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My Grandfather's '37 Oldsmobile


James

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Guest 2moredoors

Here is a site for brochures on 1937 Oldsmobiles. I found it helpful hope you do too. I have had my '37 Olds for about 6 years and have found other persons with these cars so I am happy to find more '37 enthusiasts. My model is Canadian so there is some difference with the running gear as GM Canada used a Chevrolet base so my brakes, wheels and some other parts are slightly difference than the US counterparts.

1937 Oldsmobile 6 Brochure - The Old Car Manual Project

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Guest 2moredoors
I have a '37 Pontiac, does that count?:)
It counts if your Pontiac is a 6 cylinder with an installed oil filter as my oil filter is not installed and I want to see pictures of one installed on an OIds or Pontiac.

I know some of the parts are common. The oil bath air filter on my Olds was a NOS Pontiac (I replaced the decal). The fuel pump is the same and the carbs can be interchanged. So yes I am interested.

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Guest bofusmosby
It counts if your Pontiac is a 6 cylinder with an installed oil filter as my oil filter is not installed and I want to see pictures of one installed on an OIds or Pontiac.

I know some of the parts are common. The oil bath air filter on my Olds was a NOS Pontiac (I replaced the decal). The fuel pump is the same and the carbs can be interchanged. So yes I am interested.

Yes, my car has the original 6 cyl. engine. Don't have an oil filter as of yet, and my air filter is not the oil-bath type. If I ever see an oil-bath type for sale at a reasonable price, I'll jump on it. Our cars are very similar in some areas, but I would rather have an Oldsmobile....a much better car.

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Guest 2moredoors
Yes, my car has the original 6 cyl. engine. Don't have an oil filter as of yet, and my air filter is not the oil-bath type. If I ever see an oil-bath type for sale at a reasonable price, I'll jump on it. Our cars are very similar in some areas, but I would rather have an Oldsmobile....a much better car.

My old oil bath air filter was not the correct one. I picked up a used dry-type and then last fall in Hershey I picked up both an oil bath and what appeared to be a NOS dry type so now I have spares, always need spares.

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Guest bofusmosby
My old oil bath air filter was not the correct one. I picked up a used dry-type and then last fall in Hershey I picked up both an oil bath and what appeared to be a NOS dry type so now I have spares, always need spares.

Hmmm, want to sell your extra Pontiac oil-bath air filter?

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Guest 2moredoors

The extra oil bath filter was not a proper fit. It was slightly larger at the top and would rub against the "hold" down bar when one fastened the hood. I think that the previous owner had modified a non Oldsmobile oil bath filter. Postage would be worth more than the filter.

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  • 10 months later...

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P.S. - in addition to 1) howdy, 2) some pictures and 3) some catch up

PLEASE SEE QUESTION I HAVE AT END OF POST

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Hey everybody!

Man it's been a long time hasn't it?

Any of my old friends still around?!?!?

Yes these old cars sort of move at their own pace it seems.

But in addition I just had some overarching peripheral issues develop which took me away from the car for a while.

But I’m still here and so is the car!

My last picture showed the car j-u-s-t being sanded and primed.

So I thought I’d pick up there with a few pictures of some of the progress since.

We’ve gotten the car mostly painted (just a few small parts to go back and catch).

Here’s the body all taped and wrapped getting ready to be painted:

Santone%20Cream%21%20084%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

Here’s fenders and engine compartment panels painted.

Santone%20Cream%21%20016%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

And here’s a couple of pictures of progress on the mechanical front.

Valve%20Business%20Area%20All%20Spic%20and%20Span%20003%20%285-8%29%20PMTX%20FUSE%20%5B1%20pxl%20crop%5D%20CS3USM--XL.jpg

and...

Manifold-%20Sandblasted%2C%20Painted%2C%20Getting%20Cured%20011%20PMTX%20FUSE%20011%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

(this is one of my favorites :cool: )

Right now all the different segments of work are mostly completed.

We’re about on the verge of, pretty soon, starting to put it all back together.

Body panels, trim, chrome, wiring run, etc., etc.

And then, of course, the interior.

Hopefully, pretty soon things will get to hoppin’!

But mainly, I wanted y'all to know that this IS a LIVING BREATHING project, and the day is coming (and it's not as long off as it has been!)

that, God willing, I'll be driving down the road in my grandfather's (and father's and my) old Oldsmobile!

Film at 11:00!

Jim

P.S. Oh! and HERE’S MY QUESTION...

