32' Oldsmobile Deluxe Convertible Roadster

[chistech]

Getting more done every day. Made up the parcel shelf today and it's supports. Still have to cut the vertical board of the shelf to match the back of the seat frame. Have to rebuild my seat frame first. Put the seat adjuster in place and bolted the frame to it but it's just to twisted up to use as is for a guide to cut the shelf until it's repaired. Here are pictures of the adjusted landau bar mounts and the"massaged" rumble lid. Included a picture of the jig to bend the lid. The lines of the lid are now really good on all four sides. Also today's work. Lots of tedious things now. Hopefully the light is just down the tunnel.

[GARY F]

you are a real craftsman. great work

[chistech]

Received my newly cast free wheeling levers from Greg Coleman yesterday and had my neighbor clean up the casting marks and surface. Bored the shaft hole, the clevis pin hole, and the pinch bolt hole. Drilled and tapped the pinch bolt. Now to cut the pinch slot and key way. Took a little break from the woodwork.

[Taylormade]

Wow, that makes the lever on my 32 Dodge look tiny!  Very nice work.

[chistech]

Worked with my router duplicator today and made up my two latch pillars for the Oldsmobile. Takes a little practice and setup but overall, it made up very serviceable pieces. Both fit correctly and the door jambs fit over like they should. Some sanding after and some hand chisel work in places clean up any areas where the router bit doesn't quite get. Putting on the jamb covers shows any places the wood is too high. A little more fitting and they're done. Won't screw them in until the sheet metal comes back from dustless blasting and I can refit the sheet metal on the frame.

[chistech]

Started gluing/screwing the lower parts of the wood framework together and applied Cuprinol preservative. The ash is so good looking with the Cuprinol on it, it's a shame to cover it up. Will glue more together once the sheet metal body work comes back from blasting and I can fit to the new pillars to make sure all it correct. Blasted, primed, and painted up the rumble lid supports then re-installed them. Got the lower rumble pan support iron blasted, painted, and installed across the rear of the frame. Put the rear/rumble floor pan in place and will screw it down.

Edited May 28, 2017 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Built up the frame work for the golf bag door the other day. Anyone who's ever done one of these I'm sure will agree there's an excessive amount of work to get the contours just right to make the sheet metal all line up. The outer skin is held on the door by bending the edge of the skin over splines attached to the wood framework. Year back when the wood rotten, someone decided to just put two screws through the door skin so the screw holes got mig welded up and show as bare metal spots in the etch primer. The lock/latch for the door is different than most as it's not a handle but just the key to open the latch. These locks are often missing or damaged because of "white metal" failure and mine was gone. With the help of a friend acquiring the lower part of the latch and another friend with a machine shop, I was able to make up a close replacement complete with spring loaded dust cover. Ended up getting the lines and curves of the door pretty even all around with the opening so the door skin lip was hammered down flat to secure the skin to the word frame. One picture shows a view down the car's side to show the door's surface to the body's surface. A good heavy coat of black paint has it ready for it's interior panel.

[chistech]

went to my friend's machine shop today and he taught me how to broach key way slots. I love learning something new when I can. Used a carbide rotary cutter to make the pinch slot. They're all done now and ready for priming and paint.

[chistech]

