Michigan Electric 28

Rear Roof Slat Installation Completed

With the cooler Autumn temperatures comes greater progress in the carbarn.  On Sunday, Jeff Brady fired up the roof slat steamer for bending and installing the final slats on the rear of the car.  I took a few pictures of Jeff while he was completing this important milestone.  The first picture shows Jeff on the rear scaffold holding the cap to the slat steamer pipe.  Can you see the slat inside the pipe waiting to be heated by steam?  When Jeff thinks the slat has “cooked” enough he quickly removes it and bends it to the correct curvature while nailing it in place.

Jeff Steaming a Roof Slat

While bending the slat, Jeff hand tapers the bottom end before nailing it to the tack molding.

Jeff Shaving a Roof Slat to Fit

View of Completed Rear Roof

At last the final slat was installed!  Can you see Jeff’s finger pointing to the small wedge shaped slat that finished the job?  Well done Jeff, the St. Louis Car Company would be proud!  After a final sanding of the top layer of slats, Jeff will move on to tackle the front of the car next.  I see a lot more slat bending and steaming in Jeff’s future.

That is the Last One!

While Jeff was working on the roof of the car, I was fabricating the first of five window guards for installation in the rear vestibule.  We do not have the original window guards as they were probably removed when the car was used as a cottage prior to 1971.  We did obtain the correct match for what was there, except the tube lengths are wrong.  Therefore, I have disassembled them and am now cutting new tubing to the correct length for reinstallation.  The picture below shows the first window guard temporarily installed to check the size and look.  I still need to install cold rivets to hold each of the four tubes in place.  The window guard will be primed, and painted a finish coat of orange before installation.

Rays Window Guard Progress

Interested in the 28 with time on your hands?  We are always looking for volunteers to help us finish the car to it's former glory.  To join the restoration team, please see us at work on Tuesdays and Sundays in Barn 4/Electric Car Shop.  Monetary donations are always welcome.  Donations buy the materials, we supply the labor.  Mail funds to IRM designating the ME28 restricted fund.  Thanks!

All pictures taken by Ray Schmid.  Additional ME28 pictures can be seen in the IRM Member Photo Gallery @ IRM.org.

More Side Window Replacement and Roof Slat Installation

On Sunday, Norm Krentel and Ray Schmid were successful in installing five restored windows into the right rear window openings.  Two storm window sashes and two lower sashes were installed along with one interior upper sash.  All the wood stops and trim pieces were also screwed in place to hold the windows.  The pictures below show the finished upper sash.  Side note: Only the interior upper sash contains pressed prism glass that is frosted.  The exterior pressed prism glass is clear.  The pattern on both windows is identical.  The light coming through the newly cleaned prism glass is making these windows appear much more attractive now that the raised arch pattern can be seen.

Installed Interior Upper Sash

Prism Glass Patterm

Jeff Brady is shown below nailing the second and final layer of slats over the first.  Each basswood slat needs to be hand tapered and fitted so that it will lay flat on the rear curved roof. He is finished with the second layer where the slats will bend without breaking. The side slats on the left and right have such a severe bend that they will break in two or split if they are bent dry.  These will require Jeff to treat them with steam until they become more pliable.   Once bent and nailed, the steam treated slats will retain their shape after drying.  With the 90 to 100 degree weather we are having this summer Jeff is waiting for the weather to cool before using steam in the car barn.  I think this is a wise decision!

Jeff nailing roof slats

Shaving and fitting the slats

Roof Slat Work Continues While Side Window Replacement Begins

Jeff Brady has reached the most difficult portion of the roof slat installation, the corners.  At the corners there is little space remaining to bend and nail the last few slats.  Therefore, most car builders utilized a wooden corner block to fill and retain the proper curvature of the roof lines.  In the left picture below, Jeff is using the band saw to cut a large triangular block of wood before beginning the process of shaping the precise corner contour.  The picture on the right, shows a previously cut sample block placed in the opposite corner to demonstrate placement.

Norm Krentel has begun the process of dismantling the side window tracks.  He has already removed the sashes and is shown below examining what needs to be replaced and what can be reused.  Soon the newly rebuilt windows will be installed.  More on this exciting process in a future report.

Ray Schmid is shown below applying a gloss finish to the upper sash window frames.  In future weeks the pressed glass will be installed and the completed sashes inserted into the window openings.  The exterior pressed glass upper sashes were painted white while the car was used as a cabin in Michigan prior to arriving at IRM in the 1970s.  The tedious method to remove all the old dried paint, from the numerous tiny crevices in the ornate glass pattern, will begin next week.

An Historic Moment!  First Roof Slats Installed

After cutting 300+ roof slats during the previous weekends, the time had come to begin the installation of the roof slats onto the roof ends of the car.  The rear of the car was chosen because of good lighting and the lack any special cutting unlike the front which has the roof mounted headlight.   Jeff Brady and Ray Schmid worked in the morning to prepare the carlines for the installation.  Fans used in the morning to move the hot, humid Car Barn air were not needed later in the day as rainy weather arrived in the early afternoon and brought cooler temperatures that made the working conditions better. Work will continue during September to complete the ends with two layers of roof slats.

Pictured below:  Ray Schmid and Jeff Brady, nailing the first slat.

Pictured below: Ray finishes the day by nailing the 10th roof slat.