My friend Mike, thinking about this car maybe going through spells, from time to time,

of not being driven for a while, of it possibly sitting for a while...

he had the idea to put an electronic fuel pump on the fuel line (just fore of the gas tank).

So that, if the car didn’t get driven for a while, and was sitting there with a dry carburetor,

instead of going out and just grinding and grinding the starter,

Mike’s idea was to have the electronic fuel pump on a switch tucked up (out of sight) under the dash, and you could just flip the switch, listen to the electronic fuel pump working, hear the sound change when it gets the carburetor bowl full, switch the electronic fuel pump off, and then just hit the starter and vrrooom off you go.

Sounded good to me so we made it so.

ONLY PROBLEM...

When you run the electronic fuel pump, the gas overflows the carburetor and there is a (distressing!) gasoline waterfall!

Mike was NOT happy! (...neither was I!)

So... he put a pressure gauge/regulator on the fuel line, and it shows that the carburetor is seeing 2¾ psi.

So it really shouldn’t be a case of the fact that the electronic fuel pump is overwhelming the carburetor with ridiculous fuel pressure.

So WHAT’S THE DEAL?

It SEEMS as if, maybe when the carburetor is dry and the bowl is empty, when the electronic fuel pump starts filling the bowl up, the float just doesn’t come up to shut off the in-flow. (...or?)

If the car has been running, and everything is “hot” and the bowl is full, and you come back around and just turn the electronic fuel pump on THEN it does NOT cause the gasoline waterfall!

So, my questions would be something like:

- do others do this? put an electronic fuel pump on the fuel line of a car like this, to be used in this way?

- regardless, anybody understand what’s going on? why the gasoline waterfall? anyway to fix the problem?

I would REALLY like to figure this out because

- on the one hand this seems to me to be a neat solution to easily start a “sitting” car

- but on the other hand I CANNOT have gasoline pouring around under the hood.

I gotta either make this work flawlessly, or abandon the project.

Observations?

Questions?

Suggestions?

Comments?

Thanks!

Jim

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Guest bofusmosby

Great to hear from you again! I have often wondered how you were doing with the car. I have the same problem with my 37 Pontiac when it has been sitting for a while. I hate the idea of cranking and cranking, until the car finally starts. I haven't done anything about this problem yet, so I will definately be reading the responses to your question, to give me some ideas as to correcting this issue. I have found that using a bit of starting fluid will start the car fast, but I may have to do this 2 or more times, before the gas actually gets to the carburator. I also don't like having to start my car in this manner, because the engine will start almost instantly, and before the engine becomes lubed which I believe may cause some wear issues. I have actually gone as far as to try to start the car without doing this for maybe 10 seconds, THEN use the starting fluid, in the hopes that the engine will be better lubed before it starts running. Again, I hate having to do this.

Glad you're still at it, and I look forward to reading more, as well as seeing some more photos.

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Guest 2moredoors

I do not have an electric fuel pump on my'37 Olds but I too have considered doing just that. I do have a friend who has put an electric pump on one of his cars but the pump is activated by a toggle switch on the dash but it is spring loaded and he only switches it on momentarily.

Glad to see you back. Every time I see something on Ebay for a 1937 Olds that I don't need I think about your car.

Your pics look great.

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Nice to hear from you again, and even better to see the progress you're making! When doing my '41 Buick, I went long stretches with little or no progress on the car, and it was very, very frustrating at times, but the thought of someday driving it down some nice country roads kept me going.

As to the carb problem, it sounds like a sticking float, perhaps it hangs up on the side the bowl when it goes right down to the bottom? Less than 3 psi should not overwhelm the float. I still use a mechanical pump on my '41, and give the carb a quick prime if its' been sitting a long time, so as to avoid all that cranking.

Keith

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I use an electric pump on my Packard for the same reasons, I also turn it on when it starts to vapor lock on very hot days. I'm assuming that you have mounted the pump before the mechanical fuel pump, and that you've already rebuilt your mechanical pump (if you haven't rebuilt your mechanical pump with new, NEW, diaphragm material that is not affected by today's gas, do so NOW. That is probably where your problem is.). The best and most commonly used pump is the Airtex Model E8011, which is available from Napa, CarQuest, etc. Also available online for under $40. No pressure regulator needed, either.

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Guest bofusmosby
The best and most commonly used pump is the Airtex Model E8011, which is available from Napa, CarQuest, etc. Also available online for under $40. No pressure regulator needed, either.

