1925 Essex questions

[Deleted User]
[Deleted User]
edited November -1 in HUDSON
Hey everyone, first off let me say I'm new to the forum and very happy to be here. I just picked up a 1925 Essex that was sitting in a garage for 20 or so years. Motor turns over great, and I'm in the process of getting her running and on the road. But there is close to zero information about these cars anywhere so I brought a few questions here. The manual says to run a heavy bodied oil. What exact weight should I be running in this motor? The clutch says 1/2 motor oil, 1/2 kerosene. Again, what should I be running in there? Trans fluid? Read fluid? And what kind of grease should I be putting into the zerk fittings found throughout the car? Thank you so much for your time guys and gals, any other useful information would also be appreciated! Here is a picture is her:

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Nice looking car , very much so for its age. There is more info around than you would think. Join the Club {Hudson Essex Terraplane}and you will find a lot of help and parts info.
    Welcome to the forum in the mean time. When that car was made there was no multiviscosity oil[10-w -40]like we have now. so when it got cold common practice was to dilute oil with kerosene to thin it .
    In your engine plain straight weight oil is fine 20 or 30 weight depending on temp. If you were to clean the engine out of all sludge and add an oil filter modern oils would be fine [10-w-40] I would hessitate to put modern detergent oil in without cleaning out the sludge. This is a subject sure to bring several opinions.
    As far as the grease fittings regular chassis grease should be fine for most anything but the water pump I'd think.
    Roger
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    Hi Essex. My grandfather had one of those. I don't have one yet but I'll give you some opinions from the other splashers I have.

    Most of us run 15-40 oil in the engine.
    Clutch fluid can be purchased from the club store or Messr's Wildrick or Fellows.
    Their contact is in the WTN (White Triangle News club magazine) Personally I use a home-brew of 1/3 Dexron, 1/3 Motor oil, and 1/3 Marvel Mystery. Works for me.

    Go To http://www.hetclub.org/ to look around and/or join this great club. click on 2nd tab from left ie 'HET Club', 'Resources' on the drop-down menu, then 'Online Hudson Literature' There you will find all kinds of info on your Essex, courtesy of Alex Burr.

    Send me your name/address and I'll have Sam the editor, send you a copy of the WTN if you're not a member of the club yet.

    Larry, aka Uncle Josh
    email at HETcramerlp@roadrunner.com Remove the HET as it's there to foil the spammers.
  • ESSX28-1
    ESSX28-1 Senior Contributor
    I run 15w40 oil in my rebuilt version of the same engine & ATF in my cork clutch because here in New Zealand we can't get the proper clutch stuff - Hudsonite or a modern specially made version.
    These old splasher feed engine can suffer from oil starvation to the big ends if your oil is too viscous.
    I concur with all the others, drop the sump & clean out all the sludge you can reach. Remember that the sump is a two level sump. The oil drains into the lower sump & the "oil pump" pumps it into the troughs that the big ends revolve in. The pump is very low pressure. It's not until 1929 that the two sump levels can be separated, so cleaning sludge out of both levels is time consuming & tricky.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    Welcome, 25Essex! (After you've been here awhile, I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable with using at least your first name...we're fairly harmless.)

    Where are you located? There is always a chance that someone with an Essex of your vintage, might live within 50 miles, and you would do well to contact that person. Usually Hudson / Essex owners are happy to share their knowledge, and it would be good for you to have another Essex to look over, should any parts on yours be missing. Most of us at this forum are in the H-E-T and we can consult our rosters and give you the names of nearby owners.

    The car looks like a survivor! My advice (and maybe you're planning this, anyway) would be to just get it running and enjoy it, before you go spending a lot of money prettying it up. Members of the H-E-T are not greatly obsessed with winning trophies at car shows, and your car will be much appreciated as it is, should you drive it to a local Hudson meet in its present condition.
  • ernie28
    ernie28 Expert Adviser
    Jon B wrote:
    The car looks like a survivor! My advice (and maybe you're planning this, anyway) would be to just get it running and enjoy it, before you go spending a lot of money prettying it up. Members of the H-E-T are not greatly obsessed with winning trophies at car shows, and your car will be much appreciated as it is, should you drive it to a local Hudson meet in its present condition.

    Hi 25Essex, I agree totally with Jon B's comments above. Your car looks a beauty and will certainly turn heads just as is and get many admiring comments. She just oozes character!

    Regarding oil etc I also concur with the other comments especially re ensuring the sump is clean. I use Penrite HPR30 oil but the engine and sump was clean. ATF in the clutch is also quite satisfactory.

    Enjoy and appreciate the gem you have.

