1940 Stearman restoration (moved from Triumph forum so all can enjoy)

[Graham H]

Bob, I was wondering the same thing.

Graham

 

[NutmegCT]

I'm thinking ... an antique fire extinguisher.
You can see the pump handle at the top, in an earlier picture.

 

[CJD]

Hey Bob. That is a turn of the (last) century ship fog horn. My Father used to frequent old nautical junk yards and restore old brass hardware. This is one of his restoration pieces. Every time you pull or push the handle it gives that lonely, low pitched, haunting, "Aaaaauuuuuhhhggg". It used to be very shiny brass, but every child in our family (including me as a kid), has used it so much it needs a polish. The green entrance piece was my great Grandmother's, that my Dad restored when I was 3. It never occurred to me, but both those items are older than the 85 year old Stearman?!? I may have to schedule their next restorations after I finish the plane.

 

[Nivens]

It seems to me antique cars and airplanes go together and always have. My first car was a Healey 3000 which I had to give back to the finance company when I was drafted into the Army. After serving in Viet Nam as an assault helicopter pilot and instrument instructor, I took up fixed wing restorations and flying. I completely restored two Piper Dakotas, built an RV8A, and worked on building a Lancair 4 for 2 years. I also built a Hot Rod while in high school. I built a custom Cobra replica with all custom parts. Currently I have another Healey 3000 frame off restored which I am currently putting a new interior in.

I truly admire your bravery, commitment, tenacity and the workmanship demonstrated in your current Stearman project. It is obviously a labor of love and enjoyment for you.

 

[CJD]

That's an impressive history of builds, Nivens! I have enjoyed all my restorations, but I am thinking this will be my last grand effort. There are some things I would like to do and places I want to see...so I will keep my projects to under a year from now on?! Plus, I am sure you guys have noticed, insurance has risen out of sight the last 5 years. Most of my cars are 20+ years old, paid off, and only insured for liability...yet they are still charging over $100 per month! We haven't even had a claim in 20 years.

 

[Graham H]

Yes, John, and every year, insurance companies increase the value to keep pace with inflation just so they can increase your premiums.

Graham

 

[DocDup1]

If it were not for Hagerty Insurance I would have to sell off a couple of cars. I don't know how they do it, but they sell really great coverage for less than half of what I would have to pay from a regular insurance company.

 

[Gliderman8]

That's an impressive history of builds, Nivens! I have enjoyed all my restorations, but I am thinking this will be my last grand effort. There are some things I would like to do and places I want to see...so I will keep my projects to under a year from now on?! Plus, I am sure you guys have noticed, insurance has risen out of sight the last 5 years. Most of my cars are 20+ years old, paid off, and only insured for liability...yet they are still charging over $100 per month! We haven't even had a claim in 20 years.

Not Political, just facts….
I read that all auto insurance rates may rise since “over and above taxes” will add to the cost of auto repairs so insurers will need to raise rates.

 

[CJD]

Just a quick update. It turns out the ailerons are NOT a quick job. But then, I kinda' figured they would slow me down. I counted about 800 rivets per aileron that I had to drill out. I then had to locate many replacement ribs to replace the mangled parts. Here is the aileron spar going on the jig I welded. About half of the spar had to be replaced, as there were bends and cracks from the crash.

I am getting a little better driving rivets...but I still cringe when I send pics to my A&P supervisor!!

Here the ribs start going back on. The jig keeps the spar...and therefore the aileron...straight as I work.

 

[CJD]

Next, the curved tips go on. I had to remove the aileron to install on it's wing, so that the tip will match the curvature of the wood wingtip built earlier.

Now she's ready for the covering that goes around the leading edge...with...868 rivets!?! The sheet covering forms the closed "D" section which gives the aileron stiffness from twisting. That is very much like the Triumph's fully boxed frame! Or...very unlike the Model "A" Ford frame which was an open "C" frame that twisted easily.

I am sure the scorching on some of the ribs bothers some viewers. Those are ribs that were mangled and had to be straightened. With aluminum, you must anneal it before doing any major bending or straightening. If you try to straighten a bad bend, the thin sheet will crack...and that's the end of the road for that rib. They are much too thin to repair by welding. A trick is to mark the aluminum with a sharpy. Then when you heat it, you know to stop heating when the sharpy mark just disappears. If you heat any more, you end up with a small puddle of aluminum that used to be your part, LOL. Once it air cools you can do some more straightening without cracking.

That's it for now...

Hope everyone is taking advantage of the nice Spring weather to get the cars out for a ride!

 

[Basil]

Next, the curved tips go on. I had to remove the aileron to install on it's wing, so that the tip will match the curvature of the wood wingtip built earlier.

Now she's ready for the covering that goes around the leading edge...with...868 rivets!?! The sheet covering forms the closed "D" section which gives the aileron stiffness from twisting. That is very much like the Triumph's fully boxed frame! Or...very unlike the Model "A" Ford frame which was an open "C" frame that twisted easily.

I am sure the scorching on some of the ribs bothers some viewers. Those are ribs that were mangled and had to be straightened. With aluminum, you must anneal it before doing any major bending or straightening. If you try to straighten a bad bend, the thin sheet will crack...and that's the end of the road for that rib. They are much too thin to repair by welding. A trick is to mark the aluminum with a sharpy. Then when you heat it, you know to stop heating when the sharpy mark just disappears. If you heat any more, you end up with a small puddle of aluminum that used to be your part, LOL. Once it air cools you can do some more straightening without cracking.

That's it for now...

Hope everyone is taking advantage of the nice Spring weather to get the cars out for a ride!

Wow, impressive!

 

[CJD]

I can’t wait to finish this…like when I did the TR2, parts are being stored in every open area around the whole house. It’ll be like doubling the house size when the parts all leave!

 

[70herald]

Wow this is almost like building an entire plane from scratch! very impressed.