Finished up the beltline wood and made up the top piece of the golf bag door body framing. Screwed down the rumble pan and checked the operation of the rumble lid on the bumper stops. Went to Downes and Reader (lumber company where I get my ash) and picked up a 4'x8'x3/4" sheet of ash plywood so I can make up the floor boards. Will also be using the play to make up the sides of the seat frame. I realize the frame was made originally from ash planks, tongue & grooved, then glued together, with steel braces for support. I will be using the plywood and all the same steel supports but the seat frame will be much stronger made from the ash plywood. It is a very nice sheet of plywood that is made like plywood used to be made. It is a full 3/4" thick and the sheet is actually 48.5" x 96.5" so the edges can be trimmed with a fine tooth blade to give super smooth and clean edges. The grain will look great with the cuprinol and copper naphthalene on it. Should look just like it originally did when it came out of Lansing. Covered up all the framing and rolled the body up to the front of the garage. Won't be doing much on it now while I work on my customer's 31' Chevy 5 passenger coupe. Doing the chassis work now. Have already done the rear and most of the chassis painting. Disassembled the front axle to find a broken brake cable housing and a very bad passenger side king pin. It will all get fixed up as part of the full, body off restoration. I will still try and squeeze in some work on the Olds. Got my Ross Racing pistons in today and took them to the machine shop. Basically works of art and are almost too pretty to put inside the motor! Pistons, rings, fitted wrist pins, and circlips came to just over $800 with shipping. This is for forged aluminum when Egge wanted over $1,200 for just 6 cast aluminum. The pistons come with a full spec sheet showing the weights of all pistons and the measurements of 4 areas on each. Very precise with all info as far as the ring grooves, wrist pin length, etc. A very first rate product. Sorry, forgot to get pictures but will do before the machine shop drops them in.

[Spinneyhill]

Just remember that cuprinol and copper naphthalene will promote galvanic corrosion of fasteners in and steel against the wood.

[F&J]

7 hours ago, chistech said:

Finished up the beltline wood and

 

7 hours ago, chistech said:

I will still try and squeeze in some work on the Olds.

 

Nice views of the upper wood structure..thanks.. But I too, lack time for my wood install in my LaS conv, due to other tasks.  I did get one hour late yesterday for more disassembly of that curved beam that runs under the rear deck,  down to the tail end of body.

 

oh, oh, I am in a bad spot now.  My car has two rear openings, for rumble as well as a lower trunk compartment.

 

I found out then that I cannot slide my rear body skin off, even "if" I had a stable wood skeleton... Fleetwood made the skin permanent, in between the two lids.  The metal was peened over around the wood cross beam the separates the lids.  I need more study time to see how I can do the wood at all, let alone in the car body skin, or skin removed..

 

 

[chistech]

2 hours ago, Spinneyhill said:

Just remember that cuprinol and copper naphthalene will promote galvanic corrosion of fasteners in and steel against the wood.

 

Copper napthalene is what was originally used and our cars didn't fall apart after all these years and slight corrosion of the fastener helps hold them fast in the wood. Another thing with these cars is they never painted the metal on the inside, leaving it bare steel against the wood and elements. This car will be primed and painted on the inside which won't allow for that same sort of treated wood to bare metal contact. I don't have any fear of using the preservative for those reasons. 

[Spinneyhill]

6 hours ago, chistech said:

 

Copper napthalene is what was originally used and our cars didn't fall apart after all these years and slight corrosion of the fastener helps hold them fast in the wood.

I had wondered if any fungicide was used originally and didn't think that one went back that far. Thanks for that tit-bit of info. I have specified copper naphthenate many times on outdoor timber structures such as retaining walls, but with stainless fixings.

 

Any more than a little corrosion of a fastener in timber results in "nail sickness".

[chistech]

Got some time in on the Olds to work on the seat frame. Made up the lower framing of solid ash, making extra long tenons on the vertical mill and the slots on the table saw with the tenoning jig. I used the ash plywood to make up the sides of the frame rather than solid ash jointed together in two pieces like the original. The frame is super solid even with out the support irons that I will still be putting back on. Need to get upholster's waterproof board to fill in across the back over the slats.

[F&J]

47 minutes ago, chistech said:

fill in across the back over the slats.

 

 

I see your Fisher seat back upper piece looks the same as my Fleetwood, in that flat board facing to the rear up top.  I have not understood why that flat board's face is 90 degrees to the floor?  Is it for some reason like being up against a bulkhead wall between the front seat and rumble area?(when slid back on tracks) 

 

I have a new one,  and a large part of a Used huge X wall?, but it may not be for my car at all.  I just cannot find how that X sits with what I do have for wooden framework.