    Alistair
    NZ
  • hudsonsplasher1
    hudsonsplasher1 Senior Contributor
    25essex wrote:
    Hey everyone, first off let me say I'm new to the forum and very happy to be here. I just picked up a 1925 Essex that was sitting in a garage for 20 or so years. Motor turns over great, and I'm in the process of getting her running and on the road. But there is close to zero information about these cars anywhere so I brought a few questions here. The manual says to run a heavy bodied oil. What exact weight should I be running in this motor? The clutch says 1/2 motor oil, 1/2 kerosene. Again, what should I be running in there? Trans fluid? Read fluid? And what kind of grease should I be putting into the zerk fittings found throughout the car? Thank you so much for your time guys and gals, any other useful information would also be appreciated! Here is a picture is her:

    Welcome 25essex!! You've gotten some good advise already. In regards to the axel grease. I use mag 1 super lithium E P Moly grease. You should be able to get it at any NAPA or auto store. What area of the country are you in? There may be some one close by to help with questions also. Good luck with your car.
    Gene Birdsall.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Hey everyone. Thank you all so much for all the enthusiasm and responses. Thanks for all the compliments on the car, she survived great for being 87 years old, and yes, we plan on getting her road worthy and driving as is. We want to show off the great patina, and let everyone appreciate what time has done so perfectly. So it sounds like if we (my father, brother and I) drop the pan and clean all the sludge out, we can run a 15w40 oil, but if not stick with a straight weight 20 or 30. We will look into getting the clutch fluid from the HET store, or mix up some concoction like Uncle Josh uses. We have Mobil 1 synthetic grease we have for wheel bearings and such that we'll use in the zerk fittings. We are located in central New Jersey. What fluid should we use in the transmission and the rear? Thanks all again, its nice to know there are other Essex people out there!
  • hudsonsplasher1
    hudsonsplasher1 Senior Contributor
    You can get a heavy gear oil from Lucas oil. Sold at NAPA, or you can use the 600w oil from the Model A guys. Both work well. The car looks great by the way. A true surviver.
    Gene.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    hudsonsplasher1 wrote:
    You can get a heavy gear oil from Lucas oil. Sold at NAPA, or you can use the 600w oil from the Model A guys. Both work well. The car looks great by the way. A true surviver.
    Gene.

    Sorry to disagree,but you must not use 600W in the transmission, as it will not flow freely enough through the holes in the countershaft to lubricate the bushings. Use a modern 90W-140 multigrade gear oil. 600W is fine in the rear end.
    Geoff
  • hudsonsplasher1
    hudsonsplasher1 Senior Contributor
    Geoff C., N.Z. wrote:
    hudsonsplasher1 wrote:
    You can get a heavy gear oil from Lucas oil. Sold at NAPA, or you can use the 600w oil from the Model A guys. Both work well. The car looks great by the way. A true surviver.
    Gene.

    Sorry to disagree,but you must not use 600W in the transmission, as it will not flow freely enough through the holes in the countershaft to lubricate the bushings. Use a modern 90W-140 multigrade gear oil. 600W is fine in the rear end.
    Geoff

    Holy cow, I've been using the 600W in my Essex for 25 yrs. with no problem. I've been wrong all these years. I learn something new every day.
    Gene.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Gene, you have got away with it! You must live in a temperate climate. 600W is fine in the Hudson and Essex 4 transmissions, which have roller bearings for the countershaft, but in cold weather it tends to stiffen up, reducing the ability to get through the oil holes, or your box is so worn the oil gets in anyway? You must have to change gear real quick when cold! Unfortunately the owner's handbooks are not much help. the British version says to use Castrol XL which was the equivalent of S.A.E. 40 engine oil, and the American version says to use "transmission gear lubricant, so I guess whatever works! Regards,
    Geoff
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    25, if you haven't checked them out yet, you might want to meet the fine folks in the Garden State Chapter of the H-E-T Club. Their president lives in the Medford area, Ted Steinmetz. His e-mail is HETwibbage@aol.com (remove the HET before sending) to find out when their next get-together is.

    Sadly, I don't see any '25 Essexes listed in NJ, the oldest is a '28 which is probably quite different from yours and won't be of any help. There may be some in neighboring states, though...I just glanced through the Jersey section of the national roster.
  • hudsonsplasher1
    hudsonsplasher1 Senior Contributor
    Geoff C., N.Z. wrote:
    Gene, you have got away with it! You must live in a temperate climate. 600W is fine in the Hudson and Essex 4 transmissions, which have roller bearings for the countershaft, but in cold weather it tends to stiffen up, reducing the ability to get through the oil holes, or your box is so worn the oil gets in anyway? You must have to change gear real quick when cold! Unfortunately the owner's handbooks are not much help. the British version says to use Castrol XL which was the equivalent of S.A.E. 40 engine oil, and the American version says to use "transmission gear lubricant, so I guess whatever works! Regards,
    Geoff

    I only drive it in warm weather so that's probably way I have gotten away with it. The trans seems to shift fine (not worn out). The container from the model A guys states that it's formulated for trans. rear ends and steering gear boxes for antique cars. Thanks for the information. I'll look for the lighter weight oil.
    Gene.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

In this Discussion