4x4Founder

Simply awesome!  Worthy of an old soldier's salute.

The Old Soldier lives again! Beyond awesome! Your dedication to this project is inspirational!

Bob, I agree. That is a fantastic compromise. YOu are doing that truck right!

You are making some serious progress. Awesome work on that fine, old FWD!

36 minutes ago, Tharper said:

Looking at the specs for the Wisconsin "B"

Bore: 4-1/4"

Stroke: 5"

The bores are offset from the crank centerline by 3/4" towards the exhaust side.

Total weight: 475 lbs

HP. (ALAM rating) 28.9 hp The ALAM ratings are archaic and its hard to convert to anything meaningful. A graph within the same Wisconsin catalog show approx. 46 hp @ 1,600 rpm

In their day they were indeed light, perky engines and when coupled to a minimalist chassis such as the Bearcat you had a real thrilling ride. No doubt lightening the flywheel and playing with the carb and timing would help as well. A twin spark setup was a hot ticket and was well worth the effort. However, like most low rpm engines back then it wasn't about horsepower but torque.

I don't have the figures for the model "B" but my 6 cylinder PT generates just shy of 600 ft/lbs at 800 rpm yet is rated at only 104 hp.

I am loving watching this project come together!

Best regards,

Terry

 

 

 

 

What year catalog is that from?  I see a couple of different power ratings, one as high as 58 hp @ 1700 (brake) in a Mercer (per  Langworth's Mercer history) and one resources lists 60 hp for the Stutz. The Stromberg on the FWD unit had a 1.5-in. bore.  I was looking for the materials on the Stutz or Mercer carbs, but I have evidently filed them too well.  I hate to quote from my feeble memory but 1.75 inches keeps coming into my head.

I have read that a lot of war suprplus FWD Model Bs lost their engines to those "hotrodders" driving Stutz Bearcats. From what I remember, the only real difference in the engines was that the Stutz had a larger bore carburetor and spun up a little faster. Maybe some difference in the mags, though I recall less about that. Too busy this morning to dig out those files.

You are living the dream, my friend!  I've rebuild hundreds of engines but a Wisconsin T-Head is not on that list... nor any truly classic engine. It looks amazingly good considering.

8 hours ago, bobs1918 said:

The  spare chassis as found  in  Colorado. I  have needed  wheel  bearing   , large  bearing  retainer  nut and   lock washers

 

Was that from Don Chew's estate? Looks like you can also get a matching wheel replace the off one, right?

One big step closer!

Made me want to stand and salute! Two FWDs as well!

Fantastic work! The crew should be proud  of their work and the museum proud to display it. You need to get the Chieftain back to do an in-depth feature on it!

On 5/5/2018 at 6:15 PM, Bob Grundy said:

In the early part of this year I imported it from near Seattle. I did not like too much wood on it so sprayed the cab blue which in my opinion made it look better. There was nothing to do mechanically as the previous owner had done a splendid job. Starts easily if you have a young strong gentleman on the handle and drives a treat.........

Yeah, Bruce's truck, right? Have driven that one in the distant past. IIRC, it's a '21...?. Can't remember if it's a rare 2-wheel steer. Anyway, I saw that truck stripped down to bare bones and know it was done very well.

So awesome that you have images of this ancient truck when "living" and have some idea of it's early history. THe images are great but they must induce at least a little intimidation at seen just how far you have to go. If you aren't intimidated, you are a better man than me, Gunga Din!

How much more of the truck do you have? 

Thanks for the update. 

That makes sense. I did not fully adapt my brain to the inadequate braking technology of 100 years past. Was that a vintage carrier for the Holt? It looked it...  but I don't know much about British transport from that era as it relates to a steamer.

Did that lowboy with the Holt really need two tractors? I know it looked good that way but having seen similar tractors move some ponderous loads and drag sleds down a tractor pulling track with impunity, I wonder. Awesome video! 

