Vintage Air Compressors

[diesel_dan]

Going to inspect it this weekend. I drained some water and it was clear enough to drink which was surprising.

I'm a little concerned about trying to remove one of the screw in bungs. Doubt they have been moved 70+ years. I'm hoping I can run my little inspection camera down from the top when I pull the pressure switch off.

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Me too! I have left anything directly screwed into the tank alone, and might leave it that way. There's a street el for the drain on the bottom of mine and was about half full of rust. I cleaned that out and ran a wire up inside and twisted around and around and vacuumed what came out. Then did it with the vacuum running while I did that... While I have a new pressure switch sitting here, the old one works fine, I'd just like a cover for it. Mine will be used as-is, other than more clean-up. I'll swap everything over to the other tank if this one shows signs of failing, but I'm just so sweet on it as it sits...

Not as old as yours, but still something worth keeping "alive", and for me as much as it came from the factory - no resto-work on my guy, just gentle cleaning and a nice retirement home! I see vintage and restored as two different things: vintage you do minimal to, restore is open season and even changing to your favorite color as you put it all back together (it's all good)

Scott

 

[Dogbone]

That's my quandary. If the pump seems like it's going to be a keeper do I strip it all down and do a repaint making it look new again, or enjoy it as is?

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[diesel_dan]

That's my quandary. If the pump seems like it's going to be a keeper do I strip it all down and do a repaint making it look new again, or enjoy it as is?

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You just need more time with it right now -- case inspection plate off, a mirror and light, will tell you a lot. I'm betting (hoping) you just need to get into the valves and freshen there... Oh, and some new belts of course...

Rings could be done, but I'd do an inside look and see how bad the top end looks from below 1st...

Scott

 

[Dogbone]

Pulled the valves out of the Freo. Looks like someone as fabricated an intake valve on high pressure side using a fender washer. And there is chip out of the low pressure intake. It still works but is leaking.

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[diesel_dan]

Pulled the valves out of the Freo. Looks like someone as fabricated an intake valve on high pressure side using a fender washer. And there is chip out of the low pressure intake. It still works but is leaking.

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Chip in the casting where the intake valve sits or...?

 

[Dogbone]

It's a chip out of the actual metal flapper. I could kinda hear the leak out of the intake when it was running

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[Jamie in wv]

Pretty sure that's a Saylor Beall.

It is a saylor beall, motor dyna motor Dayton oh. 1 1/2 and the tank is good shape, he said his grandfather change the oil often and drained the tank everyday, I plugged it up and it runs as new, drained tank. Had 2 oz. of water come out of it, pumped to 80lbs shutoff and no leak off over night,.
The guy just retired and was moving and said he did want to take it with him. Had it on eBay $225, i offered $150 and he said come and get it.

 

[Dogbone]

We'll I've reworked both intake valves. One was just replacing the flapper part, the other was a good bit more involved since it had been previously tinkered with by the previous owner.

I'm down to 15 minutes from 0 psi to about 125 psi. That's still not what the original literature said it would do. I've got some leakage around the valve holders, but I don't think it's enough to really have an impact on the pressurization time. It will eventually have to be addressed since it allows leak down over time.

I guess the next step is to consider ring replacement. I'm a little hesitant to remove the head. I would have to make a replacement gasket and I'm not sure what kind of gasket material it is made of. It's not leaking now. I could remove the cylinders and head as a unit and pull the pistons out from the bottom. Kinda like a "jug" on 2-cycle engines. The gasket there may not be as critical since it's mostly for oil control and not under any pressure to speak of.

thoughts?

 

[diesel_dan]

We'll I've reworked both intake valves. One was just replacing the flapper part, the other was a good bit more involved since it had been previously tinkered with by the previous owner.

I'm down to 15 minutes from 0 psi to about 125 psi. That's still not what the original literature said it would do. I've got some leakage around the valve holders, but I don't think it's enough to really have an impact on the pressurization time. It will eventually have to be addressed since it allows leak down over time.

I guess the next step is to consider ring replacement. I'm a little hesitant to remove the head. I would have to make a replacement gasket and I'm not sure what kind of gasket material it is made of. It's not leaking now. I could remove the cylinders and head as a unit and pull the pistons out from the bottom. Kinda like a "jug" on 2-cycle engines. The gasket there may not be as critical since it's mostly for oil control and not under any pressure to speak of.

thoughts?

You're making progress! Have you tried taking the side plate off and looking inside? Not much work and may give you an idea of cylinder and piston health. When I did mine, I was wondering if I could actually do piston removal through that opening!

Keep it up....

Scott

 

[Old Faithful]

I'm a little hesitant to remove the head. I would have to make a replacement gasket and I'm not sure what kind of gasket material it is made of. It's not leaking now.

