Prescott - great photos of a grand day out

Phill Kroll of Philmit Photography took some amazing photos of the Prescott Autumn Classic and has kindly given us permission to use those of our car

In the Cavalcade on Saturday - pity I look so grumpy, must be concentration....

Sorry about the unsightly insulation, it is being smartened up honest!

Keeping the heat in....

Finally started work on extra insulation layers for the boiler and smoke hood, and lagging the exhaust flue. Bought some low  temperature application adhesive so can continue work in cold spells. The finishing layer of  'diplag' covering bought from Vintage Steam Products in the US will have to wait until April, as its a water based adhesive material.

Exhaust flue with newly installed insulation is on the right.

End of 2013 Season and Winter Works

2013 saw us doing a lot of short, local runs, no long tours - have not replaced the old, too large, car transporter yet! Kelly Williams of the Stanley Register Online paid a visit in the summer & we were able to give him a short trip in the car. Photos of car at Prescot hill climb here

Total miles about 275, car running mechanically fine, doing about 11 2/3 mpg plus about 1/3 gallon to steam up on 50/50 petrol/diesel mix. The UK Stanley Steam car catalogue says a 15hp car should run 12-14 miles on a gallon of paraffin.

Being generous with the cylinder oil though, using about 1/3 as much as recommended in the Stanley literature.

The  Pilot burner gives occasional problems,  look like dirt in pilot tank. Plot fuel consumption varying a lot, clearly have not go the hang of setting it low yet!

Repeated main burner problems due to small particles of carbon clogging jets. Don Bourdon's article 'Stanley Burners' in the latest issue of The Steam Car (No. 61 Oct 2013 ) very useful. Looks like I was not cleaning things frequently enough! Thinking of installing a 'steam enema' live steam blow-through valve to help with cleaning!

Hood (Top) bows still on order, should have been read by now but are unfortunately delayed. Want to get hood  made up for next season, certainly by mid-summer.

Have not had much success with the original 3-tube water level indicator, which keeps reading high (ie water low in glass). Suspect its mounted about 1 1/2" too high. This is probably a job for another year, don;t want to risk damaging the low water automatic and pipework.

Only real problems are the cracked pilot tank and the leak in the top quarter of the main fuel tank. Have tried & failed to get the tank out - can not compress the new upholstery enough to clear the tank. Do not want to remove it at present so will live with the fuel tank leak for the moment - just fill 2/3 instead of full! The pilot tank is more of a problem, will probably fit a new horizontal tank on the running board where the prestolite cylinder (stolen in the 1940s) should be.

Prescott American Autumn Classic : a grand couple of days out

Prescott American Autumn Classic : 

Some great photo of our Stanley and other steam cars at  this event here, really captures the atmosphere.



















































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Normal Service will be resumed as soon as possible....

Have not done much with the blog lately, so here is an update. Done over 200 miles so far this season, lots of relatively short jaunts from home. Had a bit of burner problems due to carbon from fuel building up in the vaporizer which heats the fuel - looks like this may be due to biofuel content in the 50/50 petrol diesel mix we are using. Several vaporizer cleans and changing to 97 RON petrol - no biofuel content - seems to have made all the difference. Showing and touring the car slightly curtailed by longer than expected hunt for a smaller and lighter car transporter. We will be at the Crofton Beam Engines Steam gala 28 and 29 September and then the Prescott Autumn Classic 5 & 6 October.

The Big Freeze.....

Its still too cold to use spray adhesive to stick bonnet insulation in place, or to fit extra boiler insulation and seal it with water activated adhesive 'diplag' finishing cloth. The old temporary insulation will have to go back on until summer arrives!

Reduced to doing odds and ends like repacking pumps, fuel valves, and piston rods. Decided to change the crankcase oil as well. The old oil is probably fine, but as its been in the car quite a while am changing it to be 100% sure. However having to warm up the new oil to make it easier to pour!

I am hoping to get the car to the Drive-it Day event at the Royal Oak at Bishopstone on 21st April - provided things warm up!

Bonnet Insulation Templates

Starting work on bonnet insulation - cutting and checking templates for ceramic paper insulation which will be glued to the inside of the bonnet (Stanley's used asbestos, stuck on with wallpaper paste).  I am also going to add extra insulation to the boiler and smoke hood, so we have the same thickness as the temporary soft ceramic fibre insulation taped on to get the car on the road last autumn. 

It will all be encapsulated with a fibreglass, water activated adhesive cloth & painted with emulsion to finish off. However completing the insulation will have to wait until the weather is warmer & there is no chance of frost.

Its been a bit too cold lately to do much in the garage  - however bits and pieces for getting the car ready for the summer have been arriving.  Cans of cylinder & crankcase oil,  material for finishing the bonnet & boiler lagging, hide cream for the upholstery, and piston & pump rod packing. New hood bows are on order, to tracings of the profile templates I took from a sister car & measurements from the dummy bows made up over the winter. More tools and lagging are on the way from Vintage Steam Products in  the USA and the other day it was briefly warm enough to begin adjusting the nearside front wheel bearing, which had developed a tiny bit of shake.

Rolled the car out of the garage this afternoon to take some photographs from a distance, with battens laid on the dummy bows to simulate the hood line.  For comparison, here's a photo of a sister car (one of only two others in the UK) with the hood up.

Over Xmas have been working on dummy hood bows made up to measurements taken from a sister car.   Have now got them fitted using lots of blue rope to replicate the hood straps; the whole assembly looks about right, though the rearmost bow may need adjusting to get the end of the hood to match the slope of the body.  However a few more measurements and checks are needed to confirm dimensions before ordering a new set of bows.

Meanwhile been ordering spares for the pilot burner in readiness  for steaming up again in the spring.