Messages

31

Wooden Bombardiers / Re: Varnished Machine--

« on: May 12, 2009, 05:54:05 am »

Welcome Frank..
My '51 B-12 is constructed with birch veneer over a maple frame. Outer finish is varnish with a deep red pinstriping.
Clarence

32

V6 or Straight 6 Engines / Re: exhaust manifolds

« on: March 06, 2009, 07:21:13 pm »

bluetoque... have you found a cure for that red hot manifold ?

33

Drivetrain / Re: rear Suspension

« on: January 21, 2009, 10:05:31 pm »

Part #A-1113 is Bombardiers number for each of the needles as listed in their 1951 parts manual.  I have no idea where you would get this item nowadays.
As for the tensioning assembly it sounds like it must be quite different than on my 1951 machine so I am of little help there...

34

General Discussion / Re: Is it possible to build a bombarier from scratch?

« on: January 19, 2009, 10:32:54 pm »

A farmer in our area in Saskatchewan where I grew up built one from scratch back in the late 1940's or very early 50s. If Jack  could do it with the equipment and materials available at that time, building one nowadays should be a snap....

35

General Discussion / Re: How to identify a bombardier

« on: January 19, 2009, 10:49:24 am »

DR.R    Disregard my previous post... the info I posted was for a 1951.  Sorry
Clarence

36

General Discussion / Re: How to identify a bombardier

« on: January 19, 2009, 10:37:55 am »

DR.R  If it were a 1952 it would have a wooden body with five windows and a 251 Chrysler engine.  Roof hatches were an option on the 52 woodies according to my manual  Clarence

37

V6 or Straight 6 Engines / Re: exhaust manifolds

« on: January 11, 2009, 09:33:57 pm »

bluetoque
If timing changes make no difference then I would still suggest that your valve clearances are too tight...ie: burning exhaust gases are  escaping from the cylinders through  exhaust valves which are not completely closing. .  I am told that engine has adjustable tappets and hydraulic lifters. You could remove the valve cover and back off each exhaust valve  adjuster one turn and see what happens. Can't hurt to try... Clarence

38

Drivetrain / Re: Track Tension

« on: January 08, 2009, 10:59:39 pm »

There is very little clearance between the adjusting screw and the inside of the tire on my machine and a few marks on the inside of the tire too.  If a wheel bearing has been a bit loose or maybe even normal flexing under load could cause this.  Just make sure one of the flat sides of the screw is parallel to the side of the tire when you lock wire it to lessen the chance of contact.  Mine is a low hour machine so I think they were made that way...

39

Drivetrain / Re: Check wheel bearings

« on: December 22, 2008, 09:18:44 pm »

Just finished doing that with my '51 woodie. Pulled a couple wheels and ended up replacing all the seals and repacking or replacing all the inner bearings. My machine doesn't have grease fittings on the wheels but on those that do usually only the outer bearing gets the grease when it is the inner one that really needs it.  Guess it depends on when they were last serviced but I would pull a couple of wheels for a closer inspection. The back wheel is the critical one, unfortunately its the most difficult.....

40

V6 or Straight 6 Engines / Re: exhaust manifolds

« on: December 22, 2008, 09:05:55 pm »

I'm not familiar with the Ford 300 but I had the same situation with a gas engine in a combine. Problem was the tappet clearances were set too tight. If the 300 has hydraulic lifters this may not apply but if its newly overhauled it could have been set up too tight..

41

V6 or Straight 6 Engines / Re: Engine part No's for 251 cu in Chrysler

« on: December 12, 2008, 05:09:28 pm »

When changing oil in my 1951  machine with the Chrysler 251 I found that the oil filter that came with it was a NAPA #1076 but it didn't look right to me. The diameter was small for the cannister and the holes in either end too large so there was no sealing action there.   .  I did some research at NAPA and found  NAPA#1010 fits properly although the big gasket was too small so I reused the old one.  I had to unbolt the gas tank to install this filter, probabaly why the other filter was used as it will go in without doing this.

42

Drivetrain / Re: Bearings & Seals for B-12 wheels

« on: December 12, 2008, 04:48:02 pm »

I got around the outer drive axel seal problem by chucking the flange in a lathe and machining off the dimples that held the origional seal in place. Then I pressed a CR#20526 into the flange. Not as robust a seal as the origional but it works fine.  National #5797 and CR#20380 are unavailable through NAPA. Cranman... my machine has heavy cast steel drive sprockets.

43

General Discussion / Re: B12's....wide gauge

« on: December 09, 2008, 06:12:28 pm »

According to my manual (1951) the B-12 was the narrow gauge while the wide gauge was called a C-18. No mention of the actual width of either one but the narrow gauge fit the track of the horse drawn sleighs. I was told by the previous owner of my machine that the narrow gauge was preferred in deep snow because they would'nt get hung up as easy as the wide gauge.
Load capacity of the B-12 was 12 passengers or 2000 lbs while the C-18 could carry 18 passengers or 2500 lbs. Both were powered by the same Chrysler 251 engine of 115 HP.

44

Drivetrain / Re: Bearings & Seals for B-12 wheels

« on: December 08, 2008, 06:05:23 pm »

Cranman.. Is that  drive axle seal (National #5797) a one piece unit with the seal permanantly mounted in a flange with  five bolt holes in it?
NAPA advises it is no longer available from National  but CR advises that they will in future be manufacturing a replacement under #20380. (They could'nt give a date though)  What year is your machine,just want to make sure we're talking about the same seal.
Clarence

45

Drivetrain / Re: Bearings & Seals for B-12 wheels

« on: December 07, 2008, 08:45:07 pm »

Thanks for the info Cranman. I will run that national # by the NAPA people here in Brandon. The old axle seal is worn out and leaks grease but not oil so I assume the inner seal is OK. Would just like to replace the outer seal while I have it all apart to install the new tracks.
Clarence