Tractors and other Anglophile fun

Jordan Four motorcycle

2011-12-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

I decided to make this post in honor of my father' God-Father, LeGrand Jordan. LeGrand, a remarkable inventor and self-taught engineer, was the first to hold my dad when he was born, after of course, my grandfather, William Gross Sr. LeGrand was my grandfather's best friend, together they had been in the Motorcycle Machine Gun Corps, and experimet that never saw service in WWI (thankfully, from my perspective!). LeGrand after the war served in the Los Angeles County Mounted Police, which later became the California Highway Patrol. LeGrand also moonlighted for my grandfather, who had started "American Pacific Stamp Company" on Washington St., close to downtown Los Angeles. LeGrand came up with many innovative ways to machine particular bits which my grandfather needed, in particular interchangable print heads which would be used to stamp print in metal objects.

LeGrand had another side business; he would ride his 1930s BMW to Detroit to pick up a school bus for the LA district. He'd put the BMW in the bus and drive the bus back to LA! As he told me, he was taken with the difference between the BMW and Harley ride; so he designed his own motorcycle, obtaining first one and then a second patent for his design.

Back in 1975 I visited LeGrand and he showed me two patents he'd received for his motorcycle ideas; the first being for a four cylinder motorcycle, and if memory serves (which it doesn't well these days), the second was for a torsion bar suspension system. I've found the first online (click here), but not the second.

LeGrand was quite taken with the pressed-steel techonolgy which was stamping out car parts, and thought this a great innovation to be applied to motorcycle construction. He went ahead and built two complete motorcycles with which to compete in field trials for a US Military contract during WWII. He had made arangements with Studebaker to produce the Jordan Four, if he received the contract. They had idle production capacity due to shifting production from automobiles to tanks. To hear LeGrand, the Jordan Four vastly outperformed the Harley, in particular driving through sand where the Harley got stuck. But LeGrand was "stuck" between a rock and a hard spot; he had the superior machine, but no production, and the military went where the military had been going, with Harley.

in the end, Harley got it's revenge on LeGrand. After a career on a Harley that started in the 20s and ended in the 50s with disability retirement; the years in the saddle had pounded his spine to the point where he couldn't ride anymore. LeGrand was very proud of his $7/month disability check from CHP (yes, that is seven dollars a month) which had no provision for cost of living and he still recieved till he passed away at 104 (again, that memory thing).

LeGrand had donated one of the two Jordan Fours, along with the early BMW, to Harrah's Auto Museum; but was aghast to discover a couple years later that they had sold them! When I visited, he still had the remaining one, which was painted a dull gold color. He also still had all the wooden casting blocks in which he'd sand-cast the magnesium cases and various parts to make the engine/trans/driveline. I'm grateful that someone has posted a couple pictures on the internet (link here) (the materials and pictures I have are somewhere boxed many moves back, and I haven't seen them for quite a while).

I don't know for sure which one this is, but it's my understanding that after LeGrand passed away, LeGrand's daughter made arrangements to have the remaining one displayed permanently at Peterson's museum in Los Angeles. Interestingly, the Matchless G50CSR which I almost obtained in Tucson in 1970 ended up there too. but that's another story.

As you can see from the pictures, LeGrand not only built the Jordan Four with a pressed steel frame, four cylinder engine, and torsion bar suspension, but he had LOTS of sheet metal. Even solid wheels. This thing was quite a sail in a cross-wind (he admitted, bad as a VW Bus!). One of the interesting design features of the Jordan Four is its overhead camshaft. there is a single vertical gear driven shaft in the center between the four cylinders. This shaft has only two lobes. There is a remarkable valve lifter design which translates this vertical rotational motion to the valve stems. LeGrand was very proud of this. It did however, mean that the firing order had to be circular, rather than the standard staggered. One other feature was that unlike the Ariel Square Four design, the crankshafts were parallel to travel direction and counter rotating, which meant no 90 degree power transfer to the drive shaft (as with the later Aerial), but no torque twist (as with BMW).

