Could Someone please educate me? The car came with the wiper assembly in a bag. I would like to know how the tubes are run and where they end up. I would also appreciate any information on vendors that supply interior trim, headliners and window and door seals, even bulk fabric that would go with the headliner.
Thanks
DK
Since Hampton Coach and Lebaron Bonney are gone there are no vendors who supply upholstery kits for prewar Cadillacs and Lasalles. As for bulk fabric, try SMS Auto Fabric in Oregon or Bill Hirsh www.hirschauto.com. For anything rubber including door seals try www.steelerubber.com.
I'll let someone else chime in on the routing of the vacuum lines. My Lasalle is not finished yet and those parts are packed away.
Unfortunately as Tom hinted at, your options for pre-war cars are extremely limited. So much so, that I fear it will be the death knell of any interest in collecting and preserving cars of that era from here on out. If someone were just getting into the hobby, I'd strongly recommend they get a survivor car in very good condition, buy a well maintained older restoration, have a professional trimmer available that has done one of these before, or a strong level of dedication from yourself to do all your own work.
In my case, I ended up doing all my own work. I'm glad I did in some ways, but I wouldn't ever do it again. Originally, it was my intention to buy a kit from LeBaron Bonney, but then they went belly up before I was ready to place an order for their interior kit. I was fortunate that everything was more or less intact enough in my car to make patterns from, even though it was clearly from a kit restoration dating to the 80s or 90s by my estimate. While it wasn't perfect, it was enough for me to recreate my interior from the best approximation materials I could track down. That included making door and trim panels completely from scratch, as well as headliner, sun visors, parcel shelf, and seat covers. It was a LOT of work and research, but it turned out fairly decently if I say so myself. Certainly better than what I had in the car when I bought it.
I can't emphasize enough about doing your research before you begin going down this path. Resources I employed were Restoration Specialties out of PA for all manner of things including antique windlace, coachlace (which I had to redye myself to match as best I could...not advisable if you can avoid it), and many other things. I wasn't happy with their fabrics for headliners. Even though they advertise their materials were a match for vintage fabrics, they are in fact some sort of modern obviously synthetic material...a strict no go for me. Same story out of another headliner supplier who I won't mention. They claimed the same thing (I suspect they are the company that supplies them for Restoration Specialties). Had to get my credit card company involved to get my money back out of that deal. I ended up getting cotton flannel material from Joann Fabrics to make my own using my old shredded headliner for a pattern.
I bought plain wool broadcloth from a seller off of Ebay to make all the coverings for the door and trim panels as well as the back of the front seat cover. By no means was it a match to factory cloth, but innocuous enough to not look blatantly wrong, though it is a bit more plain than what came originally in the car. I had searched for weeks from various fabric suppliers, and spent a bit of money ordering fabric swatches to see what the material looked like before committing to it. Wasn't an ideal choice, but I really couldn't find anything I liked better. Same mindset with the seat covers themselves. I ended up going with a Bedford Cord from Bill Hirsh. Again, not an ideal choice, but a far cry better than the awful microsuede cloth that was in the car when I got it. I also bought carpet from Hirsch. All in all, it took me almost three years to do the necessary research, assemble the materials, then fabricate everything. Granted, I took my time and did it in phases with months long gaps between, so I'm sure it could be done in a much shorter time than what I took to do it.
As you can tell, it takes a lot of study, legwork, patience, and diligence to take this all on, and even after all of that it's still not going to look factory original. Not trying to dissuade you, or remotely act like I'm an expert on the topic at all. It's just what my experience was in doing it, so take it for what it's worth.
Thanks Tom, just what i was looking for.
J, I will probably travel your path as far as restoring the interior panels and such but I won't attempt the headliner or seats. Your car looks great, you do nice work. I to am in no hurry as I'm retired and restoring is my hobby to keep me from going stir-crazy plus part prices are out of this world.
Thanks again to the two of you for the replies.
Take Care
DK
DKelly, Be very cautious with SMS fabrics. I have not ordered from them but these car club forums are loaded with bad experiences with them. They are the only one out there who supplies many fabrics needed and they behave like the monopoly that they are. To be fair, there are people who post about good experiences with SMS also. See the post in the discussion section now about the 1932 Lasalle carpet.
If nobody else posts about the wiper hose routing I will check my records to answer your question.
Jon, I think you posted pictures of your interior before but it turned out really nice.
Quote from: DKelly on April 28, 2022, 08:19:00 AM
Thanks Tom, just what i was looking for.
