1939 Cadillac Convertible Sedan #23 of 36 Built

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[Jeff Hansen]

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

[Tom Boehm]

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!

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Supplement special request 39- 291

[Tom Boehm]

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.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

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

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

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.

[DaveZ]

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:-)

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[Tom Boehm]

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.

[DaveZ]

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.

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[James Landi]

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

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[James Landi]

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

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

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

[James Landi]

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