Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[BB767]

Originally Posted by kbuhagiar

Hello, Thomas and Chris,

Greetings from South San Francisco, CA.

I just spent the last couple of weeks reading this entire thread. I arrived here via a detour through Jack's '12-Gauge Garage' thread (another pleasant saga of epic proportions!).

Congratulations on your accomplishments.
I am especially fond of your knack of embracing modern tools and technologies while honoring the historical significance of the shop and its previous owners. Perfect.

Looking forward to many, many more installments.

Cheers!

Hello Ken and cheers to you as well! Jacks garage is one the best examples of the talent on display here at Garage Journal don't you think? Of course being a fellow alumni of the University Of Illinois it shouldn't really be all that surprising, now should it?

Early on I decided that this would be a working shop and as such I always knew I would use the best method or technology to do any given task. The old arc welding still has it's place for example, but modern wire feed Mig/Tig is just much more convenient. But I personally enjoy having both machines residing side by side. Much the same for other pieces of shop equipment. As I start now to use more and more of Mr Johnson's tools and equipment that I've reconditioned, I continue to gain respect for him and what he started with the shop. I'm proud to carry that tradition on.

No need to worry about many more installments, they are on the way. Thank you for your interest here.

Thomas

[BB767]

Originally Posted by Nuts

I think it simply has to do with ergonomics. Oil cans by their very nature, get slippery, the smaller diameter allows you to get a grip. Notice the can on the left is a larger diameter, but has a handle. I'd say the one on the right does also.

Take a look at any household cleaning sprayer, and they have the same general shape.

Nuts

Frankly, my first impression was that it's just a small oil can placed into the opening of a larger can. I figured it was to keep it from tipping over by providing a larger base. If you look at the picture closely it does not appear to be all one sealed piece. I have a smaller oil can just like the top one and if the surface you place in on isn't dead level and the oil amount inside is low, it'll easily topple over. Very annoying.



As we all know finding a clean level spot on any of his benches was something of a challenge. Note the oil can in the back right of his bench.

I'll take a look shortly once I'm home. Soon, very soon now.

Thomas

[willy3486]

Wasn't stone bush hammers a grunge rock group in the late 90s? Seriously all kidding aside isn't that a hammers stone and concrete workers use to texture stone and concrete to give it a weathered look? I think it is.

[donhenry]

Aha wikipaedia


a tool for texturing stone or concrete

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_hammer


looking at the pics on wiki in that link
Would a metal worker also use such a tool for decorative work????

[Chateau Slate 66]

That hammer could have been used to add cheap and easy "knurling" to a heated piece of metal???

[Omphaloskeptic]

Re: "Y MANIFOLD UPDATE"

I guess that old saying is true - "One man's junk IS another man's treasure!"

Considering the way it was gifted by Thomas and Chris, and the way it was presented by Charles, it becomes a treasure all the more! Bravo

[birdman1]

I have never seen this much interest--and it's great!!!!!!!!! As a sentimental, guy and a Johnson (no relation) I think is is great that you could, and would rework the shop into a work of art. Most folks would have ran a dozer through it and hauled it off. Thanks for bring the old gal back to life.
Mike J.

[BigDaddyUSMC]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

Re: "Y MANIFOLD UPDATE"

I guess that old saying is true - "One man's junk IS another man's treasure!"

Considering the way it was gifted by Thomas and Chris, and the way it was presented by Charles, it becomes a treasure all the more! Bravo

This is a TRUE TREASURE , considering Al Jerauld only made 50 of these Y manifolds in the late 1940's. this pre-dates Vic Edelbrock Sr SLONGSHOT

[BB767]

Eco Air Meters:



HISTORY OF ECO

The first ECO air meter was made around 1916 or 1917 by the Western Manufacturing Company, of Oskoloosa, Iowa. The oldest patent record that I have found is from 1914.

It appears that the first ECOs were actually called the Economy Air Meters. The name was then shortened to ECO and is pronounced EEEECO, not ECHO.

The earliest advertisement I have is for the ECO No. 8, from around 1917. The first seven were probably the Economy Air Meters. The Model 8 through the Model 20 (the number Model 20 was used twice, this is the early 20) had an unique option, it could be purchased equipped with a coin attachment. The coin attachment would require the motorist to put in a nickel, dime or quarter to get some air. I personally doubt that many of these were sold. I do know of two 1917 ear ECOs having been found and have personally seen one.

During the 1920s the Western Manufacturing Company also made equipment used to repair Model T Fords. They made engine stands, transmission stands, etc. To see some of the equipment they made, click HERE.

Around 1925, ECO announced a new series of air meters which we have nicknamed the ECO 19 Series Air Meters. There were at least eleven different units in this series.

In 1928 the ECO Division of the Western Company was purchased by the Service Station Equipment Company. SSEC moved ECO to their Bryan, Ohio factory. Bryan, Ohio, is a small town, but at the time it was also the home of AERO, a large manufacturer of automobile lubrication equipment. There may be a connection here.

