Derrick Digs In (Post # 55)

One of the front seats, after almost 60 years of use and
neglect.

I packed The Alfatross' interior elements off to Derrick Dunbar at Paul Russell and Co. back in December.  Shortly thereafter he called to let me know that he examined the different materials used and is looking for matching materials to replace those that are no longer serviceable.  This, he said, is really the hardest part of the job.  The fact that the upholstery is spartan and all the materials are vinyl instead of leather or something more exotic doesn't make it any easier (or less expensive!).

The driver's door panel.

The blue vinyl used on the door panels, quarter panels, and parts of the front seats probably won't be hard to match. Nor will the black vinyl fiberglass-filled firewall insulation pads.  But the unusual blue "faux suede" used on the front seat backs and seat is unlike anything he has seen before.  He thinks it is a kind of rubber material rather than vinyl, and that it may be of German manufacture.  My biggest concern was finding a source for the "fluted" and "filled" blue vinyl used for the headliner and deck behind the rear seat. Derrick said he thought it might be in good enough shape to re-install, but that is a decision we will make later.  Even if the headliner and deck cover are in good shape the color might be inconsistent with the new vinyl.  I sure hope we can match it because I don't think anyone has made material like that in half a century!  

The carpeting is going to be one of the easiest decisions because there is nothing to match--it had already been replaced with recycled household carpet when I bought the car, so I have no idea what the original was like.

A cross-section of one of the front seats reveals the use of several different kinds of "stuffing."

If decisions about upholstery weren't enough to worry about, there's details like the type of "stuffing" to use inside the seats, the stitching patterns, the types of thread and adhesives that hold things together, the snaps that hold the carpet down, and the locations of holes for the attachment of interior panels--it's complicated.

This swatch of the blue "faux rubber suede," taken from a protected location shows how vibrant it was when new.  

In this case, restoring the seats means restoring the innards as well.  

Anatomy of a Zagato sport seat (viewed from the back, lying on its side).  Derrick digs deeper . . . and it looked so simple on the outside!  It has to get worse before it can get better.

At this point Derrick is still sourcing materials. Research is one of the most time-consuming (and expensive!) elements in the restoration of an interior. Derrick says that as more restorations are being performed, original materials are getting harder to find.  If a shop has the last known cache of a certain kind of original material, they won't sell it to a competitor--you have to bring the car to them!  The good news is Derrick has done other Zagato-bodied Italian cars from this period so he's not starting from scratch . . . and THAT'S why he's the go-to guy for The Alfatross!

The Devil's in the Details (Post # 54)

One of the problems associated with restoring an "Italian Exotic" like The Alfatross is there are so few of them that most restorers have never see one in the flesh. When I delivered my car to Tim Marinos of Vintage Autocraft for chassis and bodywork I supplied him with a catalog of photos of The Alfatross before and during dis-assembly as well as photos of other 1900 Zagatos I had collected over the years.  The catalog was helpful, but his job would have been far easier had brought him the run-down, but intact vehicle instead so he could see what it's supposed to look like when reassembled.  

About a month ago Tim called with a suggestion:  could I arrange for him to see one of The Alfatross' brethren that recently moved from Florida to Chicago--no. 01915?  Seeing an intact close relative of The Alfatross would be a great help with the restoration, he said.  And if it could be arranged, Derrick Dunbar of Paul Russell and Co also wanted to come along to study the details of the interior.  What a great idea!  I don't know why I didn't think of it myself.  Maybe we could all go together?

So I contacted the owner, Joe Hayes of Hayes Properties, Inc., with the request and he graciously agreed to make his car available for inspection. It took some doing, but we set up a date that worked for all four of us plus the owner of the shop where 01915 was getting some minor body work.  This car is particularly well-suited for detailed study because it has never been restored and therefore is more original and authentic than some of the other examples around.  

01915 at Radnor Hunt in 2003, making its "barn find" debut after many years in storage.

The parking permit and  inspection sticker for 1961-2 are still in place on
the windshield!

The first time I saw this car was in 2003 when it made its debut at the Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance.  Like The Alfatross, it was laid up decades ago--just another used car at the bottom of its value curve.  But unlike The Alfatross, the owner did virtually nothing with it or to it over the years. Shortly before the Radnor event, it surfaced.  The story on the street was that it sold three times in one weekend!

