head dance in the foot well of the Lola. I'm the thinnest guy on the crew so I was elected to squeeze in, head down and adjust the brake bias between the front and rear brakes. Not a terribly good design I'd say. However, after this adjustment, Danny did turn his personal best time ever at RA so it was definitely worth it.



We also has a transmission input shaft break on one of the Formula Fords.



That shouldn't be two pieces. Twisted the end right off. That's a real rare failure and normally takes a good long day to repair.



Our gang pulled together and got it all done in 3 1/2 hours, in time to make the qualifying race that afternoon. That was a real team effort.



As it was being finished up, being the small, thin guy, I was tasked with sitting in the cockpit to assist with shift linkage adjustment and bleeding the clutch master cylinder.



Just as we'd thought we were finished for the day, Danny came in and mentioned his car was down on power so......



...we pulled the cylinder head to inspect the engine internally.



The valves were removed to inspect the seats.



Lou and I hand lapped all the valves before re-installing them.



This was the lapping compound we used.



We clamped a rubber fuel line to the valve stem and then turned the valve to lap the seat by rubbing the rubber hose between our hands.



Periodically lifting up the valve and turning it slightly to ensure good seating all around.



The lapping process took about an hour. Two valves/seats had some slight pitting that we removed. The car was all buttoned up and started up. It sure sounded great. It rained the next day and the event ended so Danny never got to try out all our good work. He'll run it next at Lime Rock so we'll see what he thinks of it then.

So such is the glamorous life of the pit crew.

Thomas

 

[jbmatth]

Re: Glamorous Pit Crew Work At Road America

...
We also has a transmission input shaft break on one of the Formula Fords.



That shouldn't be two pieces. Twisted the end right off. That's a real rare failure and normally takes a good long day to repair.
...
Thomas

Thomas, That is a rare break indeed, was there a retaining ring in that area of the shaft where it broke. Normally they do break at either the transition from the splines to the shaft of the transition from the shaft to the flange area. These transitions are where stresses can build up if the there is a step and isn't rounded over. But that fracture looks really odd from the pictures. I'm glad you were able to get it up and running in short order though.
JB

 

[oldironfarmer]

To me that transmission shaft failure looks like an old fatigue failure slowly working it's way through the shaft. Not a real clear picture but there doesn't seem to be much final shear area.

 

[bluestripe67]

Thomas, I think I have found a match to your Terraplane tree growth. I attended a rather large crusein recently and found a gentelman displaying in the bed of his pickup the remains of a '60's COE Chevy truck that was overtaken by a tree. He said it was like doing surgery, except with a chainsaw. He sold the cab and the entire differential....repurpose, reused! Dennis

Sorry for the sideways pics. I have no idea why or how.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Nice "Ivey Engine tee shirt and hat".
Jay Ivey is located about a mile down the road from me.

 

[stillp]

Interesting valve grinding technique. I've always done it with a rubber sucker on the end of a stick, the sucker sticks to the head of the valve, pressure applied and the stick rotated back-and forth between the palms. Seems more 'natural' than your technique, which must involve pulling on the tube as you rotate it. Is there any advantage to doing it that way, or was it just that a piece of pipe was easier to find than a rubber sucker?

Pete

 

[stillp]

Lucky it wasn't a 4-valve V16!

Pete

 

[BB767]

Thomas, That is a rare break indeed, was there a retaining ring in that area of the shaft where it broke. Normally they do break at either the transition from the splines to the shaft of the transition from the shaft to the flange area. These transitions are where stresses can build up if the there is a step and isn't rounded over. But that fracture looks really odd from the pictures. I'm glad you were able to get it up and running in short order though.
JB

That's the conclusion we came to JB because there is indeed a retaining ring with a stepped area on the splines.





If you look closely you can see the stepped area on the splines for the ring. Not radiused that we could tell so that's where it eventually fatigued and then failed. Still a rare failure all the same.

To me that transmission shaft failure looks like an old fatigue failure slowly working it's way through the shaft. Not a real clear picture but there doesn't seem to be much final shear area.

I would have to agree with you Andy. I think it's been slowing cracking and eventually there wasn't enough material left to carry the load and it twisted off the remaining shaft. It's virtually impossible to do a periodic inspection of that shaft without major effort and expense. It's such an infrequent failure it doesn't warrant the effort.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thomas, I think I have found a match to your Terraplane tree growth. I attended a rather large crusein recently and found a gentelman displaying in the bed of his pickup the remains of a '60's COE Chevy truck that was overtaken by a tree. He said it was like doing surgery, except with a chainsaw. He sold the cab and the entire differential....repurpose, reused! Dennis

Sorry for the sideways pics. I have no idea why or how.

They're out there aren't they Dennis?

Very cool indeed none-the-less. Thanks for sharing it.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Nice "Ivey Engine tee shirt and hat".
Jay Ivey is located about a mile down the road from me.

All of our Formula Fords have Ivey Engines. There is nobody better than Jay, period!

(Hey Jay, is that blatant endorsement worth a free tee shirt and hat?? )

Interesting valve grinding technique. I've always done it with a rubber sucker on the end of a stick, the sucker sticks to the head of the valve, pressure applied and the stick rotated back-and forth between the palms. Seems more 'natural' than your technique, which must involve pulling on the tube as you rotate it. Is there any advantage to doing it that way, or was it just that a piece of pipe was easier to find than a rubber sucker?

Pete

Pete your method is how I've always lapped valves too........however, we were in the paddock and didn't have access to a rubber sucker in the shop so we were forced into the rubber fuel line method.
Royal pain in the a$$ doing it that way I might add. We applied slight pressure to the valve head while it was rotated. That was one of the reasons it took so long. It was hard to get decent pressure to remove the pitting on the seat in a couple of spots. We eventually got it. The dynamic duo strikes again!

Thomas

 

[dcm5652]

I have used a cordless drill, run it one way then reverse it .. got the job done

 

[BB767]

I have used a cordless drill, run it one way then reverse it .. got the job done

Thanks for the suggestion dcm5652.
We discussed doing just that and decided we didn't want to chance slinging lapping compound into any of the crevices of the head.
We had limited cleaning capabilities in the paddock.
Doing it by hand allowed for greater control and we were able to confine the compound to just the valve seat areas, keeping everything else clean.

The only downside doing it by hand was it took longer and we were willing to do it.
Only had to do 8 valves.
Don't know if it was that the right call or not.......but in the end we decided it was for us.

Thomas

 

[bulletpruf]

I have used a cordless drill, run it one way then reverse it .. got the job done

Got to be real careful when you use a drill. If you get too excited, you'll end up needing new seats. Doing it by hand is tedious, but that's how I do it, too.

 

[stillp]

I have used a cordless drill, run it one way then reverse it .. got the job done

We used to be told not to do that, as it can lead to rings on the valve seats, which causes poor sealing. Once upon a time you could buy an accessory that converted the rotation of a drill into an oscillating motion. Maybe this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0012MCW06/?tag=atomicindustr-21

 

[BB767]

Valve Lapper

...... Once upon a time you could buy an accessory that converted the rotation of a drill into an oscillating motion. Maybe this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0012MCW06/?tag=atomicindustr-21

It's too late tonight after a long day getting the Honey House...



.... prepped and...



... started to move, but I've got a vintage gizmo out in the old shop that is similar to what you're talking about Pete. It's a hand held way of mechanically lapping valves. I'll see if I get post a picture or two of it.

Meanwhile...



...the Honey House is slowly leaving the property. Note it is sitting on 4" PVC pipe. We're rolling it away.

Thomas

 

[oldironfarmer]

That's how we roll

 

[GoodJobTim]

Did you rent a Lull?

 

[BB767]

Introducing The LULL

Did you rent a Lull?

I'm a little behind in posting (imagine that?). The GEHL went with Ray to his next house project. The LULL belongs to my brick/stone mason and will be on the site until we finish all the masonry work. It's essentially the same type of machine with similar capabilities.

Thomas

 

[MisteR Tee]

Going back to your RA adventures, you must try to get to Le Mans for the Classic, run every two years for vintage racers only (up to I think 1983). We went (my fellow rodders & I) again this year & it was a scorcher, both in racing & temps! We stayed in a fully catered enclosed camp site next to the track, 10 minutes walk from the nearest entrance & thoroughly recommend it.

You can even choose the ready-erected tent option (which the Aston Martin Owners Club always do, apparently!) & if you get bored with watching all those old cars tearing around, you can always watch whatever's on TV at the time on their big screen (Wimbledon, Tour De France & F1 this year).

The camp site & surrounding camps & the car parks are also worth a look, as there's usually something interesting just casually parked there. We did it as part of an extended trip, attending the European Street Rod Nationals in nearby Avoise first, before travelling down to stop over with one of our Brit rodding friends who now lives about 3 hrs South of there, then back to Le Mans the following weekend. Petrol-head overload for two weeks topped off the following weekend by me going to Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire for their annual Dragstalgia event where I raced my little blown & injected BMC A-series engined slingshot, to great success I add.

 

[dpljmurphy]

MisteR Tee, any contact details for booking for this camp at La Mans would be appreciated. David

 

[BB767]

Going back to your RA adventures, you must try to get to Le Mans for the Classic, run every two years for vintage racers only (up to I think 1983). ......


...... Petrol-head overload for two weeks topped off the following weekend by me going to Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire for their annual Dragstalgia event where I raced my little blown & injected BMC A-series engined slingshot, to great success I add.

That's a great suggestion MisteR Tee, thanks for the thought.

Also, how about a picture or two of your slingshot?

Thomas

 

[BB767]

The Honey House Has Left The Property

As you might guess, I'm still putting in some very, very long days so that's why I'm behind posting. Here are some pictures for updates. Several interesting developments. The biggest might be...



Completing the Honey House (HH) move. Note the front half of the building is off the ground in this picture.



This trailer was then backed under the front of the HH. The gentleman on the trailer is operating a specialized device to assist...



... in moving the HH onto the trailer.

At the other end of the HH...



...I was using the LULL to...





...pick the rear of the HH up and...



... gently push it on the trailer.



Once it was on and centered, it was then strapped to the trailer.



Since it had rained the night before (go figure) it was a little muddy out there so I used the LULL to help push the truck and trailer out onto the gravel.



We were home free from this point on.



The driver got the rig turned around...



...put an OVERSIZE LOAD banner on his truck...



...and the Honey House...



...had left the property!



All that was left were tire marks and some memories of all that honey being harvested in that building over the decades.

The 2 car garage on the right, is the next building to be moved in a few months. Stand by for that.

Thomas

 

[HOTFR8]

WOW. Great photos of the HH move.

 

[rixtrix1]

WOW. Great photos of the HH move.

I agree with HOTFR8. Great pics, and narration!

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

[stillp]

Great story. It's very unusual over here to move a building like that in one piece.

Pete

 

[markviii]

Google "entire house relocation pictures" and you should be able to see lots of pictures of entire buildings being moved - even brick buildings. Large mobile homes are moved every day.

The HH (12' x 24') was cut in half by the new caretakers, now has two new windows and the 4th wall should be installed and sided by the end of the week. I love it when things can be repurposed! We'll try to get pictures when they finish the renovation.

 

[HCNDM]

Google "entire house relocation pictures" and you should be able to see lots of pictures of entire buildings being moved - even brick buildings. Large mobile homes are moved every day.

The HH (12' x 24') was cut in half by the new caretakers, now has two new windows and the 4th wall should be installed and sided by the end of the week. I love it when things can be repurposed! We'll try to get pictures when they finish the renovation.

It's not done very often here in the old world. Buildings often have deep brick foundations which makes lifting them more difficult.

Even if you can get them onto a trailer the roads are too narrow and windy (<< windey dunno spelling) in many old european (yes that includes brittain ) towns to move the building through.

 

[Stuart in MN]

When I built my garage, I had the old single car garage hauled away. The moving company jacked it up a couple feet, bolted in some crossmembers, backed a truck inside, and lowered it down on the bed of the truck and drove it away. It was interesting how easy they made it look:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4448525&postcount=8

 

[TR6SR650]

Thanks for the suggestion dcm5652.
We discussed doing just that and decided we didn't want to chance slinging lapping compound into any of the crevices of the head.
We had limited cleaning capabilities in the paddock.
Doing it by hand allowed for greater control and we were able to confine the compound to just the valve seat areas, keeping everything else clean.

The only downside doing it by hand was it took longer and we were willing to do it.
Only had to do 8 valves.
Don't know if it was that the right call or not.......but in the end we decided it was for us.

Thomas

My 1st real post. I thought you guys might enjoy this. About 1965 or 66 in the J C Whitney catalog, you could order a "Ford model A valve grinding tool; $1.25". It had a wood handle with a suction cup on it. For the Martin-Baker ejection seat there was a "ejection seat cartridge removal tool $18.75". The two tools were identical. The same box, everything!

 

[Homebody]

How far did the HH move? Pictures were great!
Just curious if it was the height that made it an oversize load? Width looks fine.

 

[stillp]

Google "entire house relocation pictures" and you should be able to see lots of pictures of entire buildings being moved - even brick buildings. Large mobile homes are moved every day.

The HH (12' x 24') was cut in half by the new caretakers, now has two new windows and the 4th wall should be installed and sided by the end of the week. I love it when things can be repurposed! We'll try to get pictures when they finish the renovation.