^^^nothing seems correct, the height, the unmatching curve up top. This one shown, is sitting on just a junk 2x4 to try to show why it looks wrong or backwards?  There must have been a bulkhead wall?,  IMO

Edited June 15, 2017 by F&J (see edit history)

[chistech]

If you look at other pictures I've posted you'll see the face of the parcel tray that I haven't cut the matching arc to the seat back. When the seat goes back all the way, it sits right up to the face of the parcel tray face. That is why it's 90d to the floor, just like the face of tray. The wood you show might be the face of your parcel tray and it's supports.

[chistech]

Went by the machine shop today to drop off some gaskets and took some pictures of my Ross Racing custom pistons and paperwork. These things are a work of art! Packaged very carefully and complete with fitted pins, rings, and circling. Look at the paperwork. All specs including each piston's weight and measurements. Ross is first class and very affordable. Got told not till next month before he can get the motor done. Bummer!

[falconriley]

From the pistons it looks like the conrods are at least an inch too short. The gudgeon pin should be at the top of the piston, not the bottom. I have noticed many prewar cars have this fault.

Matthew

[JV Puleo]

I don't think it is realistic to call that a "fault." It is a design issue. I suspect you will find that it is common to many engines where the stroke is long in relation to the diameter of the bore. On earlier engines, it was also common to offset the crankshaft, which exacerbates this issue. You will probably find that the rods pass very close to the lower edge of the bore in this engine as it is. Were the pin higher, it wouldn't work at all.

 

Edit: I went back and re-read this thread and realized that photos of the original in the block are shown. Look at them... you'll see that it would be physically impossible to raise the pins without making the rods hit the lower edges of the bores.

Edited June 17, 2017 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[chistech]

 

 

Getting back to the work now. Finished up the seat frame today. Got the metal brackets on it with blind nuts, the fiber board backing in, rebuilt the rear rollers, and got the front iron strap on. I then treated it with the copper green. Made up the front lower floor board out of the 3/4" ash plywood. Also primed the freshly blasted cowl and rear body up last Saturday morning. Will start putting in the patch panels in the 3 rotted out areas. The rear seat rollers on this car and many cabriolets are nothing more than stamped hollow metal wheels with a hollow rivet type axle bearing. They are pinned to the wheel's frame and peened over. After blasting the wheels I realized there had to be a better option as the wheels really didn't roll well. The wheels are 1.065 in diameter and .630 wide with a 1/4" axle. I worked with my local bearing shop to find a suitable ball bearing that I could work with. I used an RS8 bearing, 1.175 diameter, .310 wide, 1/2" bore. I purchased two 1/4 x 3/8 x 1" bushings, two 3/8 x 1/2 x 1" , and two 1/4 clevis pins from the local Ace Hardware store. I assembled the two bushing pairs together and cut them to .650 on my lathe. I pressed two bearings on each bushing assemblies, and I drilled out the one side of the seat roller frame to match the other 1/4" diameter. The new rollers now roll beautifully and have many ways to roll now. I believe this is a better solution than using the same type of wheel used originally.

Edited January 23, 2018 by chistech (see edit history)

[F&J]

those pillar posts look those awesome.  I say that as I sure do know what a chore it is when a nice survivor with pretty good wood, sometimes has screws for hardware that are stripped out.  Looks like a wicked strong framework.  Nice job

[falconriley]

On 17/06/2017 at 10:51 AM, JV Puleo said:

I don't think it is realistic to call that a "fault." It is a design issue.

 

You are correct, fault is not the correct word, as the design does work. What I was trying to say was the design could have been improved, however many ideas tried in the early days of motoring were the same. It is only as knowledge and technology has improved we know now know what we do.