J, I will probably travel your path as far as restoring the interior panels and such but I won't attempt the headliner or seats. Your car looks great, you do nice work.
Thanks. Actually though, making the headliner wasn't really all that tough. You just have to be very careful with your measurements of the old one and take stretching into consideration. Installing it is where it gets hairy.
Quote from: Tom Boehm on April 28, 2022, 08:20:19 AM
DKelly, Be very cautious with SMS fabrics. I have not ordered from them but these car club forums are loaded with bad experiences with them. They are the only one out there who supplies many fabrics needed and they behave like the monopoly that they are. To be fair, there are people who post about good experiences with SMS also.
That's exactly why I haven't dealt with them up until now. I haven't check yet, but I think they may be the only ones that have the correct trunk lining material which I'm going to need. :-\
Quote from: Tom Boehm on April 28, 2022, 08:21:16 AM
Jon, I think you posted pictures of your interior before but it turned out really nice.
Thanks. Now that I've got it all back together I need to take some new ones which really show what it looks like.
Maybe Elon Musk can be persuaded to buy SMS Auto Fabrics and improve their service.
wiper pic
You have the early 1939 style wiper transmissions. They are the posts that go through the cowl. The wiper arms mount on these posts. There is a rubber seal that prevents water from leaking into the cowl that goes with these. Almost certainly available at www.steelerubber.com. My car has the late 1939 and 1940 style wiper transmissions in the picture. The vacuum line starts at the fuel pump. Travels on the left side of the engine past the steering column. Then there is a section of rubber hose linking it to the steel tube that goes through the firewall and up under the dash. Then another section of rubber hose links it to the wiper motor. The wiper motor screws to a permanently attached bracket up under the dash. The fenders and the dash are not on my car so it is easy to see this in the pictures. The rod on the wiper motor attaches to a knob mounted on the top center of the dashboard next to the glass. The knob moves the arm on the wiper motor via the rod and turns the wipers on. The on/off knob may be in the pile of hardware on the rag in your picture. It should be ivory colored plastic.
Here are more pictures. I was not sure I could put them all in one post. Let me know if you need more info or you have questions about these posts.
This is fantastic, I can't thank you enough for your effort. I was scratching my head on the steel tube that turned to rubber going through the firewall. Thanks for the link, i do need the rubber seals the others just crumbled in my hand.
Thanks again
DK
You may already know this but there is a rubber grommet with holes that covers the firewall hole where the steel tube goes through. Also there is at least one clamp that holds the tube to the firewall. I didn't get these out for the picture.
Is there such a thing as a bolt chart and location for this car?
Thanks
DK
Hi, I doubt that such a thing was even thought of. The workmen at that time more or less "knew" all of this stuff before they started the job. A Master Parts list will list the bolt sizes, etc. however. The reprinted ones from Faxon Auto lit.com should go back far enough for your year car. (1941-1947 Cadillac)
One thing, no matter how "bad" the plastic is for your starter button and other ancillary items for the heater/radio, etc, KEEP them. They are impossible to find and priced to the moon when you do find them.
Treat your grille with care as they are hard to find now as well. Good luck.
The simple answer is no. I am familiar with a lot of primary factory literature sources and I have never seen that. What exactly do you need? Were the bolts to your car mixed up in a bag when you got your car or are certain bolts missing? Tell us more about your car. Post some pictures. What are you plans for it? I have a 1940 Lasalle. 1939/1940 Cadillac and Lasalle are very similar.
I was mainly looking for the length of the timing cover bolts.
Thanks for the replys
DK
Barry Wheeler had a better answer to your question. The Cadillac Master Parts List book 1935-1949 does list ALL parts including bolts and sometimes sizes of bolts. I will look up timing cover bolts in the book to see if it lists them. The info is just not in easy to find chart form.
According to the Parts Book "Screw, Engine Front cover" section 8.0444
9 needed hex head common head common end bolt 5/16"-18 x 7/8"
1 needed " " 5/16"-18 x 2 7/8"
I only counted 8 short ones on mine. After comparing to the picture in the book, I seem to be missing the long one. There is only a hole there.
I suspect there are 9 bolts total and that is a small error in the book.
Thanks Tom, I have 9 holes including the long one.
DK
Question: Should the dash be installed before the windshield rubber trim and glass, or after, or dosen't it matter? Also can the headliner be installed after the windshield?
