1961 Cadillac Restoration: Sweating for the wedding?

[savemy67]

Andrew,

The powder coat over the machined surface of the yoke may have added a few thousandths to the diameter.  This would probably not be a problem for the transmission's rear seal, but the larger diameter may have been a problem for the extension housing bushing.  Before you install the driveshaft with the cleaned-up yoke, look inside the extension housing of the transmission with a bright light and check the condition of the bushing.  The powder coating may have prevented the yoke from fitting into the bushing, and you want to be sure the bushing is not damaged.  When you took out the driveshaft after hammering it in, was the powder coating on the yoke damaged?  If so, there may be bits of powder coating or bushing waiting to be circulated in the transmission fluid.  Be sure to clean out the extension housing and replace the bushing if it is damaged.

Christopher Winter

[Andrew Trout]

Bolts came back from plating today. We put the backing plates around the heater box. You can also see the heater hoses w/ the 90º bend in them secured with corbin clamps. The clamp that secures the ignition coil is ready to be secured in place as well. There was a bit of debate between my Dad and I over the correct color for the ignition coil clamp. I thought it was supposed to be gold cadmium, while my Dad insisted it was zinc. According to the authenticity manual, it's zinc. Whoops!



While I was bolting the backing plates on, my Dad cleaned up the yoke. He took the powder coating off and then used a buffing compound to bring the yoke to a nice machined shine. We sprayed some brake cleaner inside the yoke to clean out any last bits of rust/debris, and lubed it up with automatic transmission fluid. Then we covered up the yoke with a sandwich bag crawled under the car (ugh. My kingdom for a lift in the garage.) to install it.



And we were successful! The driveshaft is now installed. There wasn't any damage to the bushings or seals in the transmission, and it slid in oh-so-smooth. So once we get the engine firing, we can actually drive the car out of the garage! Steering...well, that's for this afternoon.  Just need to put the drag link arm and tie rods on. Hell, maybe the steering wheel too. I'm guessing that using a pair of vice grips isn't the best idea.

I saw the painted dashboard parts and man they're beautiful. Paint was expensive as hell though. My Dad bought white cotton gloves for us to wear when we install it. That won't be for a few more weeks, but I'll grab some photos of the parts before and during the install.

[DeVille68]

very nice! Thanks for sharing! 

[Andrew Trout]

It's been a while! Over the past few weeks we've done the following:

• Generator mounting bracket and generator are installed. 
• Hood hinges are back from getting re-plated, and we installed the springs on them. Springs are powder coated black. To put the springs on, my Dad would hold onto the hinge while it was in a vise clamp. Then I'd pull on the spring with vise grips to get it to the hook. Nothing like some good old brute force.
• Pitman arm is on the power steering box, and the drag link is installed along with the tie rods. We ran some fluid through the power steering box and are able to turn the wheels without issue. Feels great to turn that massive steering wheel.
• Exhaust crossover is back on the car, as we removed it while installing the steering.
• Distributor is installed, and engine is at TDC
• Clip for coil is installed, but we need to find the screw that pinches the base together before putting the coil in.
• Transmission dipstick tube is installed, and we put fluid in the transmission
• Speedometer cable is installed
• Linkages from transmission to carb and throttle to carb are installed
• Shifter linkage is plated and ready to be installed
• Painted slush guard for transmission, that will be installed after the linkage is done and working
• The remaining nuts for the heater box are installed
• We connected the hard line from the master cylinder to the rest of the brake lines. The flexible lines are waiting, we ran out of time on Saturday

Next Saturday we're heading out to Buffalo to meet up with the President of the WNY CLC Club who has a 1961 that's all original, never restored. We'll be doing a bunch of photographing and documenting to fill in the gaps that we have on how everything is supposed to look and fit together.

In the next month or so we're hoping to get the engine firing and have the dashboard installed, the car back on four wheels along with a fair amount of the front end fenders/splash guards installed.

