Even more progress…
Got the shop yesterday afternoon about 2:30 and got a few hours in on the car, then came back for a full day today. Together we got a lot done, albeit with a couple of setbacks.
Yesterday I spent most of my time getting the floorboards correctly assembled. Had to drill and countersink holes along the inner side of the wooden inserts, where they mount to the transmission cover. Also lined each insert with felt, which will keep the noise and dust down. All bolts and screws are connected as they are supposed to be. Here's me at work and how it looked at the end of the day:
This thing wasn't cheap, but it does look very nice, especially with the firewall pad.
Meanwhile, Ken got a new piece of windshield glass cut in Newport and proceeded to install it. First, he noticed an irregularity in the frame, and ground it off so everything was straight. Unfortunately, it cracked again, this time in the upper right hand corner. It was too late to get a replacement, so that will have to wait until next week.
He also got the deck lid handle and latch installed. The car came with a '38 handle. I found one that is right for the car, but mounted differently that my coupe handle (held on by a nut, not machine screw). He drilled it out and got it working just fine, so good news there.
I got the headlight bulbs wired up and installed, but couldn't anchor the reflectors to the housing -- the holes are somewhat enlarged and need a custom washers made. They do work however. I finished the job on Saturday and got them wired properly after two tries. Here's a pic with the lights on:
As t his picture shows, we now have an intact, properly aligned hood, hood ornament, fender valve access panel, hood brackets and proper bumper bolts. Aligning the hood was a very complicated process that took a lot of Ken's time. It wasn't always a finesse process either: here he is doing some "fine tuning:"
Unfortunately, the two grill sections don't align very well. The lower one may have been distorted by the plater and what we've got is the best we can do. Less than factory spec however.
Ken also got the upper step pad installed, and the right hand tail lamp. We have rear lights as well now, both working as they should. BTW, I'm using halogen bulbs in both headlamps, tail lights, and brake lights. Only the parking lights have old style bulbs. One of the biggest weaknesses of these old cars is their original lighting. They are just plain dangerous at night, either because you can't see in front of you or because someone coming up from behind can't see you, especially in rain. Halogens give you a lot more light. Here are some pics of the rear of the car:
The other frustration was trying to install the wiper motor switch. I took out the wiper motor to get access to it, but when attempting to slip the lower mount sleeve, it dropped and damn well disappeared! It's just gone, nowhere to be found, and I don't have a spare. Guess we can make one, but I'll try Andy first and see if has one of one of his parts cars. Hope so!
We also got the interior kick panels installed, but not mounted; the heater wired through the fuse box; the engine side of the wiper vacuum line mounted; a new fuel pump to carb gas line installed; and the emergency brake linkage connected (but not adjusted). Also got all the accelerator linkage installed, a fairly time consuming task involving a lot of small parts, little springs, and small cotter pins. I was disappointed that we couldn't get the gas pedal link to move smoothly through an upper hole gasket. Apparently original cars had some kind of rubber bushing up there to keep the pedal aligned, but I've never seen one. Apparently early owners had the same problem we had - binding - and took them out. So we removed it too and now it works smoothly.
Finally, I removed the starter, bead blasted it, and left it for Ken to paint glossy black. I can't find the GD old style hose clamps I had bought however, so didn't add coolant or run the engine as I had hoped. I can't imagine where the hell they disappeared to.
All in all, a lot got done, with a significant amount yet to be done. I can see the end though - distantly
Yesterday I spent most of my time getting the floorboards correctly assembled. Had to drill and countersink holes along the inner side of the wooden inserts, where they mount to the transmission cover. Also lined each insert with felt, which will keep the noise and dust down. All bolts and screws are connected as they are supposed to be. Here's me at work and how it looked at the end of the day:
This thing wasn't cheap, but it does look very nice, especially with the firewall pad.
Meanwhile, Ken got a new piece of windshield glass cut in Newport and proceeded to install it. First, he noticed an irregularity in the frame, and ground it off so everything was straight. Unfortunately, it cracked again, this time in the upper right hand corner. It was too late to get a replacement, so that will have to wait until next week.
He also got the deck lid handle and latch installed. The car came with a '38 handle. I found one that is right for the car, but mounted differently that my coupe handle (held on by a nut, not machine screw). He drilled it out and got it working just fine, so good news there.
I got the headlight bulbs wired up and installed, but couldn't anchor the reflectors to the housing -- the holes are somewhat enlarged and need a custom washers made. They do work however. I finished the job on Saturday and got them wired properly after two tries. Here's a pic with the lights on:
As t his picture shows, we now have an intact, properly aligned hood, hood ornament, fender valve access panel, hood brackets and proper bumper bolts. Aligning the hood was a very complicated process that took a lot of Ken's time. It wasn't always a finesse process either: here he is doing some "fine tuning:"
Unfortunately, the two grill sections don't align very well. The lower one may have been distorted by the plater and what we've got is the best we can do. Less than factory spec however.
Ken also got the upper step pad installed, and the right hand tail lamp. We have rear lights as well now, both working as they should. BTW, I'm using halogen bulbs in both headlamps, tail lights, and brake lights. Only the parking lights have old style bulbs. One of the biggest weaknesses of these old cars is their original lighting. They are just plain dangerous at night, either because you can't see in front of you or because someone coming up from behind can't see you, especially in rain. Halogens give you a lot more light. Here are some pics of the rear of the car:
The other frustration was trying to install the wiper motor switch. I took out the wiper motor to get access to it, but when attempting to slip the lower mount sleeve, it dropped and damn well disappeared! It's just gone, nowhere to be found, and I don't have a spare. Guess we can make one, but I'll try Andy first and see if has one of one of his parts cars. Hope so!
We also got the interior kick panels installed, but not mounted; the heater wired through the fuse box; the engine side of the wiper vacuum line mounted; a new fuel pump to carb gas line installed; and the emergency brake linkage connected (but not adjusted). Also got all the accelerator linkage installed, a fairly time consuming task involving a lot of small parts, little springs, and small cotter pins. I was disappointed that we couldn't get the gas pedal link to move smoothly through an upper hole gasket. Apparently original cars had some kind of rubber bushing up there to keep the pedal aligned, but I've never seen one. Apparently early owners had the same problem we had - binding - and took them out. So we removed it too and now it works smoothly.
Finally, I removed the starter, bead blasted it, and left it for Ken to paint glossy black. I can't find the GD old style hose clamps I had bought however, so didn't add coolant or run the engine as I had hoped. I can't imagine where the hell they disappeared to.
All in all, a lot got done, with a significant amount yet to be done. I can see the end though - distantly
posted by Bob Shafto at 7:40 PM
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