West, is that a 6 volt pump?

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Absolutely it's 6-volt. It doesn't come with the toggle switch, which I prefer over a button because I don't want to be steering and pushing a button at the same time during those super hot summer days where it's needed while driving (Iowa, summer 2012!!!! Everything was fine until it got to 104 degrees in the shade).

Again, make sure your mechanical pump has been recently rebuilt, too.

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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Hey thanks EVERYBODY for replying in here.

Mr. bofusmosby!

2moredoors

Buicknutty

And Billy (39BuickEight), good to hear from you if for no other reason than to follow your link to your thread about YOUR restoration project. WOW! what a great thread.

And West thanks so much for your comments about the Airtex E8011.

I might swap mine out for yours.

We have a working hypothesis for my problem.

We (Mike) think that

a) when we first installed the electric fuel pump it was just TOO STRONG and overwhelmed the carburetor causing Gasoline Waterfall #1

B) when Mike put in the pressure regulator/gauge... that left AIR in the fuel line and mainly within the (new) regulator itself, causing the regulator not to “regulate” (it read “0” first time after installation) which lead to Gasoline Waterfall #2.

But NOW, we have used the electric fuel pump twice since my post here, and it . s-e-e-m-s . to be working alright now.

Fingers crossed.

And I am going to need to test it some time when the car has sat for a few weeks and the bowl is empty and make sure that isn’t a factor in this whole thing, but we may be heading in the right direction.

STILL, West, I may just opt for going with yours, a more better suited unit for the car, get rid of the regulator, etc.

Thanks again for your helpful comments. It's always good to hear from you.

More news as it breaks.

(and some pictures if I can ever get around to editing them!)

Jim

.

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Using the electric fuel pump is the only way around vapor lock using the dreaded ethanol on hot days. Otherwise the mechanical pump works well and the toggle switch allows you to only use the electric pump when the vapor lock starts, or possibly help start the car after some amount of time parked in the garage. Ethanol will also rot the rubber in the fuel system. Even the electric fuel pump is not immune from that awful ethanol idea that the politicians have forced on us.

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There's been a few mentions of ethanol gas in the thread here.

I have a little independent two pump gas station down a little back road not too far from me

that sells high quality ethanol free gas and I couldn't be happier to have it.

It's a little bit out of the way, but I try to fill my "modern" cars there whenever possible, just to support the fellow.

So far just toting home a can of gas every now and then for "shop running" of the '37.

But looking forward to driving it there before too long and saying "fill 'er up".

And btw...

I don't know whether everybody here knows about this site or not, but thought I'd mention it just the same.

I came across it a while back.

‎www.historicvehicle.org/Resources/Resources/US-Hobby-Law-Maps/Pure-Gas-Map

It's a nice little resource.

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It's really looking nice.

I just realized you're not too far from where my brother works. Jasper Jeep.

And only about 30 miles from where I used to live, Hickory Flats

(used to be a wide spot in the road, literally, but it may have grown up to full status small town by now).

Well West...!

It's a small world indeed.

Hickory Flats isn't on any of my regular routes, but every now and then when I need to get from around Canton down to Alpharetta, that'll take me through Hickory Flats. And, yep, it's a bit more than a wide spot in the road now. Still not real big, but you notice when you go through it.

And...

Where my car is sitting, as we speak, is about three quarters of a mile from your brother at Jasper Jeep.

Ain't that something!

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Well, y'all have stimulated me to attack ALL these unprocessed raw photos.

Process a few of them anyway.

Here's the car fresh out of the paint booth (and I mean fresh, it was!)

Santone%20Cream%21%20098%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

Jim

P.S. Me looking at this photo, I'm just remembering...

When we got ready to haul the car out of my Daddy's basement (see page 1 of thread),

it hadn't been driven for 40 years or so.

And my Daddy had maybe tried to keep the tires aired up for a while.

Even though it wasn't being driven, they look so sad sitting on the rims.

But he had given up at some point, so I'll say it had been sitting on the rims for at least 30 years.

I know those flatbed haulers can just wench a car up.

But I just hated the thought of watching the car being scrubbed along the ground.

So undignified.

So, a few days before we were to tow it, I went by my father's house with an air pump just to see...

"I wonder if these things would hold air?"

And they did, we we able to .r-o-l-l .it up onto the hauler with the grace it deserved.

And four years later they are still holding the air (no re-pumps).

Who woulda thunk it!

.

.