[Andrew Trout]

My Dad put the front flexible brake lines on during the week, and was talking about it with a friend across the street. Bleeding the brakes came up, and the conversation quickly turned into 'Yeah, you have to bleed them.'

So in order to bleed the lines, we had to get the rear wheels off.


The way the car is parked in the garage, the rear bumper was underneath a window frame. So we have to uh, modify the frame a bit in order to jack up the back of the car and put it on jack stands to bleed the brakes. Chisel, hammer, jigsaw. All in a days work I guess.



The tires are not original to the car, my Dad put new ones on in the late 70's. But they really haven't been off since then. The tire iron worked okay for all but one of the lug nuts, so we switched to a breaker bar and had better luck.



Little dirty, but we got the wheel off. This necessity of bleeding the brakes was for the best as the tires were dry rotted. My Dad will get the old tires removed, the wheels sandblasted and powder coated, and the new Genera Dual 90's we bought put on. Lucky for us, my Dad has a TDI Jetta SportWagen so it's easy to haul this stuff around, and he gets great mileage to boot!



During the bleeding I'd stay inside the car pumping/pressing the brake pedal, and my Dad would go to each wheel and bleed the brakes. The fluid in the rear lines was old, so it's good we're replacing it.



We went around five times. The lines are bled, and the pedal is plenty firm.



We also put in some more front end parts. The core support is in place, along with some of the panels and the horns. You can see the hood hinge to firewall brackets are on the firewall, and one of the hinges is resting on the cowl. Once the fenders are in place, we can install the hinges. Springs were powdered coated, and the hinges themselves were re-plated gold cad.



We also put some more of the exhaust in. The part that loops over the rear axel won't go unless we raise the car more, so that might wait until further down the restoration road. If you're looking at the engine compartment photos and think something is missing, you're right. We've pulled part of the wiring harness and sent it off to be inspected/repaired and what goes were to be better identified, along with getting a generator harness made up.

In order to put the splash guards in we'll need to drill out the holes on the fenders and rubber guards a little bit to fit the stainless steel rod we're using as staples. So fenders and splash guards are in the coming weeks. Once the rear wheels come back we should be able to drop this down onto four wheels. Interior should go back in next month. We need to mask off and paint the steering column, and install the dashboard along with the sound insulation before then. Then the body shop will install the carpet, door panels, kick panels, seats, and sills. Well, I'll probably try and help if they'll let me. 

[DeVille68]

nice. Thanks for sharing! 

[Rob Troxel]

Thanks.  We should all pay better attention to the brake fluid in our cars.  Yes it need to be changed more often than we do!  The fluid is a magnet for moisture and literally can rust lines from the inside out.  I do my cars on a 4 year cycle.

Thanks for the progress updates.  Much better for me to be a bystander.

[Andrew Trout]

More front end work this weekend:



Battery tray has been installed. Ours was rusted out, so we bought a new one from McVey's, along with the hold down clip.



We also added on the backing plates for the headlights and the bumper braces. Everything's going on 'loose' right now and will be snugged up once we get a few more cross-bracing parts for the grill installed. The fenders are partially collapsed so there's a little bit of pushing and leaning into the fenders to get panels to fit correctly. Between old bolts, powder coated parts, and said old bolts being replated, there are some bunged threads that need to be chased or have a tap run through them. It's usually not a big problem if you remember to be be patient and not try to force things together.



Backside of the panels is looking good as well. This is one of my least-favorite areas to work as I have to fit myself around the brake drum, and usually whack my funny bone getting in/out of here.



Hood latch is in place as well. When trying to put everything back together...it's a process. We're comparing photos of Jerry Puma's 1961 sedan, our teardown, the master parts book, and other Cadillac photos I've found from forums and blogs. Then it's trying to find the right size bolt(s). The critical eyes will notice we screwed up on this part, as the bolts aren't the right ones. So we'll need to fix that next weekend. Like I said, everything's going in 'loose' right now, so it's a lot easier to swap out bolts when we find our mistakes.