13 hours ago, Bob Grundy said:

Cllr Mike Bennett of Ashford Borough Council states'......those who bravely gave their lives during the First World War'. Let's be clear on this as it is mentioned by others in authority and the media, that they did NOT give their lives...........They were taken from them, a big difference.

Wondering how you mean that?

Certainly, if unarmed people are rounded up by armed men, lined up in front of a wall and shot... those lives have been taken! 

A soldier who volunteers is essentially "giving" his life, at least potentially. If he doesn't understand that, he probably isn't intelligent enough to be a soldier.

Conscripted soldiers are admittedly a grey area. In one sense, being a voluntary citizen of a country (when you are allowed to leave your country in protest of it) knowing your country conscripts troops, you are a defacto "volunteer" if you chose to continue to live there. After all, most people in free countries are allowed to determine their country's direction and policies with their vote. If they don't take that responsibility seriously, well.....

I guess my point is that if you look at this in the noblest possible way, as a volunteer you are essentially signing a blank check (or cheque to some of you) made payable to your country for an amount up to and including your life. 

Given the way WWI was fought, and how frivolously it started, we could debate how "noble" any of it was, but often the motivations of the individual people were noble. That's why I don't often mind the high road being taken with regards to speeches and such because it honors those people's intent and their sacrifice. Often the nobility is found in the bonds between soldiers

One can argue that not "telling it like it was" furthers needless war. Maybe that's true. It doesn't seem to matter, though. The human race will find ways make war on each other and most of us are powerless to stop it. Even if a country or a group of people are totally in the right and trying to avoid war, war often finds them.

Forgive me this post. As an old soldier from a family of soldiers, I often get reflective as Veterans Day approaches.  

On October 12, 2017 at 2:16 PM, Niels v said:

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/nash/quad/2009081.html?refer=blog

I know that truck and have driven it! Owned by a friend of mine. I nearly sobbed when I heard he was selling it... mostly because I wanted it and can't have it! A very good runner!

Working on a story on the Guiberson diesel engine for Diesel World magazine and while it's not primarily about the M-3 application of that engine, I wanted to include an image of the tank. I am looking for an image of a Guiberson-powered M-3 or M-3A1, either a period image or a current one. Might be grasping at straws here, but I do recall that five or so were recovered from Brazil by a British dealer a few years back but I can't find any info on their current whereabouts or condition. Any clues welcome. Images need to be larger than this normally posted on the web due to this being in a print publication.

I've said it a lot in my visits here, but at the risk of belaboring the point, I will say it again: I am just in awe of you guys. All of you here that take something just two steps up from a pile of rust flakes and bring it back to glorious life... my admiration knows no bounds.

Yes, that's the pre 1917 one I think with the shell radiator. I don't know why they didn't date them but it's not unusual in that era.

Yes, that is a civilian booklet. There are several versions of it and I have three. If it show the trucks with a shell type radiator (not the cast one) and with wood spoked wheels, it's likely Pre-1917. The post-war version from 1919 and on have the Canadian factory listed on the front cover and don't have the cable hoist illustration in it you showed. Some have a thin paper cover and some have a hard cover. I don't know how many versions of them were done but all I have seen are similar, each with slightly different content according to the model year. IMO, it's pre-war... or at least pre-USA-war. About 1916, maybe 1917. I sat down to try and figure it out years ago but I don't remember if I came to any conclusions on exact dates based on clues in the material and whatever I did see, I didn't write down.

I'll add my voice to the "Well Done" chorus. Looks like this is being done very thoughtfully and carefully. I love it when a museum undertakes more than just a cosmetic restoration and makes the extra effort to create a living display. No doubt you have volunteers deeply involved and to those people, another big salute!

Very interesting! Thanks for posting the pics. Never thought much about how it was done, other than being glad I wasn't the one having to do it. I have busted down enough recalcitrant modern tires for my lifetime, let alone a 100 year old tire on a 400 pound rim. You, sir, are a certified manly-man... a throwback to the days of steel trucks and iron men.