Well here we go....Found this car at auction mixed in a 400 plus lots of art work, photos, etc.....
I'm going to post pictures every once in awhile to highlight problems and to ask for direction to fix the problems.....
These are from a few days ago as I was waiting for the delivery of the car....finishing up the top on the brand X car,....clearing the decks, sharpening the axe and getting ready for an exciting project....big sandblaster ready to go...4' X 4' X 6'....probably not big enough for those big fenders....
Thanks in advance for joining in!!
Mike
More pictures from the eastern front....
I pulled alot of raccoon and possum crap out before these pictures...
I also found a previous resident who isn't with us any more....
Mike
Looks like you are going to need all that space to get the job done.
Like the "double" Sandblasting cabinet. Allows a friend to assist in holding parts.
Bruce. >:D
Here are some parts that came with the car.....
The doors were tagged as from a LaSalle Hearse and it said these should be used for their window regulators....
The convertible top is mostly gone....all that's left is a section that was fabricated to just cover the front seat...complete with the rear window right behind the drivers head....
Those hard to find convertible sedan window posts were in the car!...
If you pirate a big chunk of the convertible top mechanism, why not take these??
Mike
More pictures from today...
I thought the floors weren't too bad.....only holes were in the corners near the rear fenders....
Seat springs, front and back, were also in decent shape....
The last oil change was 700 miles ago but it was done almost 60 years ago!!......I pulled the dip stick it looked clean and full with no water in it...
I wonder if that old garage is still there?....
Mike
Could the top frame you got with the car be from a convertible coupe?
Quote from: Tom Boehm on November 26, 2019, 06:13:19 PM
Could the top frame you got with the car be from a convertible coupe?
It could be Tom, they tried to rig it to those convertible sedan window posts....soon I'll take a picture of it in place....I bet it won't be pretty.....the car must have looked like a weird power boat going down the street.....
Mike
When I get an old barn find in, I try to figure out why it got parked decades ago....
The 1934 LaSalle, looking back now, it was obvious....somebody went trail riding with the car and they broke off the bottom of the exhaust manifold....Park it over there, it's too much work...and there it sits for decades...
This 1939....I can't tell yet....but look at this water plug that has been removed (picture)....why take that out?...Is that a hint as to why it was parked 60 years ago?
Mike
I have the shop manual on order and I thought I read somewhere on how to take the battery out of the car.....
Wow I thought the 1955s were tough....I had no way to pull that battery out but straight up....cable made a nice handle.....
Don't try this at home kids......see pictures.....60 plus year old battery that I had to wrap in duct tape to hold it together.....good core though.
I guess you have to turn the front wheel hard right to get access to the battery....but it's inside a box!.....I wish I had the shop manual...
Mike
Nice car,i always liked the 39's better then the 37's, but i guess beggars cant be choosers.On my 37 the hole that is in your motor is where the temperature sender is on my motor?,my engine is a 37,not sure if the 39's were the same or not,does the motor in yours turn over?.Years ago i had a battery carrier just like yours,it was a plastic strap with 2 metal washer type hooks that grabbed the post to lift the battery,bought it someplace,wish i had it for removing the battery in mine now. GoodLuck Harveyb
Quote from: harvey b on November 27, 2019, 02:40:46 PM
Nice car,i always liked the 39's better then the 37's, but i guess beggars cant be choosers.On my 37 the hole that is in your motor is where the temperature sender is on my motor?,my engine is a 37,not sure if the 39's were the same or not,does the motor in yours turn over?.Years ago i had a battery carrier just like yours,it was a plastic strap with 2 metal washer type hooks that grabbed the post to lift the battery,bought it someplace,wish i had it for removing the battery in mine now. GoodLuck Harveyb
I figured the motor was going to be stuck so I pulled the spark plugs and they all looked pretty clean....not all oil fouled like I expected....
In each plug hole I poured some of my witches brew ....ATF...acetone...PB Blaster...let it soak in...
I then put the car on the lift...boy did my lift groan lifting this monstrosity.....Once up, I was happy to see a nice flywheel cover...took that off and then got my pry bar and gently started to turn that flywheel...(picture)....Not going all cave man on it....nice and easy.....
I was surprised that it moved right away....I figured it would stuck solid right away....10-15 teeth and I hit a spot that was sticking...not solid stuck but spongy...I figured its stuck at a valve....I left the pressure on and then I heard a click, not loud but we started to move again....I kept going until I hit another spongy spot...this one I can't get thru just yet....Tonight & Tomorrow more witches brew, and we start again.....
so far so good....
Mike
Mike, Sounds exciting to get some movement. I agree on the spongy resistance being in the valve train. I've tried the ATF and acetone and will have to add some PB next time around. I predict it will be running soon. Have a nice Thanksgiving and keep us posted.
Harry
I suggest you reverse direction & then go back & forth.
Quote from: harry s on November 27, 2019, 09:49:50 PM
Mike, Sounds exciting to get some movement. I agree on the spongy resistance being in the valve train. I've tried the ATF and acetone and will have to add some PB next time around. I predict it will be running soon. Have a nice Thanksgiving and keep us posted.
Harry
Thanks Harry.....It's fun to get back into the fight again!!
When I started to use the pry bar I put a yellow crayon mark on the flywheel, at about 6 o'clock.....not it's at 12 o'clock...
Quote from: Bob Hoffmann CLC#96 on November 27, 2019, 09:54:14 PM
I suggest you reverse direction & then go back & forth.
Yep Bob, took that advice and went the other way and it's stuck again in both directions at about 15 teeth each way......I can't get back to the original 6 o'clock mark....the sticking is starting to move around at different points on the flywheel.....again all spongy valve train type feel.
So I went nuts with the witches brew....ATF, acetone, PB....filled each spark plug hole....alot down the carb....I'm hoping to get to those intake valves on the top side.....By the time I was done the brew was coming out of the broken exhaust pipe under the motor....
Mike
As I wait for the witches brew to work I went to work at the rear brakes....their dragging and I cant adjust them off the hubs....It's hard enough to push and pull this car back and forth with the brakes dragging....
You guys remember a couple of years ago I bought that wheel puller for the rear hubs on the 34 LaSalle....friends of mine said that's a nice tool but you'll never use that again....wrong !!....Today it got a workout....
6 lug nuts on each wheel and to my surprise the hub is keyed onto the axle...dragged out the wheel puller and WA-la off the hubs came.....
My short term goals for the car are to get it running....moving and stopping.....Running and moving are bogged down right now, so I can get the brakes ready to stop this thing someday...
I can get the shoes relined locally.....where can I get the spring kits, wheel cylinders, master cylinder??.....my usual suppliers websites say they have everything except for the series 75s??
The 3 rubber hoses I can get from Brake Hoses Unlimited in Mi....I can bend up the steel brake lines myself.......where do I get those other things??
Check out the pictures I took today of the puller and the brakes and the axle....
Mike
With regard to the brakes......
I can get the shoes relined locally.....where can I get the spring kits, wheel cylinders, master cylinder??.....my usual suppliers websites say they have everything except for the series 75s??
Mike
Good news!! The motor really broke free today....
Flywheel rotated in both directions nicely with only a little pinch in one spot....nothing major...no real sticking points are left...
I drained the oil pan of all the ATF, acetone & PB Blaster....had to be 3 gallons in there....I really eyeballed the draining pan....I saw no coolant and nothing unusual accept some gloppy stuff coming out at the end....
I then put a quart of Kerosene, 5 quarts of Marvel Mystry Oil and a quart of ATF into the motor oil fill......
I wanted to spin the motor with the starter to listen for any weird clunks or clanks....none were heard....It just sounds like slow turning 6 volt motor....Starter is pretty much shot, but I rigged up the battery charger to throw 12 volts into it to get it to turn.....just the starter and just for 10 to 15 second blasts....
You 346 experts can chime in and tell me if I'm ok thinking that the oil pump will pull my new MMO mixture up to keep the motor going in that good unstuck direction....
Was a good day today.....but lots has to be done now to get it running on its own....
Mike
Good news. Spin the motor as you're doing & see if it shows oil pressure on the gauge.
Re the brakes:
How much meat on the shoes? If there's a lot, use them as is. You'll never wear them out. And I'm sure they're quality material. Hone the wheel cylinders & MC. Replace all rubber hoses. You may have to replace all brake lines. Clean & lube all moving parts. Clean up drums. No need to turn them.
Bob
Rear axle: is the axle shaft straight and not conical? If yes, this is why there is a key.
Quote from: Bob Hoffmann CLC#96 on December 03, 2019, 09:54:57 PM
Good news. Spin the motor as you're doing & see if it shows oil pressure on the gauge.
Re the brakes:
How much meat on the shoes? If there's a lot, use them as is. You'll never wear them out. And I'm sure they're quality material. Hone the wheel cylinders & MC. Replace all rubber hoses. You may have to replace all brake lines. Clean & lube all moving parts. Clean up drums. No need to turn them.
Bob
I pulled all drums......the rear brakes shoes are into the rivets and the rear hubs are grooved up pretty good.....I'm going to have to turn them...
Front brakes are a different story...they don't look like they have 50 miles on them....the manual says the spec on all shoes should be 1/4" of meat...fronts have all of that, the rears not so much....
It looks like somebody just did a brake job on the fronts and the tires all around are just about brand new when parked....there are no tire codes on any of the tires so I'm guessing these are pre-1970 tires....It makes me nervous to see lots of brake work and tires done just before the car is parked.....I'm starting to think something bad happened to stop the car....we'll find it soon enough....
after 50 plus years of sitting do I keep those front shoes???......the front hubs look great, nice and smooth....
The starter just couldn't turn the motor fast or long enough to get the oil pressure gauge to move....so the starter, the generator and the voltage regulator went my local rebuild guy....He's got a new 6 volt battery and maybe some new Gates belts....the old numbers are on the belts....although he said the old belts looked new when parked and could be reused....(see pictures of everything)
Mike
The left rear wheel cylinder had a broken bleeder....broken to the point it couldn't be repaired in that part of the casting broke off....this happen years ago.....here's a trick the mechanic must of used to stop the leaking bleeder screw.......Just take ball peen hammer and flatten out the brake line on top of the rear axle going to that wheel cylinder....there problem solved...haha
Mike
I received the original invoice for the car...
Doesn't look like anything surprising but can somebody chime in with a website that has the 1939 interior codes here....
Car was black and it has a brown leather front seat with some kind of brown cloth in the rear of the car....
Was this car just ordered for stock at Randall Cadillac, Brooklyn NY?
Mike
This is an interesting car, Mike!
Both upholstery codes shown on the build sheet are in the Master Body Parts List:
EO 815 - Tan Leather
W-4902 (at least that's what I interpret the code to be) - Brown Bedford Cord Cloth
I believe the "EO" represents the vendor of the leather, and the name escapes me at the moment. I also believe the "W" is for "Weiss" as in the "Weiss Fabric Company." I could be mistaken on these company designations, it has been a while since I looked at those names.
Keep up your work! This car is worth saving!
Jeff
According to a chart for 1939 upholstery in the Cadillac Master Parts List book:
front compartment E.0. 815 means tan leather for 75 and 90 series.
balance of interior W 4902 means brown bedford cord cloth for 75 and 90 series.
I could not determine what "supp SR 39-291" means.
Jeff you beat me to it!
Supplement special request 39- 291
Bob, does 39-291 have any meaning?
Mike, color combination 51 on the build sheet means black.
Mike, did the rear interior come with the car? door panels, 2 parts of the rear seat, and the sides/armrests.
Tom,
I was VERY lucky to find a 41 SR book years ago. I have never seen any other year. The east coast & Hershey guys would have had a much better chance of finding them. A SR turns into a SO on the data plate. The format on my SR book does not have a comparable to 291. I assume it would say put cloth in part of a car that would be factory leather. I'm sure many people didn't buy SR books as they didn't know what they really meant.
Bob
Quote from: Tom Boehm on December 21, 2019, 09:20:09 PM
Bob, does 39-291 have any meaning?
Mike, color combination 51 on the build sheet means black.
Mike, did the rear interior come with the car? door panels, 2 parts of the rear seat, and the sides/armrests.
Thanks guys for that info...I'd never be able to find any of that...
The car came to me with brown leather on the front seats and cloth door panels in the drivers compartment....So Bob is onto something with the SRs...
All I got in the back of the car was the 2 pieces of the seat done in that brown fabric....no door panels and no arm rests...
Thanks again Mike
Got a step closer to those short term goals of getting the car to run, move and stop today.....
Stopping the car is almost done....
Honed out the master cylinder and all the wheel cylinders and then installed new kits all around....
Rear shoes relined and then installed everything with mostly new spring kits that I could buy....
New rubber brake hoses and new steel lines throughout the car.....New E-Brake cables also....
I was thinking today that my dad showed me how to use these brake tools probably 50 years ago....and his dad show him decades before that......Boy!!.. do I miss those MEN !!!
Mike
Well said Mike.
Special tools are invaluable, but knowing how to use them, properly, is even more invaluable.
We have to ensure that we pass on these invaluable skills before we kark it.
Bruce. >:D
That is a real nice car. My brother has a 37 75 convertible sedan. They just look sharp! The hole in the head is for the temp sending unit and is the same as 37. My guess is they had an overheating problem; which is not uncommon with these engines. They didn't have the fancy antifreeze back then and I doubt people did they routine maintenance of flushing and refilling. Hopefully if was just overheating because of the water pump or radiator and nothing more serious:-) Back in the 70's my father and I started up a 38 that had been sitting and were told it was stopped being used because it had a overheating issue. We started it up anyway and after a couple minutes The thing spurted like Old Faithful and burned the crap out of my foot:-) Moral of the story when you start it wear shoes:-)
Quote from: DaveZ on January 03, 2020, 12:31:57 PM
That is a real nice car. My brother has a 37 75 convertible sedan. They just look sharp! The hole in the head is for the temp sending unit and is the same as 37. My guess is they had an overheating problem; which is not uncommon with these engines. They didn't have the fancy antifreeze back then and I doubt people did they routine maintenance of flushing and refilling. Hopefully if was just overheating because of the water pump or radiator and nothing more serious:-) Back in the 70's my father and I started up a 38 that had been sitting and were told it was stopped being used because it had a overheating issue. We started it up anyway and after a couple minutes The thing spurted like Old Faithful and burned the crap out of my foot:-) Moral of the story when you start it wear shoes:-)
Thanks Dave for that advice...
I drained the radiator and opened up the drain plugs on the the block.....
What came out of the radiator was a clear liquid....which made me nervous....all those years sitting in a barn in New Hampshire...oh boy....but it had a slight smell of coolant we use today...And there was no water in the oil pan and no viable cracks on the block...
What did they use years ago instead of anti-freeze?
I'm going to get a temp sending unit to plug that hole.....I'll use a separate gauge to keep an eye on temp as I start to run the engine.....A new radiator cap is in order also...
Fingers crossed that I won't get Old Faithful !!
Mike
When I got my Lasalle in 1997 it had not been in running condition for at least 30 years. When I disassembled the cooling system it had a distinct alcohol smell.... as in whiskey, not rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol. Evidently it was used as anti freeze.
I know they used methyl alcohol and ethylene glycol. Don't know time frame of when they were used. I think ethylene glycol was used through the war. I doubt you would have methyl alcohol still in it was it evaporates. Someone could have concocted a mixture and used that.
I'm slowly but surely making my way to getting to a place where I can start the car....The exhaust is still a month away...big lead times for all mufflers....
Over the last few days I rebuilt the carb...bought a kit and followed the instructions....I've never done one before....but my carb guy really hung me up waiting for 6 months for the 34 LaSalle's carb....so I thought why not try and do it myself....what could go wrong....fire extinguishers will be at the ready..haha!
New cap, rotor, points, coil, condenser, voltage regulator, rebuilt starter, rebuilt generator, new big double ott battery cables...all installed ready for the first test...fuel pump coming in this week.....radiator looks like it's holding water....all systems go....
I really want to wait for the exhaust system...so I can hear the motor run....so if I hear something really bad I can shut it down....