As you've probably noticed, the radiator is in place as well. That was actually one of the first parts we had rebuilt, so we'll need to touch up the paint on it. Also, it's much easier to work with the radiator when you don't have to lean over the front bumper and grill to reach it.



So here's where the car stands now. Sorry for the soft focus in this photo, it was pouring on Sunday and I didn't want to stand in the rain any longer than necessary.

But the Cadillac is at a point where my fiancée keeps saying "Oh, hey! I can see what you put on this time!" so you know we're making good progress. Hopefully the rear wheels will be powder coated by the end of this week. If they are, we can make one last trip under the car and then drop it down on to four tires for the first time in literally years! 

[Rob Troxel]

Impressive work!  Quality all the way.  Thanks for the update.

[savemy67]

Andrew,

Nice work!  I like the fact that this is a father-son project.  Do you have a mental or written check-list for when you fire the engine?

Christopher Winter

[DeVille68]

nice.
Do you plate the bolts by yourself?

Best regards,
Nicolas

[Andrew Trout]

Andrew,

Nice work!  I like the fact that this is a father-son project.  Do you have a mental or written check-list for when you fire the engine?

Christopher Winter

Thanks! We've really enjoyed working on it together. Yes, we have a check list on firing the engine.

nice.
Do you plate the bolts by yourself?

Best regards,
Nicolas

Nope. We found a place in Rochester that does the plating. It's about $20 a 'rack' (no idea how big the rack is). Several bolts were seized so we had to cut them during the tear-down phase. We've replaced some with purchases from Lowe's, and we bought some from a parts car as well.

[Andrew Trout]

Hood release installed. It works great, too.



I put the air cleaner housing on for grins and giggles. We pulled the radiator out to installed the overflow hose and touch up the paint on it. We've also put in the voltage regulator and the housing for the washer fluid jar.



The bumper brackets are all installed, and we were going to put the splash pans in the bumper until we didn't have the right hardware. But we took the opportunity to clean up the bumper some more.



Cotton disc on the grinder and some buffing compound worked great. The chrome on the bumper is actually in really good shape for being as old as it is.



Then it was time to put the rubber splash guards on the inner fender wells. Oh boy. The master parts book showed where they should go, and there's still some markings on the inner fenders from where the factory rubber was. But...no clips/staples. What do to!?


1.5" of stainless steel welding rod


Put the .5" wide pliers in the post vise.


Some delicate and precise hammering...


And you've got a staple that will work in theory.


Of course theory and execution are two vastly different things, especially when it comes to working on classic cars. In summation: I hate this part. Hell for Cadillac owners is having to clean grills and install these staples for all of eternity.


But we got the passenger side fender installed and loosely secured, so that's great news.

We still need to do the rest of the passenger side, plus the drivers side (sad faces all around) along with some flaps that go below the headlight backing plates. And speaking of those...



Passenger side headlights. Driver's side is still under construction.

We got the rear wheels and drum back from powder coating, and took those over to the local mechanic to get the rear tires mounted. Those should be done today most likely, so we can get the car back on four wheels this coming weekend if we're lucky.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Coming together very nicely.

[Andrew Trout]

Driver's side inner fender well went in over the weekend. We refined the staples process a bit and it went much better. Gotta love those learning curves, huh?



Of course, installing the fender in the car is still a huge pain in the butt, especially with those wonderful finned brake drums in place.



We also put the upper and lower radiator hoses in place and secured them with 2 1/16" tower clamps. They fit great over the radiator, and we couldn't get them over the barb on the water pump. So, calling Fusick on Monday to see if they have a larger (2 1/4"?) tower clamps.



With the driver's side inner fender wells in place, we were able to install the hinge on that side as well.



The original cowl was cracked, so we installed a new one from Rubber The Right Way.



In case anyone's curious, the washers are gold cadmium.



So here's the engine bay as of 6/13/15. The passenger hinge and the back side of the passenger inner fender are waiting until we get the power antenna motor installed.