Even RIley's have their flaws. :-)

Matthew

[chistech]

Knocked a couple small dents out of the passenger side of the cowl and then fitted the cowl onto the new wood. I was lucky and able to use the hinge pillars and the cowl wood with just a small repair to the lower portion of the driver's side pillar. All the holes drilled in the new new sills lined up without issue on the cowl attachment points. The lower cowl is lining up perfectly with the rocker panels so all appears correct to proceed. The new floor board and original, to the car, toe board, are fitting together perfectly. The cabin seems pretty spacious looking at it and hopefully will be comfortable for my 6' 1" frame. The rumble seat gutter was missing one of the corner triangle sheet metal pieces that has the lid bumper in it. I made up the new corner piece out of thick sheet metal, spot welded it in place,  turned a matching nutsert  on my lathe, and installed it in the corner piece. . I used my big vice to expand the skirt of the nutsert using a center from my lathe to start the skirt. Once it was expanded, the good old 3lb hammer finished flattening it out. Matches the other side and no one will ever know it's not original to car. Fit the lower metal under the rumble lid and will need to tweak it just slightly to lessen the gap in some area and widen them in others. Starting to look like a car again.

[F&J]

4 minutes ago, chistech said:

The cabin seems pretty spacious looking at it and hopefully will be comfortable for my 6' 1" frame.

I build and PLAN out Old Time 50s style circa 1930-32 Hot Rods for others.  I am good at what I do, as far as making sure a person of most sizes can fit in each car...from the first part of the build.  I do "multi fit" for one reason; so if you let others drive you, if you are tired,...then any person can also get comfy.

 

Pics on the net sure can be deceiving, but I am positive from your cabin pic, that you will be more than thrilled at 6-1, and no matter of chunky or thin.  It just looks "way more room" that most early 30s roadster or conv style. That Olds door width is also larger than Fords of the era, as well...another important thing.

[chistech]

The doorway measures 29 3/4" if I remember right. I measured both tonight to make sure they were the same but for the life of me can't for sure remember the measurement. It does look very spacious to me also. The body is basically the same as all the GM cabriolets of that era 30-32'. The Olds had a slightly higher body than the Chevy but the door width is the same. Need to get new lower cushion spring set for the front and both the springs with frames for the rumble lid.

[chistech]

Ok, have to admit, I didn't sleep to well last night. I worked on the Olds last night and decided to put the doors on. OH NO! The passenger side wasn't too bad but the driver's side had a huge gap. The driver's door was kind of lined up with the lines of the car but was gapped about 5/8" and the passenger door, though closer gapped, dragged on the sill! It was late and decided to call it quits for the night. The whole time in bed instead of sleeping, I kept thinking I made something wrong. I tried to get it out of my mind and sleep but couldn't. When I woke at 6am, I immediately started thinking about it again. Lying in bed I decided I would call Jim Rodman of Autowood or Bill Cartwright of KC Wood and ask them what the width of the pillar mortises in the sills should be. I decided I'd probably have a better chance of reaching Bill than Jim so I tried and Bill answered. When I told him my dilemma and told him I copied my originals, he said the originals have to be right and there is slop in the mortises for fudging the assembly when needed. He urged me to move the pillars to the insides of the mortises and check the door gaps then.

 

Looking at the mortises in the main sills, the front hinge pillars have a lot of room to move (about a 1/4"). The latch pillars, because I rebuilt the framework piece by piece, ended up being as far forward in the pillar mortises as they could. The latch pillar mortises do not have the gap or extra width that the hinge pillars have. Getting into it deeper today, I first took the doors off and tried to avoid thinking about the gaps by working the latch pillars themselves. I worked them in areas with a hand chisel that showed contact with the pillar covers. I also found the pillars were a little too low in the sill. Luckily I never tried to screw them in or attach the metal support brackets until I could line up the body skin with the latch pillar covers. How I lined up the body skin was by the original nailing holes that go through the corners of the latch covers and through the covered corners of the body skin where it wraps around the edges of the latch pillars. Turns out the passenger side was a 1/4" low and the driver's side about 1/8 to 3/16" low. It took a bottle jack under the belt rail end where it's bolted to the back of the latch pillar and a few pumps to get the wood up where it belonged. All this fresh wood and tight joints make for a pretty sturdy frame not easily moved if needed. Of course moving all this caused the upper corner of the golf bag door to stick out some (which probably was because I had made one new piece of the outer framework around the opening and hadn't had the body skin on since.) Once the body skin was in it's proper location, the bottom of the latch pillars were screwed into the mail sill with just one screw because of the body skin covers one half of the lower part of the pillar. When the skin comes back off, the bottom of the pillar will get fully screwed in. I will also install the metal pillar supports to shore all the pillars up before the sheet metal all comes back off.

