1968 DeVille Convertible - Restoration

[Roger Zimmermann]

Did you buy the parts through David King? He is a reseller of Rare parts and sometimes active on this forum. Ask him!

[DeVille68]

No, I have bought them directly from Rareparts. I will call Moog tomorrow, but maybe someone has some experience with ball joints.

[DeVille68]

Today, the plan was actually to install the full front suspension, but since I was not sure about the strange plastic piece on the ball joint stud, I decided to do other stuff instead.

So, first I had to drill the new screws for attaching the upper A-arm to the frame. I wanted to use splints to be on the safe side. So I had to drill my own holes. I first torqued the screws to spec and then measured how far the splints would need to go. Then I removed the bolts again and drilled some holes. Check it out below. Came out very nice. Now I don't have to worry again that those would become loose.

I also installed two covers for the rear upper A-Arm bushing. According to the master parts catalog and shop there would be only one on the right side. To me however, it makes sense to have this cover or shield against the heat of the exhaust manifold on both sides, so I did just that. Other years do have those two shields.

I also disassembled the brake pistons, to my surprise they were full of dirt. So I cleaned those but some rust pitting remained as can be seen in the picture below. Then just reassemble the braking system, not too difficult. The shop manual has a good step by step description.

Since I was stuck with the ball joint phenomena I decided to replace the rear shock absorbers. Those were gas charged, and I replaced them with some pure hydraulic ones from http://www.shocks2springs.com/.
Check it out below, they look exactly the same. Mounting was relatively easy, until I got the rusty old stuff out.

Keep reading for updates soon.
The engine is at the mechanics shops and he will start working on it soon.

Best regards,
Nicolas.

P.s: I will be in San Marcos for the Grand Nations this years. Would be fun to meet some readers! Drop me a PM if you are attending too! :-)

[DeVille68]

Quite some progress today! Managed to install all the suspension components.
First I tried to use spring compressors, but this did not work, because I could either not inset the spring in its pocket because the compressors was in the way, or I could not remove the spring compressor because I had to compress the spring some more with the jack.
Then I tried to use solely the jack, but this did not work, because I would just lift the car from its stands. There was too little weight in the chassis due to the missing engine. See picture (36)

Suddenly, the brilliant idea came to mind to tie the jack to the chassis itself, such that the forces would equalize at the chassis than at the garage floor. See picture (37). You can see that I tied the jack with two clamping sets around the frame rails. The jack was basically off the ground suspended by the clamping sets. Make sure the force rating of the sets you use is sufficient.

Picture (39) shows the spindle and brake assembly installed.
Picture (40) shows the left side (driver side)

If you ever try to install the suspension without the engine, I hope I gave you an inspiration here!

Best regards
Nicolas

[DeVille68]

Some progress again. Different stuff done, in no particular order, but stuff that needed to be done anyways. So here we go:

1) Repaired the transmission to engine cover. It had a small crack. I welded it shut. And then painted it with Cadillac blue.

2) Painted the oil pan, valve cover, intake manifold and some smaller pieces with Cadillac blue (Bill Hirsch)
Results are very nice. I will glue the valve cover gasket to the cover itself, so when I remove the valve cover the gasket should stick to the cover itself.

3) Painted the exhaust manifolds with POR-15 manifold Grey. Turned out nice as well. Those need to be on the engine and experience a full heat cycle to fully cure. POR-15 told me to run the engine for 15-20 min in idle, then shut it off and let it cool. Repeat again.

4) Removed the passenger side rear axle shaft. I had no proper tools, so I made my own tool. By now you probably guessed it: out of scrap metal! 
Removing the axle only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. But I had to create my own puller, so it took about 2 hours! Had to weld some scrap metal to be able to attach the slide hammer. I used a new electrode, the welds are not nice until I found the proper current setting. Not pretty but functional! 
I have to remove the axle because it has a runout damage from the tire blowout that happened about two years ago.
I will bring the axle to a shop that hopefully can fix that.

5) Flushed the radiator and massaged all the fins. Reinstalled in the car. Attached the transmission oil cooler too.

6) Repaired and installed the fusible links in the wiring harness coming from the starter. I ended up using wire connectors to attach the fusible links (with shrink ramp for protection). I will then put some ready-made fusible links in trunk in case on of those really burns through, I have some spares with me along the trip.


Best regards,
Nicolas

[Roger Zimmermann]

Are the wheel bearings the original ones? It seems that the outer diameter has some rust. Depending how the shaft will be corrected, a new bearing could/must be replaced. In case, I have 2 on stock.

[savemy67]

Hello Nicolas,

Bill Hirsch has been out of stock of the Cadillac Blue paint for some time.  Now I know why

You may find that you will be removing the valve covers a few times after the engine is back in the car.  If you are going to glue the gaskets to the covers, be sure you check the covers for "flatness/straightness", and check that the holes have not been deformed.

From your photos, I could not tell what is the width of the straps used to strap the frame to the jack.  The width looks to be about 1 inch (25mm).  Here in the States, a strap of that width has a rating of about 500 to 700 pounds (227 to 318 kilograms).  You used two straps, each with more than one turn around the jack and frame, so you probably came close to or exceeded the maximum force of the jack (two-ton (1818kg) jack?).  Since we like following your progress, and want to see more, please consider a safer method of installing the springs.  Especially if the jack starts to "float".

If the wheel bearings show any signs of leaking grease, or if the axle tube/brake backing plate show any signs of differential lube leakage, or if you think the bearings are 50 years old, I would probably take advantage of Roger's offer - especially since he lives relatively close to you.

You are doing a great job - enthusiasm, ingenuity, thoroughness, and persistence will pay dividends in the final result.  Keep up the good work.

Respectfully submitted,
Christopher Winter

[DaddyDeVille]

Suddenly, the brilliant idea came to mind to tie the jack to the chassis itself,

Great idea!!  I'll be doing this later this fall hopefully

[DeVille68]

Christopher, thank you very much!
I am currently attending the GN in San Marcos. Are you around?

Roger, thanks for your offer. I still don't know what I am going to do with it. I had the axle on a balancing machine but the guy said there was no wobble or other alignment issues.
So now I think I will just but it back together and see if my vibration problems still exist.
If all goes well, I will rebuild the rear end in the winter anyways. Drive shaft seal is leaking. Propeller shafts (axle shafts) are ok. No rear end oil leaking out.

Thanks for tip regarding the valve covers. I will do that.

Yes, I used three straps. The two on the front were rated 500kg and the on in the rear 800kg. So that is plenty of weight. Well, the jack had to "float" otherwise the reaction force would still go through the ground. I needed to have the reaction force going through the straps into the frame.

[savemy67]

Hello Nicolas,

I am not at this year's GN in San Marcos, but there is a small probability that I might be in Germany in September.  Hope you are having a good time in Texas.

Christopher Winter

[Roger Zimmermann]

Roger, thanks for your offer. I still don't know what I am going to do with it. I had the axle on a balancing machine but the guy said there was no wobble or other alignment issues.
So now I think I will just but it back together and see if my vibration problems still exist.
If all goes well, I will rebuild the rear end in the winter anyways. Drive shaft seal is leaking. Propeller shafts (axle shafts) are ok. No rear end oil leaking out.

You are welcome!
Recently, a friend from France asked for help: his '65 or '66 had a noise/vibration coming from the rear axle. He was pretty sure that the diff was bad; he asked how easy spare parts are available...I said to him that he must check the wheel bearing first. His reply was that the bearings were replaced some years ago and could not be bad. He went to a (probably) truck shop to let check the rear axle. The result was that the rear axle was perfect, but the wheel bearings bad, maybe installed with the seal on the wrong side, as there was some confusion how they are correctly installed.

[DeVille68]

ok, thank Roger. So I think I'll but the axle back in with a new o-ring and then continue with the engine rebuild. After that I will see if my vibration problem still exist and can tackle this issue in the winter time again. I want to drive the car now, the car has been already a year off the road.
Best regards,
Nicolas

[Roger Zimmermann]

Hi Nicolas

I suppose that a word is missing in your response...Anyway, I'm now away for about 10 days; I'm back home early July. I understand that you would like to drive that convertible: the right season is now,not in November!

[DeVille68]

I need some help regarding the oil pressure switch on the back of the block. I want to put a proper analog gauge in parallel while starting the engine the first time. (I can use a simple volt meter for reading the pressure signal) Unfortunately, my engine is at the mechanics place and I can not take any measurements.

Any recommendations on which gauge to use?
What is the thread? 1/4'' NPT or 1/8'' NPT?
Where do you buy this T-fitting, that I have in mind? (please give me a source in the states).

Best regards
Nicolas

[savemy67]

Hello Nicholas,

The attached photos show my "T" at the back of the block on my 429.  I removed the oil pressure sending unit, installed a 2 inch nipple, installed a brass T (three female openings), re-installed the oil pressure sending unit, and installed an old Stewart Warner mechanical oil pressure gauge.  The only problem is I cannot recall if the fittings are 1/8" NPT or 1/4.  I can check tomorrow (Monday) and PM you.

I have about 20 pounds of brass fittings, so if I have the right size pieces, I can send them to you via post.  Is it more convenient for you to receive a personal post or to purchase online from the states?

Christopher Winter

[DeVille68]

Hi Christopher

ok, that would be perfect. This is exactly what I have in mind. I am thinking of an adapter with a male and two female ports.
I does not matter, I can send you money via paypal. I have an address in the states.

Best regards,
Nicolas

[savemy67]

Hello Nicolas,

Just sent you a PM.

Christopher

[DeVille68]

ok, found it. In the table where the torque ratings are listed it says that the oil pressure switch is 1/4'' pipe.

So now I need a 1/4'' T-adapter with 1/4'' male and two female at 90° angle. Then I can hook up the original switch in line with the hole in the block and 90° to it I can screw in the adapter from 1/4'' to 1/8'' of a pressure gauge, such as this one here https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/41440/10002/-1#tab_kits

Hey Christopher, do you have a T in 1/4''?

(ohw, posted at the same time as you! :-D sorry)

Best regards,
Nicolas

[DeVille68]

Hello guys,
Yes I am back! What took me so long? Well, had to wait on my engine builder to finally start working on my block! 
Its all done now, and I can start with the assembly!

So here it goes:
Picture 1: shows the crank fresh from balancing. The guy had to add weight, but this is difficult so he took a bit material of the rod journal on No. 8. All in all very little weight had to be removed. The harmonic balancer and flex plate were also balanced individually and then the full assembly. He had to adjust the hole in the flex place, because the hole was not round and this error would give +- 10gramms.

We had to go with the 30 (instead of 20) over bearings on the connecting rods, because the damage on no. 8 was too deep. 

Picture 2: shows the block with the new camshaft "installed". Rotates very nicely. There is a current thread of someone having issues with the cam moving back and forth. I did just quickly check that the cam rides on the surface on the front of the block.

Picture 3: Shows all the bits and pieces that need to be installed!

Picture 4 and 5: Shows some preparation that I did a while back. Christopher was very kind to supply me with the correct fittings for the oil pressure gauge. As you can see, everything fits together nicely.

Will post a lot of progress photos during the next days!

Best regards,
Nicolas

[Roger Zimmermann]

Welcome back!