Archive for the ‘Automobiles’ category

Felt Washers

February 6, 2010

From time to time we are called on by customers to manufacture felt washers and other felt gaskets, which we can do in a variety of thicknesses. This particular customer sent ID, OD, and thickness specs and a photo of one of the felt gaskets he required in a quantity of 150 pieces.  I will post the image of the original gasket below and an image showing some of the gaskets we made when the order was received.

Image sent by customer along with OD 1 78″ ID 3/4″ and 1/4″ thickness spec

Finished white felt gaskets

Please visit www.gasketstogo.com

1917 Overland-Custom Rubber Stripping

January 31, 2010

As you might imagine, there are probably not too many 1917 Overlands around. Here is an image of a snappy 1917 Overland I found on an auction site:

Because they are so rare  it is probably impossible to find rubber trims parts for them unless they are generic, so this customer supplied me with two factory drawings for some rubber stripping when asking for a quotation:

Happy with the pricing, the customer placed an order for both, and we used the drawing to extrude 75 foot (25 meter) strips from EPDM rubber, which is ideal for rubber with outdoor exposure. I will post cross sections of the final product below:

The time-frame for extruded parts is much quicker than molded parts, usually 10 days vs. 4-5 weeks. The reason is because the tooling required is a lot simpler. Costs per linear foot are very competitive with costs for off the shelf rubber stripping, and even with air or surface shipping costs added in often are less than 1/2 the cost of any strip that might be in stock somewhere. If you want a quotation for any extruded rubber part just send a drawing or image of a cross section of what you need and I will be happy to let you know what it would cost. If any reader has a 1917 Overland and needs these strips let me know and I will put you in touch with my customer.

Please visit www.gasketstogo.com

Curved Dash Oldsmobile

December 23, 2009

It is hard to believe but the Oldsmobile is no longer with us. My first car was a rusty $100 1960 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88. Didn’t last too much longer after I bought it, but I went on to have good experiences with a second hand 1979 Olds Cutlass and a 1984 88.

I mention Olds because we recently had the honor of making a batch of copper head and valve cover gaskets for the very first car mass-produced in any quantity, the Curved Dash Olds, produced from 1901 to 1907.

There were only about 20,000 of these made, but something like 1,000 are still around, and the CDO Club sent a drawing of the valve cover gasket and a scan with dimensions for the head gasket in order to order enough of these gaskets to keep these machines running.

Here are the finished gaskets:

CDO Valve Cover Gaskets

CDO Head Gasket

If you need gaskets for your Curved Dash Olds, please contact Gary Hoonsbeen at the CDO Club.

Please visit www.gasketstogo.com

Alfa Romeo Montreal MLS Gaskets

December 18, 2009

Multi-layer steel gaskets, known as MLS gaskets, are made of 3 or more layers of spring steel, with the outer layers embossed in critical areas for improved sealing. The outer layers are also coated with viton, silicone, or other proprietary solutions for better sealing as well. This type of head gasket is used for high-performance applications that normal head gaskets can’t withstand. Although it may seem hard to believe, in a high performance engine the head actually lifts off the block hundreds if not thousands of time per minute. The outward tension provided by the steel layers help maintain a seal when this happens. MLS gaskets need to be installed on very smooth surfaces, 50RA or better, and go on dry. They should not be used with receiver rings.

MLS gaskets are currently available off-the-shelve from many suppliers, but they are not available for every car engine. As far as I am aware, Gaskets-to-Go is the only manfacturer able to custom manufacture MLS gaskets in quantities as low as one-off. Most suppliers require large (50+) orders or expensive upfront tooling charges. They are not cheap, but they are often the only solution. Please feel free to contact me via http://www.gasketstogo.com if you are interested in this type of gasket.

I will post an image of an Alfa Romeo Montreal, which I think you will agree is a fine looking automobile. This customer had completed some engine mods and wanted and MLS gasket.

Alfa Romeo Montreal

We used his old gaskets to create the pair below.

If you own a Montreal and need some MLS gaskets please contact me via http://www.gasketstogo.com

Please visit www.gasketstogo.com