What did you do to your Amphi today?

[mike_israel]

i just wanted to start a thread to see what you guys do day to day on your Amphis

i'll start, although admittedly rather dull.

I test wired an NOS MG tachometer I found on eBay that will fit perfectly where the clock goes and looks like it came that way from the factory (I think it is from a midget, could be an MGB) . Seems to work great. Now I need to get up the ambition to wire from engine to dash. Maybe I will pull out the floor boards. I still get more H2O in the bilge than I think should be there but have never quite figured out where it is coming from.

what did you do to your Amphicar today?

 

[Jon March]

This is fun, Mike. Very exciting about the nifty tach! It sure is a good idea when you have the car apart to run some extra wires from the trunk, along the rocker panel, and coiled up in the transmission area for utility hookups!

I broached this today - finally decided to order(2) sleeves, to tap them on side by side on the shaft end so both lips are sure to ride on fresh metal -
....just need to be very precise to locate the seam between the two of them so it lands exactly between the 9mm spaced lips! oh joy

 

[Cameron in UK]

Jon, I asked Dad, the proper answer is plasma spray. It's something we have had done on the bearing surface of the front hubs a few times, works great and not too costly. Sometimes called metal spraying the surface is cleaned, metal sprayed (looks like welding but is a plasma process) and then ground back. Amphicar original parts are high quality so they take it well. There are also options now where an epoxy filler is sprayed, we haven't tried those yet. This link is a start.

http://www.pacificmarine.net/engineering/propeller-and-propeller-shaft/propeller-shaft-repair.htm

Don't cut corners here, apart from risk to transmission it's a total arse to get to that seal once the car is up and running.

 

[Jon March]

sonofagun! Thanks Chaps! -

 

[mschlem]

That's interesting you brought this up, Cameron....that is exactly what our company does! The video Jon posted is "flame spray" - essentially an acetylene torch where powdered metal is introduced and melted. "Plasma Spray", as Cameron mentioned and has used, uses an electric arc to create a flame to melt the metal powder. It creates a hotter flame and is more controlled, giving a higher quality coating. Used a lot in the aircraft engine industry. We do both.
Our setup is all robotic, and single parts would end up being a few hundred dollars just for the coating.....so not real cheap. And since we don't do machining or grinding (only the coating), it's hard for me to be very helpful - our customers do the machining and/or grinding themselves. That's why I've been hesitant to offer this up in the past since I can't really provide a full solution...but as specific parts start getting scarce, it becomes more appropriate.

Back to the original posting, what I worked on today wasn't actually Amphi, but Amphi's new trailer! Working on getting the loading position right and getting started on a weight distribution hitch setup.

Marc.

 

[Cameron in UK]

Marc, Dad says Hi and that that trailer is bigger than most garages and some houses here !

This is how we tow our Amphicars - well actually we do have a slightly larger trailer now but nothing like that monster !

 

[mschlem]

Hi back to ya, D.C.!
I've always had an open trailer, but felt like I'd feel better with Amphi closed in....both on the road and parked overnight at a hotel. I will, however, miss the "thumbs up" we all get from other drivers!

Marc.

 

[Jon March]

Woah - What a gorgeous trailer. just wow. And dont feel bad, chaps - unlike me, at least you HAVE a trailer. Its U-Haul rentals for me for starters at least.

Marc - what a coincidence that you do that work - Scott @ GI said there are no more NOS or repros, so i spent the day with a paid helper trying to pry the @#$ star-caps out of the trans yoke-ends of the new u-joints i recently put in, with intention to get the yoke turned down 10 thousandths(thickness of new speedi sleeves that (if i cant find a better way to refurb the shaft ends) i will try to install side by side with the seam (hopefully) landing between the 2 lips of the seal).
Is there a trick to getting those fuckers out? - the star-inglers are so tightly spaced and hardened that you just cant get a tool behind them that strong enough to pry them out of the snap-groove.
Finally took a worn-down 1/2" diameter fiber cutoff wheel on a Dremel and cut off 5 teeth on each until the star cap released. Then i tried to press out the u-joint with my bench vice & sockets that would fit to push it thru - but even when pushed as far as it will go, i cant figure out how to get the needle bearing cup out (only came out 1/8" before i hit maximum sideways travel in the yoke. So i loaded both shaft assemblies into the back of the car to bring to a shop tomorrow to get them released without fucking them up, i hope.

1) That said - my preference would indeed be one of the legit metal refurb processes mentioned, without screwing with Lee press-on nails.lol
But a few calls to machine shops in my area resulted in no one who knew who did fame OR plasma spray work. Looks like this place about 45 min from me might do it - maybe you can tell me which process i should do.. I know i need to probably have them grind it a bit, layer on new metal, then machine it back to match the original diameter so the 35mm double lip seal fits just right http://www.haydencorp.com/thermal-spray-coating-services/

2) By the way - i have the new GI u-joints with the small grease zerk between 2 of the ujoint "arms", which points straight out (actually biased slightly to one side of the u-joint - Question about that : i saw a fellow on youtube say that you should always install the u-joint so the zerk points to the middle of the drive shaft (ie: the tranny end zerk oriented out toward the wheels, and the wheel end ujoint zerk biased inboard, toward the tranny ....i guess the thought being making each most easily reached from the outside? Thoughts? And if true, should the small standard vertical zerk be retrofitted with a 45 degree zerk to make it easier to press a grease gun onto as you reach way up into the dark cramped tunnel?
.....>>> Or leave it perpendicular(vertical), and resign oneself to removing and sliding over the large rubber bellows to try to grease the tranny ed zerks from under the rear seat?