I would definitely fix the other issues first, but considering the pressure doesn't go past 200 PSI you should be fine with generic gasket material. I've fixed all my Sears compressors this way, old ones were of a similar material (seemingly paper)

I could remove the cylinders and head as a unit and pull the pistons out from the bottom. Kinda like a "jug" on 2-cycle engines. The gasket there may not be as critical since it's mostly for oil control and not under any pressure to speak of.

Not necessarily, especially if you have blow by... Does the thing squirt oil when you remove the oil plug?

You should be able to remove the pistons from the bottom, on the compressors I've done this the bottom of the cylinder was flared so it was a no-brainer to get the pistons back in without any tools.

 

[Dogbone]

I'll have to open the side up again. My concern was not being able to compress the new rings when putting them back. Didn't know the bore was flared. I'll take a look.

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[Dogbone]

Ended up removing the cylinder as there was not enough clearance to remove the piston once the rod was disconnected.

I've never seen any rings like this. Sadly I also discovered this.

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[Old Faithful]

Ended up removing the cylinder as there was not enough clearance to remove the piston once the rod was disconnected.

I've never seen any rings like this. Sadly I also discovered this.

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Man, what a bummer! How's the crankshaft?

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[Dogbone]

Crank is good. Just a light polish and it will be fine.

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[Loose Ctrl]

Ended up removing the cylinder as there was not enough clearance to remove the piston once the rod was disconnected.

I've never seen any rings like this. Sadly I also discovered this.

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Total seal piston rings before they became a thing in the automotive world. I hope rod bearings are still available. Maybe an engine building machine shop can come up with something.

 

[Old Faithful]

Crank is good. Just a light polish and it will be fine.

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Whew! The advantage of having a softer metal as a bearing. Not so if a roller bearing grenades, unfortunately. Of the several machines I got the two I got that were knocking had that very problem

Moral of the story - don't buy sight unseen, always run the machine before buying and if you can't open the oil cap (yes, I've seen that), move on. Unless the seller is giving you a really, really good deal for it

 

[Dogbone]

This one was if can get it out of here you can have it. It was a hard deal to pass on. Dropped it off at the machine shop to see if there's anything they can do.

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[Dogbone]

After some research, it seems these are poured babbitt bearings. Looks like I'm going to be learning a new skill! I enjoy a challenge.

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[Maui]

I just brought home this vintage compressor earlier today. I think the Coca Cola cart that it is sitting on is from the 1940s or 1950s. It runs smoothly and the compressor works. But the electrical cord and air hose are going to be replaced before it gets plugged in again. Anybody recognize who may have manufactured it, or when it was built?

Maui

 

[Dogbone]

That's cool!

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[Old Faithful]

This one was if can get it out of here you can have it. It was a hard deal to pass on. Dropped it off at the machine shop to see if there's anything they can do.

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Exactly Got myself another Sears like that a couple of weeks ago. For free

Besides, who knows maybe it's not so bad. I'll see when I take it apart

 

[Rlauto]

How did your Wayne turn out? I have the same compressor! Did you find parts and where? I work right down the road from Wayne, they can get a few things but no bottom end parts.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Exactly Got myself another Sears like that a couple of weeks ago. For free



Besides, who knows maybe it's not so bad. I'll see when I take it apart

If you mean the parallel twins like they made a zillion of, the problem is usually the screws come out of the reed valves and get sucked into the cylinders. Easy fix,but not always.


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[Stillgottimefor1]

After some research, it seems these are poured babbitt bearings. Looks like I'm going to be learning a new skill! I enjoy a challenge.

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I want to learn that too, there’s an old Curtis near here that I can buy cheap but my (limited) research indicates it is a “Babbit Pounder”.


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[Old Faithful]

If you mean the parallel twins like they made a zillion of, the problem is usually the screws come out of the reed valves and get sucked into the cylinders. Easy fix,but not always.


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This one fell off on the main pulley and it's bent, hopefully it isn't the crankshaft. I've had one with destroyed main journal bearing due to total lack of oil and hope this one isn't as bad. I've been just too busy to look into it. We're under more than 6' of snow here, it's been relentless.

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[amccullers]

I have a vintage Curtis C90 that I have used for about 1 1/2 years in my shop ( few times a month). It takes about 20 minutes to build up to 150 psi, so I guess I need to rebuild it. The tank said 1948 and I could not get the bottom drain hole opened, so I decided to get another tank.

My question is can parts be found to rebuild the compressor? What do I need to look for when I open up the compressor?

Thanks
Andrew

 

[redmondjp]

I have a vintage Curtis C90 that I have used for about 1 1/2 years in my shop ( few times a month). It takes about 20 minutes to build up to 150 psi, so I guess I need to rebuild it. The tank said 1948 and I could not get the bottom drain hole opened, so I decided to get another tank.

My question is can parts be found to rebuild the compressor? What do I need to look for when I open up the compressor?