Chris, I know it's common in the USA, and also I believe in Australia, but not in the UK. Maybe because our roads are too narrow, but also because most of our buildings are brick/block construction, which is very strong in compression but not in tension, so if you lift a brick building it needs support all round the underneath or it'll fall apart. I have seen it done with a historic building that was too near an eroding clifftop and would have fallen into the sea in a few years. They had to excavate under each wall and fit a steel frame, as well as a lot of internal bracing, although the move was only a few hundred yards.

Pete

 

[BB767]

Honey House Move Details

Some follow up information on the Honey House move.



Inside, one of the first things we did was lag bolt 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 boards all around the bottom of the building. That not only strengthened the structure, it gave use something we could jack against to lift the building off the foundation.



We also lag bolted 2 X 6's across the doorways at both ends.



Since the building bulged out at the bottom we used ratchet straps to hold the bottoms in. Later we lag bolted a couple of 2 X 6's across the bottom in the middle of the building to keep the sides from crushing to toward each other. The nuts on the bottom plate were unscrewed and after the build was jacked up a few inches, the anchor bolts were sawzalled off flush with the concrete slab.



All that bracing made the structure very rigid. There was no noticeable sag at all when it was lifted at either end. Even when lifting just one corner as seen here it was a very solid structure.



With all that done and the PVC pipes under the bottom plate, I used the LULL to lift one end and push against the end, rolling it off it's foundation.



On the other end we put 2 X 8 planking on the ground in front of the PVC pipes so it had a smooth surface to roll on once it was off its foundation.



We just inched it along...



...and little by little it was rolled off the foundation. The vinyl siding hung just below the bottom plate but it was flexible enough to bend out of the way as seen on the far end of the bottom of the building.



With the Honey House gone I broke up the concrete floor so it could be moved out of the way. The next day I was trenching in that area for our water service.



So the charming little Honey House is gone. It represented a very unique function in the Johnson household for many, many years. Who knows how much honey was harvested within it's walls over the decades.



After seeing it out there my whole life I'll admit, I will miss it.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

How far did the HH move? Pictures were great!
Just curious if it was the height that made it an oversize load? Width looks fine.

Laine, it went to a very good friend just about 7 miles away. His wife is going to use one end as a potting shed and he'll use the other end for garden tools and a lawn mower.

BTW, Chris and I have lifetime visiting rights to see it whenever we want.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

My 1st real post. I thought you guys might enjoy this. About 1965 or 66 in the J C Whitney catalog, you could order a "Ford model A valve grinding tool; $1.25". It had a wood handle with a suction cup on it. For the Martin-Baker ejection seat there was a "ejection seat cartridge removal tool $18.75". The two tools were identical. The same box, everything!

Welcome to our gang here TR6SR650 and thanks for your post. I find that quite interesting and more than a little troubling, but then what do I know. I'm just a retired airline pilot.

I hope you enjoy yourself when you visit. We've got a terrific group here and it seems there's always something, umm........ interesting going on.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

It's not done very often here in the old world. Buildings often have deep brick foundations which makes lifting them more difficult.

Even if you can get them onto a trailer the roads are too narrow and windy (<< windey dunno spelling) in many old european (yes that includes brittain ) towns to move the building through.

I was thinking about Bruges, Belgium, https://www.google.com/search?q=pic...qhqJXOAhUj_4MKHch3C_YQsAQIHQ&biw=1273&bih=785,
when you mentioned narrow, windy (yes, that's the correct spelling ) streets. It would be next to impossible move a building there wouldn't it HCNDM?

Thomas

 

[Grizz1963]

Another nice, and detailed update Thomas.

The saying "If only these walls could talk" springs to mind.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I have moved a building or two without the fancy puller or trailer or Lull.

Lots of work though.

 

[williewilkens]

Thomas - I just wanted to say thank you for your dedication to documenting this project. I only joined today, but spent a good part of yesterday surfing through this thread (and thanks to the index creator, too!). I would LOVE to come across some vintage structure such as yours...although I think my head would explode if I had to sort through all of the bulk as you have done. I would have enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I could have made some of the clear headed decisions you made as you waded through everything.

My only hope is to build something with a vintage feel, and then try to not have it end up looking like Mr. Johnson had been in there.

I am looking forward to your future posts on this wonderful project. You have done an unbelievable job so far! Thanks again for sharing in such great detail!

 

[bulletpruf]

Thomas -

Thanks for the detailed post on the honey house move; quite interesting and informative. Glad you saved it and glad to hear that it's still relatively close.

Scott