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In this old shop where the car's at (actually the shop just moved, same guys, new location; this is "the old shop")

there's a big area where a lot of wrecks and body work, sanding, scraping and grinding takes place.

But for project cars like this, after they are painted, there's this skinny little part of the shop where they go to get worked on toward putting them back together.

It's a little more sedate, and they're a little safer.

The last picture I posted was just as the car was getting moved from the paint booth.

This one is from a different angle after all the re-juggling of the cars was finished and all the cars got situated.

I sort of think of this as The Old Car Lineup.

Actually, it is mostly the old Truck lineup.

Mine is the only passenger car, all the rest trucks; this is rural, mountain territory, after all. :cool:

The%20%2737%20Joins%20The%20Lineup%20003%20%281%29-XL.jpg

.

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Hey James... Jeff Brown here. Glad to see you making progress on the car. Progress on these old cars is best viewed over a long period of time. :)

What a difference from that day we looked at it in your father's garage. I should visit this spring and see how she looks with her new paint.

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My car will be a very similar color. Is there a name for that color on a 1937 Olds? Sorry if you said it already and I missed it.

Hey Billy,

Yep, it's Santone Cream, Oldsmobile paint code 131.

And OH! did we go round and round about the color!

My only goal with this car, from Day 1, was to just "fix up the old Oldsmobile."

(...and, of course, that's easier said than done, as in you can't "sorta" re-do the interior, or "sorta" repaint it, or "sorta" re-plate the chrome, etc.

It's much more a case of "in for a penny, in for a pound", but I digress...)

But as re: the paint color, I just wanted to put it back original.

1- well, we had the paint code, and you can get the original DuPont color mixing formula for all those old colors,

so no problemo, right? Nope, those old formulas aren't really applicable into today's paints, today's paint mixing systems.

2- but never fear, the Dupont rep said that they could cross the old formula into a new formula.

So, he did, and we got us a test quantity of it, and sprayed up a piece of sheet metal and... DIDN'T LIKE IT :mad:

In a word, it just wasn't "right."

3- So my saint of a paint/body man took his Official DuPont Paint System Paint Analyzing Camera and took a picture of the inside of the trunk,

figuring that that would be the purest, least weathered or faded paint we could find.

Produced a formula, mixed up a test quantity of paint, sprayed it on a piece of sheet metal... DIDN'T LIKE IT :mad:

Didn't look "right."

4- At one point somebody realized that there was fresh paint underneath the big tag light/ornament thingy.

note: the car had been repainted at sometime, and I think they had just repainted it "by eye" and not by any formula, and it came out more tan than cream.

So some virgin factory paint under the tag light was a great discovery!

So we photographed that, produced a formula, yada yada yada... :mad:

In summary, we must have painted up six-eight pieces of sheet metal, none of which I liked.

Then I realized that there was actually the whole question of "what was I looking for?"

The original color of the car? (which I may have only seen when I was real young? ever?)

Or the color of the car that I learned to drive on, took off to school, etc. which was the re-paint color.

At any rate...

One day, I walked into the shop, and there the car sat where mister Andy (body shop saint #2, oh! how I am blessed!)

had, just on the side of the car somewhere, gently sanded down through the repaint color to the original paint color.

And from the door as I came in, maybe 25 feet away from the car, it was just... boom!, there it was, the color I had been looking for.

And we photographed that spot of paint (that's what's the second picture below)

produced a formula, mixed a test quantity of paint,

sprayed up a piece of sheet metal, blew it dry, held it up against the spot on the car, and you couldn't tell one from the other.

Ooh-rah!

And I said to Kelly, "Paint the car."

And we did.

And the car painted up just like I had had it in my mind from day one.

It was just a long road to get there.

(But I just wasn't going to paint it a color that wasn't right; I'm stubborn that way.)

I will say one thing about the color.

It's one of those colors that changes with the light.

A little darker, a little lighter, a little more tan, a little more cream.

And I LABOUR over every batch of pictures I take to try to get the color of the car looking right.

The main challenge is to keep the car from looking yellow in photographs, which it isn't.

I am very conscientious with my WB at the time of taking the pictures, but no matter, that paint still photographs a range of shades.

But, I enjoy the challenge!

Jim

P.S. I'll be looking forward to seeing Sequoia Cream on your car. (...wherever you get the formula from, and however you get the paint made up :cool: )

I gotta guess that GM kept some sort of "cream" color in their color chips from year to year.

Nudged the formula a little each year and changed the name.

