My 57 Fleetwood restorations photos with questions.

[57flw]

Hi Roger,

Yes I did try the small pedal.

I think I should wait until I start to put it all back together before I get too excited about the park brake.
When I first applied the brake there was no master cylinder or brake booster fitted.
I would imagine all the return springs and mechanisms in place would become involved here.
I need to be patient and make sure everything else is connected and working properly first. If I cannot find a new cylinder head I will have no need for a park brake.

Ken

[Roger Zimmermann]

When I first applied the brake there was no master cylinder or brake booster fitted.
I would imagine all the return springs and mechanisms in place would become involved here.

Hi Ken

The parking brake is totally independent from the hydraulic part. The tension on the cable is sufficient to let release the parking brake. My '57 Brougham has the same system; I have to confess that if I do apply the brakes and push at the same time the small pedal from the parking brake, this one does not release completely because there is a lack of tension on the cable because the shoes are applied to the erar drums.
I understand that you have to find first a good head. You may have trouble to find one in Australia and you may be forced to import one from the States. Be ready to pay more for the shipping than for the head! (I'm living in Switzerland; shipping costs are all the time a problem...)

Roger

[57flw]

if the head you get locally is no good -after you get it magnafluxed-let me know-
i have over 350 caddys -for parts and am sure i can find one w/o cracks.
also contact me when you are needing any advise on your FROFEN PARKING BRAKE CABLES

Hi William Bradley,

I sent you the following email a few days ago. I have not seen a reply yet.


Would you be able to let me know if you have something that would suit my car.
It would need to be crack tested before shipping.
I have been told late 1956, all 1957 and 1958 will fit.
I have a friend who has a container leaving from Wilmington, CA from time to time. I think the next one is leaving in January 2010.

I need a right hand head but perhaps it would be best to get a matching pair. What do you think?

I would have preferred to get one locally ( Australia) but I am not sure if that is going to be possible.

If you have something what sort of cost would be involved?

Regards

Ken Francis

kandhfrancis@bigpond.com

[57flw]

Hi Everyone and Merry Xmas to you all.

Here is some of my presents. I got them early.

New coil and leaf springs,  shackle pins and bushes, ball joints, camber/caster shafts.
It was great to buy from America and see made in the USA on some of the parts.
I was not real impressed to see made in Taiwan on the tie rod ends though.
I have kept the original parts just in case.

More to follow.

Ken

[57flw]

Chassis painted with the good stuff.

Still more to follow

Ken

[57flw]

Here's how I used my hoist to replace the front coil and the rear leaf springs.

Due to the fact there was no wieght on the chassis I held the chassis to the hoist with rope and clamps.

It was a little bit tricky but overall it worked fine.

Ken

And check out the next one. I Found RUST.

[57flw]

After looking at all the other restorations that have been shown on this site I have been in awe at some of the magnificent work that people have done.

Well I will almost be in the same class now because I have found some rust in the spare wheel well after the body was sansblasted.

Look real close at the photo.

What do you all think.
Has this improved my rating?

Just Kidding. You gotta have some fun.

Ken

[kelly]

Ken,
  That's not rust, it's acne! Apply a little makeup and continue on to the prom.
Kelly

[57flw]

Little bit more of an update.

Not much work happened over Xmas due to being in the spirit. Mainly Beer and Bundaburg Rum.
Plenty of time in the swimming pool. Our Xmas temp was 32C or 90F.

Managed to dive with the sharks at Rainbow Beach.

Finally freed up the park brake set up. Just siezed through the lack of use. Used a can of WD40 and a lot of soaking hours and it is now all good.

The crack free replacement heads are on their way from the USA.

Still trying to find some reasonably priced parts to rebuild my engine.

Ken

[57flw]

I want to take the ID plate off my car so I can prepare it properly for painting.

My question is. If I drill the rivets out is there somewhere I can get replacement ones that will suit the car.


Regards

Ken

[Roger Zimmermann]

Ken, you may do the same as I dit: you remove the air duct cover and, with a little screwdriver, you unfold the rivets from behind. After painting, you can install the body plate by working the rivets from behind. I did that on my 3 cars.
Roger

[57flw]

Hi Roger,

I have a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and I feel embarassed at your simple and I could see effective suggestion. I will just go and hide my head and won't tell anyone about this.

Many thanks.

Ken

[Roger Zimmermann]

Hi Roger,

I have a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and I feel embarassed at your simple and I could see effective suggestion. I will just go and hide my head and won't tell anyone about this.

Many thanks.

Ken

Don't be embarassed Ken! Sometimes engineers (I'm one too) are thinking too far away and don't see the simple solution! and "with a little help of my friends" those thinking people are saved!

Roger

[57flw]

Roger,

Your words are too kind.

Many thanks

Ken

[57flw]

I am now talking about rear leaf springs.

I have fitted new heavy duty springs I acquired from Eaton Springs in Chicago.

A friend of mine dropped over today to see how the car was going and said my rear springs are too short.
First of all I wish he had not come over. He always has a negative opinion on everything. Anyway enough complaining.

I removed one of the springs and compared it to one of the old ones that I would imagine is original, like the rest of the car.
There does not seem to be very much of a difference between the two except the old ones look sagged.

The hanger is a long way forward. Have a look at the pictures. Old one 9303604. New one 173991.

My question is. Will the hanger move enough once there is some weight back on the chassis?

Regards

Ken

[Roger Zimmermann]

Your friend would not stay my friend for a long time! He may have qualities but not in the automotive sector!
Your springs are OK. When you will install the shock absorbers (do it before the body will be coming on the frame) you will have to load the frame otherwise you will not be able to attach them at the other side (your friend will say that they are too short).
When puting some wheight on the frame, the spring shackles will either go up (the wrong way) or down. Usually they go up just to let laugh your friend. You have to take a piece of wood inserted between the shackles to force the spring to go down. Once the shock absorbers are installed, the shackles will have the proper stance.
I hope that my explanation are good enough; it's not all the time easy to do it in English!

Roger

[57flw]

Roger,

Many thanks again to you.
By the way your english is very good. I would not be able to talk to anyone from Switzerland in their language. Well done.

I did try and fit the rear shockers and decided I will have to wait until I had some weight back on the chassis.
I will refit the spring, that I had already compared to the old one prior to fitting it, as you do and wait until I put the body back onto the chassis.

Have a look at the photo. Is this where you are saying to put the wood?
Once again thanks for your help.

Ken

[Roger Zimmermann]

Exactly, Ken. To lower the frame to install the shock absorbers: you can also attach the rear axle to the cross member with a rope or whatever suitable and span it to compress the rear springs. If you wait to have the weight of the body on the frame to have the correct stance of the shackles, you will be so busy that you will forget them!

You may have the choice of 4 languages in Switzerland: German (or swiss german, which is a slang), French, Italian and Romanche!
My mother tongue is French and I can speak German.

Roger

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I am with Roger on the remedy.

Personally, I would use a small crow bar between the spring eye and the chassis, between the hanger sides, and once the weight is on the chassis, simply lever the bar to "pop" the main leaf downwards, as the weight is being applied.

Bruce.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Bruce, it was what I intended to explain with my broken English. However, if he is waiting too long - I mean when the body is on the frame - he will be unable to insert the pray bar. Therefore he should install the shock absorber first.

Roger