 

[mschlem]

Jon,
I can't help with you u-joint questions....I simply don't know anything about those star shaped clips, and have no expertise with which way the grease fittings should go.
As for the coating, your description is correct. You want to machine the diameter far enough to remove the grooves/pitting, but at least .010" per side. The coating would then be sprayed to about .010" over the original diameter. Finally, the coating can be machined to the original size. So before doing anything, measure and record the original diameter.
Obviously, since the part needs to be put in a lathe, it would need to be disassembled. The most important thing you can do (after the initial machining) is clean, clean, clean. Any oils on the surface being coating (entire part, actually) can affect the bonding of the coating.
Dozens of different materials are possible to spray, from plain 'ol steel to alloys like Inconel 718. Ceramics and Tungsten Carbides can be applied, too. In this application, I would use a Nickel/Chrome/Aluminum material. If you talk to a company about this, tell them you are thinking "Metco 443" or equivalent (they'll know wat that is). They may have another suggestion, too. I like this because the aluminum helps with the bonding, and the chrome gives it a bit of hardness yet still machines nicely.
Application method? Generally speaking, the common types are:
1) Flame Spray
2) Electric Arc Wire Spray
3) Plasma Spray
4) HVOF Spray
For the most part, the sequence I listed is in order of coating quality, density, and price. All would work in this case - even #1. #4 is overkill, so I think #2 or #3 is where you want to be. #1 process takes very little equipment investment, so I'm sure there are machine shops around that will do that - try Crankshaft repair. #3 and #4 take a lot more equipment and usually aren't done outside of a shop that specializes in the coating work.
If you check with some local folks, it might be tough for them to take on a small job like this. If you have a machine shop you can work with, I could spray these for you. Think about it a bit and give me a call if you'd like to talk further.

Marc.

 

[Jon March]

I have to give a donation to Mike Israel - this is so appreciated. call later.

 

[mike_israel]

I have to give a donation to Mike Israel - this is so appreciated. call later.

Thanks Jon, and to all others who have contributed over the years. Great timing as September / October is when manyof the various software licence renewal bills come due. It is not just the core forum software but also templates, anti-spam software, hosting, domain renewals, etc. A lot of these utilities and add-ons used to be free but that model has been dying off and it seems like everyone wants a cut! On a plus side, the latest host (probably 5th or 6th one) seems to have good performance, stability, service, etc. There is also a major update to the core forum software (Xenforo) currently in beta but I will wait for that to stabilize before applying here.

Thanks again.

 

[Jon March]

this has been a really great help to me and others in the last few years -

ALL: please show your gratitude too just click on Donations above! - 15 second paypal process - done!

 

[Stekiefa]

Ich habe jetzt den Boden wieder versiegelt. Die letzten Tage habe ich nur gereinigt. 50 Jahre alten Schmutz und Öl. Glücklicherweise kein rost! Das nächste Wachs kommt darauf. Hier sind ein paar Bilder

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B79sHrZ_ALWoeTJDU0tjT0FMenM

 

[mike_israel]

Ich habe jetzt den Boden wieder versiegelt. Die letzten Tage habe ich nur gereinigt. 50 Jahre alten Schmutz und Öl. Glücklicherweise kein rost! Das nächste Wachs kommt darauf. Hier sind ein paar Bilder

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B79sHrZ_ALWoeTJDU0tjT0FMenM

Courtesy of Google translate ...

I have now sealed the ground again. The last days I have only cleaned. 50 years old dirt and oil. Luckily no rust! The next wax comes on it. Here are a few pictures

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B79sHrZ_ALWoeTJDU0tjT0FMenM

 

[Stekiefa]

ohhh sorry for german .. unfortunately my computer automatically translated into german just as I had sent the message.

 

[Cameron in UK]

Kein Problem. Amphicar verstehe even if most of the rest of us don't !

 

[Midwest Amphicar]

That's interesting you brought this up, Cameron....that is exactly what our company does! The video Jon posted is "flame spray" - essentially an acetylene torch where powdered metal is introduced and melted. "Plasma Spray", as Cameron mentioned and has used, uses an electric arc to create a flame to melt the metal powder. It creates a hotter flame and is more controlled, giving a higher quality coating. Used a lot in the aircraft engine industry. We do both.
Our setup is all robotic, and single parts would end up being a few hundred dollars just for the coating.....so not real cheap. And since we don't do machining or grinding (only the coating), it's hard for me to be very helpful - our customers do the machining and/or grinding themselves. That's why I've been hesitant to offer this up in the past since I can't really provide a full solution...but as specific parts start getting scarce, it becomes more appropriate.

Back to the original posting, what I worked on today wasn't actually Amphi, but Amphi's new trailer! Working on getting the loading position right and getting started on a weight distribution hitch setup.

Marc.


View attachment 2022

You have come a long way! Nice!