Mike
As a DIY shade tree amateur mechanic, I've rebuilt many carburetors. I ask this question out of concern for you, and do so respectfully. Did you use compressed air to force out fuel separated crud that inevitably blocks up the tiny low speed idle functions at the base of most carburetors? I am not familiar with yours, but I have been mightily disappointed on past rebuilds when I simply used spray can "Gum Out" and mistakenly believed I had effectively cleared all of the tiny passages; alas, without blasting compressed. One can set up a very disappointing circumstance where one's engine will not idle well, and the issue remains buried in the low speed idle passage(s). On another note, I congratulate you on your patience regarding the "start-up" delay. Very wise, James
Yes Jim, I did use compressed air on all the various openings in the carb....and there were quite a few tubes and passage ways all over the carb.
I bought a gallon can of carb cleaner from NAPA and it came with a small basket inside to dip and keep all those small parts from getting lost....I let all parts soak over night and then continued to clean gasket surfaces and any other gunk that I saw.... I think that can was about 12 bucks...
The one thing my carb guy had that I didn't have is a glass bead blasting cabinet....that really cleans the parts up nicely.
Fuel pump came in today and it's the wrong one....the pump arm is too short....another delay....my fault, I should have paid more attention to the pump I ordered.
Mike
You've done a great job at cleaning the carburetor... While I think I've caught up on your narratives, I would like to know if, once you got the engine unstuck, if you established whether it developed compression. I've experienced some minor miracles in "my day," with long dormant engines that I've coaxed back to life, but always with overhead valve engines where I could unbolt the rockers arms and work on the valves separately... Did you ever discover what caused the car "to be parked" James
Quote from: James Landi on January 09, 2020, 03:02:43 PM
You've done a great job at cleaning the carburetor... While I think I've caught up on your narratives, I would like to know if, once you got the engine unstuck, if you established whether it developed compression. I've experienced some minor miracles in "my day," with long dormant engines that I've coaxed back to life, but always with overhead valve engines where I could unbolt the rockers arms and work on the valves separately... Did you ever discover what caused the car "to be parked" James
Thanks Jim....I wanted to do a compression test, but of course my compression gauge threaded end is too small to screw into the spark plug holes.....these spark plug holes are really small, so that's on the list, to find a smaller fitting to get the gauge to work....
I haven't found out why it was parked yet, but I might have tripped into it today....
I thought it was an over heating issue because the water temp sender was missing on the head....Maybe the thermostat is stuck and that stat controls the opening and closing of the louvers in front of the radiator...those louvers are closed now....I won't know if it's a cooling issue until it's running...
I was setting up my ignition switch jumper today so I can turn the car over while standing next to the engine.....The new starter & new fresh battery and the correct cables really turn the engine over at a nice pace.....I was doing short 7-8 second shots to turn the engine over....no water and no gas but oil in the pan, just to see if I got spark etc....
In doing that, there is a noticeable clunk/knock in the motor at regular intervals and in fairly quick succession.....the sound has told me I have to drop the oil pan and see if there is anything obvious......It doesn't sound like a sticky valve train, it sounds more deep and hollow....
That's where I'm at right now.....the excitement never ends here....haha !
Mike
Thanks for sharing the adventure... I'm certain you'll find at least a pound of sludge adhered to the oil pan...but beyond that, you may be able to get by for the time being with some new connecting rod bearings . THese iron ladies were very durable, so one can hope that it's something that won't require an entire rebuild, at least until you've had some joy with it. I recall taking a '48 Universal engine apart because of an engine knock. Turned out to be a loose "wrist pin bearing," and would likely have never interfered with the engine's operation under moderate loads. There was, literally, no evidence of wear in the engine, and it started and ran well, except for what I considered to be a "death rattle." Still feel bad about destroying an amazingly over built engine, especially be today;s standards. Keep pouring in the snake oil, and good luck--- I'm on the edge of my seat anticipating the next installment of your adventure. James
I dropped the oil pan today and I was hoping to find a map to Jimmy Hoffa's final resting place....I did not.....
This is what I found....Can you 346 experts weigh in and tell me if this motor is cooked or can it be repaired......It's too bad because this is the original motor that came with the car....
These look like pieces of the block and not just a lifter and head breakage...
Mike
Oh Mike, Looks like the one or two cam followers (lifters)broke off pieces of the block. I'm hardly an expert, but my thinking is that if the valves were stuck in the block, the push rods would be bent. I've had experience with that kind of situation...where the cam follower (lifter) pushes on an "frozen" valve stem and bends the push rod --certainly not uncommon with a stuck engine. Never seen a cam follower breaking out of the engine casting, and, I hope I am very wrong. James
James, While you were reply so was I. Here goes with mine:
I'm going to take a WAG and say the pieces came from a failed or fractured lifter carrier. The round one is obviously the lifter. The two pieces with the break at the nipple appear to be the end of the carrier body. The small round steel piece looks like the plug which goes into the nipple and the partial disc piece looks like a part of the base of the lifter housing. It also looks like part of that housing is fused onto the bottom of the lifter.
I would say the next step is to pull the manifolds and valley covers which will allow access the lifters. It will be interesting to see what caused that failure and if or not there is any other damage. The good news is if this is what happened the block should be OK. There could be a cam lobe wipe out also. Harry
Hi Mike,
That is the lifter body. One of the end ones. Here is a picture of where it broke, and the flat round bit is the bottom of the lifter that rides up against the camshaft. As recommended take off the manifolds and inspect it and the rest. You can easily remove the lifter bodies one at a time buy rotating the engine until all lifters on one block are fully down. Don't mix up the the hydraulic pistons. The bit with the spring on it that goes in the lifter. If still good you may able to clean and reuse. I have a boat load of lifter blocks so don't worry about the broken block.
Dave
Darn....and now the pictiure.
Just to clarify these are the parts you want to keep together:-) What happened to your engine was the valve was stuck and when the camshaft came round it pushed up the lifter. The valve wouldn't move so it took the path of least resistance:-(
Hi David, unfamiliar with the details but fascinated... so the lifter gallery is separate and can be replaced? Are you suggesting that nothing is broken? The lifter was pushed up and over the top and fell through the gallery into the oil pan? The valve is rusted in place in the block? Assuming that the valve spring and stem and keeper are visible once the engine is opened from the top, can he work on freeing up the valve from below? Appreciate learning more, James
There are four lifter blocks and each has four lifters. One of the lifter blocks is broken. You can take the lifter blocks with the lifters out after removing the manifold galley covers and oil feeds. You can take keepers and springs off the valves, but to remove the valves the heads have to come off.
Thank you David for taking the time to explain these challenges in more detail. I recall mechanics performing "carbon and valve" jobs, and carefully resurfacing the block for proper "seating." I had no idea that the cam lifter followers were in separate, removable, and most importantly replaceable components. Fascinating engineering. Gratefully, James
I have been out of pocket for a long time but came back to catch up and focused on this post.
I have wanted for many years a 4 door convertible of this vintage but never got the opportunity to buy one - the ones that came up during that earlier part of my efforts were all restored and out of this guy's reach.
I love to do things myself - turn wrenches - and have really enjoyed following your restoration process in such detail - and I'm a picture freak - so more helpful.
I recognize some of the posters who have experience with these cars and have no nonsense suggestions for solutions because they have been there and done that - in my book nothing is better than hands on.
Please keep posting - i'm hooked.
Have fun,
Steve B.
Thanks guys for all the info and the help....I'm starting to learn what happened.....Lifter holders isn't something I expected to hear about.....The shop manual isn't all that clear....but it's nothing like holding the broken parts in your hand to help understand....
Before the oil pan drop and the broken parts...I was doing points, rotor, condenser etc..... How on earth do you guys lean over these huge fenders and work on these cars??
My topside creeper is just about useless, as it doesn't get you over the motor far enough....there has to be a better way....setting the point gap with the soles of my shoes pointing at the ceiling!!.....end of the day and the next morning I felt like I went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson!!
With the breakage now kinda known....I took the front fenders off the car...Alot more easier to work on the motor now....I can start getting at those intake & exhaust manifolds & valley pans to see how much shrapnel is in there....The old car looks like an angry bird!!
Next step is we go inside deep....
Mike
It seems that you had not too much trouble to take the myriad screws out!
Mike, your pictures are incredible...as mentioned above, it all came apart, and the scale of the car at your camera angle is huge. Really looking forward to your explorations into the top end of the motor. With any luck, your snake oil is still hard at work. James
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on January 14, 2020, 11:04:35 AM
It seems that you had not too much trouble to take the myriad screws out!
Yes Roger, I got lucky or I'm getting older and have a lot more patients with liberal use of PB Blaster......I didn't break 1 bolt off the whole front end....for a car that spent it's life in a moist rusty place, everything unbolted with little fanfare....
Today I started slowly tapping those intake / exhaust manifold bolts and the 3 or 4 I tried were turning and not breaking....The breakage I'm going to find is inside the motor...haha...
Quote from: James Landi on January 14, 2020, 01:26:50 PM
Mike, your pictures are incredible...as mentioned above, it all came apart, and the scale of the car at your camera angle is huge. Really looking forward to your explorations into the top end of the motor. With any luck, your snake oil is still hard at work. James
Thanks James, the car is BIG....141 inch wheel base, big fenders, big doors......I remember when the car came into the garage I sat in the back seat....It seemed I was 8 ft away from the steering wheel!!
It won't be long I hope, to be well into the internals under those manifolds....
Check these pictures out....somebody put 1940 directional lights on the front fenders and wired them up....I'm going to keep them on the car because they're nice to have and I like the way they look.....you guys remember back in the late 70s there was a horror movie call Alien with Sigorney Weaver....these lights look just like that Alien's head....
https://www.filmsite.org/series-alien.html
Grille was broken and bent when I got the car so I'll have to make a decent repair that looks good....
So far so good....
Mike
Leaning over the fenders is always a dream; even if you take the side mounts off. Any work I do on the dist I always take it out. It is easier, you can adjust the points much easier and it only goes back in one way:-)
And it goes back in without losing the timing. Still wise to check it but it will be off only the slop in a 1/4" bolt.
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on January 14, 2020, 05:25:13 PM
Today I started slowly tapping those intake / exhaust manifold bolts and the 3 or 4 I tried were turning and not breaking....The breakage I'm going to find is inside the motor...haha...
I know the feeling about bolt coming out without too much drama; I experienced that with my '56 Biarritz.
I took the exhaust and intake manifolds off.....boy the mice were busy bringing in all kinds of food up & into this tunnel complex.....
I had to do alot of shop vacuuming before I pulled up the valley pans.....
The next time I say that all the bolts are coming out without fanfare.....somebody should kick me in the chestnuts.....
This exhaust manifold broke off 2 studs....can I cut these off and drill them out by going all the way through?.....I would then remove broken studs and then thread all the way down.....then use some high temp Permatex on the new bolts?.....will that be ok?...
And can someone weigh in a tell me if these gaskets I pull out of the motor are original or after market....I want to know if somebody has been in here before me....
Mike
Hi Mike,
One way....If there is still enough of the stud sticking up clean it off and turn on a lathe a larger bolt the inside diameter equal to the outer diameter of the stud. Make it snug. Drill a pilot hole straight through the in bolt on the lathe. Stick that on top of the broken stud and use it as a guide to drill into the broken stud. Remove and step drill the rest. Get as close as you can without damaging the threads. Use a torch to heat what is left of the thread on the stud then pick the threads out. There is space between the end of the broken bolt and the bottom of the casting so you'll know when you punch through.
You could also try heating it up and taking vice grips or stud extractor and unscrewing it, but you risk losing what is left to use the above method to do it.
Worse case you would have to drill it out without a guide by eye:-( Been done, but you have to be patients and careful.
To add to what Dave said, if the removal does get off track or once the remainder of the bolt is removed and the threads are deteriorated which is often the case Helicoils work well, Good luck.
Mike, I had to laugh when you mentioned the mice taking up residence in the manifolds. I had the same experience. Those little devils traveled up the tailpipe through the muffler and had about 10 years supply of seeds packed in. Harry
Thanks Guys.....I'm going to try torch and vice grip route....I'm hoping these cast iron manifolds are hardy because I'm afraid of breaking off the ears where the studs are.....
LoL.....Harry the vent that sits down at the bottom of the valley pan had at least 10 acorns packed in there....I kept blowing air in there and they kept flying out!!
Mike
Good news!....The torch and vise grips worked.....go high heat and rock back and forth and out they came.
Mike
We are in it now!......Valley pans are up and out...wow lots of gunk....took awhile to clean that out....
Looking around in there I found another piece of the lifter that broke off.
Dave Z was right on, it looks like an end lifter holder broke off...probably caused by a stuck valve slamming into a rotating cam....Cylinder # 8 is the culprit....Picture #3744 shows the missing valve holder...
Next step is to take that broken lifter holder out....in my pictures, the cam lobes are all down so I can pull that whole unit out of there....
Looking at the other pictures shows 3 or 4 other valves are stuck....but they must have gotten stuck in the open position and the cam flying by didn't have enough power to break them....
Tomorrow I'm going to also lift the car up so I can take a peak from underneath and look for other damage...ie lifters, other shrapnel that fell when I was cleaning...etc....
Can somebody chime in and tell me how does the cam look...new?..old?...ok?...I'm not that familiar and I don't know what it's suppose to look like....
The last thing for now, is those stuck valves...I really don't want to take the heads off...so how I do I unstick the valves??...The 331 Cadillac motors were easier to get those valves moving again....tapping the spring and getting the PB Blaster down the valve stems....
Thanks to everybody...
Mike
I got a lota mo pictures...
In picture #3749 this cylinder #1s exhaust valve stuck in an open position....We have to unstick this one and a couple of others...how??
Mike
Talk about gunk. What a mess.
But, the heads will have to come off to remove the valves.
Plus, it will give you a chance to belt the valves that are stuck open, closed.
I have never worked on a Side Valve Cadillac, but if the valves are stuck open, you might even be able to try twisting the stuck valves by grabbing the mushroom part of the valves with pipe wrenches and apply pressure sideways, as you are tapping them, whilst using lubricant on the guides.
Bruce. >:D
Bruce,
No surprise about the gunk -- having opened several old Cadillacs and other motors over the years that don't have PVC, there's a good deal of "rain water" that falls into the engine from condensation every time the engine is started. One of the reasons I flinch when club members talk about garage starting their winter stored cars--- UGH! The sludge build up is a horror to be expected. Regarding your comment about the stuck valves, this can be tricky. I hope for his sake that he can figure out a way to attempt to un stick them by using "Blaster" and other rust penetrating oils. Sometimes one can get them un stuck by hammering them down, but alas, sometimes they are REALLY stuck and they absolutely must be pulled up and out , and that's when the three act opera begins. I believe he said there were only two. Maybe he'll be able to work them free, clean up and repair the valve valley, and take a favorable compression test. Sometimes good things happen to nice guys -- let's all hope he gets lucky. James
The gunk encountered is pretty typical of what you run into. Nice job cleaning it up Mike. To address a couple things, there is a specification for the cam lobes in the shop manual assuming they have no scoring it should be good to go. It is hard to tell from the photo but the bronze idler gear at the rear driver's side looks to have significant wear.
Once you remove the lifter blocks you can remove the valve springs. When removing be careful there are spacers at the top that will probably be stuck to the block. For the stuck valves you may be able to use some sort of spreader to get a little movement out of them. I also think you are going to have to remove the heads if not just to free and lap the valves along with checking the cylinder bores. Once you've gone that far and having the engine out you may as well do a hot tank along with the bearings and rings (bet some of those are broken). As far as removing the heads, you probably already know this but I have found it best to use an impact on the head bolts being very careful to first loosen a little then tighten a little then back and forth. Hopefully they will come out without breaking, except for the last one of course (lol). Harry
Thanks guys for the encouragement!.....I took that valve holder out and that was it, the exhaust valve for #8 was & is stuck in a closed position....
cam came around and broke off the piece of the holder sending the lifter flying....(see first 2 pictures)
Here's where the 3 act opera starts to take shape.....I looked more closely for more damage besides the lifter holder.....sure enough that cam lobe has what looks like cracks on either side.....(see pictures 3 & 4)....Your right Harry I also saw the wear on the cam sprocket.....these cracks definitely mean the cam has to be changed.....I've never done one, so more learning is coming.....
No matter what, some valves are stuck....heads have to come off...the ones I see that are stuck are mostly open except for the really damaged one with is closed....
Guys, would a big C-Clamp work pushing a valve open from the bottom, adding PB Blaster and then hammering it back down??....then repeating that process over and over??
Harry, that's what I did to get the passenger side head off today....impact gun, back and forth with tightening then backing out....worked well except for the very last one...I thought it's really hitting the fan now here comes the broken bolt.....but then it gave way and came out in one piece...yeeaa!!!
Check out the picture of the passenger side head off.....head gasket looks broken between 6 & 8 cylinders....2 & 4 cylinders look pretty grimy......maybe just crap that fell in from mice or my witches brew??
Guys going forward assume that I know nothing, because I don't, things that are common knowledge to you is brand new information to me....I would never tackle this without the expertise that you guys can share here....It's kinda nice that the numbers on the motor match the chassis...because if it were left up to me, I'd pull this motor and drop in another one.....that's easy....
Mike
I'm eyeballing that cam lobe again on screen with the zoom feature...maybe those marks on the lobe are just where the lobe hit the side of the lifter....no cracks, just indentations.....could we get away with leaving it there??
Mike
Funny thing with that scouring is that it could be possible to use the cam as it is simply because the width of the cam follower will not come into side contact with the marking, and it could also be that any oil that gets into that groove could act as a lubricant, thus assisting the smooth transition of the follower over the groove.
BUT, having said the above, and many will think I am stupid, in the past, many people have still used parts that should have been replaced, and they have survived, just because they were lucky, or it actually worked. When one is stuck between a rock and a hard place, one has to do what one has to do to get by.
Me, I would be replacing the Cam as one would always have that part in the back of ones' mind when driving.
Bruce. >:D
Mike:
Check each cam lobe with a calipers and see if the the lift is correct. If one has too much wear on the lobe where it won't raise the valve all the way, its time for a new cam.
Terry
Mike,
Looks like the third act of the opera will feature a deep dive into "the might as wells." Part of that would involve checking out the integrity of the block... What follows from me are some musings on disappointments, so my suggestion is to focus in on this topic with others who are more experienced and have more expertise.
Will the block hold water? This is a relatively simple test... filling the water jackets with water and making sure the level that you filled does not leak down. I've experienced cracked blocks on several occasions--all were caused by dumb owners who didn[t put in antifreeze, and those leaks are usually easy to detect and the water flows. Cracks in the combustion chambers require some additional expertise and an expert "eye." Alas, usually these occur in the most critical and dare I say fragile part of the areas between valve seats and among cylinder walls. I suspect there are many following your efforts who can respond if you provide some "close ups" of areas you've carefully cleaned,(viz: haven't scratched) on those exposed surfaces. James
Thanks guys!...I have much work ahead of me...
I was able to take, now both heads off the motor....no broken bolts!....just one stubborn one on each side...
You really now have a front row seat to watch the pistons and valves working.....It looks like all the pistons are moving just fine.....The valves are a different story....A combo of the mice setting up camp and exhaust open to the atmosphere.....
Looks like 6 of the 8 exhaust valves are stuck or sticking....I'd say 4 are moving a small amount and 2 are really stuck......5 out of the 6 are stuck in a mostly up position....the one that's locked up is all the way down......all the intake valves are moving pretty good from what I can tell...
I can tap the valves down but coming back up is tough...there isn't any room to swing a hammer with force.....I have to get them moving....
The only leverage getting those valves to travel back up is with the cam by rotating the crank.....I'm going to only work one valve 4 pack at a time so I'm not battling other stuck exhaust valves at the same time....So that means only one valve 4-pack in the motor at a time until all 4 of those are moving nicely.....
The scary one is the one that did the damage....it's really stuck down....
Looks like a slow process of tapping, twisting, rotating the crank and plenty of PB Blaster to fill the ports so I can get it on the valve stems...
I'll report back but, this has a couple of weeks written all over it....
Mike
Hello Mike, I like this car and I like this thread. What are your plans? Are you trying to get the car driveable without an engine overhaul? Are you intending to restore the car? What are you going to do about the missing top? I've had my Lasalle for over 20 years but I am still learning from threads like these.
Hi Tom,....I like the car too...I guess at this point I'm not thinking that far ahead.....Usually the car I buy, I get the motor unstuck and move on to the next system ie...brakes, exhaust, tune-up, wheel bearings etc....
My goal with this car was kinda the same thing, get it running, moving and stopping and then move on to the cosmetics within reason of a small budget.....The missing convertible top frame is going to be tough to find...that said, I'm running out of room to store my cars so if this one takes a little longer to do, that will be a good thing....
But being into the motor this far....like somebody said here earlier is well... "while I'm here I should also do this"....That makes cents but that's how you blow though what is a reasonable amount of money that should be spent on a pre-war car.....or a post war car for that matter....
I have located a convertible top frame from the same era but, it ain't cheap and will need some re-fabricating to make it work....I'm still hoping I find the correct top for the car but, that might take a very long time....
Bottom line is I like wrenching on old Cadillac's and getting them to be nice drivers....I'll leave the really high end restorations to the guys who can really afford to do it.....I'm better at staying in my own lane...
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on January 19, 2020, 03:58:48 PM
I can tap the valves down but coming back up is tough...there isn't any room to swing a hammer with force.....I have to get them moving.... Mike
Mike,
What you need is a slide hammer, with an attachment like I made to get into an impossible location.
As you can see, the second largest one has a threaded end, which I used to make a couple of fittings to fit the threaded shaft. Notice that the off-set adapter has been modified again to fit another problem I had.
With the really large one, one has to be careful to keep the holding hand clear of the "striker".
Bruce. >:D
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on January 19, 2020, 08:06:00 PM
Mike,
What you need is a slide hammer, with an attachment like I made to get into an impossible location.
As you can see, the second largest one has a threaded end, which I used to make a couple of fittings to fit the threaded shaft. Notice that the off-set adapter has been modified again to fit another problem I had.
With the really large one, one has to be careful to keep the holding hand clear of the "striker".
Bruce. >:D
Bruce now that's a good idea!.....I looked at your slide hammer and I remembered my dad left me one.....
He was a 30 plus year retired machine repair mechanic for a large jet engine maker here in New England...he left me all kinds of tool boxes loaded with stuff I'll never figure out how to use....
Well I found his slide hammer and I went looking for an old broken C-clamp in the scrap metal pile....I only found the wrong side of the clamp so maybe a decent one will have to be modified......
I don't want to destroy the valve by snapping but, just get it moving so I can start the movement going into both directions....
I think I have a good start with your good idea...
Thanks, Mike
Mike,
At this point you should be very happy:-) Usually at least one broken head bolt:-( Harry is spot on. If it were me, and I only say this because I am a wee bit anal about things, I would take the engine out. Only because I'm lazy and don't like to do things twice:-) If you take it out you can have the block cleaned and tested for cracks. That is the point you will know what you can do.When you get it back take a power washer and make an adapter out of copper tubing that can reach down the the head bolt holes. Even after a tank cleaning you will be surprised at the amount of crud that will blow out. The cam should have no marks scores chips in it. The front cam bearing is usually the first to go and when it does you lose oil to the top end, noisy lifters. At the least just because it is apart I would put new cam shaft bearings in too. Not expensive. If there is enough margin left on the valves you can re seat them. When you do you need to measure form the cam lobe to the end of the valve stem. Must be 3 inches exact. Clean the lifters, oil pipe feeds and internal feed to the pipes. There will be more you will need to know / do, but at the end of the day it is your choice. You are on a great start!
The 3 act opera continues.....
I had a friend come over and give me his opinion about my motor.
He works for a local machine shop that builds race motors...so he has no investment in getting my motor to rebuild.
He said the valves are the real problem....lots would have to be done to get the seats right, the rust is bad....we both saw a cracked piston....another cylinder has to be sleeved...he pointed out how the bad sticky valves had to be sticking for a long time because some of the cam lobes were round and others were pointy...
I pounded out 2 valves after cutting them up to push them down toward the cam.....that was before he showed up with all the bad news....I'm going to give up on this motor...I'll keep it on the shelf in case the next guy that buys the car wants the matching motor...
I'm going to be looking for a good running 346...
Mike
What a shame.
Sometimes one just has to toss out something that is not worth working on, and realistically, that engine block looks like one of those things that is beyond, not only economical repair but actual repair, as being a basic engine, you should be able to find a replacement, even if the replacement requires a total rebuild.
Bruce. >:D
PS. In this case, the slide hammer probably would not have been enough to get the valves free.
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on January 27, 2020, 06:29:48 PM
What a shame.
Sometimes one just has to toss out something that is not worth working on, and realistically, that engine block looks like one of those things that is beyond, not only economical repair but actual repair, as being a basic engine, you should be able to find a replacement, even if the replacement requires a total rebuild.
Bruce. >:D
PS. In this case, the slide hammer probably would not have been enough to get the valves free.
Bruce that was a great idea about the slide hammer.....I had one valve that was stuck in the up position already.....It just would not move, so I cut the valve off and used a 3 lb hand sledge to pound it down....
When I was done pounding, the valve moved down but finally the pressed in valve guide popped out of the block.....I barely could hold the hammer, my hand was so tired....
Mike
That's depressing, but would explain why they stopped using it:-( Be wary of "running" 364 engines. Just because they are running doesn't mean they don't have issues:-(
Sorry to hear that Mike but looking at the pictures I agree it is "time". Harry
Hi Mike,. So sorry to hear that the engine is not salvageable. Looking at the bright side of this, having in block valves that are irrevocably stuck may have saved you the heartbreaking possibly that an internal crack could have been discovered much farther along in the " might as Wells" opera. There are good reasons why engineers put valves in removable heads... perhaps a modern conversion is in order? Something to consider while you search out a good running '39 one. James
Thanks guys...yea the bright side is I probably dodged a bullet here....
Instead of shoveling big money to turn this motor around, I can move on with a motor that is in way better shape and spend those funds elsewhere on the car.....
While I'm waiting for the right direction to go on, I'm pulling the trim off the car and I found this small monogram on both the rear doors....this guy was probably the boss.....Car was delivered to Brooklyn, NY....somebody's uncle??....Some politician??
Also while I'm here, does anybody know where I can get these push type pins?....They came off the side exterior trim....At the factory it must have been easy to install the trim, just line it up to the hole and punch it on.
I'm going to post this in the technical section also.....
Mike
Maybe at the Restoration Specialties & supply: www.restorationspecialties.com
You can send a sample too, in case. But discuss with them first.
I concur with Roger, Restoration Specialties would be the place to start. Another place I have had good luck finding rare Cadillac clips and bolts is Steel Craft Canada in Caledon, Ontario. http://www.steelcraftcanada.com/
The clip is Cadillac part number 4083831 (group B1.0570/31.0570, Clip - Belt Molding to Body). They were used on the belt moldings of series 72, 75, and 90 cars from 1938 through 1949.
If you find any, please let us know since they fit a broad number of years.
Jeff
Thanks Roger & Jeff,
I've emailed pictures of the clips to both of the businesses and, I will let you guys know when they get back to me...
I saw these at Fusick....close but I don't know....I'm going to call to get a size....$3 each...ouch!!
http://www.fusickautomotiveproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BMC37
Mike
Looking at the pictures of the clip, I used a similar style clip on the restoration of my 1970 Ranchero Squire for retaining the Fibre Glass mouldings
Bruce. >:D
PS. I know it is a Ford, but if these parts help, then they need to be shown.
Bruce those clips look good....do you remember where you got those or did you reuse what was there?
Mike
I had to purchase new ones, as some were rusted and broken, plus I had to replace some mounts, which you can see in one picture.
I got mine from eBay, via Altha Fastener in Florida, but here is another supplier on eBay. Mine came without the rubber seals, which was good, as I had to bend mine right out to get them to straddle the original mounts. If one had to fit the original flat steel mounts, then the rubber could still be used.
Altha called them 68 69 70 71 72 Country Squire Wagon side moulding clips
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pcs-NOS-side-moulding-clips-sealer-fits-1968-1972-Ford-Country-Squire-Wagon/131766922369?fits=Model%3ACountry+Squire&hash=item1eadebac81:g:2lcAAOSwk6ZZqVd4
Back in 2012, mine cost US$9.99, plus postage of US$7.95. I think there was 20 in the packet
Bruce. >:D
Thanks Bruce,
These look good....a little trimming of the bottom tabs and they should work....I'll try a set.
Mike
I ordered the clips Bruce suggested and also the Fusick clips...
Once you see the cost of these little clips it sharpens the mind to remove the ones you have with care.....This piece of trim came out without damage....
With shipping and taxes Fusick's were $4.50 each!....The eBay ones were about $2.50 each...
I'm hoping that these will be enough to replace the broken ones I have...
Mike
I received the exhaust from Waldron yesterday....I wish I had a motor to hook up the pipes....
So I laid out the old and the new side by side....looks like I need a piece....the left hand turn it takes thru the frame before heading back to the mufflers looks to be missing......I got a call into Waldron and emailed these pictures to show what looks to be wrong......They will make this right....they always have.....
The shop manual doesn't have a good layout of the exhaust system....does anybody have a diagram or a picture of the total system...series 75...1939...wheel base is 141" ?....
Please post them here if you can...
Thanks, Mike
Mike,
Attached is a picture of the chassis of a 1938 Cadillac 90 Series. Frames between the 75 and 90 series were not that different and didn't change much from 1938 to 1940. You can see the exhaust routing is close to what you've received from Waldron (except for the through the frame section). Hope this helps.
Kurt
Quote from: Kurt Weess on January 30, 2020, 02:12:20 PM
Mike,
Attached is a picture of the chassis of a 1938 Cadillac 90 Series. Frames between the 75 and 90 series were not that different and didn't change much from 1938 to 1940. You can see the exhaust routing is close to what you've received from Waldron (except for the through the frame section). Hope this helps.
Kurt
This is a big help Kurt...Thank you!
Mike
Hello Mike, The lubrication chart is from the 1940 shop manual. The complete exhaust system with parts list is from the Master Parts Book. The exhaust detail picture is from the 1940 Manufacturing Information Book. The MPB picture is backwards. The correct view is a mirror image. That is the way it was printed. On the car, the head pipe is on the left side of the engine and the tail pipe tip is on the right side of the car.
Fantastic!!
I forwarded the picture and the diagrams to Waldron
Thank you Kurt & Tom !!
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on January 30, 2020, 07:25:08 AM
Thanks Bruce, these look good....a little trimming of the bottom tabs and they should work....I'll try a set.
As I was laying in bed last night I thought that I should send you a couple so you could play with them, instead of ordering any, but upon waking up this morning, which by the way is a good thing, I see that you have ordered some.
The clips are "trim-able" as I had to do a bit of trimming when came time to fit, but in the Ford application, the bottoms fit all the way under the mounting plate, and where they touch in the centre, this gives them the side retention springing at the point of going through the holes in the body.
One thing you might be able to do to aid retention if there is no slot under the mounting lug, is to create one with a Dremel style tool, and then trim the clips to suit.
I used a good pair of Aircraft tin snips (Wiss) but only had to trim a bit which I could reach with the points of the snips. Any closer to the outside, and I would have needed a small cut-off wheel, in said Dremel tool.
Bruce. >:D
There is a 322 flathead bored out to 346 with new pistons for sale in the latest SELF STARTER. Might want to consider it as a replacement. Have no idea of it's condition otherwise. The add says...."fair price".
Bob R.
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on January 30, 2020, 07:14:52 PM
As I was laying in bed last night I thought that I should send you a couple so you could play with them, instead of ordering any, but upon waking up this morning, which by the way is a good thing, I see that you have ordered some.