 

Back to the door gaps: With the car all set from the latch pillars back, I decided to pull the cowl and move the hinge pillars to the back of the mortises to lessen the threshold measurement..I am using the original hinge pillars with driver's side being repaired just slightly so the metal support brackets were screwed to the pillars to get the correct height right back in the original holes. I know this had to be right! I then made up shims to tightly fill any gap in the mortises for the hinge pillars. I put glue on the shims and tapped them into place firmly putting the face of the hinge pillars to the rearmost part of the mortise. I then realized the best way to measure this gap is to put the metal rocker cover in place and low and behold, it just fit with the ends almost touching the pillars. OK, I know the opening has to be right now. I then used a big square to check the pillars and they are square to the sill. I had previously checked the latch pillars and they too are perfectly square to the sill. I also checked the face of the parcel tray to the inside of the belt line wood to where it connects to the latch pillar. I was amazed to find this whole assemble perfectly square and I hadn't checked it during assembly. What the hell was I thinking! I should have for sure. Wood working 101!

 

With the shims and support brackets in place, the bottoms of the hinge pillars were screwed in place into the sill. I then started to put the cowl back on. I can tell you it's a chore to get the cowl over the wood when the edges have been bent over as they were originally straight when the cowl was first put in place 85yrs ago. With the cowl back on and massaged over the wood frame and pillars, I was able to get all the edges in place on the pillars and at the bottom of the sills where the metal gets nailed. I then bolted the cowl to the sill with the metal cowl support brackets and put in all original fasteners to make sure the cowl was exactly where it should be. My brother had come over with a hydraulic pump coupling that had a seized set screw in it so I could bore it out on the vertical miller and re-tap it, so when we were done with that, he helped me hang the doors again. Well, I CAN SLEEP AGAIN! Yup, the doors are fitting much better. The passenger door is still too far forward because years ago the hinges were slightly bent moving the door closer to the cowl and closing the door gap to the point that it hits the metal. Probably an old fix to a sagging door way back. The driver's doors is also a little far forward but not much and is pretty good. The bottoms of the doors line up well with a quick 1/8" shim on the passenger side to line up the lines of the body.

 

THANKS GOD THAT'S BEEN FIXED! Now the doors will need some wood and metal work but nothing too much. Time to move on.

Edited June 20, 2017 by chistech (see edit history)

[F&J]

16 minutes ago, chistech said:

Ok,

Hi, I just did a quote so you'd get an alert.

 

I speak without disrespect as I hope ypu know.

 

I cannot sort these pics as to if you show before as well as after, but I think I see a lot of before?  with bad gaps?

 

anyways, I know I must have said I was not thinking your original plan had any sort of proof that it will work, I more or less knew it could not...and could go way wrong.  Only saying this as decades in door gap obsession.  I wish could be there while you pointed to what you did and mean about redoing the dovetails, as I still have so little confidence that I can sail right through mine without any issues.

 

that is because I NEVER did major wood repairs like yours.....  just a piece or two, which means ZERO experience.

 

So, all I can hope for is to have YOU still be online the day I really have a question, or make a really bad move.. Thanks for your thread...it will help others for years by using the search feature.  WE all need to see errors appear, rather than only all success, or looks like that, only because people might not admit they did have to redo a joint.. Good job on that issue as well.

[chistech]

The pictures are after the moving of the pillars. The gaps to the rear look wide on the passenger side for the reason the door is too far forward because the hinges have been bent. The driver's door is just a smidge wide and can easily be shimmed to be corrected. While the outside gap appears wide, the inside where the latch will be on the striker is not. These cars seem to have a wider line at the latch than the closed cars. Not sure if it's because the thickness of the door combined with the curve of the door. Like I said, they still need some massaging but they will never be like a Mercedes SL600 or a BMW. LOL The rocker panel fits between the pillars and they both just fit so the pillars cannot be any closer. The gaps are straight and not angled so the pillars are square. Might just be the nature of the beast.

