make plenty of notes.
Much of the restoration process centers on giving parts a good
cleaning. Have the correct cleaning solutions handy and carefully free
parts from decades of grime. Check for part numbers, too, and compare
them against a parts manual when necessary. This will help if and when
you need to track down replacement parts or have items made.
“I think it hasn’t been run in 20 years,” I was told when I purchased
the 1915 International Harvester Co. Auto Wagon shown here in 1998.
“We used it to haul gravel from the creek bed and bring it up to our
house.”
So said the family of first ownership. Trouble was, the vehicle had
been purchased by a father who used it for his mercantile store. He
passed it down to his son. When the son died, it went to his sister. By the
third generation, it was time to sell. Understandably, memories faded
about details, such as how well the IHC had been running or when the
engine had last turned over. Still, with such a cosmetically well
maintained and preserved vehicle, any smart collector would simply
forge onward and buy it. I did.
Years passed after my purchase. Then the desire to get the IHC
running for a gathering of IHC highwheelers peaked in early 2010.
Initially, there was compression in the engine — a good sign. The
heartbeat of this IHC is the engine. My friend Rick Quirin of Belleville,
Ill., undertook the task of getting the old-timer to run. He worked on
valve adjustment, rods and ends, then the carburetor. Initial work
involved a tremendous amount of soaking and cleaning. We anticipated
that the engine was as solid as the rest of the vehicle. It wasn’t. At least,
not completely. Early investigation uncovered slivers of broken Babbitts
in the oil pan, donated by the ends of both rods on this two-cylinder
engine.
singke
(singke)
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