But I would guess 1939's Sequoia Cream was pretty close to 1937's Santone Cream.

We'll see I guess, huh?

P.P.S. For any 1937 Olds sleuth's who read this and come back and say "Santone Cream was NOT an F37 color!"

You'd be right.

Santone Cream was a standard color for the 1937 convertible line.

But would have been available, of course, as a special order color on other body styles.

P2200963%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

Original%20Paint%20Color%20Found%21%20001%20%285-8%29-XL.jpg

(see how green-ish this looks! /\ I never could get this particular shot to look just right; no matter, the car does)

.

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Hi billy great thread . And a beautiful car.. I was wondering what are you doing with that gasburner under your manifold ? Thanks for sharing . ;-)

Paul

Hey Paul,

Billy's got the 39Buick, I'm the OP, James (Jim).

No worries, I know these threads jump around a bit, just clarifying.

To answer your question, we painted the manifold with some HIGH temperature paint, and were just curing it with a little heat.

The heat from the bottom flowed up pretty naturally.

We didn't try to get it cherry red.

Just a little bit of heat, then kill the flame, turn it back on, heat it back up a little, back and forth.

Thanks for asking.

Jim

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Hey James... Jeff Brown here. Glad to see you making progress on the car.

Progress on these old cars is best viewed over a long period of time. :)<- yeah... I've sorta learned that, but it really is OK!

What a difference from that day we looked at it in your father's garage. <- I look every now and then at your pictures you took that day and remember... yep

I should visit this spring and see how she looks with her new paint. <- specifics to be worked out, but yes, absolutely

JEFF!

Hey Man!

Good to hear from you.

Hope you're doing well.

I really enjoyed meeting you that day, and, as above, yes we ought to reconvene.

Yes "see how she looks with her new paint" and we can also crank her up!

Can't go for a drive yet (pedals, wiring, seat to sit on! etc.) but we can crank it and listen to it purrrrr.

Stay in touch and lemme know when a time sorta feels right for you.

Jim

.

Edited by James (see edit history)
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I hear you on the paint colors. There seems to be a little leeway with mixing and applying the correct older colors, as many Buicks like mine that are painted the color I like (sequoia cream) are not quite the same shade. I was driving the other day and spotted a 2014 Chevrolet Spark on a dealer lot that is strikingly similar to the color I was shooting for. Maybe I will be able to tell the painter that I want that color, that may be easier since it is current and I know exactly what shade it will be the first time. Here is that car, the Chevrolet site says it is called "lemonade":

2014_chevrolet_spark_ls_cvt_lemonade_zps7ca05a3a.jpg

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Guest 2moredoors
I use an electric pump on my Packard ....... The best and most commonly used pump is the Airtex Model E8011, which is available from Napa, CarQuest, etc. Also available online for under $40. No pressure regulator needed, either.

How did you hook up electric pump and is your Packard positive ground? I just looked up Airtex pumps and they show E8011 5 to 8 PSI and also Model E8902 2.5 to 4 PSI. I think that the Olds F37 may require lower PSI.

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In line before the mechanical pump. 5 to 8 psi would be too much, but I don't think the E8011 pumps that much out... less than 4, I think. Many other owners are using it, too. I don't know how to respond to the figures you found. I've never seen anyone make a comment that their 8011 needed to be reduced in pressure. Mine certainly doesn't.

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As for placement of the electric pump, tuck it inside the frame rail back as reasonably close to the tank as you can. They push the fuel better than they pull it.

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While I installed mine up near the front of the car (it was convenient at the time, and I haven't had a need to change it), as Bill says, normally you would mount the electric pump back near the gas tank. The 8011, when installed as a pusher (back near the tank) in a 100"+ wheelbase car, pushes about 4 - 5 lbs at the carb. That's perfect for the downdraft Strombergs. This pump should not be used for the earlier cars with updraft carburetors.

The 8092 pump you mentioned would not have enough pressure and would be useless for a late 1930s-40s car.

Wire the pump through the ignition switch and with a separate control toggle switch. Yes, the pump is polarity sensitive, but you just need to connect the ground wire to ground. It doesn't matter that the car is pos. or neg. ground.

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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August 2013; Painting Day!

Code 123 - Runnymede Green, painted by me with urethane activated Centari.

I did the jambs & hinges off. I then mounted the doors & taped off the hinges, so I could put the final coats on the doors with them in place.

It was a very difficult car to paint, with so many separate pieces.

post-99496-143142412274_thumb.jpg

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