 

NOTE: I realize I should have said I have NOT fixed the gaps yet, just got the pillars where they belong and the doors hung so they are no longer dragging. Both doors have to be moved back at the hinges to open the front gaps and close the rear gaps.

Edited June 20, 2017 by chistech
Explanation (see edit history)

[JustDave]

They used to sell a tool for aligning doors with external hinges,it was just apiece of wire with about a 1 1//2 inch pieces of round stock aluminum about 2 inches long on one end and a piece of 1inch round stock about 2 inches long on  the other,a word of caution here once the sheet metal I properly aligned put the. Grille she'll and hood on some times the cowl at the lower sill will need adjusted and that will throw the door gaps off,some times a real bear,I've just started the wood work on my moon roadster when I started I had brown wavy hair now what's left is gray,good luck I'm rooting for you.  Dave

[F&J]

14 minutes ago, chistech said:

NOTE: I realize I should have said I have NOT fixed the gaps yet, just got the pillars where they belong

Perfect "note".  Now I get those pictures and what I DO see.

 

 

16 minutes ago, chistech said:

Like I said, they still need some massaging but they will never be like a Mercedes SL600 or a BMW.

I do have to disagree on your opinion above IF it was a blanket statement, which I plainly see it is not.

 

 

I think I might be able to a least get some time to a couple? of my real first permanently installed wood pieces at some time this week...maybe    .  I think I can do the lower sill splices and the bolt on kickups, without any issues...but then it get dicey at the frear tail connection "angles" of the 3 parts joining in each corner.  Once the angles can somehow be made correctly (that is going to be a very slow task)..  These 3 are not a glue joint, just bolts, but based from only looking at the steel braces there. 

 

I know it will be a fun task, but always being on guard, (which slows down any progress)

[chistech]

Haven't posted in a while. Everyday life has gotten it the way and slowed my work done some but I've still been making progress. Needed to put a new fuel tank in my restored 83' Blazer and with a persistent red brake light, a master cylinder yesterday. Tank leak is fixed and the brake issue is fixed. Now just to pull the great running 6.2 and put another one in it. Yup, it runs great but one day just decided to have blow by into the cooling system. Could fix the head gasket but it also has a main seal leak the appeared after it was all assembled and driving a few months. The motor was not touched during the restoration because it's much easier to just replace them when a problem arises. I have another motor to go in with 9K on it's rebuild.

 

I've been assembling my customer's 31' Chevy chassis and it's almost ready to be test driven. The chassis was completely disassembled and everything painted. New king pins and brake parts were added during reassembly. I had the tank and radiator flushed which yielded a bad radiator. A call to Lee at the Brassworks and I have a new replacement on the way. Still need to paint the tank and hopefully get the re-chromed radiator shroud back from the plater soon.

 

Now, back to the Olds. Cut out the small area of rot on the bottom edge of the passenger side cowling and need to weld the patch in. Started working on the doors. While they're not bad, they're not great either with both needing some wood work and some small metal work. The passenger door has a few pin holes at the bottom up about an 1" and the driver's door will need a new door bottom which I will bend and cut up to match. Both needed new regulator boards and the driver's door needs a whole new lower board and some of the latch side frame replaced. I've decided to use the high quality ash plywood for the regulator boards. All these cars originally used solid ash boards glued together and every car I've worked on has had numerous issues with the regulator boards being cracked, split, warped, or rotted. One of the big reasons for these problems is that the boards are inletted quite extensively and in many places are quite thin. Badly worn and sticky window channels help to put a lot of pressure on the regulator and the board it's mounted to. The result is a cracked and broken board. The ply wood should help with strength and less warping. Both have been made and finished with my green copper naphthalene  like the originals were. I also cut out the rotten section of the latch side wood framing and made up a new one. I will wait to glue and install it until I have bent up and installed the new door bottom. I've mounted the regulator boards with the latches and window regulators on them to test fit. All looks good so far. Used the Roto-Zip with circle attachment to route the regulator reliefs and a small Ridgid round base trim router to do the majority of the inletting. Used the table saw and dado head for the rabbets and some of the larger inletted areas. No special tools needed and going slow while taking good measurements will yield anyone a good regulator board.