The car we came to see:  Joe Hayes' Alfa 1900C SSZ chassis no. 01915.  Note the license number.

. . . and here it is 59 years ago competing in the 1955 Mille Miglia, the world's most famous road race.   Note the license number

Last Saturday we converged on M and V Auto Body located about 3 miles from O'Hare where we were met by Joe Hayes and Vince Delmedico, the proprietor. It was good to see 01915 again after 11 years.  The previous owner and I helped each other over the years by loaning parts for replication and exchanging information. He decided to keep his car in original condition and Joe has continued along those lines, resisting the ever-present temptation to restore it.  

The interior of 01915 is very different from that of The Alfatross. but there
are a lot of similarities, particularly with respect to the materials used.

I was fascinated to see Derrick and Tim focus on the details that are most important to them and go to work. Obviously, this was not their first rodeo!  Between the two of them they shot hundreds of photos and made pages of sketches of shapes, locations, and critical dimensions.    

Derrick spent a lot of time sketching, measuring, and photographing the
carpets, which are undoubtedly original.  

Derrick's main interest was what he could learn that would help him restore The Alfatross' interior.  01915's front seats are the more sumptuous "grand touring" style rather than The Alfatross' Spartan light-weight race seats and there are differences in the shape of the dash and placement of the shift lever, but the types of materials used for the upholstery are very similar.  Perhaps most importantly, 01915 has its floor and firewall coverings intact whereas The Alfatross lost its carpets long ago.  He noted where the snaps were positioned on the carpets, how the piping was connected, the type of stitching used, the grain texture in the vinyl firewall insulating pads.

Derrick inspecting one of the interior firewall insulation pads.  The Alfatross has these pads too, but they seemed  so haphazardly made that I thought they were "after market."  Derrick pointed to the type of cotton thread used in the stitching and the fiberglass insulation material  sandwiched inside as proof of originality.

Tim's main concerns had to do with the chassis and body details.  What kind of weatherstripping was used around the doors and windows?  How did the bottoms of the doors seal?  What is the diameter of the screws that secure the trim around the windshield?  When we got the car up on the lift I remembered that the area around The Alfatross' clutch and brake linkage was originally covered with an aluminum panel.  Sure enough, part of that panel was present on 01915 and we could see fastener holes indicating where the rest of it had been.  It wouldn't surprise me to learn that this panel is missing or modified on a lot of cars because it must be removed to work on the transmission, the brakes, and the shift and clutch linkages.  Unfortunately, it is very fussy to remove and re-install.

Tim and Derrick examining the floor panel of the trunk.  The Devil is in the details!

After pouring over the car for hours, we agreed that we had what we came for.  Joe offered to treat us to a late lunch down town before returning us to the airport, and by the way--would we like to see his car collection?  Car collection?  You mean you have other cars, too?  It turns out that Joe is a very discerning collector.  One of his properties is dedicated to indoor event space and the outer perimeter of this basketball stadium size room is lined with to-die-for, museum quality cars. As soon as we entered we knew that lunch was going to have to wait!  Tim would have been happy to stay in that room all weekend.

Derrick, Tim and Joe examine the way the windshield, body, and molding are sealed with "dumdum"--a tarry black weather-sealing substance commonly used in the '50s.

Special thanks to Joe Hayes, proud owner of 01915, for making his car available for us to learn from.  Thanks also to Vince Delmedico of M and V Auto Body and Sales for opening up on a Saturday, moving the cars in his shop around so we could get 01915 up on his lift to look at the undercarriage, and putting up with us in general.  If there is anything we can do to help you guys, just let us know!

Engine Part IV: Train Spotting (Post # 53)

VALVE trains, that is.  

In previous posts I mentioned that the Alfatross' beating heart, its engine, is being restored in Phoenix under the direction of DeWayne Samuels, aided by various vendors of parts and services.  The reassembly is taking place at Standard Machine in Phoenix under the supervision of proprietor Roger Lorton. 

When I  first looked under the hood of The Alfatross what I saw was a little weenie 4-cylinder engine disguising what I perceived at the time to be its inadequacies under an enormous air cleaner on the right side and and equally enormous shroud ducting air over the tubular exhausts.  

The enormous air filter and plenum chamber atop the Solexes covers the top of the engine on the right side.