Around 1930 the ECO Division was again moved, this time to Muskegon, Michigan, the home of the Bennett Pump Company, also a division of SSEC.

In 1931 five new ECO Air Meters were announced, we refer to them as the ECO 39 Series Air Meters. With the depression, this was not the best time for high price equipment, so in 1932 three more units were announced, the ECO Series 15 Air Meters. These were a very simple unit, selling for the lowest prices ever charged for an ECO meter.

In 1933, SSEC, feeling the effect of the depression, decided to consolidate their operations. Both ECO and the Bennett Pump Company were moved to the SSEC operations in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Before they moved, all the 39 Series and the 15 Series ECOs had the word ECO embossed on the front of the meter. During the time they were in Conshohocken, the letters SS were embossed on the front of the meter. 1934 saw the announcement of a new series of ECOs, the 33 Series Air Meter. These units contained the same mechanism that the previous series had.

In 1937, all SSEC operations returned to Muskegon, Michigan.

SSEC continued to sell the 33 Series through 1950, but they introduced the 90 Series ECO in 1947. This is the unit we are all familiar with. 1948 saw the introduction of the first ECO Islander, the 120 Series. These units were made for only four years and are very rare today. In 1952, ECO announced the 240 Series Islanders, which were made for many years. The ECO Model 97 and 98 are still being made today, but they are a great deal different than the older ones.

One more important thing about ECO. Every mechanism found inside a Gilbarco Air Meter was made by ECO, also it appears that most if not all mechanisms found inside the American Pump Company air meters were made by ECO.

*** The above is all courtesy of Jack Sim, author " An Illustrated Guide To Air Meters" Please note the Values as seen are several years old and are no longer valid.

So as previously mentioned, the ECO air meter unit that's on the outside wall of the old shop is an ECO Model 97 and the pedestal unit that's outside the barn is a ECO model 98. Both were manufactured in 1953. The wall unit needed a refreshment so the insides were cleaned...



...new copper lines were fabricated....



...internal parts cleaned, calibrated and refurbished...



...then it was reassembled into the frame which along with the outside covers were all powder coated for durability.







The springs were cleaned and painted.



I used stainless steel hardware everywhere I could.



Where you use stainless hardware you need to coat the threads with never-seize to prevent galling. Over time stainless can seize when threaded into dissimilar metals.



The face plate is porcelain over steel...



... and the edges of it had small chips that if not addressed would slowly rust.



There were also spots on the back of the face plate as well as the cut outs for the numbers that need to be sealed to prevent further deterioration.



I used "Rust Converter"...



... applied with a Q-Tip to seal the rust.



That will prevent the rust from slowly "bleeding" streaks down the face plate over time.



The face plate was then hung out to dry.

To be continued...

Thomas

[BB767]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyUSMC

Y MANIFOLD UPDATE
Hello race fans...
Today I went to Jacob's house to watch the Steelers game. While I was there, I took photos of the AL JERAULD Y Manifold. It has been cleaned up . The lettering has been highlighted with red paint & given a few coats of clear coat. The manifold has been mounted on a black marble base with 4 brass plates. One is a tribute to AL JERAULD & George Barber, another is a likeness of JERAULDS SPEED SHOP business card from back in the day, the third is a laser etched photo of the Jerauld Belly Tank dry lake record car & the fourth plate thanks Thomas & mself for getting the Y manifold to him
Here are some photos
The first two photos are Thomas' photos of the manifold when he found it



This is what the manifold looks like today




Jacob isn't done with his manifold yet..
He plans on getting 2 Stromberg 97 Carbs ,2 velocity stacks & the carb linkage for his Y manifold
I will post more photos when the project is finished

AGAIN
Thank You Thomas , You have made an old gear head happy

Charles, many, many thanks for the great pictures and update on the manifold. It looks terrific and I can't wait to see it with the Strombergs on it. The display Jacob created is outstanding. When you look at that manifold in my first two pictures, who thought it would wind where it is today?

The brass plate acknowledgment is a nice touch. Please pass my best on to Jacob on behalf of myself and everyone here on this thread.

Thomas

[BB767]

Originally Posted by birdman1

I have never seen this much interest--and it's great!!!!!!!!! As a sentimental, guy and a Johnson (no relation) I think is is great that you could, and would rework the shop into a work of art. Most folks would have ran a dozer through it and hauled it off. Thanks for bring the old gal back to life.
Mike J.

Thank you Mike for that kind thought. Calling the shop a work of art might be a bit much..............but then again maybe not. It's been a grand adventure so far that I wouldn't have missed for anything! And the fun continues with all the new friends Chris and I have made as a result of this thread.

Thomas

[hobbitss]

Originally Posted by BB767

Eco Air Meters:
So as previously mentioned, the Eco air meter unit that's on the outside wall of the old shop is an Eco Model 97 and the pedestal unit that's outside the barn is a Eco model 98. The wall unit needed a refreshment so the insides were cleaned...



...new brass lines were fabricated....



...internal parts cleaned, calibrated and refurbished...


To be continued...

Thomas

Hmmmm.... The internal Lines appear to be Copper with Brass fittings and it looks like you may have a kink in the one on the left with the wrap of black electrical tape....
It has been a few decades since I worked in an Electrical-Mechanical Lab but back then we used a soft metal with low melting point, in rod form, to fill thin wall plastic tubing before bending, to prevent kinking... After bending it was then warmed to remove by letting it flow out of the tubing... You might be able to use lead or old solder to perform the same function with the copper tubing if needed...

[BB767]

Originally Posted by hobbitss

Hmmmm.... The internal Lines appear to be Copper with Brass fittings and it looks like you may have a kink in the one on the left with the wrap of black electrical tape....
It has been a few decades since I worked in an Electrical-Mechanical Lab but back then we used a soft metal with low melting point, in rod form, to fill thin wall plastic tubing before bending, to prevent kinking... After bending it was then warmed to remove by letting it flow out of the tubing... You might be able to use lead or old solder to perform the same function with the copper tubing if needed...

Bless your heart Joe. I had just gotten home from my day job, flown over 5,000+ miles and had been up for over 26 hours without some long, proper sleep. Since I hadn't had a decent post on here for several days I decided to compose one before I was rested and that's what I get! I got up this morning, reviewed that post, saw that mistake and a couple other minor errors and hoped to get it edited before anyone saw it...... No such luck, you were right on top of it!! The post has now been edited to hopefully correct that and all other errors.

Those are indeed copper lines with brass fittings. The electrical tape is where the gray sub-cover passes by that line (see the 3rd and 4th pictures). It clears the line, but not by as much as I'd like. I'm just making sure that should it inadvertently contact the line in the coming years no dissimilar metal corrosion will occur, plus it might help slow or stop a hole from being worn through the line.

I've told you guys before........watch me like me a hawk!!

Sorry about that.

Thomas

[BB767]

Let's try continuing with the air meter now that I'm better rested. (Nothing like making a goof up to start your day is there?? )



Once the rust converter dries it's paintable. The converter turns black so where it shows around the edges of the number window cutouts I used a little Testors white enamel paint. Only on the sides of the cutouts, not on the face itself.



The face plate is held on by screws that have white felt washers under the heads. This is to prevent cracking the porcelain on the face plate when tightening the screws. There were a couple of scratches on the face plate and I didn't think I could match the color close enough so I just waxed the the face plate. That should keep those scratched areas from rusting for a long time. (the screw heads won't show, no need to clock them)



I don't know of any place to get theses special white felt washers, not being reproduced to the best of my knowledge. I'm just fortunate enough that my air meter still had the originals. A little cleaning and they were good to go.



The word AIR on the front is illuminated and light from that spills down the front so the meter is legible and usable at night. You have to disassemble an awful lot of "stuff" to change that bulb. So I hunted down.....



...2.5 watt LED bulb for it. GE says it's good for 12,000 hours so I should get a few years use before it needs to be replaced.



The seals for the front and rear covers were also replaced. They are only at the tops of the frame. That's the black material seen around the edge of the frame.



Here are the covers, newly powder coated.



Since they were powder coated I ran a tap down the threads to clean them up before installing them.



Some of the mounting hardware.





You can see that the screws for the face plate don't readily show.



You have to look in the side to see them. That's a good way to check to see if those felt washers are there or not. If you're looking to buy one of these air meters and it's got those white felt washers there's a good chance it hasn't been "messed" with too much and the face plate is probably not cracked under the screw heads.





I waxed the data plate and used new stainless steel screws on it.....



... and on the cover screws and washers also. If a piece of equipment is being used outside I really like using stainless hardware wherever possible. It's readily available anymore, and I find it's not all that expensive.



The hose hook had to be installed before the front cover is fully installed. That's a fun trick to do by yourself and any of you who have done this, you know what I mean!!





Not completely done yet, to be continued....

Thomas

[Amitygravel]

Hello Thomas

The air meter is just plain beautiful. It looks like a jewel on the bench. Regarding the felt washers , I was thumbing through the Grainger catalog recently and they carry different grades of felt sheet in several thickness' if you ever need to replicate such an item.


Craig

[3bay]

As they say...it's all in the details!

Amazed Tom!

Rich

[ksp683]

Wow!! I just read every page of this thread in the last 3 days. Simply amazing work and attention to detail. Chock me up as another Canadian fan of your shop.

[rlwhitetr3b]

Originally Posted by BB767

(the screw heads won't show, no need to clock them)

You, and now all of us, will know they are not clocked!

[FordExec]

If you ever refurbish another air meter and can't find the felt washers, you can also pick up a set of self-adhesive ring reinforcements from any office supply store. They'll protect the porcelin finish and won't shift when installing the screws.

bb

[Motown 454]

Thomas as usual awesome work .