1936 Pontiac Restoration

Automatic Choke

2011-12-10T11:25:00.001-05:00

Now that the cold weather is here, I've noticed a choke problem with the coupe. I suspected the screen that filters the heat from the exhaust manifold into the auto choke housing was clogged with carbon. Took it apart today and sure enough, the small screen that cover the entry hole was clogged. I used a wire brush to clean it up and reinstalled it. Now it's a matter of making sure the "winter" (rich) / "summer" (lean) setting is correct for this weather.

The screen fits along the rim of the inner housing on the left side, above the exhaust gas hole.

Here's a shot of the clogged screen.

Valve adjusting

2011-10-18T15:24:00.004-04:00

Not much car activity this summer due to a torn Achilles, but I did get the valves adjusted on the coupe this week. If you've never done it before – and I've always avoided the job – it's actually pretty easy.

1st, ignore the manual's advice to do it with the [warm] engine running. You'll likely burn your arm off on the exhaust manifold! I do it with the engine cold and give the adjustment one extra thousandth.

Here's how I did it.
• Remove the fender piece that gives you access to cyl. 1-3.
• Remove the fuel line from to the carb, the air tube to the heat riser and the gas pedal linkage. I also had to remove a plug from the back of my fuel pump to get enough clearance.
• Remove the bolts holding the valve covers on, incl. the breather tube, and the valve covers themselves. Bingo, there are the valves, which look like this.

From Pontiac Pictures

You will need two 9/16" open end wrenches, one skinny one (you may have to grind down on of your wrenches for this job), and a feeler gauge. The book says they should be adjusted to .009" "go" to .011" "no go", meaning a .011 feeler gauge shouldn't fit between the gap (9 or 10 would). It also says leave them a little loose for high speed driving. Chilton's says give the gap an extra .001" when adjust them cold, so I was shooting for .011 "go" .012 "no go."

Take out the plugs (blow air in the plug head holes first), then take off the distributor cap. Turn the engine until you are top dead center on cyl. #1 (when the points are wide open and the rotor is pointing to that position), then that cylinder is ready for adjusting. Work right through the firing order to get them all.

Place the skinny wrench on the lifter head, then the lock nut just above it is loosened (carefully so you don't skin your knuckles) with the other wrench. The top nut, also 9/16", is then turned to the right to narrow the gap, to the left to widen it.

The feeler gauge fits between the bottom of the valve and that upper nut. I found that hand adjusting the nut with the feeler gauge in place let's you get a better fit. Not so easy on #3 & 4 cylinders though.

Once they are all done and double checked, button it back up and you're good to go.

46th Annual Coupe Startup Day

2011-04-08T16:56:00.001-04:00

Got the coupe running for the season today, for the 46th year that I've owned it. Runs like a charm. 104,364 original miles, 39K more than when I bought it in 1965 for $75.

From Apr 8, 2011

PA Cabriolet

2011-04-06T13:19:00.004-04:00

Helped a friend drive his new '49 Nash from Canton OH to his house in eastern PA and got a chance to see the Master Six cabriolet owned by Paul Beilchick in Heilwood, PA. Paul owned one as a kid, sold it when it went to war, then got this one in 1970, which he restored.

From Apr 6, 2011

Also got a chance to see what the original rear view mirror looked like, the only unoriginal piece on my car. Hope I can find one at Hershey some day.

From Apr 6, 2011

Here's the Nash in the OH snow. Haven't gotten the coupe out yet -- a very late spring here.

From '49 Nash Road Trip

Voltage Regular

2011-01-16T14:05:00.003-05:00

Pontiac had a very odd voltage regulator for 1935-36, which is notoriously unreliable. It was replaced soon after, but the replacement is larger and doesn't mount cleanly on the firewall.

New ones are extremely hard to find, but they can be done in solid state electronics. Mine failed on the coupe this fall so I've had it rebuild by Wilton Auto Electric in Wilton, NH. $85 gets you a new one using your original case, so there is no change in appearance.

Here are some pics:

From Pontiac Pictures

The guy is very responsive and I'm confident it will work fine, but won't know until spring.

Here's his website: http://www.wiltonae.com

I'll probly have him do another one I have just to have a spare on hand.

Last Day

2010-12-20T10:04:00.001-05:00

December 19th was the last day for driving the coupe, perhaps the latest I've been able to use the car since I drove it in college over the 1966-67 winter. Off to bed in the barn for the next 3-4 months. :-(

From Pontiac Pictures

Tail lights

2010-12-01T20:42:00.002-05:00

Had to replace a TL bucket harness & the crossover harness on the coupe recently and discovered a key difference between the oval vs round lights. The round lights are wired to a Terminal post inside the lamp; the oval light wires go directly to the lamp sockets. That means that you need to order the brass end piece and plastic collar when you order a bucket harness for the early style lamp, and solder it on the wire. The round lamp just needs a terminal connector crimped on to the wire, much easier! I got my harnesses from RI Wiring Supply and they were perfect.

Crank

2010-11-14T09:21:00.003-05:00

I got a crank for my cars at Hershey last year, but didn't get around trying it out until yesterday. The first thing I learned was that the bumper hold for it goes up, not down like I've had it for years. The 2nd thing was that you have to have the right number of spacers in your front radiator brace to allow room for the crank to get by the radiator. I knew I was short and sure enough, it won't fit the coupe. That'll be a next spring project.

Here's how the bumper should be mounted:

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Also, got contacted by someone about a 1937 Pontiac in Switzerland. Here's a picture. Sweet ride eh? Too bad about the incorrect chrome headlights and Packard hood ornament though.

From 1936 Pontiac Restoration

Flathead Reunion

2010-09-19T17:38:00.002-04:00

Here's some video of the 2010 Flathead Reunion. Lots of fun.

2010 Flathead Reunion

2010-09-12T19:18:00.003-04:00

Just back from the Early Times Chapter of POCI's Flathead Reunion in Dover, VT. This is a terrific event, with a lot of great people and beautiful cars. If you are not an ETC member, check them out at www.earlytimeschapter.org.

Friday was 100+ mile tour that included a stop at Hemmings.

Saturday was a car show, where a lot of people dressed up in period clothing. India managed to model 4 different outfits.