The clips are "trim-able" as I had to do a bit of trimming when came time to fit, but in the Ford application, the bottoms fit all the way under the mounting plate, and where they touch in the centre, this gives them the side retention springing at the point of going through the holes in the body.
One thing you might be able to do to aid retention if there is no slot under the mounting lug, is to create one with a Dremel style tool, and then trim the clips to suit.
I used a good pair of Aircraft tin snips (Wiss) but only had to trim a bit which I could reach with the points of the snips. Any closer to the outside, and I would have needed a small cut-off wheel, in said Dremel tool.
Bruce. >:D
No problem Bruce,
When I saw your clips I thought they'll need a little dremel cutting on the bottom to open up the space to attach...
I think their going to work...and the price was right.
Thanks Bruce,
Mike
Quote from: z3skybolt on January 30, 2020, 10:14:53 PM
There is a 322 flathead bored out to 346 with new pistons for sale in the latest SELF STARTER. Might want to consider it as a replacement. Have no idea of it's condition otherwise. The add says...."fair price".
Bob R.
Thanks Bob....I'm going to check it out
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on January 30, 2020, 05:04:21 PM
Fantastic!!
I forwarded the picture and the diagrams to Waldron
Thank you Kurt & Tom !!
Mike
Waldron made good on that missing pipe....The diagrams & the picture of the chassis made it obvious what was wrong.
Thanks again Kurt & Tom
I don't know how a auto shop does it....8-10 week lead time to get the parts and then a couple of weeks to finally get it right......Waldron is a top notch exhaust supplier, but stuff happens......They thru in an exhaust pipe gasket when I asked for one....
Anyway all that time the shop probably is holding the customers car...it's in the way....other cars have to be worked on...etc...
Again, I wish I had a motor to bolt it up to.....It's out there....
Mike
As I wait for a new motor for the car....I'm starting to dig out some of the parts that came with the car....
This is the top that must have been on the car at some point....It must have been something to see going down the road!!
A roadster with a really big rumble seat...haha
Mike
I was working on the front door regulators and I found 3 of these cards in the bottom of the drivers door.....The card is bigger than a business card....
Does this name ring a bell with anybody?
His card says he is a veteran of the "Lost Battalion".....I found this mans name on the roster of that battalion....that goes back to October of 1918....WW1
Mike
Incredible--- looks like the gentleman was running for office and the card was used as a piece of "self promotion." You might be able to extrapolate an approximate date--- assuming that the card was dropped in the door by this man and he was one of the owners, and assume the gentleman had to be at least 18 to serve in the military, that would put him at approximately 120+ years old --- so let's say he stopped driving in his 80's if he were born around the turn of the century, he may have owned the car through out any period of time, but certainly not much past the 1970's. If you can, it would be great to know just when he owned the car and where he lived. You said you knew it had been stored for decades... any way to make some salient connections? Fascinating. Hope you can find more things. James
Hello Mike, I loved finding this kind of stuff in my car. Being as though your car is a convertible sedan, I think it is likely that this guy was a politician who rode in the car in a parade, rather than the owner.
You guys would make better detectives than I would.....
I know just the bookends of this car....car was delivered new to Brooklyn NY....Based on oil change stickers in the door jamb it was parked in 1961 in southern New Hampshire.....
Quote from: Tom Boehm on February 12, 2020, 05:14:29 PM
Hello Mike, I loved finding this kind of stuff in my car. Being as though your car is a convertible sedan, I think it is likely that this guy was a politician who rode in the car in a parade, rather than the owner.
I think your right Tom, I think this convertible sedan spent alot of time hanging around political functions...ie: parades, meetings etc....
I think this card was placed by the WW1 veteran or a supporter, between the drivers window glass and the weatherstrip.....Today we would put this kind of advertising under the windshield wiper....that would have been harder to reach on this car......
Quote from: James Landi on February 12, 2020, 04:50:15 PM
Incredible--- looks like the gentleman was running for office and the card was used as a piece of "self promotion." You might be able to extrapolate an approximate date--- assuming that the card was dropped in the door by this man and he was one of the owners, and assume the gentleman had to be at least 18 to serve in the military, that would put him at approximately 120+ years old --- so let's say he stopped driving in his 80's if he were born around the turn of the century, he may have owned the car through out any period of time, but certainly not much past the 1970's. If you can, it would be great to know just when he owned the car and where he lived. You said you knew it had been stored for decades... any way to make some salient connections? Fascinating. Hope you can find more things. James
James, I wish I had more information of who owned the car....I can't find anything on the veteran as commissioner or a selectman.....but if he came back from WW1 and went right into politics in 1919....29 years later puts him near this car in 1948....was the car still in New York or was it then in New Hampshire....I don't know.....
But the "Lost Battalion" story I just learned is a fascinating one!...What some 18, 19, 20 year olds had to go thru....wow!!
Mike
Mike. Check out the graphics on the bottom of the card " Uthograghics Amalgamated" is an unusual and distinctive union name. Google it...I found only two references ..they are from 1957.
I love to research. OK here is the poop on Arthur Alfred Thompson: Born in Lawrence Essex County Massachusetts February 29 1896, died at age 82 August 14 1978 in Hampstead Rockingham County New Hampshire. Buried in Elmwood Cemetery Methuen Essex County Massachusetts. Parents Alfred Thompson and Mary Wood both born in England. At age 21 June 5 1917 he was a mill operator in Massachusetts. He enlisted in the army on May 10 1918. As a corporal in company D 306 machine gun battalion he suffered a gunshot wound in early October 1918 in the Argonne Forest in France. He was a survivor of the "Lost Battalion". He was discharged as a Seargeant on May 9 1919. He married Janet McConnachie (1897-1957) in 1921 and had 4 kids. He lived in Methuen Massachusetts. In 1930 his occupation was "Instructor at house of correction". In 1940 his occupation was "prison officer, county jail". He was a Methuen Massachusetts Selectman from 1931-1946 and an Essex County Commissioner 1944-52.
I estimate the card from the car door is from the mid to late 1950's.
This is fascinating. Can't wait for the next chapter. Harry
Tom, the mid-50's is likely correct in that Uthographics appears only briefly as a union print shop at that time-- there are two reference in Google. SO Tom, that matches up with all the information about the card's owner--but how does it make sense that the card is in such great condition?????? Makes no sense, especially if the car were driven for many more years after its printing... could the be that the car has been in dry storage for over 60 years??? James
Wow!...what are you guys FBI?.....
I was told that they had to cut down trees to get the car out of the garage/barn....so yea, dry storage for a long time...
I'm holding the card in my hand and I can't make out the graphic at the bottom...how did you see that?
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on February 12, 2020, 11:27:31 PM
I'm holding the card in my hand and I can't make out the graphic at the bottom...how did you see that? Mike
Mike,
You must be blind. It is written in the diamond shaped logo at the bottom of the card. You must have your thumb covering it. ;)
Bruce. >:D
It all came from www.familysearch.org. What do you know about it's history? Where was the auction you got it from?
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on February 12, 2020, 11:47:26 PM
Mike,
You must be blind. It is written in the diamond shaped logo at the bottom of the card. You must have your thumb covering it. ;)
Bruce. >:D
ooops! Bruce....I have big hands....I missed it...haha ;)
Quote from: Tom Boehm on February 12, 2020, 11:59:15 PM
It all came from www.familysearch.org. What do you know about it's history? Where was the auction you got it from?
Tom I don't know anything about the car.....It came from a small auction in Rhode Island....it was mixed in with lots of art work.
That's cool how you guys can take a small piece of info and run it down.
Mike
Did you ask the auction company who consigned it or who the last owner was or who owned the land/barn where it was stored for so long? Did you get a title? I looked under every rock for info on mine. I learned a LOT but I still do not know the first owner.
Quote from: Tom Boehm on February 13, 2020, 07:14:13 AM
Did you ask the auction company who consigned it or who the last owner was or who owned the land/barn where it was stored for so long? Did you get a title? I looked under every rock for info on mine. I learned a LOT but I still do not know the first owner.
I did ask Tom....all I got was, it was a government estate auction....and looks like the title is lost in that bureaucracy....Their working on it....
Mike
Do you know where the barn was that it was stored in for a long time? The one they had to cut trees away to remove the car? You could research who owned the property. Like I said, I looked under all rocks for info on mine because I got next to nothing info with it.
Along the lines of Tom's suggestion about turning over rocks, you stated that the barn entrance was blocked by trees. If you have pictures of that and you can establish the size, type and growing pattern s for that region, you'll have an estimate of the year it was stored. James
Quote from: James Landi on February 13, 2020, 12:19:44 PM
Along the lines of Tom's suggestion about turning over rocks, you stated that the barn entrance was blocked by trees. If you have pictures of that and you can establish the size, type and growing pattern s for that region, you'll have an estimate of the year it was stored. James
I'm sitting here in stunned silence.....before we enlist an arborist, let me just say I can't wait for the motor & transmission to show up....haha....
I really appreciate the info you guys were able to dig up....you guys made it look easy!
Mike
Kinda like we are putting the cart before the horse.
Tom--my reference is to determining the approximate ages of the trees, and not about the possibility that the '39 was stored with carts and horses--- although now that you mention horses and carts.. Too much fun... maybe our friend will unearth some sizable sum of money in the trunk and we can check the date. Happy day, James
Mike,
I was going through some photos I took at Hershey in 1994 and stumbled across this one. Could this be your car? The photos of the top you showed a page or so back look similar.
Jeff
I'll be darn Jeff!......It could be....
The shady looking Whitey Bulger type guys look like they are from New England...haha
This picture is 25 years old.....maybe it's the car!
Their running boards are better....the gas cap is different....I have those convertible Sedan posts, these guys don't look like they have them, they look kinda home made....The roll up divider window looks to be gone, so is mine, the wood at the top there has some gouges....I'll check mine tomorrow , also I'll check for those to scratches on the rear drivers door in some of the pictures I took....
Jeff thanks for posting this !!
Mike
Hey Mike--- how about the license plate--- the state,etc. how about the report from the arborist? Too much fun. Happy day to you, James
It's the same car!!
If it is, was the engine running then? how did it wind up in the barn? do these pictured CLC folks know more history, or..."does the trail go cold" following that picture. James
Quote from: James Landi on February 23, 2020, 07:39:36 AM
Hey Mike--- how about the license plate--- the state,etc. how about the report from the arborist? Too much fun. Happy day to you, James
James that was one of the first things that crossed my mind.....If Jeff's picture is 25 yrs old and that is my car, the trees they cut down to get the car out of the barn couldn't have been that big!...haha
I think the shady guys in the picture are carrying those over the shoulder bags to carry parts....so I'm thinking they just walked by and were just looking at the pile of stuff....
I really don't think it's the same car...marks on the door and the gouges in the wood where the divider window should be are just different....but having said that, there were only 36 of these cars built, how could 2 of them end up looking almost exactly the same??
Mike
Mike,
Have you any knowledge of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? If it's going to occur involving antique and very rare cars, I think that principle may have occurred in your case. James
Good news....I found a rebuilt motor & transmission.....never started....these came with a parts car.....I'm always amazed at the lack of any kind of rust on a California car...
The lifting bracket I used today, I turned sideways...I didn't want to break or even touch that crossover exhaust pipe....
The guy told me it needs a pilot bearing....is that the same as a throw-out bearing?
There is no clutch in it yet but he gave me a stack of clutches and pressure plates....
I'm going to need some guidance for the clutch install...
Can I get the clutch alignment tool at Napa?
He told me it's a fairly easy job....just pull the tranny back and install clutch....He said the clutch was new and the pressure plate was rebuilt also.....looks ok to me..
Mike
The Pilot Bearing goes in the end of the Crankshaft, and holds the transmission Input Shaft in alignment as the clutch plate is spinning when the pressure plate is presses in. It is the Throw-out Bearing that is on the end of the Clutch Fork, and presses on the Fingers of the afore-mentioned Pressure Plate.
Bruce. >:D
Mike, Looks like you are back in business. A couple of "while ur at its" on the clutch. Regarding the pilot bearing there is a snap ring that fits in a slight groove that holds it in place. Also check the fit of the bearing as to the input shaft. Sometimes these are too tight and won't allow the transmission to slip into place much less separate if necessary. It is a good idea to check the clutch disc mating surface of the flywheel (also on pressure plate) for smoothness and run out. A little roughness or a couple of .000 can cause chatter Harry
Thanks guys....Are the pilot & throw-out bearings Terrill Machine items?
The mating surface of the flywheel / pressure plate has a very light hint of rust on it....that shouldn't be a problem...right?
I'll just steel wool it off?
Mike
You could use Wet'n'dry paper or Steel Wool, or even a wire wheel to remove the rust from the surface. Won't be removing any metal to unbalance the plate.
Bruce. >:D
SO Mike, for those of us who daily anticipate each strategic move you make as we figuratively hang in from each installment to the next, what's the plan? Will you "bench test" the engine before you install it? And what's the history on the motor? We're cyber channeling good outcomes your way Mike, and very much hoping for your success as you persevere and press on. . James
Get the flywheel resurfaced. Might look good....... And I would get the clutch assembly checked out and balanced.
Quote from: James Landi on February 28, 2020, 07:28:05 AM
SO Mike, for those of us who daily anticipate each strategic move you make as we figuratively hang in from each installment to the next, what's the plan? Will you "bench test" the engine before you install it? And what's the history on the motor? We're cyber channeling good outcomes your way Mike, and very much hoping for your success as you persevere and press on. . James
I'm glad for everybody that chimes in with ideas, especially when it looks like I'm going off track....or to watch out for this or that....lots of you guys have almost forgotten about stuff I'm trying to still learn...and I love the help!
Yes the plan is to test the motor before I put all the fenders and the nose back on......Boy it's alot easier to work on the motor standing right next to it then bending and hanging over those fenders....
I can install the radiator and use the whole front end of the chassis as my engine test stand.....
As far as the history of the motor, all I can go off of is what I was told.....I called the guy who owned the car before the guy I bought it from.....he said the motor and transmission were rebuilt in and around the San Francisco area, but I don't know when the work happened....It's the old story of somebody starts the restoration, he passes away and then the next guy picks up the pieces and finally has to sell for another reason....on and on like that....
Maybe somebody can chime in as to the quality of these vendors in the San Francisco area....I was told the motor was rebuilt by Joe's Machine Shop in Concord, Ca.... & the trans was rebuilt by Pete's Gear Shop in Hayward Ca....All using Terrill Machine parts.....
Specialize Automotive rebuilt the starter & generator
Moose Motors machined all brake drums, relined shoes and sleeved all wheel cylinders & master cylinder.....Moose also rebuilt the clutch...
Now I got to figure out how to get the clutch back in the bell-housing....
Mike
Since you are doing the while u r at it and have the clutch out etc if the pressure plate did not come with that flywheel I would have the balanced. Take the transmission off. You can get to the pilot bearing then. If you decide to take the flywheel off do not take the bell housing off. Flywheel drops out bottom. If you need a TO bearing I have one you can have.
On the top of the engine to the left of the dist there is the vin stamped. That number will give you the year. It definitely 39+ as 38 - did not have the breather pipes.
Quote from: DaveZ on February 29, 2020, 08:20:25 AM
Since you are doing the while u r at it and have the clutch out etc if the pressure plate did not come with that flywheel I would have the balanced. Take the transmission off. You can get to the pilot bearing then. If you decide to take the flywheel off do not take the bell housing off. Flywheel drops out bottom. If you need a TO bearing I have one you can have.
On the top of the engine to the left of the dist there is the vin stamped. That number will give you the year. It definitely 39+ as 38 - did not have the breather pipes.
Thanks Dave for the offer of the TO...but I ordered both the TO & the pilot bearing from Terrill Machine....I talked to Feltz, I think, and he told me if I can't get the pilot bearing out, load it up with grease and put a wood dowel in there and hit it, the grease will push the bearing out....thought I would throw that out there so somebody else might need that trick...
Clutch and pressure plate are brand new...do they still have to be balanced?....Do I have to balance those with the flywheel?....does any tranny shop do that?
I put both motors with transmissions side by side and lifted each one and looked inside to see what I may be missing in the rebuilt motor & tranny and what I have in the old one....