[F&J]

Pretty neat how you did the "Dutchman" repair of the door side post. !   Nice solid repair that saves tedious replacement if you remade the entire post.  We will need to do the same on my Friend Joe's 34 LaSalle sedan for sure.

[chistech]

Gotten back to doing some on the Olds recently as I'm currently waiting on the body for my customer's 31' Chevy to come back from the paint shop. Received about half of my chrome back from R&D Plating this past week and it looks great. Sending out the windshield frame, roof irons, headlight buckets, and a lot of smaller items for my second batch this coming week. I was able to locate all the parts to make my freewheeling unit operational so now my driveline will be 100% as original. Assembled the free wheeling unit to the trans and bell housing then bolted it all to an engine stand for painting. The Bill Hirsch Oldsmobile engine green paint sprayed real easy and had nice coverage. It dried to the touch in about 10mins too. I painted the trans, engine valve covers, oil fill tube/dip stick, fan puller mount, water jacket cover, and some smaller engine parts. Painted the fan black yesterday with a single stage black. After all was dry I installed my newly re-chromed shift lever. Should be picking up my motor from the rebuild shop soon so once the motor is painted, the motor and trans will be dropped in the chassis finishing up the chassis and running gear. Have my wheels all blasted and primed with the wood bleached. Need to sand the spokes all down and get them all varnished up. Then the wheels will go to paint. 

[chistech]

Got a call from my machine shop today. They are working on my motor and I went down to take a couple pics. Motor has been very lightly decked and bored .020 over. It was hardly worn so that is a good thing.  Main bearings along with the crank are in excellent condition which was a big plus. The bearings appear original with "OMW" logo and a production date of 12/31 stamped right on them.  My car was a 1st-2nd week of February build so that date seems about right. They have bead blasted/cleaned up all internal parts and will be working on it until finished. I was told week after next. Picked up the balancer, timing chain cover, and front engine cover/mount and will paint them up. The machine shop is doing a real nice job. 

[chistech]

Continuing to work on the motor component parts. I am having the oil bath fan hub body re-bushed at the machine shop and that should be done soon. I took apart my water pump/oil cooler so I can rebuild the water pump section, clean and blast the inside of the oil cooler cast housing, and flush the Harrison oil cooler itself. The Harrison cooler body has a flow control plate on the bottom with larger holes in the middle and smaller holes on the outside edges. I am lucky as this must have been replaced and the whole unit worked on before the car was stored as the covers are in good shape (not rotted out) and the fan blade shaft has very little wear on it. Most of these need a lot of work and are hard to find. Luckily I have a second one but it's not in as good as shape. One of the caps has rot holes in it but it can be fixed. The Harrison cooler body looks great though. All looks good so far. Starting to reassemble.

[chistech]

Painted up some more engine components today. Waiting on a special felt oiler type bearing (exact OEM replacement) to finish rebuilding the water pump but painted it and the oil cooler housing up. When I was at the machine shop, he told me the head bolts weren't that great. Did a search on Google for "high head, head bolts" and located a guy right here in NE that used to make them and had a bunch in stock. Had the exact size I needed and I had them in a day! Took them by the machine shop today to find the head has been cleaned, decked, and checked and is in great shape. The oil pump is in great condition (gear type because the Olds 6 was a full pressurized system), and the machine shop is still on schedule to have it done by end of next week

[keiser31]

That is looking soo great!

[chistech]

Thanks. The sand blasting and painting of all these small parts take a lot of time but at the same time, the small details are what makes a great restoration. