1929 Auburn 680 Engine Rebuild & Other Questions

I do not think they are in the business of parts.

Thanks John. I want to rebuild them myself. Do they sell the seals?

The bulk of us are using Five Points Shocks fivepointsclassicautoshocks.com and Apple Hydraulics is still redoing them too (but just took a set of Apple rebuilt rear shocks off my Austin Healey that did not last a season before leaking - I did not have them rebuilt as they came from a friends estate and receipt in box was from 2013).

Thank you John & Mike. I will take your advise into consideration. I have begun pulling parts off the frame. I'm on vacation the first week of July so I hope to pull the engine then. For now, I'm cleaning up the shocks and plan to put new seals in them. Looks like finding the seals will be quite the investigation.

Hours in adjusting, yes. Heal toe, heal toe, heal toe, heal toe, on forever until finally, "I got it" Know for the next wheel!!!
CORDiallyMike

A shoe that is arched to match the drum radius should be fine for your lifetime of service - I think the drum issues come from people letting shoes wear down to rivets, improperly arched shoes, improper brake adjustment, and people that want to turn down drums every time they replace shoes (aka - go find some other way to beat yourself up). When I talk about an arched shoe - what I mean is that after you re-line a shoe you need to lay it in the drum and see how it makes contact with the shoe. Also, there is adjustment and it is done with a feeler gauge and you may have some solid hours in adjusting. I would think the older woven style linings to be easier on the drum as the lining tends to wear quickly.

While you are in Ft. Wayne check out C&P Machine 445 Council Dr. 260-484-7723. They just finished machining 7 sets of jugs for Stevens Duryea. Have a good reputation in the area for engine machining, Simplex, Fiat,etc.
CORDiallyMike

Thank you again Randy. I thought about that too, regarding machine shops. Actually, I think I'll call the Speedway museum for recommendations. They keep those old cars (all the way back to 1911) running, so they should know some good shops in Indy.

John, thank you too. So with the old fashioned woven lining, will that wear the drums less than today's stuff?. Like you said, I'll never wear them out because I won't drive every day, but I'd rather reline shoes than try to replace drums that I can't find.

As to brake linings - no matter the shop I always have someone want to sell me the latest and greatest - in this case you want an old fashioned woven lining that most "modern" shops do not like as they say it wear out pretty quickly (which is fine as I doubt you will ever wear it out regardless) - you will enjoy how the car stops.

Check with the muscle car guys in Indy and race car guys because of the track I would think there would be lots of qualified machine shops in town. R

Randy,
Thank you. I called Fort Wayne Clutch this morning. Looks like they can help me with the brake shoe relining and clutch.

I still have my questions about machine shops for the engine rebuild.

Thanks,
Bruce Wolfe

Go to Fort Wayne clutch in Fort Wayne. R

I've decided it's finally time to get serious about restoring my Auburn 680. I plan to take it all the way down to the frame and rebuild from the ground up. I know I'm going to sink a ton of money into it. I was prepared for that when I bought the car.

I have a few questions. I'll start with the engine, which is original. A previous owner told me he wasn't 100% sure, but he thought the engine hadn't been started since the 1950's. So I have no idea what condition it's in. I live just outside of Indianapolis. Does anyone know of a good machine shop in or near Indianapolis who has experience with an engine of this era? I don't know if the block is cracked, so I want someone who knows how to deal with that if needed. I could also go to Ohio if it's within 2 hours of Indy. I also make frequent trips to the Detroit suburbs for work, so I could drop it off during one of my trips. Fyi, I've overhauled 4 car engines in my lifetime, so I'm very mechanical. As long as I have parts, I can put it back together, although I will likely have the machine shop install the pistons so everything is matched well.

While I'm on the engine, am I correct in saying that what I would call the bell housing (where the clutch is housed) is actually and integral part of the engine block, meaning no separate bell housing?

Brakes & Drums: I have the wooden spoked wheels. I haven't pulled any of the wheels off yet, but regardless, I will want the brake shoes relined. I did talk to Auburn Cord Parts in Kansas, and Stan's daughter-in-law said they do that kind of work. But is there a good shop in Indy who could do it? She also said they have kits to rebuild the brake cylinders. Any comments?

Does anyone have the specs on the drums? I don't know how many times the drums have been turned. If one or more doesn't have enough material to be resurfaced, what's the solution? I imagine it's hard to find replacement drums.

Clutch- I want to have the clutch re-lined and checked to see if it should be re-built. Again, Stan's daughter-in-law said they can do that too. Should I send the clutch too them or is there someone in Indy who can do it?

Thanks,
Bruce Wolfe