Ford Quadricycle

[vascon2196]

Ha! I was trying to write Sandblaster no Grandmaster!

 

[aircraftmech]

Anodizing is actually quite simple... All it requires is sulfuric acid, a battery charger or 12v power source, and distilled water. I will admit that being able to get the exact color I want has eluded me. 😊 Also some lead plates to use as electrodes.

 

[vascon2196]

Okay...it has been a while since the Ford Quadricycle has been worked on but we finally got around to making a little progress. I left the college for 2 years to teach high school and was not happy...now I am back at the college and back to the Quadricycle with a new set of enthusiastic students!

Yesterday we fixed our mistake on the rear axle. The keyed wheel hub was keyed and pinned to the wrong end of the axle! We keyed the opposite side and fixed that which took some time but the students all learned a little something.

We also finished the small pulley that is mounted to the large flywheel. Ford originally made his flywheel one solid casting...we are making it in two pieces. Should give us 10mph if the belt is on the large flywheel and 20mph on the small aluminum pulley.

The students used the Proto-Trak for the first time and loved it. They also learned how to center an existing bore using a test indicator.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Glad to hear your back at it. Maybe when you get a chance to breath we can get a little update on what is completed and what you still have left to do. Just a rough overview. Im just curious.

 

[vascon2196]

Hi Steve...at the moment there are a lot of parts that are "finished" but need to be fitted with mating parts. Other than the engine being assembled, the front suspension is still missing a few brackets and links.

The clutch brackets need to be finished (they are only welded and now need finish machining).

The steering tiller needs to be machined and bent.

The gas tank and water tank needs to be fabricated.

The intake valves need to be made.

I think the exhaust valve manifolds are complete but valve seats and other fussy things still have to be worked out.

The main cylinders need to be honed and we need piston rings.

The large flywheel needs holes tapped for the counterweight.

Whew...I know I'm missing some items but that is all I can think of at the moment.

_______________


Now that the flywheel pulley is complete we can begin to assembly the crankshaft/flywheel assembly...then mount it to the engine frame.

 

[vascon2196]

We got the differential installed yesterday! Everything spins smoothly!

 

[vascon2196]

https://youtu.be/DPuzrBnJpwc

Differential

 

[stevehuckss396]

Sweet!!! When are we going for a ride! Old car days is coming up at the greenfield village. We can drive around the village and take pictures at the shed it was built in. Or not.

 

[vascon2196]

Sweet!!! When are we going for a ride! Old car days is coming up at the greenfield village. We can drive around the village and take pictures at the shed it was built in. Or not.

I would love to cruise around Greenfield Village...give us a couple of years though!

 

[vascon2196]

I took some parts home over the weekend so we could focus on assembly next week. The keyseats in the crankshaft were too shallow and needed to be cut deeper. The bore through the aluminum pulley was too small so I picked up the center and bored it to the correct size. I also had to make custom keys for the ends and the key for the main flywheel.

Now hopefully we can try to assembly the Flywheel sub-assembly without running into any more speed-bumps.

 

[vascon2196]

We drilled & tapped the flywheel for the counter-weight. Added counter-sinks in the counter-weight. Finished making the crankshaft keys and fixed the idler gear timing bolt (it was too long). Also turned the end of the steering tiller and drilled and tapped the end for the wood handle.

One of our club members will be taking the steering tiller out for bending.

Next week we plan on assembly of the flywheel.

 

[vascon2196]

One of my students took home the steering tiller to bend it...looks great. We have some extra material but that end gets welded anyway.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Looks perfect, nice job.

 

[vascon2196]

Thanks Steve...and everyone!

Lots of progress yesterday with the Quadricycle. We cut the profile of the steering bracket on the Proto-Trak....cut the steering tiller bracket profile...complete the spacers for the clutch handle bracket...fit the steering tiller handle together (has a small spring inside which allows the handle to gently swivel) and keyed the tiller coupling. Stock was also cut and placed with the remaining drawings. A night student took all the clutch brackets home for welding. Now back to my Model T restoration!

 

[vascon2196]

We assembled the Flywheel and Crankshaft assembly to the engine frame! It spins freely by hand and just keeps going. The timing gears mesh properly. The only interference we had was the timing gear stud hits the counterweight...we will fix that next week.

The steering tiller bracket is almost complete.

And we are dry-fitting the piston and connecting rod assemblies...so far so good.

 

[vascon2196]

We placed the connecting rods on a hot plate and the sleeve bearings in the freezer for a nice press fit (about .003 to .004). I used a Dremel to make small grooves on the outside diameter of the bearing to give the Loctite a place to go during installation. Not sure if this is going to work but it made sense at the time.

We had to mill the ends of the should screw to match the width of the cranks.

We also plunged an end mill through the small aluminum pulley to clear the crankshaft key.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Problem is probably just a poorly made counterweight. Keep at it! Love the updates. Thanks!

 

[vascon2196]

Problem is probably just a poorly made counterweight. Keep at it! Love the updates. Thanks!

Steve...the Counterweight is perfect! The timing gear stud is 1" longer than it was supposed to be. And this is the second timing gear stud we had to make. (maybe this is why its taking so long;D)

Even with these little problems the students are quickly realizing that even with 3D CAD and all the fancy equipment we can still goof things up.

My students often ask "how did Henry Ford do this?"...my response is usually..."he was Henry Ford".

 

[vascon2196]

We fixed a few mistakes yesterday (that took up most of our time). We completed the steering tiller bracket and my night student completed the welding for the speed control brackets.

We also added oil holes and grooves to the connecting rod bearings and rear axle bearings.

 

[vascon2196]

We mounted the engine to the frame! The crank keys are about 0.020in too high so we have to shave them down a bit but the pistons and cylinders were fitted also and fit great! My goal is to not have to remove the flywheel (not sure if we can make that happen but we will try).

Currently working on the front wheel spindles.