Page 414 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

This was a very detailed project and we couldn’t have done it without Phil. He had the knowledge and experience and passion for working on the older stuff because he worked out of Willits for years.
– Duane Doyle Sr., owner & CEO, Peterson-Cat
The transmissions were the ultimate test of skill and patience on the entire Twin project—certainly the most frustrating. Once the two transmissions were rebuilt and ready to install, Robbins found that one just wouldn’t fit. “The midrange 2U trans- missions were different than later models. Two of the shafts were a quarter-inch closer together than on later models. When it wouldn’t go in, I pulled that one back out and started measuring. And the center line on two of the shafts was a quarter-inch different. The transmissions were identical, but the cases were wrong.” Robbins ended up driving back up to Akin’s boneyard and rummaging around un- til he found one that measured correctly.
They had considered line-boring the case to make it fit but finally opted for the less risky Plan B— starting all over again. “We disassembled a good
portion of the left side of the machine and re- placed the transmission case. We had to step back- ward so we could start all over and move forward,” explains Nate King, Santa Rosa’s product support manager and store manager at the time. “When I heard that,” says Spencer, “I was literally sick to my stomach. Not as sick as they were because they had to split that machine apart and get another frame. It was a complete main-frame assembly all over again.”
(L-R) Ron Spencer, Ed Akin and Duane Sr. consulting drawings and specs of the Twin D8 in the San Leandro shop in 2105
THE SAME ONLY DIFFERENT
Although the current Twin was built off of Buster’s original drawings, some improvements were add- ed. The partners decided to incorporate some new- er ideas that hadn’t yet been introduced back in Buster’s time. Given his constant pursuit of “bet- ter,” they felt Buster would have done the same.
After studying the original drawings from 1949, Akin was still unclear about how Buster had tied the two machines together mechanically. He final- ly concluded that Buster hadn’t. “I figured out that we could tie the two inside brake drums together very simply by making a short shaft that’s normally
Phil Robbins & a buddy with the Twin D8 in Santa Rosa
412 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG