Progress!

Went to Peter's shop today to watch him do the rear end surgery. He had all the guts out and had already replaced the pinion gear. It needed a new front pinion bearing, which gets all the thrust, but not a rear one. It's the only bearing that we'll reuse. Here's what it looks like in the housing (notice the ugly brake lines - they got replaced as well):

From Rear axle

The ring gear is normally riveted to the carrier, but the only option now - discussed in the shop manual - was to bolt the gear on. He used Grade 8 bolts, cut to length, with self sealing nuts & red Lock-Tite to hold it securely. The bolt heads were so snug that we couldn't use a wrench on several and had to wedge the bolt head against a screwdriver to hold it in place when tightened. BTW, the bolts went to the outside surface, heads to the gear side. The books says otherwise, but that looked to be the best fit.

Once tightened, the side bearings had to be pulled off with a gear puller. That took some doing as they were very snug. One just pulled apart and heat was required to remove the inner race. Both were rough and noisy, ready for replacement. The news ones I got one eBay worked fine.

From the looks of it, it appeared that someone had been into this assembly before. It wasn't me these past 45 years and you wouldn't think a car with 68,000 on it when I got it would need rear end work. But apparently it did. Hope it never does again.

Here's a view of the carrier housing. The ring gear is on the opposite side, the left side bearing is still attached.

From Rear axle

Here's Peter applying the heat:

From Rear axle

Next "the pumpkin" was ready to be fit into the case and the side bearings adjusted to the proper fit with the pinion gear - a critical step. As it happened, the bolts rubbed on the inner case, preventing the ring gear assembly from turning properly. That was remedied by grinding down the bolts to be absolutely flush with the nuts, something to remember for when we do the same thing to the cabriolet.

From Rear axle

(notice the new brake lines installed as we working by one of Peter's techs)

From Rear axle

I had to leave before he got the axles, spider gears, etc. installed, but it was all fairly straightforward. One learning: don't try to use NOS rear axle seals. They get dried out and are useless. However, NAPA carries a modern replacement that will work perfectly. The part number is 18695. You can also likely cross match all the original bearings to a modern bearing. Nice to know.

I missed all the fine tuning of the gears, which is the most critical step in the rebuilding. All in all though, I learned a lot and look forward to the day it is all back together.

And, a reminder from the manual, rear ends have to be broken in just like engines, so I'll need to take it easy for the first several hundred miles.

Speedometer gear

When you change to the high speed rear end, you also need to change the speedometer driven gear from a 13 tooth gear a 12 tooth gear. It is the same gear used on a 1934 Chevy Master and a new one can be found at Northwest Transmission Parts in Ohio (937-442-2811, ask for John). $32.

Coupe Rear Gears

I'm celebrating 45 yrs of coupe ownership by switching the ring & pinion set from the mid-range ratio to the plains ration (4.11). I've done about everything on these cars, but never rear end surgery.

As it happens, getting the rear axle out of the car is quite easy. After lifting and securing the car, drain the gear oil, remove the wheels, put a jack under the differential case. Then detach the axle from the rear springs, disconnect emergency brake cables and the hydraulic brake line, and take apart the spring shackles to lower the springs. The assembly can be pulled back - no need to disassemble the universal joint – and rolled out on the brake drums. Put the wheels back on to make moving it around easier.

Here's the unit after removal from the car:

From Rear axle

I rolled it out to the driveway and scraped off the accumulated grease and dirt with a scraper and wire brush. I then washed it down with kerosene. I plan to put a good coat of frame paint on it before putting it back in.

One thing I learned in the process: Not only were the axle ends painted to indicate what gear set was inside, so was the differential case. In this case, the paint was green to indicate the mid-range gear set.

Axle paint:

From Rear axle

Case paint:

From Rear axle

I put a dab of yellow paint when done to indicate the high range gears.

I'm not brave enough to attempt to switch out the gears. Old car friend and master mechanic Peter Brown will do that work, but I do hope to watch and document. Peter picked up the assembly today and will get to it sometime next week. We'll also replace all bearings and seals as long as we're in there.

When done, I hope to gain top end speed, improve gas mileage, and lessen engine wear. We'll see. Andy Lee did the same to his coupe and says it made a big difference. If so, I have another set of gears to do the same with the cabriolet.

1933 Pontiac

I knew from the Early Times Chapter connections that a 1933 Pontiac cabriolet lived in Bridgton, about 30 miles away. Greg Crosby's, the owner, father bought the car in 1963, when Greg was in high school.

Eager to see it, I made plans to meet him at a local cruise night in Bridgton on Wednesday. Enjoyed meeting him and was able to give him a horn button for my car that looks like it will fit his as well. That was the only piece he seems to be missing. The rest of the car in quite complete and runs great. Here are a few pics:

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Wiper Motor Repair

I haven't had working wipers in the coupe for a few years now, so thought I try to remedy that. Often just a shot of Marvel Mystery Oil will cure the problem of dried out leathers. I disconnected the hose at the manifold, stuck it into a paper cup of MM oil, then moved the wiper blades by hand hoping I might suck some up there. No luck with that.

That meant taking the motor out, not a fun job, especially with the car having a radio. First, I disconnected the battery, knowing from experience that the transmission arms would drop down on the light switch, shorting something out for sure. Then, with a light shining up there and a long shafted screwdriver, I stuck my head down on the floorboards, with feet up over the seat (this gets harder every year). I disconnected the two transmission arms, being careful not to stretch out the spring clip that holds them to the motor. Then I removed the two mounting screws. Getting them out was pretty easy, as was working the motor out of there.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

I poured a little MM oil in the vacuum inlet and worked the action to get it down where it needed to be. Then I took off the on/off linkage plate on the front side to see if it might be jammed up and it wasn't (if it was, I'd spray it with WD-40). I then hooked the motor up to the manifold hose off the engine to see if it worked. Bingo, it worked great. Now I had to get it back in.

First, working from the right side looking up, I got the motor in position with the on/off lever in the correct [engaged]position, then I mounted the screw. There is just enough room on this side to make that possible.

But no way was I going to be able to get the left side screw in. That required taking the glove box out, not particularly hard, but an extra step. That exposed the mount very clearly and made it easy to get the screw in.

I had also noticed that the fit of the hose over the inlet elbow was looser that I like. Even though the wipers worked fine with the motor hooked up, I left the g-box out until I can get a hose that fits a little tighter. That makes it a two-part job, but better to do it only once eh? [Always to check first to see if the hoses are the problem. They can collapse under vacuum.]

If doing this again, I'll just take the glove box out first to give me more room under there to start with.

Manifold cosmetics

Manifolds can get pretty ugly over time. Here's a trick I learned from a machinist that works well for me.

I use spray graphite to give them a nice gray finish. I get mine at NAPA:

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Here's what my coupe manifold looked like yesterday. Note the shop towel behind to catch overspray. You can see the emerging rust spots.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

And here's what it looks like after the graphite treatment. You need to reapply the stuff periodically, but it gives them a nice gray finish.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

It's home…

The cabrio is back. India and I drove up to Pittsfield yesterday morning to pick it up. First I had to reinstalled the mid-engine mount and make a few other minor fixes, but I was on the road by at 1:00, on a fabulously beautiful spring day. Top down, temps in the 80s, sun in my face, iPod in my ears -- it was just a delightful 3 hr., 100 mile drive home on the back roads of Maine, getting lots of attention along the way.

It took 3 hrs because I was trying to keep the speed down to 35-40 in deference to some new engine parts. It ran strong, handled well, BUT there is still making the mystery noise. That isn't what I wanted to hear.

It is much less noticeable, and can only be heard when decelerating when engine vacuum is high. Guess I need to get my spare motor rebuilt and ready to drop in if it gets worse, which I expect it to do I'm afraid. We'll see. In the meantime, I hope to drive it on a regular basis while the weather is good.

Precision Rubber Redux

I got an interesting call yesterday from Alberta. Long time readers will remember my VERY frustrating running board experience with a Mr. Richard Loesch, owner of Precision Rubber in Alberta and a thoroughly despicable character who took my money, lied through his teeth for two years, and did absolutely nothing with my boards.

The original Precision Rubber was a reputable company, but was acquired by Mr. Loesch after its founder's retirement. Mr. Loesch then ran it into the ground, defrauding many people along the way. Another person bought the equipment out of Loesch's bankrupcy and apparently proceeded to do the same thing – defraud more old car owners.

Anyway, Pat Rowden, the original owner of Precision Rubber and developer of the process, has teamed up with a guy who restores cars for a living to resurrect the business under a new name, Running Board Rubber (www.runningboardrubber.com). That owner, Kris Arneson, called me to update me on the company – I suspect my horror story keeps reappearing whenever Precision Rubber gets searched on Google – and tell me that he's the real deal and can deliver a quality product.

I have no idea if that is true, but it sounds plausible. I'm sticking with Hundley Acuff in GA for 6-cylinder running boards, but if you have an 8-cylinder car you might want to check these folks out. (I'd be sure to ask for customer referrals before sending them my boards.)

There is a real need for a company who can do this kind of work and I hope these guys are what they say they are. If any of you have experience with them, let me know and I'll post it here.

Photos

Here are some photos from last time. The first is a shot of the motor from below, before we put the pan back on. Ain't it clean! Ken prefers the old style non-detergent oil, but I hate the idea of sludge buildup so use the modern detergent oil, 40 weight in this case given the generous tolerances we found in this motor.

From Pontiac Pictures

Here's a shot of Paul after sealing in the pan gasket. I made that gasket from a sheet of cork Ken had on hand - easily done. Note how clean it all is having been sandblasted inside and out. And that the oil drain plug area has been repair. This is the pan that came off of the 1939 engine that the cabriolet came with.

From Pontiac Pictures

And finally, you know you always have an audience for a project like this, full of good advice to offer. Here are Ken (rear) and 85 yr. old Bob from Pittsfield. Bob's father was the town's Pontiac dealer back in the day and Bob the Chevrolet dealer. A good way to spend a day.

From Pontiac Pictures

Fixed … maybe!

I left my camera in Pittsfield, so no pics this week, but we've got the motor all back together, got it running and did NOT hear any sign of the knocking noise. It only ran for 15 minutes or so, but it got plenty warm and previously would have been making the noise under those conditions. So things are looking good and I'm a happy man. We'll see if it holds up over time.

As usual, it wasn't a straight line to assembly. We couldn't get the oil pick up tube and splash pan to align properly - apparently it got bent during removal - so I cannabilized the old '39 engine to see if that tube matched. It did and it's now in the car. We also noticed that the oil pans were the same for both years and that the '39 oil pan was in better shape (the old one had the drain plug repaired and it was obvious). Blasted it clean, painted it and now it's on the car.

What was the source of the noise and how did we fix it? We have no idea, but think it could have been either the broken valve spring dampener or a bearing that didn't sit right in connecting rod #4's bore.

Ken will be finishing up some body work / adjustments and I should have the car back by May 1st. Yeah!

Getting close…

Assembly is the best part of any car restoration / repair job, eh? We got a lot done yesterday on the motor and should have it running after the next trip up. We started the day with a good cleaning of the cylinder head, block head, bores, crank journals etc. Also used the opportunity to degrease the side of the engine and get some new paint on the head and valve covers.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Next came the pistons and rods. We put rubber hose over the cap bolts to prevent any scratching,used the ring compressor and dropped each assembly in the proper bore (bearing tabs on the rods to to the front of the engine), put on the caps (reversing the tab position), torqued the bolts to 50 lbs., and finished each cap off with a stainless cotter pin. Paul did find that the bearing on #4 appeared to be misfitted last time, which MAY be our noise. He cleaned up the tab and groove and now we'll hope it works properly. BTW, for future reference, the bore of this engine is .040" over, the rod bearings .010" under. The Hastings part # for a .040 compression ring is 29119.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

After our traditional lunch break in town…

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

We got the valve train reinstalled. Having the right tools for this is a must. First a spring compressor to get them fitted back in position above the lifters so the valve stem can be dropped in, then the removal tool to lift them up so the keepers can be inserted (you can find these tools on eBay). I only got one in backwards. This was the first time I ever messed with valves on these cars and found it was pretty easy (with the right tools).

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Paul cleaned up the head bolts on a wire brush, finding several that looks problematic. I've got a lot more at home though, so no problem there. We got the head on and located properly. At the end of the day, here's how it looked.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Next time we'll tighten down the head, mount the oil pan – I got some cork from Ken to make a gasket – put back the manifolds, hook up all the other stuff and get it running.

This is definitely an engine with some wear on it, that is plenty of clearance in key places, but there's no reason it shouldn't be very serviceable. It looks very good on the inside. If we still have that damn noise I'm going to be very disappointed. Stay tuned!

Engine work

Friend Paul Austin and I have been up to the shop twice in the past month to tear into the motor and try and find the source of the mysterious knock.

First up was to check all the valve springs. After removing the manifolds and valve covers, we removed all the valves, mounting them on a valve stick to make sure we had them in the correct order.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

All of the springs looked OK, though one valve spring cage was broken (the cup thingy). Got a replacement for that from Nelson Pease, then had the springs tested. They measured 52-54 lbs each, all in the correct range. End of that theory.

On the following trip, we dropped the pan, removed the head, and pulled the pistons and rods. This motor, a late production version (2 casting plugs) obtained from a junked parts car in 1987, was professionally rebuilt in 1991 and put into the coupe when its original engine got tired at 90K. I ran it for 10 years in the coupe with no problem, then rebuilt the original early production coupe engine (4 casting plugs), swapped it out with the engine now in the cabriolet, and had that engine "freshened up" by a rebuilder. The only thing we really did to it then, after checking all specs, was to replace one valve and put in new .001" rod bearings.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

After pulling the pistons, we did find one broken top ring, but no other obvious sign of a problem with the pistons, wrist pins, bearings or rods. There was some minor scoring/scuffing of the pistons, but again, no big problem evident.

Paul carefully miked the pistons and the bores (they are aluminum, .040 over).

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

The gap between the pistons and bores was a little high - .0068 on average – but not so wide as to cause a problem (we think).

When I got home, I took the pistons to Frank Lamb, an old engine guy here in Portland, and he agreed that they all looked fine and should pose no problem. BUT, he did notice that the rod bearings seemed loose in the connecting rod bores and saw evidence that there was a slight gap between several bearings and their corresponding rod bore. AHA says I, that's the one part we changed, so that may indeed be the problem. We had noticed how easily the bearings separated from the rod bores when removing them.

I'll be taking them to a machine shop to have the bores measured. I also have a NOS GM set of rod bearings and will try them to see if they sit any firmer in the bores.

Feels like we're getting closer. We'll see!

Hey, the Cabrio is "Miss January"

I just heard from a friend that the Cabriolet is the January feature car in the 2009 Hemming's Classic Car calendar. See it here: http://www.hemmings.com/store/detail_calendars.html?product_id=1378

You'd think they would have told me they were using the photo, but guess they own the photo rights and don't have to. Pretty neat though.

Water pumps

Well, a rebuilt pump did the trick for the coupe. Too bad I didn't beat the snow however: the driving season is over in Maine.

Here are pictures of the three kinds of water pumps that are out there. This is what an original looks like. Note the open casting with the packing nut and the two oil receptacles:

From Pontiac Pictures

This one has a grease fitting. If you have one, be sure to use water pump grease only, not chassis grease:

From Pontiac Pictures

And this one, reputedly the most reliable, has a sealed bearing:

From Pontiac Pictures

Arthur Gould does a great job of rebuilding them. I've concluded that it's much smarter to rebuilt one than buy a NOS pump.

Water Pump Blues

The coupe has been laid up for six weeks or so in need of a water pump. Here's a lesson: don't buy a NOS pump, get your old one rebuilt instead. When mine sprang a leak around the seal, I bought a NOS one. It turned out to have a bad bearing and made a hellacious noise after I installed it (hint: don't replace the coolant until you are sure the pump is good!).

Figuring that was a fluke, I got a 2nd NOS pump and it had the same problem. Gave up after than and sent my pump to Arthur Gould in NY to be rebuilt. I hope to have it back tomorrow and get in at least one more day of coupe driving before the snow flies (predicted for this Sunday).

A new theory…

Ken picked up the cabriolet last weekend and it is now back in his shop. The latest theory about the engine knock? Someone whose mechanical skill Ken respects heard it run and thinks it is a bad valve spring. Let's hope that's true: much easier to fix than a bad piston or piston pin! I plan to get up there mid-January and start tearing into it. Ken will be fixing a mild dent in the RR fender – some kid in a Jeep who didn't know hand signals tried passing me on the right this summer as I was making a right turn. Fortunately he only grazed me. I also hope to switch out the mid-range ring and pinion to the high ratio (4.11!) version if I can find the right speedometer gear to match. Same as a '34 Chevy, so maybe I'll get lucky.

Back to the hospital…

Ken dropped by last week and got to listen to the engine. He thinks it's a bad piston. We decided to take it back to his shop for the winter, pull the engine and go through it from A-Z. We'll also do a little body work while there. This summer some kid in a Jeep tried passing me on the right as I was trying to make a right turn, in spite of my obvious hand signal (he thought it meant I was turning left, even though there was no where to turn on the left!). Fortunately, he only barely creased the RR fender, but got enough of it to break the paint.

Anyway, it ain't over yet – and probably never will be. This week I also sprang a leak in the coupe's water pump. They don't build 'em like they used to, which is a good thing. Old cars take a lot of maintenance, mostly fun to do, but also a lot of work.

Thanks readers for your suggestions on how to deal with the problem. Stay tuned.

What's that noise?

I've had an odd noise in the cabrio engine since it was rebuilt and run for the first time. It only happens at certain speeds/rpm levels and sounds like a "hollow knock." Removing the fan belt makes no difference, nor does the car need to be in motion. A compression test shows 100 psi in every cylinder.

The current theory is that one of the pistons is bad, a hard problem to confirm. Looks like I'll need to drop the pan and pull the head. Ugh! Stay tuned.

Accessorizing

Here's an accessory that I should have put on the coupe years ago. Find yourself in a heavy rain, especially in cooler weather, and your windshield fogs up fast. FogX and RainX help a lot, but so does a defroster, an innovation that didn't come along until 1937.

I forget where I found this Wizard fan, but I cleaned in up in a friend's blast cabinet, replaced the wiring, repainted it and presto, it works great. Come late fall I'll be glad to have it (the cabrio is put away by then).

Cabrio upgrades

With the Stowe, VT show coming up, I thought I'd fix some of the things the judges found wrong with the car last year.

1st was having Phillips head screws holding my top boot snaps. I replace those several months ago with the correct type. Funny that I never noticed that.

2nd was the unfinished backsides of the bumpers. The bumpers should really be rechromed: whoever did it last time did a very marginal job. But they aren't bad enough to warrant the expense, so I'm living with them. The insides were painted (unevenly), but there were several rough edges from the replating. I ground those off, then painted the back with silver Hammerite paint. They look much better now. I also did the coupe's bumpers while I was at it.

Here I'm grinding off the rough edges:


Then painted them with Hammerite:


3rd was an incorrect rear tail pipe hanger. I had a picture of a correct one, so decided to make my own. I got some flat aluminum stock from Ace Hardware, then bent it in my vise to form my own. I can't swear to its authenticity, but it's close enough:





That took care of the deficits, but I also wanted to add they call a radiator condensor (overflow) tank. In the May 8, 1936 service bulletin, PMD advised dealers to add these to cars that were having overheating problems (it was sold as a kit). Since the Sixes did not have pressurized radiators, I assume that was a fairly common problem. All they were were one gallon metal cans, the kind paint thinner or turpentine would come it, mounted to the inside LH fender and connected with a hose to the radiator overflow tube. I knew exactly what they look like because I have original one on my coupe that I got off a parts car.

So I started with a can, removing the handle and the plastic safety piece on the cap.


Then I had my body shop guy braise a tube on the can and painted the ends with Hammerite:


I roughed the can up with some sandpaper, then painted in black. I made a bracket to hold it out of the same aluminum stock I used to make the exhaust hanger, drilling holes in it and the inner fender, mounting it with 5/16" stainless bolts.

Voila, here it is on the car:


I don't really have a overheating problem on the car, but when we took a rest break while driving through the mountains last year on a hot day, did blow out some coolant. The can would have captured it. If it happens again, I'm ready.

Guess not.

That sedan looks like it's not coming to Maine. The owner doesn't seem very interested in selling, or at least not to me. I told him that he'd have to get it running so I could get an accurate sense of its mechanical condition, but he doesn't seem inclined to do that (apparently needs a new battery and ignition parts). The high price of gasoline doesn't encourage me much either, so guess I'll pass on this one. I'm busy enough trying to keep two of them on the road on a regular basis. Three would be even more effort.

Maybe another one?

Not that I really need another car, but I've discovered an interesting 1936 Pontiac Deluxe 6 2-dr touring sedan that's gotten my attention. It's a 38,000 mile original car, very complete, including the original tool kit and crank handle, which I've never seen. Other options include radio, heater, Tennite gearshift knob, vent window insect screens (rare), dual horns and 2nd tail lamp and sun visor. Here are some photos




It was a one owner car from Wisconsin until someone in Minnesota bought it thinking he'd make a street rod out of it. He thought better of it though when he actually saw the car - that it was too nice an original to convert to a rod (thank heavens for that). He sold it to a friend, who has it now. It think it could be had for a fair price (sedans aren't worth a whole lot even fully restored).

I've asked a Pontiac club member who lives near there to go over and look at it, so we'll see what he has to say. Could be mine though; stay tuned. It would be fun to have one that could carry the family and friends inside.

Hemmings Classic Car

It's official, the story will run in the January and February issues! A two-part restoration piece.

Hemming's comes to town…

Richard Lentinello, editor of Hemming's Classic Car magazine has been following the restoration effort for some time now and said he wanted to do a story on the car at some point. Dave LaChance, an writer/photographer for the magazine was over today to do the photo shoot portion of the story. [He shot another story of a restoration shop in Oxford, ME, the day before, the guys that restored this year's Pebble Beach Best of Show car.]

We started at 7:00 a.m. to get the early a.m. light and shot most of the pictures in a gravel pit. It turns out that their goal is to have a neutral background for photos, which they get by shooting the car from a far distance with a telephoto lens. Here's a shot of Dave at work.



Here's a shot of his wheels:



He also took some shots on a paved road, then close ups back at the house, include some pics of the two cars, coupe and cabriolet, together. It was interesting to see a pro work and they really pay attention to details at HCC. Notice that you see the full wheel in their shots, and never keys in the ignition.

Of course, I had to let Dave have a turn behind the wheel to really get a feel for the car.



The article should be out sometime next year as part of an all Pontiac issue. Stay tuned.

Tail lamps…

One of the things I learned from the trip to VT was that my tail lamps were "wall eyed" - that is they didn't point straight behind, but were off to an slight angle. This made them harder to see, and they are hard enough to see as it is.

As it happens, at least with the round version of the tail lamps, the bases are slightly different and I had them on backwards. So, the other day I switched bases and now they seem to be correct.



If you're restoring your car, pay attention to this difference! And halogen bulbs really help make them brighter.

Stowe, VT car show…

Both the coupe and cabriolet made an appearance at the Stowe, Vermont, car show, one of the finest in New England. Friend Paul and his wife Susan drove the coupe over, with me and my wife India in the cabrio. We took the high road - the Kangamangus Highway over the NH mountains – and the cars drove and handled beautifully.

I had both cars judged for the 1st time and learned some things about the cabrio. First, the top guy used Phillips head screws on the snaps, so I lost some points there. And I hadn't refinished the inside of the bumpers, which cost me more points. Even so, it took 2nd in its class (open cars, 1931-42, non-Ford), topping out a very nice 31 Chrysler and 31 Studebaker. It got topped by an immaculate national grand champion '40 Chev convertible. That car was trailered though, mine driven 160 miles to get there. Here are a couple of pics:



Here's a nice 1934 and 1941 Pontiac with the coupe in Class 12.


The cabrio averaged 15.4 mpg for the trip, the coupe 1 mpg less. Both had no trouble handling the highways and byways, tho the cabrio still runs a little hot on the hills. It should have a overflow tank, something installed by dealers as advised in the March 1936 dealer service bulletin. The coupe has an original one - very rare.

A top boot cover at last…

The cabriolet now has a top well boot cover, courtesy of John Gagnon of Lyman, ME. He did a great job of custom making a cover, including pouches to hold the side rails and boot when they are not in use. This completes the car. Here's a picture of John when we picked it up at 7:30 this morning:



The big question on this project is where did the fasteners go, and how many of them were there? I have a factory photograph that shows the rear (outside) snaps. There are only six of these, two on each side and four across the back. It was the inside (front edge) snaps that were very confusing.

Here's the back:



A 1935 cabrio that I believe to be original had 4 snaps along the rear edge of the rear shelf, but since the top lays over this section of the shelf when down it made no sense to have them there. You'd have to snap the cover on, then put the top down. The resulting pouch would likely blow in the wind.

John Shore in PA has a 1936 Buick. Since it has the same body and top assembly, it seemed likely that the snap pattern would be the same. As it happens, it is not, at least not on the outside (rear) edge, but both his car and Gary Schuck's '36 Pontiac have snaps along the front vertical edge of the rear shelf. That seems the most logical place for them, so that's how I had it done: four snaps along the shelf edge and one on the corner of the "elbow" in which the top irons fit. Who knows what "factory corrrect" was - maybe it varied by whomever was doing the car – but it's practical and looks good, which is all I need.

Here's how we did the inside snaps. Note the one on the corner:



And here's a shot of the finished product:



It really gives it a finished touch. Still some bugs to shake out of it, but all in all it turned out to be a fine car. I am really pleased with the power it has and how well it handles on the road. It cruises at 55-60 effortlessly and steers/handles quite well.

Baby gets her 1st bath…

You don't really know a car until you carefully wash and wax it, eh? Today was the first time for washing and waxing the cabrio, and I do feel like I know it/her better now. In the process, I found some places that need touching up and a couple that need buffing, but mostly I learned … this car leaks like a sieve!

I tried to stay away from the side windows with the hose, but did test the windshield and rear window, both of which leaked. The top also seems to leak around the rear bow seam, so I have some work to do there. Not that I expect to drive it in the rain, but sometimes you just can't avoid it.

Otherwise, it cleaned up very nicely and I am very pleased with the result. It also drives very nicely. Not as peppy as the coupe, but it steers, rides and handles a little better.

The last piece to do will be the top boot cover, for which I have an appointment to have made in July. Here are some pictures.









I think I am on solid ground by claiming this is the most original 1936 Pontiac Master 6 cabriolet in existence, or for that matter the most original '36 Pontiac cabriolet of any series. I tried to get it as close to factory original as possible and think I largely succeeded.

It's home…

Went up to Ken's and brought the car home yesterday. It has finally reached the "finished" stage after 5 long years! It needs a good cleaning and waxing, but I'm looking forward to that, and the summer ahead of driving the car. Here are Ken and I just before the departure.



As it turned out, Ken had quite a job fitting the fender to the LH side. Assemblying it without the running boards just isn't good practice, because without them you are only guessing at alignment. In the end, it took a horizontal hydraulic jack to get it all lined up! As he said, "You didn't want to be here to see that!" Apparently the radiator shell was the culprit.

It's done!

Heard from Ken this morning that he finished the car yesterday. As I said, the guy is amazing. Here are some photos he sent of the mounted fender and running board. Looks just like it is supposed to.







And here is the spare tire lock that I got from Spider Kilbane. Ken bored it out to fit the Pontiac sized mounting hole (it came off a 1936 Buick sidemount). That's the final piece.



The RH door and vent window still need some tweaking, but since that will probably involve rechroming the vent window frame, we'll hold off on that until the old car season is over. Otherwise, it's good to go, five years in the making.

Back to the expert…

I was supposed to drive the cabrio back to Pittsfield on Friday to leave it for Ken to have the remaining work done, including refitting the fender to the LH running board. As it happened, I spend much of the night in the emergency room with a kidney stone and by morning was so drugged up that driving didn't seem like a good idea.

Fortunately my good car buddy Paul Austin came to the rescue: he drove & I rode shotgun. He's driving it to Stowe in August, so the practice was good for him.

As expected, Ken figured out the problem and a solution to it readily enough. The first problem was to expand the rear portion of the fender so it fit properly. Ken did that my rigging up a turnbuckle jig and stretching it out, all the while banging on the boomarang shaped lower brace to get its radius to expand. That got the fit right, but he is still going to work on getting the entire fender to fit properly (It needs to come back about 1/2 and inch). It may require cutting back the front edge of the running board. A word to the wise: there was a hell of a lot of standardization in 1936. If you're doing this too, expect some fitting to be required.

Here's Ken at work on the fender:



We also got some other small jobs done while we were there. I hope I can pick it up in the next week or two, fully finished at last.

Here are some of the other cars he's got in the shop:

A very rare 1928 Rickenbacker:



A 1925 Franklin gentleman's speedster. It was strapped down in a trailer that rolled over, crushing the windshield frame a lot of the right side. Still runs great however.



A 1920 Reo:

Damn…

Well, Paul and I tried to get the 2nd running board on the cabrio today but it is not to be. The LH front fender was reworked in a way that just won't fit with the running board on the car. The angle of the rear section where it bends is too acute, thus the panel behind the wheel is at the wrong angle to the car. I'll need to have Ken rework it and fit it to the running boards. We were worried about this and sure enough, it's a problem.

Meet Hundley…

I got over the Hundley Acuff's the other day while visiting family in Chattanooga. I wanted to thank him in person for the great work he did on my boards, and to ask if he'd do a running board piece for L-29 Cords that Ken wants made up. Here are a couple of pictures:

#1: Here's a Desoto Airflow running board he had just finished.



#2: Here he is sizing up Ken's Cord piece - he agreed to make a mold for it. Ken wants 10 of them.



Guys like this, with unique skills and knowledge, are what keep our cars in the condition they are in. Too bad there isn't some kind of recognition program for them.

Cabriolet boards, Part I

I tried to install the cabrio running boards the other day using the same approach that worked on the coupe. Sure enough, it didn't work on this car! I couldn't get the rear portion of the fender to fit into the running board without the risk of damaging something. That is, with the fender still attached by the lower front cowl bolt. So rather than mess with it, I waited until friend Paul Austin could help me. He came over yesterday and the good news is that the RH board now fits as it should. Here's the story.

The cabrio fenders were reworked by Ken, but we didn't have the RBs to match them up to. Their dimensions must be slightly different as a result. So we removed the entire fender, loosely connected the RBs mounting bolts and pulled it as far away from the body as it would go. Next we lowered the fender into the RB "slot", fitting it into the cowl and in front of the rubber "horn." It fit OK, but wouldn't slide far enough forward to fit correctly.

So after considerable observation and conversation, we figured the rubber front corner needed to be cut back further to allow the proper fit. We did that with a pen knife, as shown below:





While we were at it, we also filed the RB mounting holes even wider to give us the most flexibility. Then came the mounting of all the fender and cowl bolts, plus the rear mounting bolts. It worked! Once it could slide back as far as it needed to, it fit as it should. All nuts and bolts were tightened once we knew we had the proper alignment.



Here's the result -- ain't it pretty! Looks damn good to me after 4.5 years of waiting. We ran out of time, so will do the LH board next week when I get back from a visit to our Tennessee kids.



BTW, we had removed the valve adjustment panel on this fender to give us more wiggle room.

Once installed, it looked like I could have left more rubber in the area that fits up against the rubber weather seal. You don't notice it on the black coupe, but the tan cabrio paint can be seen in that area if you look hard enough. No big deal, but if you're doing it, you might try leaving more rubber in the middle (door) section.

Running Board installation…

So after painting and drilling holes, I was ready to mount the new running boards, starting with the coupe. It didn't take long to find out I had a problem: there was too much rubber "lip" on the upper inside edge of the boards, preventing them from lying flat on the brackets. The solution was to trim the rubber lip down, but what's the best way to do that without screwing them up? Here's how I managed it.

First, I wanted to know how much extra rubber I had and therefore how much had to be trimmed off. Using my calipers, I measured an old running board that had no rubber left on it. That measurement (see photo) was 1 and 1/4 inches. Since there would have been no rubber on the bottom, only on the top, I figured an extra 1/4" on top would be adequate.



The lip on a new running board measured 2 and 1/16", so that left an inch of rubber between metal and core, meaning I'd need to trim 11/16" off the lip. Put another way, I wanted the final measurement to be 1 1/2" from the bottom of the board to top of the lip. I asked my bodyman, Jr. Locke, for a recommendation on how to best trim the excess. He suggested using a jigsaw with a fine blade to cut it down close to where I wanted it, then take off the remainder with a rasp. That's what I did and it worked great.

First, I clamped a thin piece of wood along the inner edge to act as a guide, measuring down a half inch from the top of the rubber.



Then, using a jigsaw with a 36 toothed (hacksaw) blade, I began sawing. It goes pretty quickly and I found myself staying slightly above the guide, "just in case." I then used the rasp to finish off the top cut. I'd set the calipers on 1.5 inches and used it to test for the proper dimension by sliding it along the edge, taking down any high spots.







Sure enough, once the excess is removed the board fit fine. Even the mounting holes lined up correctly!



It took me about an hour to do the first board, but only 15 minutes or so for the 4th. My greatest fear was going too deep into the rubber, but like everything else, measuring well is the key. So are the calipers - don't try this without them.

When I went to put the right hand board on the car, I discovered that it had too much rubber around the front corner, which prevented the front fender from sliding into place. That vertical edge needs to be cut back 1/4" or so and it is also a little high in that spot. I managed to file away enough rubber to make it fit properly, but if you ever do this, clean up that area beforehand. The LH board was fine, so I expect it is the nature of the RH mold and all such boards will have the same issue. If you match the two boards edge to edge you should see the difference. Trim to the smaller dimension.

Finally, use 1.25 x 5/16" bolts to attach the boards to the fenders. My holes lined up well once I used a Phillips screw driver as an alignment tool. Don't forget the anti-seize!

Finally, this rubber is very tough stuff. You don't have to baby it.

Running board pre-installation…

Here's how I prepped the running boards prior to installation.

1st I masked off the rubber with masking tape.



Then I painted it with Bill Hirsch's POR-like paint. (It was very thin - hope it's as good as POR).



Then, because the rubber fill the mounting holes, I drilled out the holes. I found that a 3/8" wood bit worked well. With it's long point, I could go through the back first, then when the point showed, reverse it and bore through cleanly. That work fine on the rear (round) holes, but the front holes are actually slots. These I drilled twice, front and back, then used a 3/8" rat tail file to enlarge and smooth out the drilled hole. The rubber is very tough, so there was no danger of separating the rubber from the metal. It is on there very firmly.

Here are some photos of that process.







Next comes the installation. The rubber seems a little thicker than the original- although that maybe just because it is new - so I hope it fits properly. Once installed, it should really tighten things up.

And now there are four!

The two right hand running boards just got delivered by UPS and are as perfect as the two left hand boards. Now all I need is a little warm weather so I can get the undersides painted and installed on the cars. Whoppee! The long frustrating wait is finally over.

And here's a bonus: the one part I have not been able to find is a spare tire lock. However, I was talking to my Ohio Buick friend Spider Kilbane Sunday night and happened to mention that fact. Lo and behold, he had one for his '36 Buick that he kept when he sold the car (his had sidemounts and he needed two, but never found a 2nd one). Bingo, for a very fair price it is now mine, complete with key. He's the guy who also had a spare heater switch, and a real testiment to the power of networking. Is this a great hobby or what?!

Two down, two to go…

Finally, I am in possession of two perfect left hand running boards! Four years and three months has been a long time to wait. After so many false promises, it feels good to actually have the final product. I should have the two right hand boards by this weekend.

Here's a picture of the LH boards:



One thing that needs doing is drilling out the rubber from the mounting holes. Not sure how to do that yet without cracking the rubber, so will think on it awhile. Maybe Andy Lee has already done it to his boards? Here's what the end looks like:



When it gets a little warmer I will paint the underside of each board with Bill Hirsch's version of POR-15 to protect them, then install them on both cars. That's not an easy job because the front fenders have to be completely loosened to get the boards in place. But hey, after all the grief I've been through, that ought to be fun.

Hemming's Invitation

Richard Lentinello, editor of Hemmings Classic Car magazine invited me to show the cabriolet at their invitational only concours car show this July in Vermont. After thinking it over, I decided to decline the opportunity. Here's what I said:

I really appreciate this invitation Richard, but after reading more about the event on the HMN website, it really doesn't feel like the right venue for this car. I say that for several reasons, including:

• This was a low priced car to start with, and the base model to boot. Even dressed up, it is no match for the kind of higher end cars this show will feature.

• Probably more importantly, I did not restore it to concours condition. My goal was to restore it to as close to factory original as I could get it, and I think I succeeded in that, but it is not over restored in the way concours cars are. I'm glad people are doing museum quality restorations, but that's not the world I live in. I restored this car to drive and have fun with, not show competitively. As such, it will pale in comparison to any over restored, always trailered car.

So much for my brush with the show car culture - just ain't me. If you're not a reader of Classic Car, pick up an issue. I think it is the best old car publication out there.

Can it really be?

This from my son-in-law in Chattanooga today…

"Dad is picking up the two finished boards today. Hundley said he will have the other two finished by next weekend. Will get the 1st two crated this weekend, but probably won't ship until Monday."

Hot damn, we're getting close!

RB prep

Got my running boards finished and ready for shipping to GA today. Jr. Locke did a great job of straightening the sandblasted boards, welding up the rust spots, and welding in new front edge pieces to strengthen that area, which was the weakest area of both boards. UPS gets them Monday and they should arrive at Hundley's by Wed. or Thurs. of this week.

Here's what they look like (hard thing to photograph!):



The channel braces are a little thin, but when I get them back I will paint the underside with several coats of POR-15. It does a great job of sealing and strengthening metal in this condition.

Here's what each board ended up costing me:

$75 to sandblast
$125 to weld and straighten
$600 to recover
$100 to ship both ways.

That makes $900, but well worth it in my mind. In fact, I'm thinking I should have another set done as a spare while the opportunity is there.

Viewing the whole blog

If you want to get back to earlier posts, you need to keep clicking on the last link in the right hand column of posts. Eventually you'll get back to the first entry.

Hot damn!

Andy Lee drove over to Rossville, GA and picked up his first set of recovered boards. I am very glad to report that he says they are absolutely beautiful, just the way they came from the factory. Boy, that is really good news!

I also got an email from Hemmings inviting me to bring the cabriolet to their invitational only concours car show on July 22nd. It shoulds pretty high falutin' for a 1936 Pontiac, but I guess I'm game.

More on the running board saga…

Heard from Hundley a week ago that my right hand board was too far gone to recover, so now I needed another one. Frank Bennett in MA had a pair, which I bought from him and picked up last Sunday.

Came home and stripped it and the fairly decent orignal RH board on my coupe, then had them sandblasted and straightened/ patched by Jr. Locke. Here's how I got the rubber off:

First, I applied a little heat from a propane torch to the underside of a 6 x 8" section of the board.



Then, using a wood chisel and hammer, I removed the old rubber from the upper side. This was took some time, about an hour to do the entire coupe board, less on the peeling board I got form Frank.



I then took a sander to it to remove as much of the rubber as possible. At this point, it was ready for sandblasting.



I hope to get them shipped off tomorrow if Jr. is finished with the metal repair.

Running board update…

I spoke with Hundley Acuff last night and he says I should have running boards in about three weeks. Great news, let's hope it's true. If so, that should be plenty of time to allow me to have the cars on the road this spring.

Precision Rubber Redux

Got a call yesterday from the original owner of Precision Rubber – the guy who sold the business to R. Loesch four years ago – to explain the situation and offer an apology. He feels very badly about what his once respected business has now become.

Apparently there is another person in his community with the skills needed to do this work who is interested in taking over the business, so Precision Rubber may rise again. The former owner will provide the training the guy needs to learn the trade and, once learned, the new guy will tackle recovering the boards that many other people still have there. For their sake, I hope it works.

Meanwhile, all seems well with Hundley Acuff –– he is hard at work making the '36 Pontiac molds.

Another RB snafu…

The saga continues. It turns out that the right hand running board Andy delivered to Hundley as a model is for an Eight cylinder car, not a Six (they are 4" longer). Hundley had already put a lot of time into making a mold for it before discovering the difference, needless to say, and wasn't real pleased.

The good news is that he is going to finish off that mold, so if anyone needs an 8-cyl. RH running board, you're in business! Andy did turn up another RH board he has that should do the trick for a Six and will drive over there this week to deliver it in person. Apparently after talking with Hundley, he's OK with it all again. I'll also do some ads for him hoping he can sell some 8-cyl boards as well.

Two other cabriolets…

There aren't a lot of other 1936 Pontiac cabriolets left in the world, so when I was in Georgia over the Thanksgiving week I took the opportunity to see two of them.

The first was Mike Kearney's fully restored Deluxe Eight, just over the Georgia line in High Springs, Florida. I'd seen this car before at the 2005 POCI convention, but this time got to drive it as well. Also got to see the rest of Mike's impressive car collection. Here it is:



I think the Silver Streak Gray Metallic paint is particularly striking (Color Code #26).

The second car was in Lilburn, GA, rescued from a New Mexico junkyard 25 years ago by Jim Sheldon. The drive train is completely gone, although it is on the original frame. Originally a Deluxe Six, it would be quite a project for someone to restore, mostly because the doors are missing. The top frame is still there, as are the hood, fenders, and running boards, but all the parts that are typically scavanged at a junk yard - tail lights, head lights, various badges, heater, radio, rear view mirror, etc. – are missing. The gauges are busted out and it has a 1935 deluxe steering wheel. Seats are there, but the wood is rotted.

It could be restored if you were really desperate for one of these cars, and this one could probably be bought. Here are the pics I took. They aren't very good since there was some much stuff piled around and on the car.







As for the running board saga, I took the LH board off my coupe and shipped it to Hundley Acuff yesterday for him to use as a pattern. He says he'd like to have the molds made by the first of the year!

Excellent running board news!

I visited Hundley Acuff in Rossville, GA, today and he has agreed to make a mold for 1936 Pontiac Six running boards IF we can guarantee 8-10 orders (a guarantee is a 50% deposit). Hundley hasn't made a new pattern in 10 years - in spite of many requests - so this is fantastic news for me an a lot of other '36 owners. Words cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for his willingness to do this!

Andy Lee drove over from Greenville, SC, with a pair of his boards, only one of which is good enough to use as a pattern (my coupe will supply the other needed pattern). My son-in-law Kip White and his dad Herman White, were also part of the visitation team. They live in Chattanooga so are good local contacts. Herman and Hundley had actually met before and had several old car friends in common.

While there, we got a tour of Hundley's shop and saw some of the amazing work he does. The boards he makes - now for more than (I believe) 90 different cars – are absolutely perfect. When finished, they look the same as when they were done at the factory. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so didn't get any pictures. Hundley is a retired pattern maker who has been making running boards since 1971. He is the kind of skilled craftsman we in this hobby rely on for so many things. I just wish he had an apprentice ready to step in when he finally retires.

If any readers out there are interested in being part of this production run, please contact me immediately at 207-878-8933 for details. This is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity, so if you need them, please let me know asap.

Runningboard solution?

Anyone readers out there need a set of six-cylinder running boards restored? I met Hundley Acuff of Georgia at Hershey and he does do a great job of recovering boards for all kinds of cars, but doesn't have a 1936 Pontiac mold. However, he hasn't made a new mold in ten years and isn't terrible eager to do these. After telling him my sob story, he didn't say "no" though, so I thought if I can get enough orders together, maybe he'll do it. Andy Lee signed on for two sets and I'd do two sets, so that's four. I'd like to get at least ten.

If you are reading this and have a six-cylinder '36, give me a call if you are interested -- 207-878-8933. The approximate cost would be $900 per pair, less than half of what the Alberta crook charged. These will not fit an 8-cylinder car - those are 4" longer.

I'll be in Hundley's neighborhood Thankgiving week, so Andy and I plan to meet with him and hopefully finalize a deal. It's my best hope at this point.