For his 50th wedding anniversary, LeGrand restored the Model A which he owned at marriage, surprising his beloved Margaret with a shiney gold Model A! That's just the sort of thing he did. One other quirky thing he did was to get in his 50s VW beetle and drive to Alaska (yes, from Malibu California) at nearly 100 years of age. When I asked him why he went to Alaska, he said "I was tired of looking at the same ladies where I eat breakfast, and wanted to see some new pretty faces!"

So there's a little bit more oral history to add to the Jordan Four, a most interesting production from a most interesting man.

One more rogue

2011-10-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

The last member of the team is my son Will, shown here with the '73 VW Westy my folks purchased in Germany for their honeymoon in 1972.

The bus had not been driven much in the last ten years, and we had some excitment bringing it to Idaho from New Mexico. the points broke and we had to be towed before we'd hardly gone 20 miles! With the tow truck driver's help (thank you, Milton at Rio Rancho Towing, Bernalillo NM!), we replaced the damaged part and got back on the road. In Utah the starter quit (turned out to be a bad cable) and we had to push start it for the last 400 miles of the trip. There was a huge rain storm, and the windshield leaked and the wiper motor gave up!

Rogue's Gallery

2011-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Son in law Eric will be the #1 mechanic on this reconstruction project. The "Vincent in boxes" is cleverly hidden behind and above the '55 Matchless "Jampot single"

Actually, Eric did an excellent job of maximizing the storage and minimizing footprint, utillizing the overhead space. Like I said, in boxes...

Humm, removed front cylinder bolts but not rear ones? Can't remember why I did that... wonder what else we'll find?

Rogue's Gallery

2011-09-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday was grandson Kameron's birthday. He seems a bit unsure about the bike helmet, but the Vincent rests secure from his natural desire to ride, at least for a few more years (and while it's in boxes!).

Shown here with sister Hailey and cousin Max.

Rogue's galery

2011-09-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Paul has an appreciation for old things and wants to help with the reconstruction effort.

Admittedly, there is nothing anglophile about his ride, but I give him credit for keeping an oldie on the road. This '71 914 has had an engine replacement (2.0L) and converted from the nasty old injection system to dual Webbers. Rocker panels replaced and other rusted parts fixed, this was one of the first outings for the green frog.

Working Stand

2011-09-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

Before work starts, we'll build a workbench like that shown in this picture.

Since the Rapide is considerably larger and heavier than a Triumph Tiger Cub, I think the wheels we put under the stand will be a bit more substantial. Otherwise, unlike the Cub where you put an engine in a frame, the Vincent is for all intents and purposes "frameless" - we'll start with assembling the engine, adding the oil tank, and then the front and rear suspension members. Instead of holding it in place with tie-downs like this picture, The Vincent has a rear prop-stand and a front prop-stand (which is really both front side-stands opened and rotated downward; very clever! Such is how I did it in the early 80s when I restored the bike the first time.

After a day to think about it, what size to make this thing? well, given a wheelbase of 56", I'd say 7' long by 30" wide will give plenty of good working real-estate! Maybe 18" high... My last stand didn't have wheels, the tie-downs make more sense now.

Idaho Sagebrush Harvester

2011-09-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

The picture was taken in 1982 after crashing my 1953 Vincent Rapide. It earned the nickname "Idaho Sagebrush Harvester" and I earned the IVMC's "Comatose Guidance Award".

This bike has been apart since 1985, so watch for pictures as it comes back together.

Im not so sure which pains me more, to see what I looked like 26 years ago or what I did to the machine... ;)

Ferguson engine is back!

2007-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

With cracked block repaired, new crankshaft (old one was irreparable, worn to >+.50"). I'll have to get a picture to post this weekend.

work was done by Farmland Tractor Supply; they had a very reasonable turn around time.

I've been deeply tied up by moving, so the "projects" have not received much attention of late. Power company is starting next week with a 700' trench to bring in electric power; which I've been without since the property was acquired in '99.

Mystery of the safety switch

2007-10-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

Purpose of:

T0 keep engine from starting under all circumstances?