Side note here....a forklift is a must have tool, 2 are better....it's uses are only limited by your imagination....
Rebuilt motor & trans has an empty bell-housing with just the Throw-out bearing fork & flywheel....
The old motor has everything I need still there and it's a nice diagram of how everything goes back together....I asked Feltz about the fork that sits in a yoke that pushes the TO bearing....I asked him if his TO came with that yoke, he said his doesn't and I'll have to press my old one out and press it into the new TO bearing.....Surface rust cleaned up ok on flywheel & pressure plate.....
I pull the tranny out of the new assembly, it wasn't that heavy, maybe 50-60 lbs....
I went to NAPA and pickup a universal clutch alignment tool.....30 bucks...looks like it's going to work...
I took lots of pictures.....
Mike
Quote from: harry s on February 27, 2020, 09:05:43 AM
Mike, Looks like you are back in business. A couple of "while ur at its" on the clutch. Regarding the pilot bearing there is a snap ring that fits in a slight groove that holds it in place. Also check the fit of the bearing as to the input shaft. Sometimes these are too tight and won't allow the transmission to slip into place much less separate if necessary. It is a good idea to check the clutch disc mating surface of the flywheel (also on pressure plate) for smoothness and run out. A little roughness or a couple of .000 can cause chatter Harry
Harry I did ask Feltz about that snap ring that I don't see in my new motor and he said it's a standard ring and could be found at any hardware store....I do see the groove you mentioned in the flywheel hole to hold the pilot bearing in there....
I also see in the shop manual that it says to pre-fit the clutch onto the splines of the tranny to make assembly easier....I'll also make sure that the TO slides easily on the shaft when the fork is moving also....can I use regular bearing grease there or does that attract too much dirt??
The Terrill guy was good he stopped and looked to see if I needed anything else to do the job....
Mike
There are more pictures and descriptions on the bottom page 7 before this posting....please check those out and weigh in with thoughts....
Mike
Looking at the picture of the flywheel on the engine with the bellhousing in place it is hard to see if the Pilot Bearing is actually in place.
With the rustiness of the input shaft on the gearbox picture, it looks like the gearbox hasn't been on the engine for a long time, and you will need to carefully inspect both the crankshaft end and the input shaft and measure to see if there is one there.
By the way, the grease removal method for the Pilot Bearing has been around for years, but make sure that the "dowel" fits perfectly, as if it is a sloppy fit, the grease will follow the path of least resistance, and you WILL get messy. If you are making the "dowel", make sure that the OD is the same for at least an inch further out, so that the Pilot Bearing has a place to slide on as it comes out.
Bruce. >:D
I heard you Bruce, so today I took some PB and a wire brush to that input shaft to see how the clutch would ride on that shaft....
Sticky at first, nice and smooth after...still gotta lube it up before assembly...
With regard to the balancing of the clutch...the shop manual says while the car is on the lift run it and check for vibration....If lots of vibration, you should install 5/16" washers onto the bolts of the clutch and then retest and add or move as necessary....Sounds kinda caveman-ish but it might work....what do you think?
Mike
Mike,
The washer method of balancing is a last resort to use when replacing a Pressure Plate.
Most Pressure Plates are balanced before they leave the manufacturer, and I have never come across one with a problem.
If I had one that was a problem, I would be removing the Clutch and Pressure Plate and firing up the engine, to see if there was an inherent out of balance within the engine itself.
Then install the Pressure Plate, and run, then the Clutch Plate with the Pressure Plate, centred by the transmission, then remove the transmission, and finally the transmission attacked.
If any imbalance showed itself during these steps, then one would know which part/parts were faulty.
99.9% of the time, it would be impossible to know if something was out of balance, to the point of being dangerous, and that last .1% would be rattling everything to pieces.
Whenever I rebuild an engine, using aftermarket parts, I have the whole reciprocating mass balanced, along with the flywheel, and Pressure Plates if a Manual. I even had a spare Pressure Plate included on one job.
Now, how good can a Balance Job be one would ask, and is it worth it? With my Dragster, I originally ran a bog-stock street engine out of a '68 Galaxie that I rebuilt for the previous owner, and it ran well and reved up nicely. Following the Balance job, the thing reved so much quicker, and instantly, and ran the 1/4 mile in 101 seconds quicker. We couldn't believe that a simple balance would make such a difference. That engine was REALLY smooth afterwards. But, destroyed itself when a Pressure Plate decided to get totally out of balance. Once the pieces were gathered up, we found a cracked Clutch Finger lug caused the failure.
Bruce. >:D
To add one more point. The clutch plate face can only be off something like .012?, It's in the manual; or you might get chatter. I had a plate done once and didn't check it figuring the shop knew to do it. Well lesson learned, it chattered up a storm and had to take it apart again:-(
To echo what Dave said, I had my '37 flywheel resurfaced along with the engine rebuild and balance. Wouldn't you know the clutch chattered. As it turned out the flywheel had a .007" run out. The main reason for getting into this was to fix transmission leaks.
As to the 'cave man" method of balancing the clutch (as described in the service manual) it works! A few years ago a friend had a slight vibration in his '41 just rebuilt engine, flywheel & clutch. We followed the procedure with one washer re positioned three times which was an improvement then added a second washer and the vibration was gone. To Bruce's point I agree with the proper way to do it when dealing with a high rpm short stroke engine. Engine rebuilding has come a long way since back then.
Thanks guys there's alot to keep in mind...
I got the pilot and the throw-out bearings in today...see pictures
So I pulled the old tranny off the old motor and took the clutch apart to see how it's all going to go back together and how it looks when installed correctly.....more pictures
Check out the input shaft of the old tranny....there is an etched letter & number that the new tranny doesn't have....could the old tranny have been rebuilt at some time?
The tranny pulled out without any problems....pulled the TO bearing off the fork it dropped out the bottom....there is that collar that Terrill was talking about....it has to be pressed out and then pressed back in the new TO.....I have a 70 ton press in the shop but, I don't want to crush anything so I'll let the guys at the local NAPA machine shop do that....
Next I went and tried to remove the clutch and pressure plate....I started by taking out the clutch fork. I removed the 6 bolts out of the pressure plate but the assembly wouldn't drop out of the bell-housing....I had to back out the bell-housing about a half and inch and she dropped out.....
Check out the old clutch, it has a flange disk just a little smaller than the pressure plate interior opening.....It seems like a self aligning fit so you don't need that clutch alignment tool...seems like a good idea, my new one doesn't have this disk and this old clutch is really worn....
I can see the old pilot bearing and that snap ring....I think I can get the old snap ring out but I'm glad I don't have to dig out that old pilot bearing......It feels like I'm going to have to bang in the new pilot into the new flywheel deep enough to get that groove where the snap ring goes....I've got a socket that I can bang, this socket only will touch the outside ring of the bearing and I think I can get it in there straight....
Mike
Mike,
Don't tempt fate and get an aligning tool.
Failing that, install the clutch and pressure plate loosely, then install the transmission, then tighten up the pressure plate bolts. This way you will be using an alignment tool, albeit a large one.
Bruce. >:D
My guy at NAPA pressed the collar off and then on the new TO....He wanted to charge me 2 bucks....he did it while I waited...I gave him $10.....Isn't it great to see a grease fitting right where you need one like on the collar of the TO.....do they still put grease fittings on the cars of today?
I pulled out the old pilot bearing by just hooking it with this tool....came right out......after putting in the new pilot bearing, it would be a bear to remove it...it is in there snug!....I'd have to figure out that snap wrench to do it....
I installed the new pilot bearing....I had to tap it in with a socket attached to an extension....then I put in that spring clip....looks good but you can see it ain't going to be easy to thread the needle with that trannys input shaft thru the clutch into that pilot bearing...we'll see maybe I'll get lucky...
Mike
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on March 04, 2020, 05:52:30 PM
Mike,
Don't tempt fate and get an aligning tool.
Failing that, install the clutch and pressure plate loosely, then install the transmission, then tighten up the pressure plate bolts. This way you will be using an alignment tool, albeit a large one.
Bruce. >:D
Bruce I did pick-up that alignment tool....but I might try it your way by using the tranny with a loose fitting clutch and pressure plate.....
I was thinking of using the forklift with a strap around the tranny to take most of the weight, then I could guide the trans thru that gauntlet of splines and into the pilot bearing....But I might really be asking for an unbalanced clutch....then I'll see if that washer balancing trick mentioned in the shop manual works....
Mike
Yes, today I used the alignment tool and set everything up nice and straight......I had to use the old fork because it was a hair bigger than the newer one and it fit the collar of the throw-out bearing....
Slid the tranny in and I would get stuck right at the entrance of the pilot bearing.....pull it out and put it back in what seemed like a couple of dozen times.....got it to the entrance of the pilot bearing and then I finger tighten the 4 bolts that hold the tranny to the bell-housing.....slowly tighten each bolt and it walked right in......then Harry reminded me that I needed a gasket between trans and bell-housing....Pulled it out again and then I used the Black Gasket Maker by Permatex....then walked it right back into place with the bolts...
Boy that tranny got heavier and heavier as the day went on....but I turned the crank by hand with the trans in gear and it all spun.....I can't imagine doing this job on my back in the driveway....or maybe I'm just getting old.....
I'll worry about the clutch balance when I go to start the motor at a later date.....
On and off I've been trying to pull the dash out of the car.....It's like it's welded in there.....I spend a full day yesterday under the dash pulling screws out....this looks like a long hard slog to get that thing out......the wiring harness is shot....all crumbly with lots of bare wire showing....I'm thinking a new wiring harness will be easier to use with the dash out....plus I can test gauges and clean everything up....
Mike
Congratulations.
Sounds like the alignment tool wasn't perfect. When you get a chance, apply pressure to the clutch fork, and that will release the clutch plate, allowing it to totally self-centre, and take pressure off the side-thrust which it now has.
When the factory says use a gasket in a lot of places, they mean that the gasket is required for the thickness of the gasket itself, to space the pieces a specified distance apart.
Is yours there to simply contain a possible oil leak? If that is the case, then it shouldn't matter that you are using a gasket cement on its' own.
Bruce. >:D
I tried to scrape off the old gasket....it was paper thin....I'm guessing that it's there just for leaks....
The gasket material goops they make now are really good....in a pinch when I didn't have an oil pan gasket I used just the Grey Gasket Maker and it work fine with no leaks.....
This tranny doesn't have alot of pressure and I would think we're just trying to stop the splashing oil from coming out....
Mike
RE: putting the tranny in. Too late now, but what helps is two long bolts with the heads cut off screwed into the top two trans mount holes. They are good guides when putting the trans in the bell housing. When in take 'em out and put the bolts in. Rhode Island wiring has excellent wiring harnesses. I did two and perfect fit with proper sizing, color codes etc.
You don't have to take the whole dash out. I just took out the light switch as it was easier to hook the wires, then feed the harness in. Taking the seat out lying on my back with a light it was fairly simple and only took a couple hours.
Labors of love, and as the Great Bard stated, "Not all of Love's Labors are Lost." We're with you, and appreciate your narratives and pictures, Happy Day, James
I don't have alot to report....but now that the rebuilt motor & trans are ready to go I decided to crate up the old motor & trans.....I have some of those collapse-able pallet boxes....I put everything that has to to with the old motor, trans in the crate, that way if someday I sell the car, the new owner can take the matching numbers motor with the car.....plus it gets lots of miscellaneous parts out of the way...
Next is working on getting the chrome & gauges out of the dash....
Boy it's not easy to get in and out from under the dash.....I'm taking the chrome and gauges out of the dash to clean-up and to repaint the backgrounds under the glass.....
Of course I broke one of the rounded glass covers.....it's the one that covers the clock....This piece of glass is curved and is about 14" long and 1 1/2" wide...if anybody has an extra one I will buy it from you....
While the gauges are out I wanted to cover the dash with that wood grain decal also....I know someone who has some extra decals...
Again thanks all for the help....
Mike
This cover?.....Was in the trunk with other parts, in the sedan parts car...
Does anybody recognize it? I don't see this on the convertible....
Mike
WAG: Something to do with the battery box?
Jeff
Quote from: Jeff Hansen on March 17, 2020, 02:37:17 PM
WAG: Something to do with the battery box?
Jeff
Thanks Jeff, I was holding it up and moving it around the trunk to see if any holes lined up.....no luck...
It looks like it's for protecting something....I don't know....it's probably out of a 62 Ford Falcon......
I'll try the battery, but it's behind the passenger front tire and there not alot of room there.....
Mike
The small holes look like a piece of rubber seal? would attach to it there,something like staples?,maybe look around the front floor or firewall area?.I didnt see anything like that on my 37, It does look like it is to protect wiring?. Good luck Harveyb
Here is another "WAG". Could it have something to do with the raising and lowering mechanism of the divider window? Harry
I went around the car again.....trunk again, under the front seat, around the battery......under the dash......none of the holes lined up with anything....
It will turn up some place.....Thanks for the ideas....
Mike
Good news,... my retired 35 plus year body guy is in the building!!
Everybody should be lucky enough to have one of these guys around....
He's starting the body work......mostly grinding the paint off the big parts...... front fenders, side mounts, trunk lid, rear fenders.....
I jump on the sandblasting cabinet for some of the smaller pieces....
Mike
A few more pictures.....
Mike
Your body man is doing the work the hard way. He never used chemical stripping products?
About the parts which are sand blasted: you most probably know that they must have a protective coat as soon as they are "naked", otherwise, they are rusting very quickly.
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on March 19, 2020, 04:00:32 AM
Your body man is doing the work the hard way. He never used chemical stripping products?
About the parts which are sand blasted: you most probably know that they must have a protective coat as soon as they are "naked", otherwise, they are rusting very quickly.
As a matter of fact, we talked about chemical stripping products.....he said he doesn't like to use them because they could leave behind a residue and that might effect the paint....
We use this product "Z-Chrome Rust Defender" from Clausen....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLAUSEN-Z-CHROME-RUST-DEFENDER-GALLON-POLYESTER-PRIMER/114045774178?epid=689099273&hash=item1a8da86962:g:~EgAAOSwNOVa9Z~L
This is some kind of high build primer.....he'll sand this down to reveal wrinkles & dents in the metal, after those are fixed everything is sealed and the base coat goes on then the clear coat.....I'm certainly not the expert body guy he is.....it works...
By the way Roger while I got you....your doing amazing work on that 1932 Cadillac V16 scale model !!!!....I go to your updates and just shake my head and say WOW!!!
Mike
Good point about the residues which can go into the pores. Each person has his method; I'm sure he will do it well.
Thanks for your comments about the scale model! I just hope that is will be some entertaining in this forum!
Mike,
I'm not a visual artist; however, the separate body sections in your last picture posting make a significant visual statement about that period of time when those unique shapes were "au courant." Each piece is strikingly unusual in form, and when you've grouped them, they are highly unusual. Thanks again for sharing this wonderful project with us. James
Not alot to report....
I'm still slugging away on the car....the body work is in full gear, aluma-lead, primer, then sanding, more primer and then more sanding....and on and on it goes....
I put the motor and trans in and all went well.....
I'm going with a 1939 color, Fanconia Beige as the exterior body paint....I have a few of the 1950s Cadillac's, all with those great bright 50s colors.....this car, i wanted to tone it down a bit...
We painted the firewall before I put the motor in....it looks good....The pictures below don't do it justice....it's a richer looking brown in person.....
A problem has reared it's head....the exhaust system.....Waldron has always been my go to guys and they always will be.....but I don't think they have the series 75 pattern.....they sent me what I think is a 60 series system...a couple of phone calls and I can hear in their voices that it's going to be a problem....Does anybody have a go to exhaust vendor for this system???
Thanks again for all the comments and the help !!!
Mike
Good looking paint!
About the exhaust: I have a parts list going through 1958. Some older exhaust parts were at that time still available. I'm amazed that the exhaust parts for the Serie 75 most of the time has his own part numbers. If no part from what you got from Waldron is correct for your car, you will have to let do the exhaust system as a custom one; using the method shown on the attached picture (this is for a 32/33 V-16 car).
Ah ha ... A masterpiece.
Bruce. >:D
Oh Boy....I was hoping to stay away from the custom rework...
In my picture above, the "S" shaped pipe just before the resonator will have to be extended....that will allow me to get the resonator to clear the shock absorber....
The over the axle pipe will have to be shortened and lowered to keep it off the fuel tank and not hit the floor board, then a bracket will have to be cutoff the muffler because it is into the leaf spring......not done yet....the inlet and outlet of the muffler will have to be spun to different positions to get the exhaust to flow out from under the cars rear valance.....
Lets hope somebody has the pattern and they can put it into the computer,.... factory bends are produced and....wala....it all just bolts right in !!
Mike
Mike-- You're making great progress, and don't let the damnable exhaust geometry spoil your " can do "spirit. When we did an Olds conversion of my 4100 Cadillac replacement, we hit the wall with the same kind of problem. Happily for me, there was an expert custom exhaust guy whom we knew, who loved to develop intricate "workarounds," and he successfully pieced the thing together as the exhaust header had to go over the bell housing and join on the other side of the car. He met the challenge, and it works brilliantly, and for a couple of hundred in cash money. He was pleased to be helpful in saving the car, and I trust there may be someone in your neighborhood who has the expertise, time, and passion for your car to help you out. Happy day, and be of good cheer, James
Thanks James,
This exhaust problem couldn't have come at a worst time......I was hoping to get the car running nice before the nose goes back on....
Looks like I'll be spending a good chunk of time leaning over the fenders working the motor with the soles of my shoes facing the ceiling.....My chubby body just doesn't bend like it used too....
Mike
Just curious., maybe the subject has been answered.
Why is the exhaust outlet on the left side as 75 series ?
Why there's a battery tray next to starter as 1940 and later models ?
Here is a photo of a LaSalle in Denmark
All right, a little more to report....The body work goes on..
Waldron is working on the exaust problem...they told me they had a museum from Chicago send them a used series 75 exhaust system a few years back, and Waldron could copy that system....and it looks like that system is different than what the shipped me...John at Waldron said that he'll make it right....that's good news....In the mean time I really wanted to get that motor running before the nose goes back on....so I rigged up the exhaust to just run the resonator......
The rebuilt motor came in untested....It had a 1940 distributor in it because it has vacuum advance....the firing order was right but the plug wires were off and to get the motor to start I had to really crank that distributor...so much so that the vacuum advance was hitting the firewall just to start.......I pulled that distributor and put in a 1939 dizzy....
Car started and ran nice...lifters were a little noisy at first but settled down....my rebuilt carb was good..held an idle...throttled up when I wanted it to.....radiator was good...fuel pump, starter all did what they were supposed to do....then the surprise!!.....
Coolant starts pouring out of the middle of the motor underneath the intake...lots of water running out and to the back of the motor down onto the bell-housing.....I was think great...there is not supposed to be water there...I'm thinking great the block is cracked!...wait this car came from New Mexico / Nevada...unless your on a mountain, no chance of freezing....
I can't see where the water is coming from, so I pull the generator to get a better look at the center of the valley....I go over to the old motor that's in a crate and there are 2 freeze plugs right between the 2 valley pans and sure enough one of the plugs is popped and water is spewing out of the rebuilt motor in the car....
Check out the pictures I took....I'm on the hunt for a concave brass or a steel freeze plug....this one that popped is a Dorman 1-3/16", the old one just falls into the hole....I wonder if it should be a 1-1/4"....somebody looks like they put in Permatex and didn't put the plug in until after the Permatex set-up .....problem.......the other one looks fine....I'm hopping I can put this new one in without pulling the intake....I can't swing a hammer in this tight spot, but I hope I can use a socket and a pry bar and force it into the water jacket hole.....
The fun never ends!!
Mike
Few more pictures....see above pictures also....
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on June 05, 2020, 06:41:43 PM
Check out the pictures I took....I'm on the hunt for a concave brass or a steel freeze plug....this one that popped is a Dorman 1-3/16", the old one just falls into the hole....I wonder if it should be a 1-1/4"....somebody looks like they put in Permatex and didn't put the plug in until after the Permatex set-up .....problem.......the other one looks fine....I'm hopping I can put this new one in without pulling the intake....I can't swing a hammer in this tight spot, but I hope I can use a socket and a pry bar and force it into the water jacket hole..... The fun never ends!! Mike
G'day Mike,
Looking at the shape of that welsh plug, it was not even installed correctly.
When installing these concave plugs, one has to belt them in with a properly placed (belt) with a ball pein hammer hit by another hammer, or a nicely rounded drift to expand them into the hole.
Once you clean it up, it should still be able to be used.
Bruce. >:D
It's also my opinion. That plus was just put into the hole without expanding it. Have a look at the other one to see if it was expanded or not.
Mike-- so sorry that you've been hit with this deeply frustrating piece of bad luck. In no way intending to "throw a wrench" into the progress you've worked hard to accomplish; however, you might consider using one of those expanding rubber plugs for the "time being." On rare occasions, the original steel "freeze outs" are corroded because the past owners allowed the coolant to turn corrosive, so using a temporary rubber plug will provide you with some useful longer term "testing" of the entire motor as well as a test for the other plugs. You may find that, over time, other plugs have been compromised. I've successfully used a " temporary expanding plug" as a "workaround," and over a period of years, never developed any leakage even in vast temperature swings. Hope this helps... press on, respectfully, James
Thanks guys for weighing in....
I think what happened is that the plugs they used were too small....the plug that popped...I put it back in the hole and it fell right to the bottom and it barely touched the sides.....that's not right....
I figured the other plug is too small also....It would be just a matter of time before it went also....so I pulled the intake and exhaust manifolds to get better access to the plugs and it would give me a chance to look around at some of the rebuilt motor while I was there....I'm hopping they didn't short cut other areas during the rebuild.....
This morning I found and bought a new 1-3/16" and (2) 1-1/4" freeze plugs....the brand new smaller plug again fell right to the bottom of the hole....the 1-1/4" plug was snug right at the top of the hole...that's what I remember a plug should fell like going in....I spread some red Permatex on the edges and then tapped the plug gently to get it started going down the hole, then did what Bruce said to do with the ball peen hammers, they went down deeper and that also spread them out nicely....
I changed both plugs and boy the internals look alot cleaner than the motor I pulled from the convertible...remember those pictures?...yikes!
Like I said today I changed both plugs and then put the top of the motor back together again....nice and easy, no broken bolts and no left over parts...haha....
I'll exercise a couple of cars tomorrow and give the Permatex time to set up and then get back to running this motor again....I want to get it timed and running good before the fenders go back on.....
Mike
G'day Mike,
These plugs are supposed to be a snug fit in the hole, and should not have to be tapped in with the hammer to seat them, before doing the bigger tap.
I am curious as to the size of the hole as against the plug, and what it is supposed to be.
The only Welsh Plugs that need to be tight going into the holes is the cup type. As these rely on the sides of the cup to hold them in, and are installed with something like a reasonably sized mandrel (read as a socket on an extension) The extension is there to protect the fingers on the hand that is not wielding the hammer.
Bruce. >:D
Bruce once I dropped the smaller plug into the hole....you could tell that a hit wouldn't spread the plug wide enough to seal....those were the sizes I pulled out that failed 1-3/16"...
Then I put the larger one in...1-1/4"....it was snug all around...a little tapping with a small hammer got it started all around the hole going down....then the final pop of the hammer spread them nicely to seal....I think it's going to be ok...
I looked in the manual and there was nothing on the size of any of the freeze plugs....
Mike
Mike, it's all good that you fixed it properly. Of course you're right on target about the engine running in tune. I purchased a vehicle that had a machine shop rebuild price of nearly $5,000, and the owner could not keep his rebuilt engine running. He was sorely and justifiably frustrated, and when I got to it, the vacuum advance was ruptured and the carburetor was a disaster. So you're correct, you can't assume anything. Another rebuilt motor was sold to me "on the cheap," and it had the wrong (sized) push rods, and that took some "doing" on my part to figure out... go figure. Looking forward to the day, in the not too distant future, when you have that old gal running beautifully... Happy day, James
Well things are starting to take shape here...
Got the car in that high build primer today.......lots of sanding now on the horizon...
Motor is running pretty good and the new wiring harness is at least run to various parts of the car.......
Looks like I've got more than a few hours under that dash hooking up everything....Under the hood and the wiring going back to the rear of the car were pretty easy......I labeled everything in the hopes to make it easier to connect....Rhode Island Wiring did a nice job breaking everything down for easy installation.....
Mike
more pictures
more pictures
Va va voom: so impressive... really coming together. Can you post a video so we can hear the engine running when you have some time? Looking like (and sounding like) you're making impressive progress. Happy day, James
Thanks Jim for the words of encouragement......Video??....I'm lucky I can hold the camera the right way and not photograph my forehead !!
I got under the dash and made all the connections for the gauges, switches and the lights....Once your under there you don't want to have to get out, so having everything within reach is key....I also tried to label everything before I got under there to help with an easy installation.....
That little cardboard box is important because it keeps all your tools in one place....I've tried to work without it and somehow every screw driver, nut driver and pliers ends up underneath me and of course I can't reach any of them....included within eye sight is the shop manual, wiring diagram, an extra 1939 gauge cluster so I can see where everything should go and a small mirror just in case....Also the all important drop light....
All seemed to go well without a hitch....then I moved onto the fuel tank sending wire and the brake light switch......worked on the tail light wiring into the rear taillight fixtures....all is good....
The voltage regulator looks a little tricky with 6 wires in the harness....I'm used to a 3 wire voltage regulator....I'm going to need help when I get there....1939 is different than 1940.....
Mike
Here are some more helpful wiring diagrams from the shop manual and Rhode Island wiring....I needed them all....
Mike
Started to sand that high build primer....looking for small dents and dings...not too many but you can see a few dark spots that will require some body putty.....Boy the shop is getting dusty now...only to get alot worse....
Mike
This car originally had a 6 terminal voltage regulator on it. They are very difficult to find and even if you do lots of work to get them working. Cadillac was not supplying them by 1941 according to the Serviceman. Attached is instruction on where to put the 6 wires on a 3 terminal replacement.
Quote from: Brad Ipsen CLC #737 on June 27, 2020, 09:46:12 PM
This car originally had a 6 terminal voltage regulator on it. They are very difficult to find and even if you do lots of work to get them working. Cadillac was not supplying them by 1941 according to the Serviceman. Attached is instruction on where to put the 6 wires on a 3 terminal replacement.
WOW Brad!!...big help !!....Thank You !!
Mike
Nice idea with the small box to keep the tools in one place!
I know it's still a ways off but I thought I would experiment with colors for the car....
I know the body color....Farnconia Beige....which is a dark rich looking brown......the top color I don't know....the rims on the car seem to be a good place to put a contrasting color....
I went to the fabric store and got some samples of material color to simulate the convertible top.....I then painted some washers with various red color paint rattle cans I had on the shelf, I put silver coins to illustrate the hub caps......then dipped a paint stick into the Franconia Beige paint.....
The combination is going to be nothing like the flashy colors of the 50s but....I wanted an understated quietly elegant looking car......
Anybody,.... please chime in and tell me your thoughts....like the rim contrast color....stay with a red?...go with the body color on the rims or totally different color....
Mike
Mike,
Beautiful job. The car looks great. FWIW, the ’39 Du Pont color chart shows your wheels the same color as the body: Franconia Beige. The color contains “Dark Red Oxide†as one of the tints which may help if you want red wheels. The only other ’39 red wheel color is Corsican Red which I suspect is bright red given the body colors it’s paired with. But, after the amount of work you’ve invested you have the right to paint it any color you’d like
More pics as you progress please
Hello Mike, I like how you are going about choosing a color scheme. I am a professional painter/decorator (brushes and rollers) and I do the same thing with wallpaper, fabric, and paint color samples. I did the same with paint samples, linoleum samples, pieces of original upholstery, and floor mats to decide on colors for my Lasalle. I would suggest using a much bigger sample of the body color in your simulations because it will be the biggest area on the car. Since you asked for opinions.... I like the bright red wheels with the darker top fabric. Body color wheels would be OK too. I don't think the darker brown/black wheels would look good with your body color. Also, consider the tires. Are you going with whitewalls or blackwalls?
The work continues....quite a bit has been done in the last 6 weeks....
Finished up sanding the Rust Defender.....getting it ready to put the seal coat on....that means the paint isn't too far behind....
Mike
Applied sealer to the car....this has to be sanded to get the last of the small scratch marks out.....
The grille on this car is really tough to work with....lots of panels, fenders, the hood and the grille all come together at almost one point near the nose.....we did lots of loosening of bolts and moving fenders, the hood and head light panels, even the radiator support to get the 80 year old nose to look right....
We decided to paint the car with the grille and fender trim in place because it took a long time to get it to look decent...no sense pulling it all apart again and risk scratching the paint putting it back on....
Mike
Good day today....started to paint the car.!!!!
First things to do is paint the door jams.....pull the rear fenders out a little bit to get the paint into those hard to reach places.....
I also decided to go with the body color on the rims for now.....some day when the top goes on maybe I'll change the color of the rims to red....those rims are still a work in progress......with the Franconia Beige paint in the gun, why not throw a couple of coats on the rims....
You can really tell today that this is going to be a really big brown car....quietly elegant....I think it's going to be nice....
Mike
Everything is taped off and ready for paint....
Mike
Painting the car....Big Day !!.....all went well !!
Pulled the tape off and mounted the new tires on those painted rims....
Mike
Here's where all that work of using all those sandwich bags to keep small parts and fasteners together really pays off.....It makes trimming the car fun and easy...
Boy do I have a long way to go before this car sees the road.....But it's taking shape....
Check out my all important Betty Crocker aprons.....I can move around the car and bend over those big fenders with out a belt buckle or a button scratching the new paint....
Mike
Mike,
Beautiful work and spectacular color. It will be a knock out when completed.
Thanks Ralph !! Coming from you that's a big complement given the quality of projects you've completed !!
The trimming of the car continues.....I put the hubcaps on and they look pretty good with the rim color the same as the car....
Keeping all that 80 year old trim lined up going down the side of the car is tricky...everything has a little sag to it after all these years....
Mike
I'm learning the definition of a word used on this forum....it's the word unobtainium......
The convertible top frame is going to be just about impossible to find so, we have to come up with something that at least looks good until the unobtainable is found.....
This project came in with just the front convertible frame section and that's it.....just over the drivers area....so we have to come up with a convertible frame from the the back of the front seat to the rear window.....
I found, on Craigslist, a convertible top frame from a 1937 LaSalle convertible sedan.....The LaSalle is much shorter than this series 75 and everything about the frame is shorter and more narrow....lots of fabrication work is on the horizon for this to work....but the bones are there to start with......
Check out the pictures, here I have what frame came with the car in place over the windshield....the LaSalle frame is on the floor next to the car.....I sandblasted the LaSalle frame and spent alot of time taking it apart....lots of rust and stuck bolts had to drilled out.....
I had a couple of my "go to" body slash fabricator guys in the shop looking at what had to be done.....lots of head shaking and head scratching was seen......But what I've found in the past is these guys like to be challenged with something they don't see everyday......They get tired of fixing dents, sanding bondo and painting to match the rest of the customers car....I know these guys will come up with a way to get this done.....
Mike
Mike,
You've made amazing progress since your last post. Many body assemblies in place. Please provide us with a brief up date on the state of your spectacular car. Is the engine running, drive train working, "yard drivable?" Sure will enjoy knowing. Thanks for all, James
Mike, are you not afraid that the entire shop is covered with paint dust by painting the car at this place?
Anyway, I was a bit reluctant about the paint color but, once the entire car has this color, I admit I like it!
I can relate to the paint dust everywhere, having painted three cars in my garages, plus parts.
Still seeing overspray (Dust) on parts, even 40 years.
Bruce. >:D
Quote from: James Landi on August 16, 2020, 06:43:47 AM
Mike,
You've made amazing progress since your last post. Many body assemblies in place. Please provide us with a brief up date on the state of your spectacular car. Is the engine running, drive train working, "yard drivable?" Sure will enjoy knowing. Thanks for all, James
Thanks James,
Yes the engine is running and it seems to shift thru the transmission......I still don't have the driveshaft in yet....car has been stuck in one place for the body work and paint.....
Once I get it further along in trimming I'll get it outside and get it tested.....Still a long way from that though....
Mike
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) on August 16, 2020, 07:30:46 AM
I can relate to the paint dust everywhere, having painted three cars in my garages, plus parts.
Still seeing overspray (Dust) on parts, even 40 years.
Bruce. >:D
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on August 16, 2020, 07:05:01 AM
Mike, are you not afraid that the entire shop is covered with paint dust by painting the car at this place?
Anyway, I was a bit reluctant about the paint color but, once the entire car has this color, I admit I like it!
Yes I think the color is going to be OK......Once a lighter tan canvas top is on I think the colors will all come together......wheel color is an easy change but, so far they don't too bad......
With regards to the shop....yes it's not an optimal place to paint but I don't like giving up control of my cars to any body shop....we all know the horror stories that come from some restoration shops.....
I like bringing in the professionals into my place to do work I can't handle....that way if I'm not getting what I want I can fire the guy and still keep control of the car.....
The cars I have stored there are all covered....we set up fans to push & pull the over spray out of the building quickly......
And you guys are right, it's a very dusty place to start with, but that kinda helps because the over spray dust that stays in the shop sticks to the dust and hasn't been a problem at all.....everything just can be just wiped away....
Thanks guys for the good words !!
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on August 16, 2020, 08:02:35 AM
And you guys are right, it's a very dusty place to start with, but that kinda helps because the over spray dust that stays in the shop sticks to the dust and hasn't been a problem at all.....
That's also a way to minimize the issue! However, the dust, before it's "glued" with the overspray can come on the to be painted surface.
On the other side, the best paint I got was when I did some paint job in a barn full of old hay and plenty of dust everywhere. The volume from that barn was so large that the air coming from the spray gun did not disturb hay and dust!
Your progress is exciting. What kind of gun are you using? Conventional with a compressor or a HVLP?
Mike, Lookin' good. I like the color. Here are a couple of pictures of my top frame which may help you. Harry
Quote from: Tom Boehm on August 16, 2020, 12:53:51 PM
Your progress is exciting. What kind of gun are you using? Conventional with a compressor or a HVLP?
And what kind of paint? Solvent based? Water based?
Quote from: chrisntam on August 16, 2020, 02:01:38 PM
And what kind of paint? Solvent based? Water based?
Quote from: Tom Boehm on August 16, 2020, 12:53:51 PM
Your progress is exciting. What kind of gun are you using? Conventional with a compressor or a HVLP?
The spray gun used is conventional with a compressor and the base coat - clear coat is solvent based....
Quote from: harry s on August 16, 2020, 02:00:31 PM
Mike, Lookin' good. I like the color. Here are a couple of pictures of my top frame which may help you. Harry
Thanks Harry,
I've been collecting pictures of the top frames for different years all around 1937 thru 1941.....They are all similar and your pictures will help....the more angles of pictures I collect will help in the alterations of the LaSalle frame I have...
Mike
I was chipping away at the rear lights today....It's cool to see the empty baggies starting to pile up on the bench..
I also put in the fuel tank filler and got it connected to the tank...
Check out the medallions on the hubcaps....I wish I had before pictures of these....they were really faded.....I found some Sharpie type oil based paint pens on Amazon and I used the black, white & red to color in the faded spots....then I hit them with some rattle can clear....they don't look too bad.....The hubcaps are repro units...they fit nice and snug....
Mike
One of the nicest times I have when doing this type of job is being able to empty out the zip-lock bags, and tossing each one out knowing full-well that the end is getting nearer.
Just finished putting my '70 Ranchero Squire back together after a complete nut and bolt repair and rust removal that was brought about following a prang.
Bruce. >:D
Great Paint job. Looks stunning.
Mike,
Would be great to have a "before" when you first got the car and posted, "Here we go..." and where you are now. Your perseverance, creativity, and technical know how are impressive, and manifest in the arc your journey to this point. Happy day, James
Quote from: James Landi on August 19, 2020, 07:27:50 AM
Mike,
Would be great to have a "before" when you first got the car and posted, "Here we go..." and where you are now. Your perseverance, creativity, and technical know how are impressive, and manifest in the arc your journey to this point. Happy day, James
Thanks for the encouragement James !
Here are the before pictures....I purchased the car at a small "artwork" auction in Rhode Island coming up on a year ago in November....
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/77681771_1939-cadillac-series-75-convertible-v8-sedan
The doors in the back seat are from a 1939 LaSalle hearse......check out the bumpers.....I think they are 1942.....They would have come in handy if I was plowing thru the Ardennes Forest....
She looks alot different today....
Mike
Quote from: Jeff Hansen on February 22, 2020, 05:37:21 PM
Mike,
I was going through some photos I took at Hershey in 1994 and stumbled across this one. Could this be your car? The photos of the top you showed a page or so back look similar.
Jeff
Kind of late to this thread but that looks like a 1949-1955 NH license plate. They were not as wide as modern plates. Wider modern size came in 1956.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_New_Hampshire
However plates were county coded starting in 1949, but a plate that starts with O is Coos county in the northern most NH far from the MA border, so doubtful it is this car. Dark Green plates were for even ending years, white plates odd years. The only number plates were 1-9999, and were for VIPs or very connected people usually.
A coincidence that is a NH car?
It's hard to believe that these 2 cars aren't the same....but I don't think they are...
What do you think?
My car, on the bottom, was found in New Hampshire.....Hmmm...
Mike
Quote from: gkhashem on August 23, 2020, 04:16:02 PM
Kind of late to this thread but that looks like a 1949-1955 NH license plate. They were not as wide as modern plates. Wider modern size came in 1956.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_New_Hampshire
However plates were county coded starting in 1949, but a plate that starts with O is Coos county in the northern most NH far from the MA border, so doubtful it is this car. Dark Green plates were for even ending years, white plates odd years. The only number plates were 1-9999, and were for VIPs or very connected people usually.
A coincidence that is a NH car?
These are not the same: different rear bumper, tank cap and there is a button at the belt after the rear door. Bumper and fuel cap can be exchanged, but that small button was certainly not added just to please you.
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on August 27, 2020, 07:56:01 AM
It's hard to believe that these 2 cars aren't the same....but I don't think they are...
What do you think?
My car, on the bottom, was found in New Hampshire.....Hmmm...
Mike
I wouldn't rule it out. What's the chance that 2 of the 36 built could have ended up in NH? Stuff could have gotten swapped out over the years.
I'm also starting to doubt these are the same two cars; but like Dan, I wouldn't rule it out. Remember, these two photos were taken 25 years apart.
Jeff
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on August 27, 2020, 08:03:01 AM
These are not the same: different rear bumper, tank cap and there is a button at the belt after the rear door. Bumper and fuel cap can be exchanged, but that small button was certainly not added just to please you.
Roger I finally get the chance to tell you how great it is to follow your 1932 Cadillac V16 scale model thread and the great work you do there!!
I try not to comment there because I don't want to gum up the unbelievable work your doing....
The buttons on my 1939 look to be some kind of a bolt on pivot point somebody used for their convertible top frame?....or they had those opera irons on the car at some point and used them to attach them to the body......I took them off....see pictures..
Mike
Quote from: Jeff Hansen on August 27, 2020, 09:41:35 AM
I'm also starting to doubt these are the same two cars; but like Dan, I wouldn't rule it out. Remember, these two photos were taken 25 years apart.
Jeff
Quote from: Dan LeBlanc on August 27, 2020, 09:12:42 AM
I wouldn't rule it out. What's the chance that 2 of the 36 built could have ended up in NH? Stuff could have gotten swapped out over the years.
The cars are the same color...black....both have missing top frames.....And you guys are right, stuff can be bolted on and taken off....Both look like their from New Hampshire....
So I tried to show my car in that 3/4 rear viewpoint to see if scratches on the paint could be matched up....I just don't see any that are the same on both cars....
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on August 27, 2020, 12:05:21 PM
Roger I finally get the chance to tell you how great it is to follow your 1932 Cadillac V16 scale model thread and the great work you do there!!
I try not to comment there because I don't want to gum up the unbelievable work your doing....
The buttons on my 1939 look to be some kind of a bolt on pivot point somebody used for their convertible top frame?....or they had those opera irons on the car at some point and used them to attach them to the body......I took them off....see pictures..
Thanks Mike! You know, comments are always welcome but I understand that this is a subject where comments are not easy to do because the lack of a reference.
You probably know or read that I came almost by accident to this scale model; for a little more than one year I had almost no idea about the cars from the thirties. I had to learn rather quick, but I don't know the details, especially from the body, because I'm far, far away from doing a body. I had a look at those buttons; like you, I think it must have something to do with the convertible top. As I don't have a parts book from those years, I just say "I don't know".
Now, about those two cars on pictures: the first picture is 25 years older. Why should suddenly a pivot or bolt or whatever appear on your car? On the first picture, there is a small dent on the rear fender. On your car, the fender is unmolested. There are other wheels and wheel covers; of course, they can be exchanged with the time, but there are too much small differences in my opinion.
There is no reason why more than one of those cars could not have gone to NH when new.
Here in Australia, a fellow had a business and wanted 6 Hudson 4 door Convertible Sedans, to replace his previous 6 Hudsons, (late 20's models I think) and as Hudson never continued to build such a vehicle in 1934, the Hudson Dealer in Sydney had 6 built.
My mate down here has one, and he restored it with parts from a second car that he found in worse condition, and made up one out of the two. Don't know where the other 4 are, but being wood-framed bodies, and very flexible, it is no wonder they succumbed to the ravages of time.
Bruce. >:D
I bought a roll of that sound deadening material and put in the car...
Pretty easy to work with.....utility knife, pair of scissors and a measuring tape......This stuff is really sticky on the back side.....you can just feel it's going to work to kill road sounds....I never used it before, but I like it...
I also dug out the running boards and installed them....The older I get the more I appreciate the car lift.....Lining up and tightening nuts and bolts when they're at eye level makes it a lot easier....
Mike
Yesterday was the 9 month anniversary that the car has been in the building.....still have a long long way to go but, it's fun to see it taking shape.....
The car came in with the 1940 front directional lights....I like them so I put them back on....they'll go good with my universal signal switch....All wired and ready for testing....
The front bumper brackets that came with the car were all chopped up....so I hacked in a piece for metal to at least support the bumper until I find a good pair of series 75 brackets....
I'm never satisfied with the gaps on this nose....there a lot of panels that all have to come together.....you adjust one panel and then the hood doesn't look right....on and on and on.....
Mike
it's turning into a handsome car! I'm impressed with your work. You should now begin to feel a great deal of pride in what you have done. My car is a 1935 model, bu only a sedan.
Phil
Thanks Phil...
Is your sedan a series 75?
Post a picture when you can....
Mike
So terrific to watch your efforts take shape. Is it a fair question to ask when the "maiden voyage" might take place Mike? James
Hi James,.....Soon I hope....still have lots of testing and adjusting....
Electrical....brakes....etc..
Mike
Mike, Looks great in such a short period of time. Your front clip lines look good. That is such a hard area to get perfect. I would bet from the factory doesn't look as good. Harry
Big compliment coming from you Harry !!
Thanks,
Mike
It looks so good in that color!
Thanks Jon,
I wanted a 1939 color.....something classy and not flashy because it wasn't suppose to be flashy,.... like a 1950s convertible....it's Franconia Beige......
Check this car out....it's a 1940 series 75 convertible sedan......the 1940 color is Beaver Brown and it's the same as the 39 Franconia Beige.....I really like this color with that color top....I also think this guy also used the body color on the wheels.....
Mike
I think that is the Rockefeller car. Sold at owls head museum auction in the last few years.
There is also a nice green 40-75 convertible sedan supposedly owned by Elizabeth Arden new for sale currently. Asking approximately what the Rockefeller car sold for.
In my opinion, especially for large 4 door cars, you want a period color. It just looks out of place with a modern color.
I received the color swatches from ARO today....2 lighter and 1 darker....all 3 would look good I think....The Owls Head car has the lighter color top on it....What color is best??....
ARO has the pattern for the convertible top fabric for an 81 series Buick....that car is pretty close to the series 75 Cadillac.....They said they could cut it with some additional material on the front, back and sides.....
Check the pictures, the darker car is a 39 Roadmaster convertible sedan and the brown car is a 1940 series 75 Cadillac.....They look kinda the same or close.....
I also found online, some GM documents showing some measurements of my series 75.....I'm hoping these will help when the convertible frame goes in and heights at different points will be needed....
I'm starting to just place the LaSalle convertible top frame in place....I can see none of this is going to be easy....
Mike
It seems that the Buick has shorter rear doors.
Today I also just started to place some of the LaSalle convertible sedan top frame parts I picked up a month ago.....
I had to cut the main overhead bow in half and extend (widen) it about 3 1/2".....
You see the general shape is there but everything is going to have to massaged into shape.....
I already know whats going to happen....as soon as we spend all kinds of time and money to get this looking right, up will pop a convertible top frame from a big Buick or a series 75 Cadillac....ouch.....
Mike
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on September 22, 2020, 01:07:39 PM
It seems that the Buick has shorter rear doors.
Yep I think your right Roger....but are the Buick front doors longer than the Cadillacs ?
I'm hoping the extra material added to the top will be enough so adjustments can be made...
Mike
Here is the other 1940 I mentioned.
https://www.hcca.org/admore.php?num=14890
Buick road master is closer to a series 62 Cadillac. Buick series 90 is close to a 75 Cadillac
Thanks Jon,
I'm not super familiar with Buicks...but I don't think they made a series 90 convertible sedan in the late 30s-1940....I wish they did, because that's the size car I need....
In 1939 Buick calls the convertible sedan a Buick Roadmaster Series 81C Sport Phaeton....
I took a couple of more pictures of the LaSalle top frame just thrown on the car to try and jog some creativity.....It's ugly but it's got a shape ??
Mike
Mike, I hope that with the needed work for the roof you will not damage the body paint!
Your right Roger....I wish I could've done all this top work before the paint went on but, I only had my body/paint guy for a few months in a short window of time.....
That'll be a good job for today is getting the body back there covered up....lots of blood, sweat and hopefully not to many tears will be spent trying to come up with a top that looks good...
On something completely different....Sweet mother of all that is holy Roger !!....That is unbelievable work your doing on your V16 scale model!!....just unbelievable !!
Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on September 23, 2020, 08:04:33 AM
On something completely different....Sweet mother of all that is holy Roger !!....That is unbelievable work your doing on your V16 scale model!!....just unbelievable !!
Thanks Mike! It seems that you are appreciate it!
Alright...greased up the U-joints.....And then put the driveshaft in....From underneath the car I put the transmission in gear to hold everything so I could tighten the bolts....transmission spun in neutral like it was supposed to....more on that later....
Finished off the brake system.....had a bad master cylinder....said it was rebuilt on the box but the brake fluid just poured out of the front end...what a mess....don't you just love other peoples projects....who knows what's in all those boxes....
I grabbed the next zip lock bag in a box with a master cylinder in it....it was labeled... "rebuilt and sleeved by Jimmie the sleever"...yikes...But, I got good brake pedal out of that one!!
Wow those star wheel openings in the backer plates on the rear of the car are behind the leaf springs....tough to get the adjuster tool in there to spin the wheels....
I have one of those hand pump power bleeders....bled the system....took longer to find the bleeder than to bleed the brakes....all went well...
Tighten a couple of the line fittings and the small leaks stopped....got real good pedal....even the brake light switch is working...it was a good day!!
Went to the fuel system....tank and fuel line went in months ago and I needed to connect all of that to the fuel pump....poured in at least 20 gallons of gas!....I went to the manual and found that the series 75 & 90 cars have a 26 gallon capacity!....one small drip at tank...tighten and it was gone....
Lets fire this baby up !!!
Mike
Time to start the car.....car starts up pretty easy...the choke is working like it should....I let her warm up.....punch it and she settles to a nice idle....So far so good on my carb rebuild I did months ago!...
Ok she's running, lets see if she'll move so I can test the brakes....I'm still in the shop...I just want a few feet forward and a few back to test brakes, clutch, transmission, etc.....
Put her in first, slowly let out the clutch.....nothing...car doesn't move....reverse same thing....I can hear the clutch rubbing on the fly wheel....It doesn't seem like it's sending power to the transmission....
I need help here....Is this a clutch adjustment problem??....when I was under the car working on the driveshaft I manually shifted the trans into gear to hold the shaft so I could tighten the bolts....I'll have to re-read the shop manual about clutch adjustment...it wasn't clear...the manual spent more time on installation of the clutch and transmission....
Could somebody chime in and tell me how get her in gear?....I'm anxious to get the car outside for a test drive.....
Thanks, Mike
Quote from: Mike Baillargeon #15848 on October 10, 2020, 05:38:54 PM
Could somebody chime in and tell me how get her in gear?....I'm anxious to get the car outside for a test drive.....Thanks, Mike
G'day Mike,
I take it that you did put in the gear lever to connect to the linkage etc. ? ;)
Bruce. >:D
Yea I guess I said that wrong....I used the shift lever and moved it to first gear then to 2nd then 3rd then to reverse....the car didn't move in any direction....
Mike
Mike, When you press the clutch the first inch or so should be the slight resistance from the return spring. If properly adjusted you should then begin to feel stronger resistance which is the throw out bearing beginning to engage the clutch forks and taking pressure off of the disc. If your pedal is fully released and you hear the disc barely touching the flywheel something is way out of adjustment. One other possibility is when the transmission was shifted from under the car the gears could have gotten jammed. Does the column shifter work the way it should for all the gears? If this is the case you can move the shifting levers to neutral and it should be OK. Also check the adjustment of the shifting mechanism under the hood along with adjustment to transmission levers. Harry
As usual Harry you were right the clutch adjustment is way out of wack....no free play and the throw out bearing was really into the clutch release levers....no way it was going to send power to the transmission...
The shop manual just says to have 7/8" to 1 1/8" free play in the pedal...but it doesn't tell you how to adjust it....
I can see the adjusting rod underneath the car and it's buried in between the frame rails....tough to get at....I pulled it all out today...cleaned up the adjusting rod and put it all back in....clutch return spring was a real pain to hook back up!
Is there a trick to easily adjust for free play or is it just trial and error?....
I have the clutch cover plate off the car so it's easy to see whats going in the clutch, pressure plate area...
I want to put a pry bar behind the clutch fork and force the throw out bearing to just touch the clutch release levers....then go ahead and spin the adjusting rod to get the pedal to that point....so, I'm hoping I get that right pedal free play....????
Mike
Mike, It looks like if you disconnect the adjusting rod clevis which should relieve the pressure on the pressure plate then with the clutch pedal all the way up you should be able to move the fork with the throw out then adjust the rod to the proper length until it is in spec. Hopefully no BFHs needed.
Harry
On my 37 it was easy to adjust it,just kept moving it a little bit each time until it felt right,dont remember it being hard or crowded down there,just make sure the big nut can turn freely on the shaft so you dont need a wrench to turn it.I have a set of really short wrenches that work good in confined areas like that.I thinh there are 2 spring on the shaft,one to keep pressure on the front direction and one for the rear direction,been a while since i looked under there.My car has the top side shifter,that may be why i have more room?,mo levers on the side to get in the way with?.Car looks great,hope you can find a roof for it. Harveyb
Quote from: harry s on October 11, 2020, 07:33:04 PM
Mike, It looks like if you disconnect the adjusting rod clevis which should relieve the pressure on the pressure plate then with the clutch pedal all the way up you should be able to move the fork with the throw out then adjust the rod to the proper length until it is in spec. Hopefully no BFHs needed.
Harry
Yes Harry....I did it your way and it worked...your way allowed me not to fight the heavy duty pressure plate springs while I try and get that clevis pin back in....I now have that 1" free play I needed....
Car now goes forward and reverse nicely....
Next is the shift linkage adjustments....I can't get out of the low/reverse gears and go to the high gears.....but on a high note the brakes are working great!....at least in the shop....5-6 feet forward and 5-6 feet backwards....so far so good....Thanks Harry!...PS Harry what's a BFHs?....Battle Field Heros?...haha
Quote from: Harvey b on October 12, 2020, 07:21:25 AM
On my 37 it was easy to adjust it,just kept moving it a little bit each time until it felt right,don't remember it being hard or crowded down there,just make sure the big nut can turn freely on the shaft so you don't need a wrench to turn it.I have a set of really short wrenches that work good in confined areas like that.I think there are 2 spring on the shaft,one to keep pressure on the front direction and one for the rear direction,been a while since i looked under there.My car has the top side shifter,that may be why i have more room?,mo levers on the side to get in the way with? Car looks great,hope you can find a roof for it. Harvey
This 39 is very tight where the adjustment has to happen.....yep the shift arms on the transmission are in the way....so trying to get a drop light in there and getting the right adjustment then lining up the holes so the that pin can go back in....and I'm lucky because I'm stand up on my 2 feet under the car lift....I can't imagine lying on my back doing this....
Once I got it to where I wanted I spun that big jam nut into place to hold it all in place....Thanks, Harvey
Mike
Mike, If the first and reverse positions fully engage put the shifter in neutral then unhook the 2nd/3rd shift rod at the trans with the trans lever in neutral. You should be able to move the column lever up or down until the shift lever lifts in neutral. This would be point where the lever drops when shifting from first to second. Adjust the shift rod from column to trans to retain this position. There is a special tool which hooks to the lower end of the shifting shafts but isn't totally necessary if you keep tweeking until smooth. BTW, I'll give a hint on the BFH, B is for big and H is for hammer. Always good to have one handy in case of need to let off steam. Harry
Thanks Harry,
I want to start by thanking you and everybody else for all the advice & tips you have given me over the years!....Very big help !!
Harry I did the shifter adjustments you said to do....it's still a little ragged going from 1st to 2nd....If I double clutch as I'm shifting that change seems to go better 9 out of 10 times....sometimes it still jams in between...
Should I live with that?....will it get better as I get it on the road?.....Do you think I should put the throw-out bearing more into the pressure fingers on the clutch?...right now the throw out bearing is just touching those fingers....
I'm now just testing by running the car on the lift and going thru the gears....Today I put 6 miles on the car on the lift!...brakes are working good....
Car ran pretty good, nice power, got her up to 60 mph.....not over heating....It was fun sitting behind the wheel and working the car like I was on the road..
That's the question... is it still linkage?...clutch adjustment?...trans is supposedly rebuilt....when it shifts good thru the gears and then back down it feels really smooth most of the time...
Mike
Hi Mike,
While its a great test, I bet will behave slightly different while under load. Maybe I would look around the block to see if the shifting is the same (or worse/better) prior adjusting.
Mike, You may need a little fine tuning on the shift linkage adjustment. John Washburn did an article about the special tool and how it worked. I could not find it here. If I recall the tool fits over a small button like knub at the end of the shifting column and aligns the hi/lo shaft with rev/1st one. I think I also remember John had someone make a limited run of the tools. Hopefully it is an adjustment tweak and not wear. Harry
Mike,
Did you get the 1940 Manufacturing Information from me. It has a lengthy and somewhat complicated write up adjusting the shifting system. Their goal at the factory was to preassemble it all and it would all be correct so it doesn't completely apply to our world but it is worth a read.
Quote from: novetti on October 13, 2020, 10:57:32 PM
Hi Mike,
While its a great test, I bet will behave slightly different while under load. Maybe I would look around the block to see if the shifting is the same (or worse/better) prior adjusting
That was a good Idea Julio and today I got the car outside and took it to my next door neighbors yard where I could run a test and not endanger the public.....there I'm able to drive in big oval circles....
I did the test and the car just wouldn't go into 2nd gear but when it did the car pulled forward nicely with power and third felt just as strong ....the brakes worked better than expected
Shifting linkage adjustment is really needed,
Quote from: harry s on October 14, 2020, 06:12:03 PM
Mike, You may need a little fine tuning on the shift linkage adjustment. John Washburn did an article about the special tool and how it worked. I could not find it here. If I recall the tool fits over a small button like knub at the end of the shifting column and aligns the hi/lo shaft with rev/1st one. I think I also remember John had someone make a limited run of the tools. Hopefully it is an adjustment tweak and not wear. Harry
Harry I found that old thread about John Washburn's J-1204 tool.....It looks like John had a run of those tool produced....I wonder if anybody is in charge yet of going thru the enormous amount of tools and stuff John had hidden in his garage....
My go to tool guy I found on eBay doesn't have this tool and he has some weird tools....
I took some pictures of the shop manuals shift linkage adjustment section and I also took some of my small button at the base of the shift column post....that J-1204 would be used here to align the 2 levers??
http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=130976.msg269530#msg269530
Quote from: Brad Ipsen CLC #737 on October 14, 2020, 09:46:32 PM
Mike,
Did you get the 1940 Manufacturing Information from me. It has a lengthy and somewhat complicated write up adjusting the shifting system. Their goal at the factory was to pre-assemble it all and it would all be correct so it doesn't completely apply to our world but it is worth a read.
Yes Brad I've been in and out of that manual since you sent it to me....I've used it for the exhaust, trans installation, clutch, etc....The section on the shifting linkage is dense and without alot of pictures and while reading it you have to stay with it to try and understand what's going on....I'm going to try again tomorrow....it'll sink in sooner or later....
In the last picture, I took some time to get organized....tripping over parts and pieces of the parts car got old....I set up another section of that Home Depot type racking and put fenders, the hood and other parts up and out of the way....I can see my forklift service lift again!... It's been missing for over a year....
Mike
Mike, It is a little hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like your steering column is articulated. On the '41s (at least) the steering column is straight to the steering gear box and the shift shafts follow it part of the way down to where they attach directly to the steering column. It does look like you have the button for the magic tool to attach to. It sounds like the adjustment of the shifting lever connectors are a little off preventing a smooth shift from first to second. Does the shift lever lift smoothly up and down when in neutral? If so try keeping the lifting pressure up when in first then let fall through neutral then up to second (keeping a strict H pattern). I'm assuming no problems from second to third. I bet it felt good to move around outside the garage.
Harry
Harry, I took this picture just for you today....it's the articulating steering column....reminds me of when, in our younger days, trying to shoe horn that big block into that Chevy Vega.....
I went back and re-read that old post about John Washburn's J-1204 tool....somebody said if you didn't have that tool work a small C clamp in there to squeeze the 2nd / 3rd shift lever closer to the bracket on the shift column....I tried that.....see pictures...that good old Johnny is still helping!!
The first picture after the steering column one, is where that lever started on the shaft.....hard to believe that the small space the lever has to move would make any difference at all....
I loosened the bolt holding the lever in place and opened up the space and shot some PB Blaster in there....then I worked the C clamp in there to squeeze it back pretty tight to the bracket.....I then put the car off the floor about a foot and started the engine to run through the gears....the gears now have a definite click as you go from reverse to 1st then to 2nd and then to third.....Harry you could really feel the H pattern and it didn't bind or get jammed up!!....not any real slop in the shifter handle like before...
That test was on the lift....we'll see with how it goes with another live road test....I'm a little more optimistic about the results now though....The shifting just felt a lot better....
Thanks, Harry!
Mike
Mike, Glad you found the info John W posted. The C clamp is a good substitute for the magic tool. With the adjustment and PB Blaster bath you should be good to go. My '37 75 Series has an articulated steering column which allows for a V-12. Maybe that set up on yours would allow for the V-16. I'm not sure what other differences there is between the 8 and 16. Harry
Really good day with the car today.....got the car out and took it around the block a couple of times....to test shifting problems...
I can't believe that the C-clamp adjustment would make such a big difference in the shifting!.....Click...Click...Click....she shifted like a dream!....1st...2nd...3rd and back again!
That C-clamp moved that shift lever maybe an eighth of an inch and that made all the difference....wow!
Real nice pulling power in all gears....
Lots of thumbs up as I took this big boat up and down the Boulevard....no windshield in the car so I had to put the ball cap on backwards to keep it on my follicly challenged head....
When done I put the car closer to an outside door so it's easier to get on the road again so more testing can be done....
Fuel gauge wasn't working so, I have to look at that....
I have a leak coming from a weep hole on the bottom of the water pump....not alot but annoying....I'm sure it's an older rebuild and a seal has dried out.... Is this crazy talk but....can I get away with putting some kind of a radiator leak fix stuff into the radiator to plug this leak??
Mike
I started to chase that fuel gauge problem of it not working....
I tested the gauge....I tested the wiring to the gauge...to the sending unit...maybe the dash ground or the tank ground was bad.....
I came to the conclusion the the sending unit is bad.....I went thru my credit card receipts, Pay-Pal, eBay....trying to figure out where I bought this thing that turns out to be junk....It looks like I didn't purchase it or I could find where I got it....
I hate this part of pulling the sending unit....draining at least 15 gallons of gas...yuck!....tank has a drain plug thank goodness....
Pulled the sending unit and I can see why it's no good....it looks original...80 years old....tested it outside the tank....it's shot....
My mistake...and I hope everybody learns from my numerous mistakes....the tank was in the trunk of the parts car and it was solid and it looked new...the sending unit must have been already installed in the tank....so I assumed it was good because why put a bad sender into a new tank?.....
Lesson learned...when a project car comes in never assume anything!!....testing up front saves alot of time on the other end....that master cylinder bit me the same way...
Pictures below are the pulled sending unit still with the lunch time wine bottle corks attached from the factory.....also a little test bench I set up to test the sender and a sender I had on the shelf...this new one is too small and it doesn't have the same sweep as the stock one so I have a new one coming in....
A few steps forward and one back....we'll get there eventually....
Mike
Hello Mike, Congratulations on your successful first trial drive! Car turned out beautiful. I like the color. It is not commonly seen on prewar Cadillacs.
Congrats on your maiden voyage! These posts have been so cool to catch up and follow along. Looking forward to seeing how you iron out all these bugs in testing! I might have a similar issue with the tank/sending unit on my project '49 that appears clean on the outside but unknown on the inside... thank you for sharing your learnings!
Good news, I found the convertible top frame for the 1939 Series 75 Convertible sedan!!!
Bad news, it's on another car....a 1938 Series 75 Convertible Sedan....This car is too nice to pull apart and copy the top frame so the search goes on for a real project or just the top frame for the 1939....
Cadillac made 58 of these in 1938 and this one is #14.....this car needs some cleaning up but is in pretty good shape....She's got some scrapes, bumps and bruises but we can work with it....runs real nice but the shifter linkage just won't adjust for smooth transition from 1st to 2nd....
I'm cleaning up the leather interior and I'll buff up the paint and clean the top.....she'll be alright....
Mike
Hello Mike, Are you saying you found the original top frame that was taken off your 1939 75? Someone removed it from your '39 to install on a 1938?
Quote from: Tom Boehm on April 19, 2021, 08:31:22 AM
Hello Mike, Are you saying you found the original top frame that was taken off your 1939 75? Someone removed it from your '39 to install on a 1938?
I should have been more clear....I've been looking for a series 75 Top Frame for the 1939 car.....the 1938-1940 top frames are the same or very close to what I need.....
So I found a compatible top frame but, it's on another car this 1938 car....
This new car is too nice to tear apart and copy the top frame or swap it onto the 39.....I'm going to clean-up this 38 and drive it...
So my search goes on for somebodies stalled project or an un-saveable car that has the top frame I need.....
Mike
Mike,
You may well curate a small fleet of survivors, and they will become ever more relevant (valuable) as you manage to corner "the market." They are unusually attractive, so that in the future, when you have four or five of these, as well as sufficient spare parts, you'll be the go-to guy on the planet. A Lovely and unexpected "find." Looking forward to seeing more pictures of your new family member. Happy day, James