IAN_B

I have only just returned to this blog to learn of Tomo's passing. I am deeply saddened. My sincere condolences to all his family. As some may know, I contributed the foundation of the project from over here, though it was mainly the engine that he had brought to a near running state. I have missed his humour and turn of phrase that were a feature of his commentary. I do hope someone can take over the project and see it to completion. Ian Browning

I had saved over the years a number of lengths of second-hand Reynolds style 1.25" pitch duplex chain for my McDonald restoration, only to find I did not have a compatible joining link, no two being quite the same. In the end I purchased a brand new box of chain though eBay at a quite reasonable price. Ian

You were fortunate to have a set of usable bearings for the rear wheels. On our 1918 International project, the original Hyatt parallel roller bearings had chewed out both their inner and outer sleeves and the cages had disintegrated. This was due to lack of grease and the ingress of brake dust. We made a sleeve adapter over the axles with one diameter to accept modern metric tapered roller bearings, and a second to take a modern seal. The hub was 100mm diameter, so easy to find a bearing, and the seal section 4". They are also retained with a single nut and large washer on the end of the axles, and apart from poor thread, we hope the wheels will remain in place. I am comforted by your example using the same principle of retention.

I have come across knurling inside rings too, but I cannot remember where - could have been on my Russell Newbury D2. Ian

International made this style from 1915 till about 1922 and were quite successful. We built the starter setup a couple of years ago to crank a couple of recalcitrant tractors that needed a bit more oomph to start than we could achieve with the crank handle. We managed to sheer its shaft the other day, so the truck was unable to be started a second time. A bit of homework for one of the volunteers to make a new shaft. Here's a link to the start. https://youtu.be/4jRqeP-vWoQ

Colour coding the leads is a great idea. We have started the engine of our 1918 International model K for the first time this week, and we have an electrical problem causing a miss in No 3. We keep getting our wires crossed as the firing order is 1, 2, 4, 3 - different to usual and a trap for young (and old) players.. A bit off topic, but here's a photo.

I have been recently building up a radiator for a tractor from parts from several sources. It is much narrower than yours and has fewer bolts (28 each top and bottom). However, it has reinforcing bars between the side castings as can be seen in the photo, which yours does not have. The tube plate in mine is about 18g brass and it has 310 tubes. I have been chasing leaks in tubes, having had to block some off. It is painted many colours to protect it until I had an opportunity to paint it all the correct colour after I had finished all the trial and error. Ian

Oxy-acetylene is the only way in such circumstances - glad they came good.

On our small volunteer group's restoration of a 1918 International truck, we found it necessary to replace the castings that support the engine/gearbox subframe, which were rivetted to a cross member. The rivets were originally 3/8", and it was beyond our ability to re-rivet it, so we used 10mm bots that were a snug fit. Not one for the purists perhaps, but at least we have documented our action for posterity along FIVA guidelines.

As a keen follower of the Gosling's work also, I draw inspiration for projects with which I am associated, that the impossible only takes time. I have also become aware of the extreme lack of early examples of trucks in USA. I have a strong interest in Corbitt, made in Henderson NC, a 1921 example of which lurks in pieces in my district. It is one of two I know to exist in Australia, along with just one in USA. If it could be pried from its owner, I would have a go at it myself. Corbitt made trucks for the military. They also made cars from 1908 to 1915, but not a single example exists (one bare chassis does). The volunteer group I am a member of is well into the restoration of a 1918 International, not rare by any means, but hugely challenging just the same. Ian

Great news on the diff. Hope a gearbox comes to light soon. Ian

They seem to have reappeared. Perhaps my internet is too slow!

Why am I unable to see any photos?

No photos here either on my Apple MAC. Ian

That is one explanation, the other being that it was wrongly assembled when last overhauled. I note the bronze bush is very wide. When we were faced with bushing down the connecting rods from an original gudgeon pin diameter of 1.300" to 0.875" in the engine of our International truck, we received advice that the bronze should be as thin as practicable due to its compressibility. This led us to double bush the conrod. This situation arose because we had to use the pistons from one engine and conrods from another, and for some strange reason, the gudgeon pins were 1.300" in one, and 0.866" (22mm!) in the other. We purchased new gudgeon pins of 0.875" diameter and reamed the pistons to suit. It was interesting to find metric sizes in this 1918 vehicle made in USA. The OD of the Hyatt bearings in the rear wheel hubs were 100mm too, but the adjacent oil seal was 4" (101.6mm). Ian