Bobby's Motor Service

08/05/2025

Just as a follow-up. I closed after a couple years. The challenge of locating parts for uncommen (ish) 50 year old vehicles was interesting as was the work but the physical effort on my almost 70 yr old chassic was problematic.

02/20/2024

Winter up here in the northern part on New York State. I spent some time finalizing the CJ 5 project. The clutch release bearing I installed (it came with the Novak Adapter kit) was making a whining noise and had to be replaced. The customer also request a modifications to the side steps.

The 1946 Jeep CJ2a project has reached completion (wiring is done) and the vehicle will be headed to a body shop.

12/01/2022

Really dove into the deep end with Jeff's 1976 Jeep CJ5 project over the last few weeks! There is a video posted on YouTube showing the progress........

The first video in a series of restoring a 1976 CJ5 Jeep. In this video Bob removes the dashboard and the engine. Follow along as this restoration unfolds.

10/29/2022

Hello Facebook world! I moved to another location inside the building where I am working. I cleaned the area and set things up and hung tarps to contain the heat so I can work over the winter. Work has continued on the 1946 Jeep CJ2A, the chassis and frame are almost complete and the preliminary steps of setting the new body (called a “tub” in Jeep circles) has begun. While this has been going on I started taking the body off the next project a 1976 Jeep CJ5. Here are a few images of the new area and the projects.....

09/27/2022

The military Jeep project is coming to a conclusion hopefully tomorrow. Soon we will be getting on to another fun project and the owner wants to see his vehicle online!

09/05/2022

Good morning FB world. The customer with the Military Jeep has reconsidered having his vehicle featured here. This business always obtains prior approval before posting images or stories regarding customer's vehicles and if (in instances like this) the customer requested removal then it will be taken down.

08/27/2022

Nico drove the 1971 International 1 Ton pick-up for about 60 miles and a brake induced pull to the right. We drove it together and decided to meet at the shop and take the right front brake drum off. The brake shoes and assembly were fine so.....

Here is the thought process:

Symptom.... uneven braking after brake job.

Customers symptom confirmed.

Theory... new front brake shoes didn't seat evenly in the original brake drums.

Hypothesis.. Brake shoes and hardware are all fine and appear to be as installed. Brake drums don't turn particularly smoothly on either front wheel so turning (resurfacing) the drums is required.

The slight amount of play in the steering linkage seems to compound the problem.

Both front brake drums were resurfaced, the wheel bearing grease and seals were replaced at no cost to Nico.

08/17/2022

I met Tom and his wife at the Concours car show in Clayton and he contacted me about setting the valves on his Porsche 356 "Speedster" built in California on a VW Beetle chassis. It is a really great looking vehicle with all new components and he wanted to follow the builders recommendation regarding checking the valves at around 300 miles..... (Spoiler alert the exhaust valves were slightly tight after seating in!) Bobby's Motor Service also helped with "high stop / turn signal" wiring on his beautiful 1949 Chevy Pick-up.

08/15/2022

The initial work on Nico's truck has been completed and it was delivered on Saturday afternoon (8/13/22.) We took it out for a ride together and in Nico's words he is “stoked!” Along the way various motorists we encountered gave us the thumbs up and cool truck call-outs as we drove around Watertown. Lets back up a step and consider how we got to the point where Nico got his truck back …... The initial estimate contained three parts, a complete rebuild of the brake system, the only previous work being a new brake line from the front to the rear axle. Part two was a minor tune-up along with a compression test to ensure the basic engine is in a satisfactory condition (it was fine.) Part three was basic maintenance including changing the engine oil/filter, and the oil in the transmission and transfer case and both axles. There were discussions about the wiring …. it was / is pretty chaotic and the temperature gauge was not operating. So the first step involved taking the brakes apart and ordering parts. Two sets of front brake hoses, two sets of front wheel bearing seals, five front wheel cylinders, three sets of rear axle seals along with all the parts that actually fit the first time (the rear wheel wheel cylinders, the rear brake hose and the front and rear brake shoes fit the first time!) Thanks to Larry and Ty at Advance, Brad and Zack at Autozone and Randy at Standard/Napa. As the job progressed I found out a lot about 1971 International 1310 / One-ton pick up trucks. This one was originally specially ordered by the Milton Vermont Fire Department with a Two-ton Dana 70 HD rear axle. Once the brakes and maintenance were completed the tune-up caused some complications. At first the spark was weak so we upgraded and installed points, condenser, coil, cap and rotor. I drove it with Nico and it wouldn't accelerate properly so further work was required. When I measured the running voltage at the positive side of the coil and it was at full battery voltage instead of dropping down to six volts. The wiring diagram indicated a resistor wire was originally part of the factory wiring but it was gone. A new replacement ballast resistor from a 60's Mopar was purchased and installed and the ignition problem was resolved. Lastly the gauge pods were removed from the dash and the corrosion was cleaned off the printed circuit going to the temperature gauge. Nico is planning on driving the truck as much as possible and enjoy his new / old truck!

08/15/2022