Thanks
DK
Hello DKelly, the glass goes in last. The headliner tucks in behind the windshield frame. The dashboard screws are under the windshield frame.
Great; Thanks again Tom much appreciated.
DK
This is probably a rediculous question/rquest. Is there a laidout wiring harness labeled for this car?
Yes I was born this way.
Thanks
DK
I'm not sure what you are asking. There is a schematic wiring diagram in the service manual. Reproduction wiring harnesses are available for your car from Y n Z, Rhode Island wiring, and others. A new/repro one comes with the terminals labeled and instructions on where they go. I note a hint of frustration in your post. Are you stumped with an electrical problem?
I used a wiring harness fron YNz in my 37 60 series,i was amazed at how well it fit,when i had it in place the wires just seemed to fall into the spot they were to go.If you do a new harness,take pictures of the old one before you remove it and take note of where and how it fits around the dash and steering column.They are not cheap,but they are worth every penny.Also we love pictures,got any of your car?. harveyb
Thanks for the replys, Tom I'm just not very bright when it comes to elecrical. My harness came in a basket. I was hoping to duplicate it myself. The rear harness is pretty simple. The previous owner added wires or spliced some I think. I will have to wing it when it comes to routing. I was hoping for someone to have one laid out like i have labled, I knew it was a long shot. I am keeping the car 6v and am very confused with the wire color, the wires all seem to be the same color and different guages. My thumbnail pic is what the car use to look like, it is gutted now I am doing a frame off restoration. I have put the body back on and painted some parts and door jams. Trying to pull the trigger for a headliner, got a sample from the company everyone seems to complain about, hense my hesitation to pull the trigger. I would be truley lost if it was not for this site and you guys who respond to my posts,thanks again.
My advice would be to buy a reproduction wiring harness and save money somewhere else. Especially if you are not electric savy. The original correct wiring colors won't be faded or dirty on the new one. Each terminal will be labeled on the new one with instructions as to where they go.
My philosophy on restoration is do not skimp on things that need to be done when the car is apart. These things are more difficult and more expensive to to again later when the car is together. For example, make chrome your last priority to spend money on because that is the easiest thing to take off and do after the restoration is complete.
Also, did you check out www.hirschauto.com for headliner fabric? They have a lot of fabric appropriate for pre war cars on the website.
Thanks for the replys
DK
Caddy Daddy's website, and Steele Rubber, or Rubber the Right way may have some rubber options for you and maybe a few other things, not much tho.
Last bothersome post for awhile. Can someone point me to a service manual or chart that tells me the wire guage and color code for this car. I can't see the tracer color on the wire. I have someone who will make a harness for me, I guess the guage and what it's for is the important one. I think I read somewhere that a color service manual exists, but my 70 year old brain dosen't retail much anymore.
Thanks
DK
Rockauto has the copy of the shop manual,the wires are hard to tell apart,colorwise.I made one for my 37 wgen i first restored it,i was able to score an aftermarket harness a couple of years later,we did use the original one as a guide,there is a lot of wire in them,the wiring diagram is not to scale,it just shows where they go,not how they fit?. good luck with it. harveyb
Color wiring charts ---
https://classiccarwiring.com/collections/cadillac-lasalle
I have not heard of a color service manual for '39 and '40 Cad/Lasalle. On the other hand I did not know the colored wiring diagrams existed either like in a previous response. That is just what you asked for but they don't list one for 1939 Cadillac. I can't say if 1938 or 1940 would be useful.
Hmmm, did not look carefully enough to see the '39 isn't listed --- I would give them a call (888)606-5319
and see what they have to say. I have gotten diagrams from them for a '42 Cadillac and a '50 Packard.
The 39 shop manual will get you most of it. There is a general connection diagram and then spread out in various illustrations the gauge and tracing colors are noted at connection points. Takes some work because it is not all on one drawing.
Thanks for the replys.
Brad, Which manual are you referring to, I see a couple of different one cheap and not so cheap.
Will this one work from rock?
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/cadillac,1939,series+61,5.7l+346cid+v8,123898,literature,repair+manual,10335
35-709, Thanks, I have called them and am waiting for a response.
DK
Cadillac LaSalle Shop Manual 1939. This is a reprint of the original. Originals have much better pictures and are worth it when you compare the price to everything else you will be buying. Body manuals are not real good for 39 but anything helps. The next thing to purchase is a parts book. CLC Authenticity Manual has a lot of info in it. Not just judging info.
Can anyone tell me how the fuel sending unit wire is run?
Thanks
DK