1937 Sedan

From 2010 Flathead Reunion

Our cabriolet

From 2010 Flathead Reunion

1946

From 2010 Flathead Reunion

1948 Convertible

From 2010 Flathead Reunion

1940 Special Six & owner Dick Stitt

From 2010 Flathead Reunion

Next year in Quincy, IL. Don't miss it if you live in that area.

Coupe front end

2010-09-03T04:39:00.003-04:00

Just finished some major front end surgery on the coupe with the help of my friend Paul: new kingpins and steering box components primarily (bearings, bushings, Pitman shaft), but also had a new ball made for the Pitman arm that was out of round about 1/4". Also cleaned everything up and lubed all components well.

What a big difference it all made. The steering is now quite tight - for a 75 yr old car - and no more "happy wheels" when you hit a bad bump. I have to take it to a spring shop to replace a loose RF shackle on Tuesday. Just couldn't get the old bushings pressed out of the frame.

The key seems to be proper adjustment of the steering box as per the shop manual. Not easy to do, but essential to getting play out of the system. The trickiest part is getting the steering wheel centered and positioned correctly with the top spoke pointing up. TIP: Don't put the horn wire/button back on until you are sure it is positioned correctly! And expect it to take several tries.

Did the king pins by replacing them first on a spare axle I had as bench work. When I put it all back together, I learned of another difference between early and late production cars: The original spindle shafts are 1/2" longer than the replacement! The difference is made up in the size of the nut holding the drums on. Fortunately I had the smaller nuts as well. Never have read or heard about that difference, so you heard it here first.

One of these cars is going to the Pontiac club's Flathead Reunion next week in Vermont. Which one will depend on the weather forecast for Wed-Sun. If we are in for any hurricane style rain, it will be the coupe; other wise the cabriolet. I have no faith in the ability to stay dry in the cabrio in heavy rain!

Cabrio rear end

2010-06-27T20:26:00.003-04:00

The cabrio is back on the road, with its new high end rear axle gear set and a new running board. Car buddy Paul Austin helped get both reassembled this week and it is looking and running great. I'm a big fan of that 4:11 rear and heartily recommend it to anyone owning one of these cars.

From Rear axle

Thank heaven for Hundley Acuff and his running board business. The guy does amazing work.

From Rear axle

Coup Rear End

2010-05-23T20:10:00.002-04:00

I've had the high gear set rear end in the coupe now for a month or so and am VERY pleased with how it performs. It is a great improvement, one I would call a 'must do' for everyone owning these cars who doesn't live in the mountains. Much less RPM, but still plenty of torque. I've got the rear out of the cabriolet now and will have it done this week.

Running Boards, redux

2010-04-09T06:56:00.002-04:00

So I get the cabriolet out of the barn last weekend. Starts right up, runs great and I take it for a spin. Then I get out and notice: a GD porcupine has taken about eight bites out of the rubber on my LH running board! I couldn't believe it, after all I went through to get them restored. The insurance does cover the damage though, so now I need to take it off and get it down to Hundley Acuff. Meanwhile, the carcass of a certain rodent is now laying out in my back 40.

Another Cabriolet found

2010-04-06T06:35:00.003-04:00

Hemmings Classic Car ran another photo of my cabriolet in this month's issue, which prompted a call from 88 y.o. Paul Beilchick in Heilwood, PA. His first car, bought for $100 in 1941, was '36 Pontiac Master Six cabriolet. He sold it when he went off to the Navy in WWII, but found another one in 1976 that he restored.

Here's his original car (note 1937 hood ornament), with him in the driver's seat:

From Pontiac Pictures

Here's the car he found in 1976 in Oregon:

From Pontiac Pictures

And here it is today, as restored by him:

From Pontiac Pictures

His car now makes four that I know are restored, and the only other Master Six version. Surely there must be a few more somewhere out there though.

Paint

2010-03-17T17:20:00.003-04:00

It hit 60 today, so I got a chance to paint the rear axle assembly. With luck, I'll get in back in the car in a week or two. I used Hammerite black to seal the rust, having first scrubbed it all down with a wire brush attachment on my air grinder.

From Rear axle

One good thing about this work: it was a good opportunity to clean up some parts that have never seen daylight. These axle spring mounts have a groove on one side to take grease. After 75 years, that groove was filled with dried up grease, preventing good lubrication. All fixed now.

From Rear axle

Here what it looks like today. Next comes brake reassembly, this time with new springs and rebuilt wheel cylinders.

From Rear axle

Wheel work…

2010-02-15T16:06:00.003-05:00

While I've got this thing out, I want to really clean up and be sure all parts are serviceable. The wheels were first. I removed all the brake parts and found one wheel cylinder had frozen up. I've never really understood the adjustable eccentric nut and anchor nut - mine have been frozen for years I'm sure - but they are an essential part of brake adjusting, or so the manual says.

Here's the wheel will all parts in place:

From Rear axle

Here it is with only the backing plate left in place (they are riveted on). The anchor nut (top) and eccentric nut are still in place (left). It took some heat on them to get them loose, then they got soaked in rust remover.

From Rear axle

Next off were the axle connectors to the rear springs. One came off with no trouble at all; the other is still on the axle, stuck fast. Two machine screws hold the two halves together. Lot's of old grease inside, which I wanted to clean out.

From Rear axle

Notice the metal band that anchors this part to the axle.

From Rear axle

Now that it's all apart, I need to clean up the small pieces, hone the wheel cylinders and rebuilt them, paint the backing plates with Hammertite or POR15, grease the emergency brake cables, get new brake springs, then reassemble everything to "as new" condition. One of the backing places is bent, so I have to figure out how to straighten it. I'll use anti-seize on the adjusting nuts, so hopefully I can now adjust brakes by the book for years to come.

All I need now is some warmer weather to do the painting.

Progress!

2010-01-22T20:06:00.003-05:00

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

2010-01-19T18:09:00.004-05:00

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

2010-01-16T17:33:00.003-05:00

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 blue 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

2009-07-19T21:04:00.002-04:00

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

Wiper Motor Repair

2009-07-19T20:39:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-04T09:10:00.002-04:00

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…

2009-04-26T19:31:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-21T11:12:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-21T10:58:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-03-08T20:18:00.002-04:00

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…

2009-03-01T10:34:00.004-05:00

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

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

2009-02-09T20:25:00.003-05:00

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

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"

2008-12-10T16:40:00.002-05:00

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

2008-12-10T16:33:00.004-05:00

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

2008-12-04T19:45:00.002-05:00

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…

2008-12-04T19:41:00.002-05:00

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…

2008-10-22T13:17:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-09-18T20:55:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-11T15:46:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-10T17:13:00.005-04:00

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.

2008-07-11T08:03:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-03-28T12:47:00.004-04:00

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

2007-10-01T16:01:00.001-04:00

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

Hemming's comes to town…

2007-08-30T20:07:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-08-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-08-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-07-19T09:50:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-06-11T13:13:00.001-04:00

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…

2007-06-08T06:10:00.001-04:00

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!

2007-05-27T21:33:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-05-26T10:29:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-05-17T21:47:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-05-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-07T16:56:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-04-28T16:48:00.002-04:00

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…

2007-04-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-04-10T15:38:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-04-02T18:17:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-17T16:14:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-03-16T19:37:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-01T19:26:00.001-05:00

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!

2007-03-01T19:15:00.000-05:00

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…

2007-03-01T19:08:00.000-05:00

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…

2007-01-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-06T06:53:00.000-05:00

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…

2006-12-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

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…

2006-12-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-11-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-10-18T10:15:00.000-04:00

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.

Running Board Scam

2006-10-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

Got home from Hershey today to find a letter from Alberta stating that Richard Loesch has filed for bankruptcy. I then talked to my friend Ken Brandick and found out the real story: Richard Loesch scammed me and numerous other people these past several years. My running boards aren't done, if fact he hadn't even started them.

Ken went up there on Friday and spent 2.5 hours with the landlord of the place (who is owed $30K). Loesch never had cancer, never had a heart attack and has lied to me at every turn. Nothing he told me was true.

The good news is that the landlord sympathizes with those of us who trusted this guy and wants to get the boards back to their proper owners. I will send a diagram and measurements to Ken tomorrow so he can show the landlord which boards are definitely mine, then he will take physical possession of them.

So I'm out my $1,000 deposit and left high and dry. I'm not sure what Plan B will be, but will have to come up with something. Damn frustrating!

Still no running boards…

2006-09-30T06:36:00.000-04:00

I have been calling Precision Rubber for three weeks now to get an update on my boards, but Richard Loesch never answers his phone. I even wrote him a letter last week asking that he call me with a status report. No call. I'm starting to wonder if he is still alive.

I did call my Alberta friend Ken Brandick last night and he says he will try to get up there today to check on him. At this point, I am ready to get a lawyer and do whatever can be done legally to end this matter. This guy should be put out of business so he doesn't do to any more hobbyists what he has done to me -- and I know I am only one of many such people having this experience with this jerk.

Meanwhile, an otherwise beautiful, roadworthy car is sitting in the barn unused.

It was the coil!

2006-08-25T18:35:00.000-04:00

Should have posted this yesterday, but I finally cured a long standing and frustrating problem the cabriolet was having -- missing badly at higher RPM levels and backfiring when I let off the gas.

After 1st checking the points and plug gap, I began swapping out coupe parts that I knew worked properly. First the plugs; no change. Then the carburetor; no change. Then the distributor (which I thought was the problem); no change. Then the wires; no change.

I emailed Ken about it and he thought it would be the coil. I didn't really think "coil" because I thought they failed suddenly, usually when hot. And this one was a brand new (and expensive) old style coil with less than 2 hours of running time. But sure enough, when I put in a new 6v coil, the problem disappeared. It now runs at highway speeds just like it ought to. I knew it had to be something fairly simple. Apparently this is a rare kind of coil failure, but it happens.

I sent the coil back to Atwater Kent in Worcester, MA and assume they will honor the problem, though my receipt says they have a 12-month warrenty policy. I bought this one in June of 05, so we'll see.

I've experienced this problem several times. Buy something I know I need well ahead of time, then find it doesn't work or fit as it is supposed to. I needed to install this coil when we put the engine in to get it running, but it has taken this long to get it road worthy. I'm not going to be happy if they don't get me a new one. We'll see.

A driveway carburetor lesson…

2006-08-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

The cabrio carburetor, an original style Carter WA-1 324S carb I got on eBay, wasn't quite right. I had bought a rebuild kit for it, but never installed it. I dropped by Peter Brown's Cumberland Avenue Garage this morning to ask if he rebuilt carbs. Turns out he does and would be in my neighborhood this afternoon and would stop by the house to take a look at it on the car.

So he did and he noticed right off that it was running too lean. He also noticed it (a) ran very rich when first started cold and (b) that the automatic choke wasn't opening all the way. That's when the learning began.

This is a 1st generation automatic choke. It picks heat up from the exhaust manifold through tube, which warms up a bimetallic spring. It also has a vacuum operated piston that helps regulate the choke at start up (cracking it open). When we opened the choke cover (air horn), we found two interesting things. (1) the pin holding the piston to the control lever was missing and therefore not functioning, hence the rich initial warm up period (rich until the bimetallic spring heated up). It's linkage was also bent out of shape, which caused the incomplete choke opening. (2) There is a fine mesh brass screen that is designed to filter out any carbon from the exhaust taken off the manifold. My screen was missing altogether and carbon was gunking up the chamber.

Where to get a pin and a screen? Fortunately I have a lot of spare parts, including an unusable carburetor of newer vintage but with the same choke assembly. It provided a donor screen and pin. It took a little doing to get everything apart and reassembled, but it was one of those rare jobs in which everything went very smoothly. Doesn't happen often in my experience, but nice when it does.

Peter's a fellow local car club member and obviously someone who really knows his way around an engine. I'm sure I'll be calling on him in the future. And tomorrow I'll be tearing into the coupe choke to see what it looks like. Almost certainly that screen will need cleaning (solvent and tooth brush did the trick). I've read a lot of information about these cars, but never a word about cleaning that screen.

Here's a picture of him at work on the car.

Also talked with Precision Rubber on Tuesday. He says all his time is going to getting my new cover made and he may be done in a week or so. We'll see.

Eastern Regional POCI Meet

2006-08-19T08:17:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the Eastern Regional Pontiac Oakland Club International meet in Warwick, RI. India and I drove the coupe down in a caravan with Charlie & Rose's '37 and '48 Pontiacs. We made quite a parade; unfortunately it was all Interstate driving. A little hectic at times with the traffic, but we made it safely home and back with only a minor fan belt problem on Charlie's original, 38K 1937 4-dr sedan. I was amazed to find that the coupe got 17+ MPG running at an average speed of about 55 mph. Maybe that recent valve adjustment made the difference; it's by far my best mileage figure ever.

Here's a picture of the three cars:

I had tried organizing pre-1955 club members to get their cars out, but only six showed up, four of them from Maine and two from Rhode Island. This immaculately restored 1939 business coupe won both 1st place in Class B (the coupe took 2nd) and Best of Show. It's owned by Dave Thomson of N. Berwick, ME.

Dick Kisson's 1931 coupe, bought new by his aunt, took 3rd place.

Here's all of Class B (1926-1948):

Can You G.D. Believe It!!!

2006-08-09T04:35:00.000-04:00

Just when I thought the Precision Rubber running board ordeal was over, the story took a new – infuriating – twist. Yesterday he called Rick to tell him not to bother driving up there for pickup – that while packing the finished running boards for shipment, he dropped one of them, breaking off one of the corners and therefore ruining it.

He now says he has to do that board completely over and it should be done in a week. I, of course, have absolutely no faith that it will be done within even a month, much less get back to me before winter. If it wasn't so infuriating it might actually be funny. Guess all I can do is grin and bear it at this point.

Here's a summary of my experience with Precision Rubber to date:

Jan 05: I call to discuss their work, prices, etc. They tell me it will take four months to do the job. I ship my running boards to them with a $1,000 deposit.

May 05: I call to check on the status of the boards, figuring they must be about done by now. I am told by the owner that he has been in the hospital for 3 months for cancer surgery and has just recently picked up my boards from his UPS delivery site in Montana. They should be done by July.

July 05: I call and am told they should be done by August.

Aug 05: I call and am told they were completely finished, but the glue used to mount the rubber to the metal was bad and did not adhere properly, which means that they have to been completely redone (the rubber would be stretched during removal and would not be right). Maybe done in another month or two.

Oct 05: Another call: "Should be done in a month."

Nov 05: Another call: "One is done, should be about a month for the other one."

Dec 05: More calls, no answer.

Jan 06: Another call: "I had a heart atttack in December and have to talk several months off. Sorry."

Spring 06: Many periodic calls. More apologies and promises of "next month", no action.

Jun 06: Told "They are finished and just need the final spray sealant before shipping. Should be done in 3 days."

Jun 06: When I call back about pickup, am told "My compressor is broken and can't spray them until its fixed."

Jul 06: Compressor parts lost by Canadian customs.

Late July 06: Compressor parts finally delivered.

Aug 06: Two weeks after the compressor was fixed: "Sprayed them on Thursday. Should be ready for pickup on Tuesday (8/8)."

And now this? What will be the next screw up? This is without a doubt the single worst consumer experience of my life. If you are thinking of using this guy to do your boards, buyer beware!

Ready on Tuesday?

2006-08-03T19:58:00.000-04:00

After two weeks of trying, Richard finally answered his phone today. He says he sprayed the final coat of sealant on yesterday and they will be ready on Monday for pickup by Ken. Then, after I hung up, he called back to say Monday was a holiday in Alberta, so they should be picked up on Tuesday. It APPEARS that this sorry episode might finally be over next week. We'll see.

Be still my heart…

2006-07-20T20:18:00.000-04:00

The end of the running board saga may be in sight. The compressor parts arrived yesterday, which means sprayed sealer by tomorrow and finished boards by Sunday. Monday Ken could pick them up and get them shipped to me. I'm not ready to completely believe it, but I may have them in hand in 10 days or so. Only 15 months later than expected. We'll see.

Running Boards - ARRRGH!

2006-07-11T21:40:00.000-04:00

Well, the good news is that Richard Loesch at Precision Rubber is still alive – in spite of never answering his phone the dozens of times I have called in the past two weeks. My running boards actually are done, except for the final sealant coat, and his compressor really is broken. The bad news is that it will take "two more weeks", the usual time period I've heard for a year now. He is still waiting for the compressor parts.

I know all this because Ken Brandick, my new POCI club friend, drove up to Didsbury and actually saw the guy, his shop and my running boards. I was hoping he would pick them up, along with a pint of sealant, and get them back to me so I could have them sprayed here. But apparently R.L. is a very angry and hostile individual, not easily dealt with. Given how touchy he was, Ken didn't want to risk setting him off with such a request. Ken even offered to lend him his compressor, an offer that was summarily dismissed.

So all I can do is wait. I'm thinking I may swap out the coupe boards for the month or so it will take to get them back (if I'm lucky).

Coupe weekend

2006-06-25T18:57:00.000-04:00

It was a rainy overcast weekend in Maine, so it was a good time to give the coupe some needed attention. I had a long list of things I wanted to do to it, including:

• Realigning the RH vent window. Somehow it got put back crooked 4 yrs or so ago when I had it repainted and would not open. Now it's fixed.
• Removing the speedometer so it can be repaired. It makes a loud noise and gyrates widely in low temperatures.
• Correctly aligning the wiper transmission levers so the wipers will point to the outside at rest.
• Installing a emergency brake boot to seal that hole through the floor. It lets in a lot of heat in the summer, right on the passenger.
• Sealing other leaks and cracks in the floor and firewall.
• Reinstalling the wire harness clamp.
• Adjusting the valves.
• Adjusting the steering box.

The latter two took the most time and effort. Friend Paul Austin came over to teach me about valves, something I have never done in all my years of owning this car. We adjusted them cold, to 0.011", but had trouble figuring out when each valve pair was in optimal position (TDC). We hand turned the engine until it looked right, but why didn't they mark the flywheel for each cylinder, not just #1? Andy has since told me that hooking up a light to a plug will tell you when it is TDC (when it lights). I still have some tappet noise, so may try again. It turns out to be easy enough to do.

UPDATE: After reading the shop manual more closely, it says to adjust them to 0.011 hot for highway driving. So I went back and did them at .012 cold. I also figured out how to find TDC: use the distributor points to tell you! Duh! They sound great now.

The steering was also interesting. Once I got the steering link off the Pitman arm (not easy), I just followed the directions in the shop manual. It turned out that things were way off: it took 1.5 turns to hit the left stop, but 2.5 to hit the right one! I got it all centered and things adjusted to about 2 lbs+ of spring scale pressure on the wheel (what the book calls for), so we'll see how it handles how. I never knew it was off until getting the Cabriolet box rebuilt and seeing how easily it steered.

Next up will be replacing the windshield gasket, which leaks. I've got a continuous molded replacement a year or so ago, but haven't got around to tackling that job. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, but guess I'll try when I have a son around to help.

Here are pictures of Paul and me working on the valves.

I'm pissed!

2006-06-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

Just talked to my Alberta friend Ken, who talked to Precision Rubber, who says his compressor is still down, the needed parts held at customs! Ken is leaving the end of this week for the POCI convention in CA and will be gone two weeks. That means I'm at least a month away from seeing my running boards. Damn!

UPDATE: I talked to Precision today. He's says his parts have been held by customs in Winnipeg for 13 days now, pretty much shutting him down. This is really a maddening situation!

Wouldn't you know!

2006-06-14T19:35:00.000-04:00

Got at call this a.m. from Precision Rubber saying that the running boards would not be finished today afterall. Why wasn't I surprised??

He says his air compressor broke down and the repair parts have been late arriving. They are supposed to be there tomorrow. He will then spray the sealant, which takes two days to cure. That means the boards should be ready on Monday.

Let's hope so! I'm real tired of this.

Another nice touch…

2006-06-10T14:42:00.000-04:00

Just installed an original style heater switch to replace the aftermarket one I had on it before. I got it from my Buick friend in Ohio, Spider Kilbane, one of the many great people I have met on this restoration quest. He's working on finding me another one for the coupe.

Running Boards!

2006-06-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

After a week of trying to reach Precision Rubber, he finally answered his phone this evening. He now says that all they need at this point is the final spray of sealant and should be ready to go by Wednesday of next week. At this point, that sounds almost too good to be true, but I'm choosing to believe him.

My new Alberta Pontiac friend, Ken Brandick, will go there on Wednesday, pick them up and ship them out to me immediately.

So, with a little luck, I'll have a completely restored car two weeks or so from today. Hallelujah! Now I just hope they fit properly and look as good as the samples he has on his website (www.precisionrubber.com).

Grill repair

2006-06-04T12:34:00.000-04:00

When we put the car together, one thing that was never right was the way the front grill section met the upper hood chrome. The two pieces didn't match up correctly on one corner. We thought it was probably because the process of replating the front (vertical) section warped or otherwise altered the piece somehow, which apparently often happens. I thought we'd just have to leave it that way, but it has bothered me ever since. Here's a picture of the problem:

It was pouring rain today, so I thought it was time to see if it could be made right. I feared I would have to remove the whole front clip and then the radiator to get at the grill shell, but fortunately I was able to reach up between radiator and grill and get to the sheet metal screws that hold the grill to the radiator shell. I did remove the hood so I could check and recheck the fit of the top piece, but that is easy enough.

Before removing the grill, I noticed that it didn't fit properly along one of the corners, but getting it to fit didn't make any difference. Then I noticed a small metal post, probably an alignment post, sticking up from the grill shell. Thinking it might be inteferring, I cut it off, but still no difference. Finally, I realized no amount of fitting was going to work and maybe the RH corner of the top section was just too low, rather than the other piece being too high. So I shimmed it with a small piece of wood and that did the trick. The two sections meet fairly well now.

The tradeoff was that the RH side section no longer fits so well, but that seems like a better, less visible trade off. Maybe Ken can figure a way to get it right later this summer.

Here's a picture of Jason helping me get the grill screws back in place. At 6 ft 7 in, his arms are longer than mine!

It did change the fit of the hood side panels to the body, but again, I think we can take care of that when it goes back to Ken's for a "tune up" later this summer.

While we were at it, we also removed the heater (again!) because it was making a noise. I thought the fan was probably misaligned and rubbing, but it turned out that the motor is noisy. There is no obvious place to lube it, but if I adusted the tension of the cap properly, I could get it to go away. It will have to stay that way until I find a new motor I guess.

And with the hood off, it was a good opportunity to remove the dust and gunk left from when the paint was rubbed out. Now if I could just get the running boards! Still no word on them, but my Alberta friend will be going up next week to check on them. Stay tuned.

Running Board News

2006-05-26T05:16:00.000-04:00

No, I don't have them back yet, but I do have some news. As a member of the Pontiac Oakland Club International (POCI), I get a directory of all members. On a whim, I looked up the members list for the province of Alberta and found a guy in Airdrie, a town about 30 miles from Precision Rubber in Didsbury (both just north of Calgary). His name is Ken Brandick and he owns a '56 Pontiac he bought in high school.

I wrote him an email explaining my problem with Precision Rubbeer, asking if he ever got to Didsbury, and if so, would he stop in and check out my boards for me? The email bounced back, so I printed it out and mailed it to him, not very confident he would even get it much less respond.

Well, I seem to have hit the jackpot. Ken called and has already talked with Precision to let him know he's on the case. Precision in turn says they are supposed to be done by the end of the month. Ken has volunteered to drive up there next Thursday and check them out in person, digital camera in hand. If they are finished, he will even pick them up and ship them to me himself! (I'll be sending him a check for the balance owed today.)

Ken is one of those genuinely nice people you meet so often in this hobby. So thanks to the kindness of strangers, I may actually have this car done in the next several weeks! Thank you so much Ken!

So if you don't belong to your marque's national car club, here is one more reason to belong.

Running Boards, my nemesis

2006-04-26T15:32:00.000-04:00

I'm about at the end of my rope with this running board business. I did talk with Precision Rubber today though and he says he is on track to have them done by [about] the end of May. I want desperately to believe him, but after so many unmet delivery dates, it is hard to have a lot of faith at this point.

I did talk with a guy in GA who does running boards, but he makes the molds, then pours them. And doesn't do Pontiacs. I called the head engineer at Steele Rubber several times this week to see if he could be persuaded to make new molds if given a set number of advanced orders, but haven't been able to reach him. Guess I'll hold off until I know more about the Precision progress.

100,000 miles!

2006-04-09T21:07:00.000-04:00

Today was a milestone day for the coupe - it turned 100,000 original miles on the odometer. I bought it in 1965 with 68,750 miles on it and certainly have done a lot to it over the past 41 years, particularly the last 23 years. Here's what it looked like in 1967 when it was still completely original.

Notice the broken LH tail lamp. My college roommate and I were working on a woodcock banding project at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Calais, ME that summer, living in the house in the background. One Saturday night I did what I never did before: let someone else drive the car. Roommate's date had to get home to St. Stephan New Brunswick; mind didn't. On the way home, a hit and run driver hit him a (fortunately) glancing blow. He missed the front bumper, but got the front fender, running board, rear fender, tail lamp and rear bumper, missing the body itself. The crash also broke the RH kingpin. I drove it the rest of the summer, and back to NJ that September.

Someone told me about Hemmings Motor News and I found the parts I needed in a NH junkyard. I kept it in storage until 1971, then towed it back to Maine and had the fenders mounted a year or two later (I didn't think I knew enough about body work to do it myself back then). By that time, it was overheating due to a bad heat distribution tube, something I also didn't know about, so it stayed in storage until 1981 when I started digging into it. I took an adult education body work course, which turned into a two year painting, mechanical fix-up and new upholstery & chrome plating project. I've been running it every since, though it is much nicer since its 2003 professional paint job and a rebuilt motor. Here it is now, from roughly the same angle:

Looks a lot better now, eh?

On the road…

2006-03-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

Got the car out for a short drive this afternoon. I discovered I still have some bugs to work out, but all in all, it seems to run very well. I won't take it up over 40 until I get a 100 or 200 miles on the new engine, so can't really test the high end speeds.

I do think I need a better carburator though. It is seeping gas out around the bowl and I suspect the float isn't right. Also the front brakes pull to the left and feel a little spongy. If those are the only mechanical issues, I'll feel lucky.

Here are some pictures taken today in the full sun.

I still need to have a top well cover made to finish it off, but it has come a long way!

It's Home!!!

2006-03-30T21:13:00.000-05:00

Seventeen months after going in for a complete make over, the cabriolet now rests in my barn, looking beautiful and in as close to "as the day it was made" condition as I believe it could be --- except for the damn running boards.

Ken had to come down this way to pick up his wife at the airport, so he got the car done so it could be delivered today. Here's a picture of him and it in his trailer:

I'll get a lot more pictures tomorrow, but here's a shot of the front end showing the pinstriping. I am really pleased with the color combination of Martini Brown body, Caramel Brown wheels and molding stripe, and Flame Capucine pinstripe. Very 1930s looking.

I'm so excited. Now if I can only get my running boards back by the end of the month…

Running Boards Redux

2006-03-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

Spoke with Richard Loesch at Precision Rubber on Thursday and he says he will be back to work next week, against doctor's orders. He hopes to get on my job that week and says it will take 6-weeks to finish them. That makes it late April, which is OK with me AS LONG AS I SEE THEM AGAIN. I hope that's true, but at this point I'll believe it when I see it.

Back at it…

2006-03-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

Ken is back from his 18 day trip to CA, with his next big project, a 1924 Duesenburg Model A, in the trailer. But first we need to finish up this Pontiac. Got a full day in on it today, attending mostly to a lot of pesky details. The doors and windows in this car have been the biggest issue in the restoration. Last time, after getting the RH door all together, we found the vent window handle shaft was too short to take the eschuteon plate and there was a "click" in the mechanism when the window was cranked up. I had an old vent window shaft from my coupe, which was 1/4" longer than what was in there, so fixed that problem. The click had two sources: one armrest screw was too long and we didn't have the leather spacers in the window channel. Of course, the entire door had to be dissassembled to fix those problems, so as long as it was apart we also painted some bare wood pieces as well. Here's that door as it appeared in the morning…

Shaved the door wood down too so the vent window won't hit the garnish molding when opening. I now need to have that molding touched up where it did scratch; Ken knows someone in Bangor who he thinks can do the touchup work it needs. Got the upholstery all done and assembled, including the lower door vinyl kick pad, so it looks good. He's a picture of the LH door as finished:

Still missing are the correct window handles. Cabriolets used the Deluxe style brown knobbed handles, not black like the Master series. I need a set of both vent and window handles, which two friends think they have and will send me. There's a mystery here however. The one door window handle I have is 3.5" long, but the other handles I have from closed cars are 4" in length. 4" gives you better leverage, so that's what I would prefer.

And a picture of the interior as it looked at the end of the day. Still lots of clean up to do.

Ken has made the weatherstrip channels that fit along the bottom of each door sill to seal out dust and moisture, but they weren't painted yet and I couldn't remember exactly where they were positioned (5.5" below the top of the sill as it turns out), so they will be epoxied on next time. That's the rubber for them on the floor of the car. Kick panels and windlace also have to be installed along the leading edge of the door, but that's easy.

I did get the headlight brackets painted out in black, not body color as I originally had them. That was just a matter of masking them and painting the recesses with black enamel. Not much could go wrong there. Also punched the numbers in a new starter ID plate and installed that, and reinstalled the LH engine side mount that had been removed when we fixed the brake line leak.

Ken also made up a set of rear hood corner pads, an impossible part to find from any supplier. Starting with a 1/2 block of rubber, he used the grinder to cut away the shape. They were then riveted to the hood with a metal backing plate to give it more rigidity. The originals surely had a rubber core. Didn't get a picture of these, but will next time. I also had him make up a set for my coupe, which has been without them for 41 years at least. Finally I will be able to open the hood without a pad to place underneath the corner!

That doesn't sound like much for one day, but these details take a huge amount of time. The delivery date is set for March 30th though, when Ken will becoming down here to pick his wife Toyot up at the airport. She is vacationing at her parents's house in Vietnam.

It's a Driver!

2006-02-11T19:26:00.000-05:00

It's been 15 months since I last drove this car, but we got it on the road today for a 2-3 mile test drive. It was a clear cold day, roads were bare and salt-free, so after fixing a slow leak in the front brake line connection box (bad copper washers), we took it for a spin on the Eel Weir Road. Given the new engine, we didn't go very fast, but other than a stuck needle valve and leaky carb - which corrected itself - it seemed to run well. The timing needs a little more attention, but everything seems to work fine. It steers very well, the suspension is as expected (jumpy on a frost heaved Maine back road) and gearbox, engine temp and oil pressure all fine. Can't tell yet if it has the power and pick up of the coupe; that will have to await more breakin time.

Got other things done as well, mostly on the door panels. One is all installed, but we are going to have problems with the handles. The door handle was very hard to mount properly, the window handle is marginal gear-wise and the vent handles are useless. They also don't appear to be installable with the eschuteon plate. Not sure what the solution to that is, but have to scare up some more Deluxe style window and vent handles I guess. They are not easy to find I'm afraid.

Got the garnish molding in place, but it turned out to be "high" near where the vent window opens. We opened it and scratched the wood graining. Can probably touch that up, but may just send it back to Grain-It for them to do. Here's a picture:

The LH door panel is also on the car, but haven't messed with the handles for it yet. We also got the spare tire mounted and installed in its proper place behind the passenger seat. I don't have a spare tire lock for it, a device which mounts over the hold down nut. Pretty hard part to locate.

Got the weather seal installed around the door window openings too. Ken made the lower door sill weatherstrip channels, but they need painting before we epoxy them to the sill. This detail stuff takes a lot of time to do.

Otherwise, new rumbleseat springs are being made by Snyder's next week. Got three other people in on the order, so that lowered the price to the $275-300 range. They will still need to upholstered in vinyl of course.

More progress on the details…

2006-02-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

Spent the day in Pittsfield for the first time in a while. Ken had painted the side rails (the pieces that fit in over the door windows when the top is up to seal out the weather), so we installed the rechromed weatherstrip channels and Ken fitted the whole assemply to the top. That turned out to take a little doing, as most things do. We couldn't find the actual rubber weatherstrip, so couldn't finish the job.

We also found the the RH door needed a little metal work we hadn't noticed before. Again Ken worked his magic and now it is done. Here's a shot of him at work on it:

Meanwhile, I mounted the new fender guide I got on eBay. What a whimsical detail! The orange Indian head turned out to be a nice match for the pitstripe/wheel trim color. Pretty funky.

I also got my matching pair of 1936 Maine license plates mounted, a new heater switch installed, and the seat control lever shortened to its proper length. The one I am using came from that 1938 parts car. Same style, but longer.

We got the car on the lift and painted various bolts and washers black, and touched up some inner fender dings with brown. While under there, I noticed two things that still need attention: I've got a small brake line leak where the LH front hose connects to the brake line at the frame and the gas tank overflow tube has disconnected from the filler pipe. Small but annoying details.

Ken also made the cardboard panels for the doors and we got one panel upholstered before running out of trim adhesive. The upholstered panels, made by Leo's Custom Upholstery, are glued to the cardboard. Of course a great deal of care and good measuring has to occur to be sure they are in the right position.

At the end of the day, I took these pictures of the car. Notice those beautiful vent frames and door windows! They turned out to be the most difficult and challenging part of this restoration project. It feels great to have them actually done, installed and working.

I must say, I like the looks of this car. Very period like.

Now if it only had running boards! I called Richard at Precision Rubber yesterday as I do every month, only to learn that he just had his second heart attack the other day! He sounded OK however and I offered to pay an extra $200 to get my boards by late February/early March, but that didn't seem to offer him much incentive. I'm going to send him the above pictures in hopes that seeing the car may help move things along. My great fear, of course, is that I will never see them again. I certainly can't drive to Alberta to pick them up.

I did get a bonus today though. Scott Brace of Plymouth dropped by the shop. He just found an 8-cylinder coupe in a junkyard in Hartland that plans on street rodding. The car, or what's left of it, is in very rough shape, so a street rod is really all its good for. He also knows a guy in the area who has a 4-door slant back sedan street rod, so there are other '36s Pontiacs out there in the Maine landscape.

We drove over to his place and he gave me a Deluxe radio box, the speaker, an air cleaner and the seat adustment rack. I've been looking for a speaker, so that was a nice find. The a/c is pretty rough, so I'll go with another one I found in Michigan for $15. I cleaned up the speaker box in the small parts blast cabinet and Ken primed it. It will need some bondo to fill the pits, but now I have an entire Deluxe radio to use in the coupe.

Original Cost

2006-01-21T05:57:00.000-05:00

I've been looking through my literature collection recently, which includes a lot of cost information, and decided to calculate the original purchase price for my two cars. Here's what I came up with:

Cabriolet

Base price: $760
Option A: (bumpers, bumper guards, spare tire, spring covers, RH windshield wiper): $36.50
Option B: (safety glass in doors - windshield & vents standard equipment): $7.50
Option D: (RH tail lamp, dual horn, RH sun visor): $13.95
Deluxe heater: $16.75
Cigar lighter: $1.50
Fender marker: $1.25
Electric clock: $11.50
Gear shift knob: $0.50
Wheel trim rings: $8.50

Total price as equipped: $917.95
Freight: $134.12 (I got this figure from an original invoice I have for a car shipped to NY)

Total Cost: $993.32

Using the CPI measure found at www.eh.net/hmit/compare/, the price of this car in 2004 dollars would be $13,528.

The coupe ($615 base price) delivered price was $892.02 (it had the $60.50 deluxe radio); 2004 price $12,140.

Pretty remarkable what they considered optional equipment back then, such as bumpers and safety glass in the doors and rear window (Masters series only, Deluxe cars came with full safety glass).

The only option I'd still like to find is the vanity visor mirror, a $1 item back then. Don't think I've ever seen one on eBay. Did just get the fender marker for $35, which I thought was a terrific deal. They are very hard to find.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on running boards. When I talked to him in early January, I was told "late February or March." Let's hope so!

Yahooooo!

2006-01-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

Got back to the car today to try and identify the source of the motor noise that has been so troubling. Motorhead friend and master mechanic Paul Austin joined me for the day. Attempts to diagnose the problem were fruitless, although Paul found that when you take off the oil filler cap, the noise got a lot louder. That seemed to mean in was internal to the engine. Shorting out a plug made the noise lessen, but not go away, and every cylinder seemed to have the same effect. Carefully listening with the help of a mechanic's stethoscope indicated that bearings, etc. were all normal. Our tentative conclusion was that it must be piston skirt noise -- pistons being too loose in the cylinders.

So we dropped the oil pan and took a look at the insides. The first good indicator was the absence of any metal in the oil pan, so things were wearing well. We checked the tightness of the inner oil pickup filter and metal splash shield that runs along the inside of the oil pan (bolts to the block), and it was all tight. But we took it all off anyway, then checked the clearances on a couple of rod bearings. Perfect. That left us thinking piston skirts afterall. Got it all back together and started it up. Lo and behold, the noise was no more, even after running it 20 minutes or so to be sure it got hot. It is too early to definitively conclude that we fixed it, but it seems plausible that there was some kind of harmonic vibration in that spash shield that we cured by taking it off and putting it back on. Guess we won't know for sure until we really get a chance to run the car for a longer period, but I'm interpreting all this as good news. The noise previously showed up very quickly, so not hearing it for 20 minutes seems very encouraging.

Here's me reassembling the spash shield.

Meanwhile, I got the newly refurbished steering wheel mounted (single spoke up on a '36, down on a '35) and got the horn installed. Here's a picture of Paul installing the horn button. Like so many things in this kind of work, what should have been a 5 minute job took half an hour. It turns out that refinishing the steering wheel meant that the horn ring didn't seat as deeply as it should. So Ken got some longer machine screws and ground down the heads down to fit. Voila, they worked and so does the horn.

Here's Paul at work, and a picture of the new wheel.

The chromed window frame parts are due back later this week, so that will allow Ken to finish the doors. Another two weeks and he should be done. All we will need is the running boards.

Window frames…

2005-12-09T19:35:00.000-05:00

Here's another detail piece done - notice the frame that fits around the outside edge of the window glass. Ken had it made by the same guy who made the vent window frames, another part that you just can't find and have to have made. Looking good!

Coupe to bed

2005-12-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

Got the coupe put away for the winter today. My barn can hold my three cars and the old tractor comfortably, but I have to leave the truck outside.

The coupe fits in this stall, the Ford and Cabrio (if I get it back) in the center portion, and the tractor in another stall. Notice the spare engine in the right foreground. Not sure how to store that thing, so here it sits for now.

I added dry gas and fuel stabilizer to a full tank of gas, disconnected the wiring harness from the starter, but hooked up a trickle charger to the battery cable. I hope that keeps my marginal battery good through the winter and servicable next spring. I also put moth balls in and underneath the car to keep the mice, raccoons, etc, out and sealed openings (carb, tailpipe, etc.) with plastic wrap. The final step is to put the car cover over it.

I don't jack it up though; the tires will just have to take the weight. I also didn't relieve the clutch pressure, but probably should. Don't want the pressure plate to freeze to the flywheel.

Five more months until I drive it again. :(

Something loose?

2005-12-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

Talked with Ken today and he thinks there must be something loose that is causing a vibration noise. He's been running the engine some more and finds that it goes away when running a speeds higher than idle, but makes the noise when deccelerating (backing off). That suggests a loose flywheel, clutch plate or harmonic balancer. Guess we need to use a stethescope and listen more closely to see if we can pick up the source.

Terrible news!

2005-12-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

After a productive afternoon working on the car reinstalling the heater – now working fine thanks to the resoldering work done by Rick at Lewiston Radiator – mounting the correct air cleaner with bracket, putting on the wheel trim rings and hubcaps, lubing the chassis, adjusting the emergency brake and clutch, and bleeding and adjusting the brakes, we started up the motor again to get the coolant circulating through the heater.

At first I noticed a small sound, occuring every 10-15 seconds, that sounded like a dog barking in the distance. Then it got more noticeable and more frequent, especially when accelerating the engine. Thought it might be the water pump or generator, so removed the fan belt; no luck. It's not the fuel pump either, so that leaves something internal to the engine, perhaps bearings?

Needless to say, that is very discouraging news! I need to call Gary Pulisfer, the engine rebuilder and get his take on the situation. I assume he will guarantee his work, but who knows what I'm into at this point? Hopefully it can be fixed by dropping the pan, and not removing the engine.

Anyway, the painted wheels look great with the new tires, hub caps and trim ring. The hub caps aren't great (although better than they show here), but there the best I have at this point.

The RH vent window is done and Ken has made and mounted the weatherseal channel. It will need to be chromed next. Notice the brown molding stripe as well. It makes a very nice accent and will look even better with a 7/32" orange pinstripe.

The undercarriage looks great. Here are some shots of it.

Notice the rear sway bar in the last picture. That is incorrect for this car, being a Deluxe feature, this Master car shouldn't have one. But it makes handling much better (and safer), so I opted for it. It's one of the few non-original features.

So ultimately a disappointing day, although we are really making progress in all other areas. I just hope this engine thing isn't too complicated.

Window weatherseal…

2005-11-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here's one more reason why finding someone like Ken is so important in a restoration of this kind: here are the channel pieces that will hold the window weatherstrip. Impossible to find, but he can make them. Problem solved!

Next up will be the metal channel that fits over the top edge of the glass to give it stability. Again, Ken can make the needed piece. it will need chrome plating though, so can't be installed for several months.

It's coming…

2005-11-27T19:52:00.000-05:00

While I've been enjoying Thanksgiving with my New Jersey family members – in NJ – Ken's been hard at work.

The right vent window is in, finally. This thing has been redone twice now, but is finally correct. Still needs the door window, weather strip, etc., but that will be in soon I'm sure.

The tires are mounted on painted wheels, including the orange (Flame Capucine) trip paint. They'll look even better with the trim rings and hubcaps mounted.

And the previously done rear compartment flaps are now equipped with original style fasteners:

Nice job Ken!

More progress…

2005-11-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

I hadn't planned on going to the shop today, but talked with Ken in the a.m. and thought I better get up there. Left the office after lunch to see if the trim paint I chose from a paint chip is close to the original Caramel Brown. Ken painted the wheels and I'm glad to say the color looks good. He'll now go ahead and paint the accent color on the wheels (orange), the molding stripe (brown) and the molding pinstripe (orange).

While I was there, I installed an original radiator petcock, got the correct radiator hose clamps installed, put on the correct heater shutoff valve and hooked up the heater. I also switched out the heater fan, installing one that seems to have more juice.

We added 14 quarts of 50-50 coolant and fired her up. Ran it at operating temperature (180) for awhile, then noticed a pool of coolant under the rear of the engine and another pool inside the car on the floormat. Damned if the heater core didn't leak. It was supposed to be a NOS heater, but maybe 70 years of sitting around caused the solder to weaken. So I bypassed the heater, removed it and will take it to Lewiston Radiator to have the core resoldered.

The good news is that the engine purrs like a kitten. It really sounds good, an reminds me that it's time for a valve adjustment on the noisier coupe engine.

Ken also got to work on the RH vent window. It came back this week from Paul's Plating, finally correct after 3 tries. That will allow him to finish up all the remaining window and door work, the last big piece of work. He'll also be able to mount and balance the tires. At that point, it's a driveable car!

Still lots of small things to do, but the end gets closer and closer.