The Initial Freshening
Go to <Last, Summary, Next>Engine—A Florin On The Flywheel!
 The Kissel Model 6-55 advanced six-cylinder engine |
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| FLORIN: After removing a cover plate to expose the TDC timing mark on the flywheel (left) Lynn discovers an Australian Florin soldered to the back of the cover plate (right). |
After removing the distributor from the car, it takes Lynn several days to figure out how to determine TDC (top dead center) for the engine. TDC is the position of the crank shaft and cam shaft where the piston in cylinder #1 is at the top of its compression stroke. This position (plus or minus a few degrees) is where the spark plug for cylinder #1 needs to fire. Four stroke engines need two revolutions of the crank shaft to complete one cycle of the engine (intake, compression, power, exhaust) so unambiguously determining TDC can be tricky. TDC needs to be determined precisely so that valves, cylinders and spark work in unison. The manufacturer of the engine will install some kind of mark to designate this position -- where is it on Bugsby?
After removing the floor boards and a number of inspection plates on the flywheel cover, Lynn finally discovers the TDC mark. Much to his surprise, he also discovers that a large silver coin has been soldered to the back of this cover plate to help keep it centered in the inspection hole. Lynn does not know what kind of coin this is or what year it was issued as the date must be on the side soldered to the plate. Lynn excitedly emails a picture of it to Bill Trollope, the previous owner. Bill reports that he was unaware of the coin on the engine and tells Lynn that it is a silver Australia Florin, a two Shilling coin used before Australia converted to a decimal monetary system in the early 1960s.
Florins were issued in Australia from 1910 to 1963. This Elizabeth II florin was issued from 1953 through 1963 in honor of Queen Elizabeth II who became queen after the death of King George VI in 1953. But Lynn can narrow the year of Bugby's florin to 1953 or 1954 because this coin does not bare the religious title F:D: (Defender of the Faith) after Elizabeth's name. Apparently this caused such a controversy when the coin was originally issued that the title was added to the coins issued after 1954.
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Last updated: May 24, 2009