Mystery of the 3-Way Valve

2007-10-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Manual has instructions about the 3-Way Valve but this seems to be all there is:

wondering if that is because there is a seperate control for the external hydraulic system?

Alton Generators

2007-10-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well, had to bookmark this; the weakest link in the old m/c was the Lucas dynamo. apparently the market has risen to the occasion.

I've had good service from the Vincent's Miller electrics, but the Lucas E3N on the Matchless was a never ending source of aggrevation; even worthy of spending £295.00 to replace it!

Alton Generator link

Start this sequence of posts from the bottom

2007-10-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

I hope if you've found this series of entries you might be able to help me make sense of what I've got here. If you would like to tell me to go buy the book, I'd be delighted to; and if you would be so kind as to tell me where and which ones, I'd be ever so grateful. thank you.

Right side

2007-10-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

On the right side:

I find the raise/lower control I'm familiar with from the Ferguson, and two additional hydraulic controls which I assume are for the aux lines. Here's a top view:

But I'm baffled as to the purpose and use of the little knob with three settings; this control seems likely and obvious that it's purpose is as it says, rate of change control;

But as to the purpose of this item, haven't a clue.

by the way, I had the CASE shop look at the 3-pt and they said it works in extended mode but not in draft mode. I have no idea what that means. They also said $3-6K to repair it. I know what that means!

Left side

2007-10-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

On the left side:

there are four hydraulic lines which appear to be controled by two levers on the right side), a long lever which connects rather low,

which based on the sticker, I take to be the PTO control (with a high and low speed?);

and a short little lever on the back side.

which I have no idea what it does or how it's used.

What is it?

2007-10-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

OK, according to the plate on the fender,

Reduction Ration 11/49
Tractor # 990/1 851530
Engine Serial # 449001 30110

I bet someone can tell me that this means!

I notice that, in addition to the custom flat tires and leaking fuel tank, it has power steering, secondary hydraulics, and controls for which I have no idea what they are or do. So I took pictures and I hope someone will tell me what I was looking at!

Introduction

2007-10-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Since I bought my first Matchless (a 1955 G80CS) in 1968, I have had a love/hate relationship with wheeled products from England; which have included a 1937 Velocette KTS, more Matchless and AJS singles than I can even remember, Triumph tiger cubs, spring hub twins, BSA Bantam to Gold Star, and the last one, a '53 Vincent Rapide knicknamed the "the sagebrush harvester" after an unfortunate tumble off the road. Cars? Midget, Morris Minor, Austin America (ugh), and the Austin Healey 3000 ended that run (the healey burnt out the electric system on the way home from the dealership (only 20k miles on it).

I'd thought I'd bought my last British iron when I traded in the garage for a wife and family, but what an interesting surprise when I bought a '49 Ferguson TO-20 to run a bush hog and keep the roads open; surprise to discover that I was back to British engineering again! Well, I like old stuff, and I like stuff that is easy to repair. Unfortunately, the block cracked on the Ferguson, and the weeds have grown tall, waiting for no man.

The Ferguson engine is off to Farmland Tractor in Oregon for a rebuild; they repair blocks with furnace brazing and offer a service. However, the little Ferguson is really underpowered for the job I wanted it for, and without live hydraulics or a low range gearbox, I wanted something that was more suitable. So along comes a friend who left the land for town, and had a tractor to get rid of... So now I seem to have this beast in the paddock; and wonder of wonders... another Brit!

The purpose for which I've created this blog is to document the progress of more than one project to breath life into the odd bits of machinery which seem to cling to me. The first out will be the David Brown 990 pictured above. One thing I'd like to be clear about, is that I have a form of Muscular Dystrophy so I will not be doing the work myself; I am still good with computers and the camera; Bill is good with machinery (if you drink Bigelow Tea in the US, his machine folds the bags) but not computers; he's my hands with the tractors. Eric, my son-in-law, is gung-ho to make one motorcycle out of the hundreds of bits that once were a complete Vincent. Since I was once pretty handy with Matchless and Vincent, I won't be begging much help there, but as I know nothing about diesel engines or the David Brown tractor, I hope that this blog will be found by those who can provide answers.

All the best,
Mark