Thanks
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to the forum! I just did a search and came across this thread from 2016 or so:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315911

Before you tear into it, I would do some more research and determine what parts you still can get and from who (and don't just rely upon what some website says that they have - call, talk to an actual human, and have them check the inventory to see if they really have it).

Right now, you have a functioning pump. If you tear into it, you may find that you can't get a gasket or some other part needed, and you'll either have to cobble something up (e.g. make your own gasket) or you will have a pile of parts and no air.

There are hundreds if not thousands of air compressor threads on this site which will answer every possible question you could have on an air compressor. Your best bet may be to leave yours be, keeping it running (you could lower the max pressure by 10-15 psi so it doesn't have to run so long) while you search for a newer compressor.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm not familiar with that model of pump so I can't really add anything else. I do have a Curtis E57 pump that a guy rebuilt for me 10 years ago - they are good pumps.

 

[May Pop]

AMCullers
Is it a single or two stage with how large a tank?
Any pics?

 

[ihv800]

This old Ingersoll was posted up on the local Craigslist, thought I would share it here! Tank is dated 1953. I cannot find any reference to "Pantex" with Ingersoll, anyone have more information on what the significance of that is?

Neat old unit and a good deal for someone! https://denver.craigslist.org/tls/d/denver-air-compressor/6846531560.html

Pics attached for when the link dies.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

That pump doesn’t look like an Ingersol to me, but I could be wrong, no expert. Curtiss maybe. Anyway looks cool and a fair price. People are going to say the tank should pressure tested .


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[Old Faithful]

This old Ingersoll was posted up on the local Craigslist, thought I would share it here! Tank is dated 1953. I cannot find any reference to "Pantex" with Ingersoll, anyone have more information on what the significance of that is?

Neat old unit and a good deal for someone! https://denver.craigslist.org/tls/d/denver-air-compressor/6846531560.html

Pics attached for when the link dies.

WOW! Deals like this very rarely show up in my parts, provided the tank is in good condition (I'd take a look with a snake camera before making my offer).

 

[redmondjp]

That pump doesn’t look like an Ingersol to me, but I could be wrong, no expert. Curtiss maybe. Anyway looks cool and a fair price. People are going to say the tank should pressure tested .

Looks like a Quincy QR 2-series (single-stage) pump to me. Quincy-made pumps were used by other brands of compressors, such as the ones that Binks sold.

 

[jansoetgrunn]

Bendix Westinghouse Compressor pump

Hi,
I’m Jans de Kleine from the Netherlands and recently the owner of a oldtimer two-cylinder Bendix Westinghouse Air Brake Compressor pump, model/type: 2US4VA (Bore: ± 1,61 inch).
It seems that this pump is air cooled as there is no water drain plug to be found on the cylinder head.
My intension is to use the pump as a workshop compressor. Now there are 2 connections on the pump(see photo attachment) that I don’t know if I can close completely before using the pump as a workshop compressor.The upper connection went(in the past) to the Governor, but I don’t know the function of the lower connection. The previous owner had closed this with a nut(also the upper connection).
It would be nice if someone could tell me this, because there is no information to be found about this model/type oldtimer compressor pumps with exception of the Bendix Westinghouse compressor pump model/type: TM 9-1827A.
This one looks the same, but it has a bigger Bore as the 2US4VA.
Thanks anyway.

 

[jansoetgrunn]

Bendix Westinghouse

Sorry.
I forgot to post the photo

 

[Bigblockyeti]

The lower connection really looks like it's the bottom of a water jacket but it would be very odd to be cooled through the head, cylinder block and crank case as that would create many points for failure. I can't tell by the picture what the upper fitting might be, do you have any other pictures that you could post?

 

[Loose Ctrl]

Re: Bendix Westinghouse

Sorry.
I forgot to post the photo

Circle with ? mark may be the crankcase vent.

 

[Jworner]

I need help can u tell me anything about this

 

[Cecil]

Hey all!, I am trying to find out some details (age, history, value) of this old air compressor. It runs but I didn't let it build up pressure. I've attached pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Cecil

 

[N_Jay]

Almost looks Military or Government contract with ID place and instructions plate.

 

[diesel_dan]

Nice compressor! Man I'd keep that one myself... It looks pretty original and if so, the date on the side of the tank: 1948 Gives you an idea when it was built. There are two inspection ports you can check out the inside of the tank through.

It's value goes up if it works, so I'd check it over and change the oil and see how it does building pressure. I take it you want to sell it?

It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay, but there are a bunch of us out there that think the old stuff is way cool. I try not to enter the search term "compressor" in Craigs List, because whenever I do I end up finding something "I have to have" (like yours). And I'm probably one compressor shy of a divorce... :-/

I have number of non-runners, that just need... (fill in the blank) - my wife will likely sell them all off when I pass away, all in the condition they are in now (likely)...