Now that I have offended all you thousands of Alfa aficionados out there watching this blog, let me go on to apologize for my ignorance.  I now know it is not the simple, unsophisticated lump I took it for 45 years ago, and the proof of that is the following treatise on the kind of diagnosis and surgery it is taking to restore it to health and vigor.    

The following is DeWayne's diagnosis of what appears to be less than perfect with the valve train and what he is doing to correct it.  These engine guys have a wide variety of tools and treatments they can bring to bear, and I think they have used just about all of them except the one advertised below:

A tool no car guy should be without.

Cylinder Head

The valve train has a lot of individual components.  DeWayne's diagnosis divides them into cylinder head and timing chest components.  Those in the cylinder head are the valves, valve adjusters, cam followers, springs, valve guides, and camshafts.  DeWayne says:

Valve train issues include oiling problems resulting in accelerated wear damaging both camshafts and cam journals in the cylinder head, valve adjusters, cam followers, valves and guides.  Don sourced new intake valves, but the exhaust valves are excessively worn on the stems and unusable due to repeated or excessive face grinding which depleted the face margin to zero.  Exhaust valves are on order from Europe.

Original intake valves (left) and exhaust valves.  Note how the margins of the exhaust valves are too thin for reuse.

All the cam followers have been reconditioned by hard chroming the faces and creating the proper taper with Blanchard grinding to promote valve rotation. For an added measure they have been treated with a DLC (diamond like carbon) extreme pressure coating.

Replacement guides were sourced but found unacceptable as they are only offered in a standard O.D.  Because the receiving bores for the guides vary in diameter, we opted to machine custom guides from manganese bronze to offer the correct press fit for the proper dynamic tension within the bore of the cylinder head. Later the guides will be reamed and honed on the I.D. for the correct oil clearance for the valve stems.   

Alfa Romeo 1900 valves are a thing of wonder, as in "I wonder why they did that?" 

Timing Chest Components

DeWayne continues:  

Both timing chains are to be replaced as a time/maintenance service. Wear in the assembly is evidenced by the markings on each roller and the position of the chain tensioner being towards it’s outermost settings; additionally the upper chain has experienced side loading from the cams “walking” due to thrust wear issues and the tensioner bearing /shaft wear allowing side movement. Original new old stock chain sets were sourced for installation. 

Front view of the engine showing the two timing chains, upper and lower, the tensioner for the
upper chain, intermediate gear set.

The intermediate gear set requires replacement of the bushings and restoring the pivot shaft by hard chroming and bringing back to original size. An overlying issue that prompted accelerated wear was discovered in cleaning: the oiling supply orifice was not fully drilled through, resulting in an extremely limited oil supply. Opening the circuit and hand detailing before and after hard chroming has corrected the problem.

The tensioner assembly also required restoration as the chain gear was worn by the improper alignment running due to the damage of the bearing and pivot shaft. The pivot shaft has been given the same service as the intermediate shaft. We still need to source a replacement bearing and tensioner gear to complete the assembly.

Whew!  That's a lot of replacement and repair for an engine that has only 110,561.4 km (about 66,000 miles) on it.  To what extent it is the result of poor maintenance and neglect? Or could it suggest a racing history--something that has so far eluded us?

Thanks, DeWayne and Roger!

Casting Part II (Post # 52)

I'm back to making rubber parts again.  This time the challenge is the four bump stops (rubber travel limiters to keep The Alfatross' front suspension from travelling down too far) in the front suspension, two on each side mounted to the upper A-arms.  

Here's one of the bump stops in place in the front suspension
before removal.  Dessicated, cracked, and compressed, the
rubber parts were in need of replacement.

After removing the bump stops it was easy to see that they weren't up to the task of keeping the car from topping out anymore.  Maybe there is a secret stash of bump stops for 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900s somewhere, but I doubt it.  I didn't even bother to ask around.  Besides, I liked the idea of refurbishing the originals and continuing to use them.  

The steel and aluminum parts cleaned up easily, and the rubber tips had already peeled off two of them.  Evidently, supporting the chassis on jack stands for years may have been good for the tires, but it let the suspension compress the bump stops until they lost their original shape. 

All of the rubber tips are in such bad condition that it is impossible to tell
what the original profile was like, so I'm just guessing.  The old rubber peeled
off the steel shaft easily.  