Next week is the splash aprons that go below the headlamps, and then hopefully the bumper and grill will go into place as well. That's going to be a little tricky as the fenders are slightly collapsed so there's not enough width to get the cross braces that go above and below the grill into place right now. That's probably going to require a little bit of pushing and leaning into the fenders to get everything to fit.

[Bill Young]

Beautiful work! , It was great seeing You at Charlie Reidel's cruise night tonight. Remember only the Speedometer cable goes thru that hole in the firewall and it passes thru a standard small grommet .
Sincerely , Bill Young

[DeVille68]

very nice! 

[Andrew Trout]

Bumper splash aprons went on while my Dad double-checked that we had the right nuts, bolts and washers. Getting them into place required a little gentle persuasion, but it worked out in the end.


Backside of the bumper. You can see we used new hardware to secure the splash aprons into place. The old stuff was in bad shape. We weren't sure the easiest way to put the bumper back on, so we opted to reserve the steps from when we took it off. We also coated the nuts and bolts in Never Seez so we wouldn't need a blow torch to remove the bumper in the future.


To install the bumper, I picked it up and held it in place while my Dad put a couple of bolts into place on the far edges. I wore welding gloves as the edge of the bumper started to cut into my hands. And yes, it did get heavy after a while.


To get the rest of the bolts in on the edges, we used a jack to raise the bumper up enough to slide the bolts through the holes in the bumper and on the braces. The bolts around the license plate were much easier to get into place.


We hugged after this. The bumper was taken off November 19, 2011. So...it's been a while. But now, even to the untrained eye, it looks like a car.

My parent's had a new driveway put in last week, and the crew had a couple of old salts who were 'oooing' and 'aahhhhing' over the Cadillac. My mother got annoyed and closed the garage doors as they were supposed to be working on the driveway, not gawking at the car. My Dad opened up the doors later on though. 


We also put the cowl-to-fender braces on. You can't see it, but we also got 2 1/4" tower clamps from Fusick (free of charge!) for securing the radiator hoses to the water pump. We also filled up the the radiator. We opted to use Evans Waterless Coolant for the engine based on Jay Leno's Garage reviews. Very pricey stuff, but it's life of the engine.


And put the vintage plate we bought off eBay in the front bumper. We also have the plate for the rear bumper and the yellow tag on it. My Dad and I are amazed at how good these plates look. They seem to have never been used before. No screw marks or washer imprints. Either they sat in a garage since 1960 that or the seller fixed up some old ones really nicely.


Probably my favorite photo so far from this restoration. 

We wanted to put the passenger-side headlamps in, but we don't have the screws to hold the trim piece in place. So that will wait until fourth of July weekend (I'm out of town this coming weekend). All of the transmission linkage is hooked up, so once we get the headlamps in we can put the front wheels on the car and drop it onto four wheels.

Yes, we're missing a horn. It turns out it wasn't the correct fan, so we bought a used one from Doug Kielian who's parting out a 1961 sedan. We also bought a bunch of other parts off of that sedan as well, so they should be showing up this week.

We called up McVey's about the dome to our fuel pump. The fuel pump was original to the car and had 'AC' stamped on it. Our rebuilt one does not, and we're trying to buy a dome that says 'AC' from them.

Anyway! Things are moving along nicely, and we should be 'done' by early August. Cross your fingers guys, we're going to need all the luck we can get in July!   

[Dan LeBlanc]

Unless your original AC fuel pump cap is in really bad shape, you can swap them over.

[Bill Young]

A word to the wise regarding Hood installation. You will notice that there are removable panels toward the rear of the inner fender shields. These are there so you, while on your back can access the bolts for the Hood Hinges.  Place the Hood on the Car in the down position carefully after starting the Bolts in place securing the Hood to the Hinges so You don't damage the Hood or the car and position it front to back and side to side correctly. Then on your back tighten all the bolts holding the Hood to the hinges and the hinges to the Firewall. I Hope this helps.