Evangeline – Henry Ford’s 1924 33′ Hacker Custom Runabout (Part 2.1)

EVANGELINE – August 2015 Lake Tahoe, California (Photo Texx)

THE STORY OF “EVANGELINE” – HER HISTORY AND REMARKABLE RESTORATION is now complete (for now). Here at Woody Boater we are privileged to be the news organization to share this story with our viewers, thanks to our friends Tim & Brian Robinson – the father and son restoration team from Robinson Restoration in Fallbrook, California.

“EVANGELINE” made her long awaited debut last month at the Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance and she left quite an impression – winning the coveted Overall Best of Show Award. On Saturday she begins her 2,000 mile journey from southern California to Gull Lake, Minnesota for the 2015 ACBS International Boat Show, where she is sure to attract more attention. To see this magnificent wooden boat in person is very special. Here is Part 2.1 of our two-part story, with Part 2.2 to follow on Friday. – Texx

“EVANGELINE” on display during the 2015 Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance – Photo Texx

EVANGELINE
Henry Ford’s 1924 33’ Hacker – Part 2.1
Story & Photos by Brian Robinson

It has been nearly 11 months since Matt and Texx posted Part 1 of the EVANGELINE story here on Woody Boater, please refer to Part 1 (If you missed Part 1 of the Evangeline story you find that by Clicking Here). I apologize for the delay. EVANGELINE is finished now, so here is the rest of the story: 2008 to today.

Following the discovery meeting between Dave Wright, Karl and Dave Elles, and myself, a dialog ensued over what was next for the boat. Initially, the Elles brothers wanted to simply have Dave Wright and I complete the restoration including rebuilding the correct Liberty engine they had since found, but this was right after the economy tanked in 2008 and that option was not in the cards for them.

Dave Wright began exploring some different partnership options (he was determined to do the project… after the restoration of APACHE II – his 1922 29-foot Hacker Gentleman’s Race Boat also powered by a Liberty V-12 – he was convinced that this was the only boat over-the-top enough to better it). By 2011, we had an agreeable partnership between four parties all owning a stake in the boat: Dave Wright, the Elles brothers, a mutual friend John Dullam, and myself.

Dave Wright and Brian Robinson picking up the hull, unrestored engine and most of the parts and pieces in July 2011.

Dave Wright and I picked up the hull, unrestored engine and most of the parts and pieces in July 2011, and brought it to his Fallbrook, California workshop. Though the hull was essentially finished, minus completed rigging and engine, there was much work to be done in light of the original photographs and general contemporary restoration standards having changed in the 22 years since it was last worked on. This meant all of the deck planking had to be removed and replaced because of incorrect hardware holes and larger than original hatch openings (more on that later). The interior was not correct, some of the rigging and wiring incompatible, etc. etc.

Fortunately, the double-planked, flush-copper-riveted Honduras topsides were beautiful, having been restored in the traditional manner of 3/16” full-thickness diagonally laid inner planks, then a layer of canvas between, then the outer layer of 5/16 planks – a combination of advanced (for 1924) lightweight yet strong topside construction. The original bottom was intact in terrific condition, but Dave wanted to roll it over, remove the existing coatings and evaluate it for himself and repair accordingly.

A vintage photo of the 1924 Hacker held together by thousands of flush copper rivets.

It is the best built factory bottom we had ever seen, with the unique matrix of frames, battens, and over 10,000 copper rivets. Its general condition after nearly 90 years is a testament to its construction and obvious disregard to expense. All of the original side frames and most of the original deck frames are still intact as well. Unlike a couple other famous Ford family boats that met a fiery demise (the “Nine Ninety Nine” and “Typhoon”), this is the only original Ford-owned runabout known to survive.

The Liberty V-12 engine was Dave Wright’s other priority. It was 100% complete and it was a Ford-built version of the venerable Liberty design – with a Capitol marine conversion as the boat was delivered with new, including the early style model K transmission. The Liberty was completely torn down, the machine work was sent out and Dave rebuilt it as he had done before – this was his fourth Liberty project. He had great respect and admiration for these motors. A few weeks after Dave got it running but not yet dialed in, he passed away from a stroke while with his wife Linda and my mother and father on the way home from an ACBS event in Long Beach. This was February 2013 – he was 73.

The late Dave Wright in his California workshop surrounded by Liberty engine parts. He totally enjoyed working on those vintage engines – Texx

Inside the Ford-built version of the venerable Liberty V-12 design.

Obviously, our world was shaken. Dave was my father’s best friend and like a second father to me. The boat was put on hold while we helped Linda square away Dave’s boats and stuff. Like many of us, he was a bit of a hoarder of boat parts. When Dave passed away there were 23 boats and over 20 engines on his 30-acre ranch. Some were customers but most were his; not to mention the miscellaneous parts to sift through. My dad and I were the only ones who had any idea what all was there or where it was. We spent six months of bittersweet weekends organizing and selling it all off for Linda so she could move into a more manageable property.

It was Dave’s plan to work full time on the boat from January 2013 through July 2013 and have it completed for the Tahoe Concours that August. Unfortunately, that schedule was cut way short. The bottom and engine, which had been spread out over the course of 2012 while he completed customer’s boats, was all he was able to complete on EVANGELINE. Dave Wright had insisted on a clause in the partnership contract that if anything were to happen to him, my father and I would assume the project. I thought nothing of this at the time I signed. We moved the boat across town to our shop in June of 2013.

The Engine:

My father Tim, and I knew that neither of us had the know-how to work the bugs out of the Liberty, so we took it to our friend John Allen in San Jose to put some time on the motor. He adjusted the cam and ignition timing, tried to get Dave’s custom $5000 electronic distributers to work properly (we ended up going back to an original points ignition), and set the valves with new valve springs. The twin updraft Zenith carburetors were sent to Dominic Spediacci in Idaho to be rebuilt.

The engine now starts and runs like a top and is something to behold with a 1,650 cubic inch, dual ignition, dual distributor, overhead cam, exposed valve train V-12 behemoth. Some basic specs: 5” x 7” bore/stroke, 5:1 compression ratio, 450 horsepower @ 1850rpm, 1,250 pound-feet of torque, weight with reverse gear is 1,350 pounds. The original propeller was 20” x 36”.

The Liberty L-12 V-12 was originally a World War I aircraft engine used in many bi-planes. Under war contract, the Liberty design was produced by Packard, Cadillac, Marmon, Buick, Lincoln, and Ford.

The Hull:

In September 2013, my father and I resumed where Dave Wright had left off. The back half of the deck planks had been removed, the hatch openings reframed, and Dave and I had started mocking up the windshield. A custom wood windshield to match a photograph was not something Dave, my father, or I had ever had to tackle before. It took my father and I two weeks to get it right.

This is the last photo I took of Dave Wright, three days before he passed away in February 2013.

My father Tim picking up where Dave left off eight months later.

We next proceeded with replacing the deck planking. You will note there are no caulked deck seams. The 5” deck planks are all edge-joined tight. We noticed in the factory photo that the king plank was a shade lighter wood than the adjacent strakes, so we were mindful of that when we selected the lumber. We fortunately had been hoarding some beautiful old growth Honduras mahogany boards up to 21’ long and 20” wide.

The front covering boards required 18” wide stock. Thirty-three feet is a long way to sand! Many coats of Epifanes followed. The boat was three feet longer than our varnish booth so we had to build a temporary booth for the final coat requiring a very, very large piece of 6-mil plastic. The much commented about bottom color is “Marblehead Green”, a product that Hacker was a long-time promoter of. The color is spot-on authentic.

The original instrument board was unstained, varnished black walnut. This seemed simple enough, but finding a clear piece of 13” wide 4/4 black walnut required several people on the lookout. Scott Dorrer in New Jersey made the beautiful finger-jointed custom 19” diameter black walnut steering wheel for us. Vince Bober in New Hampshire crafted the throttle and ignition hub and ‘guts’, using original aluminum levers.

This boat uses its original ingenious and complex steering box with a universal jointed steering shaft into a rudder gearbox… Mark Mason is convinced it was a Ford engineer’s handiwork. The two original Elgin Watch Co. Van Sicklen chronometric aircraft tachometers were not only challenging to locate and purchase, but also finding someone qualified to work on them was exceedingly difficult. The forward dash gauges are rounded out by the original fuel ‘sounding’ gauge, original Liberty switch (an ammeter combined with on/off switches for each distributor), the water temp and oil pressure gauges are WWI Army/Navy Air Corps units per original and the original brass Chas. E. Miller clock.

The aft cockpit is a pretty neat place to sit – fortunately the original aft bulkhead was intact and could be documented against the 1924 factory photo. It has a complete set of gauges (fuel pressure, oil pressure, and oil temperature) and glass window to see the engine, including a trouble light to round out the ‘mechanic’s seat’. The exposed 4” copper exhaust pipes could be checked by hand for operating temperature, and of course a Pyrene fire extinguisher is close at hand. Another interesting thing about the original bulkheads we kept is the factory use of plywood as the inner layer in 1924. Hacker and Nevins among others were experimenting with its use for bulkheads and other parts this early on. I had them lab tested to verify their age and poplar species.

The unique aft cockpit, complete with another set of instruments for the riding mechanic.

Scott Dorrer in New Jersey made the beautiful finger-jointed custom 19” diameter black walnut steering wheel for us.

The completed dash, windshield and forward cockpit of the 1924 Hacker.

The upholstery, specifically the leather, took a great deal of research. The original build specs for the later sister 33’ hull referenced the “Ford job” on several occasions, one being the interior which clarified several items. The leather upholstery in this boat was referred to as “Mustang Blue material”.

Now stop for a moment and think to yourself what happens when you simply Google “Mustang Blue Leather”? Not very helpful! After many dead ends, and hoping it wasn’t actual horse hide, a 200-year-old leather tannery in England returned my call and said “mustang” was a common term around the turn of the 20th century referring to a distressing process used on ‘pull-up’ leather. Pull-up leather changes colors when you ‘pull-up’ with your thumb through the material and stretch it.

After sourcing samples of literally every blue leather available in North America and the UK, and considering having a custom run made, I found exactly what I was looking for and quickly ordered 12 hides. One of the hides was 86 square feet… it must have been one huge cow! It allowed us to cover the 9-foot long ceiling boards out of one piece. The unique wrap-around channel backs and four individual bucket seats are an interior arrangement I have not seen in another boat before. No detail was overlooked, from the lap robe cords on each seat back, to the original tied coil springs and copper tacks.

The wrap-around channel backs and four individual bucket seating arrangement is unique to this boat.

The missing hardware fabrication fell into the hands of several friends. We had about one-third of the original hardware. The major obstacles dealt to our neighbor and dear friend Jan Plischke were the one-off bow light, side lights, flush hatch handles, and 20 aluminum louvers (among numerous other small items).

His foundry and machine shop in his unassuming garage coupled with his incredible skillset were priceless on this entire project – from the scratch made wood patterns to the finished product. My good friend Mark Mason helped with having some of the larger patterns like the exhaust rings and the aft louvers cast at a foundry local to him in New Hampshire. All of the hardware is either nickel-plated brass or polished aluminum per original. Nothing was chrome plated.

Brian Robinson
Robinson Restoration
Fallbrook, CA
760.468.1009

As you can see in this shot from Lake Tahoe, the handmade hardware looks fantastic on EVANGELINE. – Texx

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2.2 of the EVANGELINE story, as we learn more from Brian Robinson about the racing history of Henry Ford’s 33-foot Hacker – against non-other than Gar Wood at the 1929 Harmsworth Regatta in a new class: “The Dick Locke Handicap – Runabout Invitational.” As well as the final Liberty engine installation, water test and debut at Lake Tahoe in August 2015.

Texx
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