I knew I could replace the rubber tips of the bump stops using a two-part RTV rubber compound called Flexane, but there were a couple of obstacles.  I didn't have an un-deformed original from which to get the proper shape, and I didn't know exactly how hard to make the rubber. I decided to just reproduce the existing shape without trying to make it longer or more pointed.  Flexane can be combined with a third additive called "Flex-add" to make the product more flexible and "rubbery," but the only way to achieve the right hardness is by trial and error.

The first set of experiments was devoted to getting the right proportions of the three Flexane components using one-ounce condiment cups for testing.  I allowed several days for each cup to cure before subjecting them to toughness and hardness tests--including smashing them with a heavy hammer!  I finally came up with a combination that I thought would work.  

The only way to achieve the right hardness was by trial and error.  As you can see from the numerous test cups, there was a lot of error!   

Next I tried making molds in clay in which to form the rubber tips, but couldn't get a symmetrical shape. Because I had four of these to make I thought it might be cost-effective to make an aluminum mold.  Only problem was that I don't have a lathe or machining equipment . . . but I know somebody who does!   

Harold Williams is a fellow Car Table Guy (more about the Car Table in a later post).  He is also an avid builder of radio controlled vehicles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crHlnNX_HF0&feature=youtu.be), which means that he has the means, motive, and opportunity to machine all kinds of small parts out of aluminum. The mold I was looking for was just a simple cup, really, and I know he would have preferred something more challenging. But he did it anyway.

Making the mold in Harold Williams' shop.  All he asked in return was dibs on the first ride
in The Alfatross when it's finished!

Making the cast was easy.  I put a separator film inside the mold, mixed the Flexane formula, filled the mold, put the steel shaft in contact with the surface of the Flexane, and clamped it in place making sure it was vertical and stable. 

The finished mold and the first bump stop product.

Original bump stop (left) with the first example
made  with the new mold.  

Now all I have to do is make 3 more . . . and go on to the next rubber casting project.  This one was easy, given the shape of the part.  But there are some real challenges ahead.  It's a good thing Harold likes challenges . . . .

. . . And I Thought It Was Clean! (Post # 51)

The Alfatross has been at the Vintage Autocraft Spa for Collector Cars for about four months now getting massaged and pampered as never before. Vintage Autocraft's invoices list the on-going processes:

1. construct a body cart and transfer The Alfatross from its rotisserie.
2. remove the drip rails and clean off the filler
3. soak the hood latch mechanisms and restore functionality
4. install hood and deck lid to check fit
5. remove deck lid skin from frame for repairs, bead blast and epoxy prime frame.
6. clean corrosion from deck lid skin
7. remove door skins, blast frames and skins.  Repair rust on frames.  weld and re-drill door panel attaching screen holes to fit 2.9 mm screws
8. epoxy prime door frames
9. repair door skins 
10. Media blast and repair corrosion damage in left front wheel well by welding and grinding
11. Fabricate and weld small rust repair at base of left rear drip base and quarter window

The Alfatross gets a butt-lift:  One of the problem areas on the body was the trunk.  At some point in the past the trunk area was dinted and the trunk area just didn't match the contours of the body anymore.  This necessitated removing the steel frame from the aluminum skin and bringing everything back into alignment--not an easy job!  

Let's face it, the last 60 years has been pretty hard on all of us--Cars and people alike.  But unlike us people, in the hands of a skilled plastic--I mean body--surgeon like Tim Marinos The Alfatross can be restored to its former beauty and youthful appearance. 

The steel frame around the perimeter of the trunk lid was tweaked.  The way
 to straighten the frame was to remove the aluminum skin.  Ouch!   

The analogy with surgery on humans is apt: As the following images show, once the knife is applied and the skin peeled back it is not a sight for the faint of heart.  It's the sight of rust, not blood, that makes me cringe! 

The Alfatross' skeleton is made of mild steel with little or no corrosion protection applied by Alfa Romeo when it was built in 1955.  So the surgeon's first task is to expose and inspect elements of the skeleton.  Because the aluminum skin is wrapped around the steel skeleton the surgeon does not have the option of physically separating the body from the chassis for a "frame off" restoration.  Another complication is the fact that many of the elements of the skeleton are hollow: round- and square-section tubes that might look fine on the outside, but be hiding dangerous levels of corrosion inside.  

Repairing the corrosion inside the left front wheel well necessitates removal
of  the outer panel to expose the area behind it.

Corrosion inside the left front wheel well is a good example of how insidious this type of corrosion can be.  The exterior corrosion is obvious, but what lies behind it, inside the enclosed space?  You could just repair the exterior surface, but what if the corrosion is more extensive?  We want The Alfatross to last another 60 years, so let's do it right!  All the following images courtesy of Vintage Autocraft.

Here is the same area after "debriding" the corroded panel and affected areas
 hidden behind it--a good example of hidden damage that would have been an
even bigger problem later if only the outer panel had been treated.  

The same area following debridement and welding in replacement panels
with the appropriate contours.

The same area ground down and epoxy coated.  The outer panel still has to
be shaped, welded in, and epoxied.

Another example: The bottom of the radiator bulkhead on the right side
 showing the corroded panel .

The same panel in the radiator bulkhead after cutting out the corroded part
and welding in the replacement.  

It looks like The Alfatross will be at the Vintage Autocraft spa for a while. Tim has identified a lot of other areas on the chassis that need rust repair.  The doors, hood and trunk all have aluminum skins wrapped around steel skeletons--and the potential for corrosion in the hidden spaces between them.  

When all of that is finished the doors, hood, trunk, windows and trim will have to be test fitted to make sure they fit before moving on to the bodywork stage.  Keep those photos and descriptions coming, Tim!

Time for a Switch (Post # 50)

Now that the engine is in Arizona, the body in Tennessee, and the interior in Massachusetts, I can resume work on the various sub-assemblies such as the electrical system and its components.  The Alfatross came with six toggle switches.  Electrical appliances in those days were minimal:

1. Headlights and running lights
2. Dash and interior lights
3. Heater fan
4. Windshield wipers
5. Driving and fog lights
6. Electric fuel pump switch?

The Alfatross' six toggle switches were mounted "upside down"  beneath the dash.

The dashboard layout for one of the Alfatross' brethren shows only four toggle switches, with one of them operating the electric fuel pump.  

The switches themselves are a study in the evolution of automotive electrical engineering. Compared to today's solid-state, "no user serviceable parts inside" electrical switches and appliances these switches are prehistoric art. When I removed them from the dash I was surprised to see that their internal workings were completely exposed.  No attempt was made to shield the contacts from the elements or accidental short-circuiting.  But they are rugged in spite of each switch being made up of no less than 23 individual parts! They were deceptively simple-looking and fairly easy to disassemble (the toggles needed cleaning up and refinishing), but fiendishly difficult to reassemble.  It took hours for Jeff and I to figure out how to reassemble the first one, but only minutes for the rest.

An assembled switch.  All of the toggle switches
are open-sided and unprotected, like this one.
Even after 60 years they work perfectly.

Is it a switch or an example of industrial art?  Counting the
rivets and fasteners, there are at least 23 parts per switch!

Comparing the Alfatross' circuits and appliances with the electrical schematic in the repair manual for 1900C Super Sprints, revealed some important differences. The manual shows that one of the toggle switches activates the "auxiliary heater."  Being a race car with only basic creature comforts, The Alfatross had a simple heater and small electric fan, but no auxiliary heater. So what did that switch operate? I think the switch dedicated to that circuit now controls the driving and fog lights on either side of the central vertical front grill, but I will have to compare it with the actual wiring harness to be sure.  

Electrical schematic for the 1900C Super Sprint, the chassis modified by Zagato.  41 is the heater switch.  38 is the windshield wipers.  54 is the aux heater/driving and fog lights.  8 is the dash and interior lights.  9 is the headlights and running lights.

This list, along with the schematic drawings above, identifies all the electrical appliances in The Alfatross and provides hints to their location.

Another surprise gleaned from the repair manual schematic was the presence of an engine compartment light, "portalampada" on the list and 46 in the schematic. No. 47 is listed as the switch for the light, but it seems to be in the engine compartment rather than on the dash.  Perhaps it was a mercury switch.  The existence of this light was a complete mystery to me until I took the time to closely examine the list and schematic. A large, round hole in the aluminum plate that holds the Alfatross' fuse box to the firewall may have been for this light, but I still don't know exactly what it looked like.  

Can anyone out there in the Blogosphere give me a clue?  

   

The arrow points to what I think is the engine compartment light.  I found this image on the Internet and do not know which 1900 Z it is, but it is the only one I have ever seen that had a light under the hood.  The Alfatross has the same mounting plate on the firewall for the square fuse box to the right of the light, and a hole where the light should be, but no light.

Real? Or Really Real? (Post # 49)

With respect to Historically Important Automobiles there is a lot of talk about "authenticity" and "originality."  These are surprisingly tricky words.  I prefer to consider the concepts involved rather than the words, which don't have precise meanings.   

We're trying to keep The Alfatross original but there are a lot of areas where that is clearly impossible.  I think we can all agree that not having the original spark plugs is not too big a disappointment.  Ditto the tires, headlight bulbs, the oil in the crankcase, the gas in the tank, the air in the tires.  At the other end of the spectrum it wouldn't be asking too much for the car to have original paint, exterior trim, interior, engine, wheels, tool kit, and other similarly fundamental items.

Then there's all the bits and pieces in between that are iffy . . . .  

After almost 60 years most of the rubber grommets, seals, weather stripping, and gaskets have given up the ghost.  Of course you can't find replacements at your local NAPA parts supplier.  After 60 years even most stocks of rubber "new old parts" are no longer usable.  Face it: with the possible exception of weather stripping you're going to have to make your own rubber parts. 

Yes, there are a lot of rubber pars in a car, and a lot of different types of rubber to do very different jobs.  Most of it has a a very limited life span compared to metals and even plastics.

Fortunately, molding and casting are not new skills that I have to acquire.  There's a lot of that in archaeology, particularly with objects found in the sea. In warm, tropical waters iron decays rapidly. As it does so a chemical reaction occurs which causes minerals dissolved in seawater to precipitate on the surface of the object forming an encrustation.  Sometimes relatively small objects literally dissolve inside the encrustation, but not before creating a perfect natural mold.      

All you have to do is break the encrustation apart, clean out the black sludge that is all that is left of the original iron object, dry it, put it back together, and inject the cavity with an epoxy resin.  After letting the epoxy set you carefully clean the encrustation off the epoxy cast to reveal a perfect replica of the original object.  

These "artifacts" from a ship that sank in the Turks & Caicos Islands about 500 years ago are actually resin casts made from cavities inside natural molds of calcareous deposits that formed around the original artifacts.  The detail preserved in these natural molds is astonishing.

Here's where the real vs. really real dilemma pops up.  Are those epoxy casts not "real"?  The original object is a black, stinking paste. You could pour it into a jar and save it because it's "really real", but why?  Compare the "really real" jar of sludge with the epoxy cast.  The cast is so perfect that it often includes the first layer of rust that formed on the object when it fell into the sea.  It is far more faithful and authentic to the original object than other iron objects from the same site that dissolve inside their encrustations--but it isn't "real" according to the dictionary.  

The rocks on top of Sapodilla Hill in the Turks & Caicos Islands are covered with inscriptions featuring names, dates, ships, flags, and even buildings dating back as far as 1767.  We made molds and casts of many of them.to preserve the information they contain.   One of these rocks is the original.  The other is a cast.  Which is which?  

We do the same thing on land sites to record ancient inscriptions in stone. We make RTV rubber molds of the inscriptions in the field, then cast them in plaster reinforced with a polymer resin.  The casts are then more durable than the original stone.  We discovered that if you spray them with a thin water-based color coat and let it settle, details emerge that were never visible before.  But the inscription casts are not "real"--they are better than real!  

Back to The Alfatross and its rubber parts.  So molding and casting is no big deal--but there's a catch. Synthetic rubber parts come in all sorts of different compounds: hard, soft, oil-resistant, photo-sensitive, elastic, stiff, foamy, solid--you name it, the variety is endless. So one compound does not fit all.  
The compound has to match the job's requirements.

And that's not the only complication.  The original parts usually can't serve and the "positive" from which you can make a "negative" mold for the casting of the final part because after 60 years they are wrinkled, cracked, swollen, shrunken, or otherwise no longer faithful to the original part.  So you have to make a replica positive that you then use to make the negative mold from which you can a rubber positive.  It's a long, tedious process that's worth while when you are making multiple replica parts, but very inefficient for just one!

What happens to original parts over time and exposure to solvents and the environment.  All these parts are the same.  Only the second from right retains its shape and dimensions.

So I have a lot to learn, and it's going to take another post or several to explain what I've learned so far though a series of experiments.  One thing is clear already: if you can find a reliable source for decent rubber parts, BUY THEM!  Don't try to make them yourself unless there is no alternative!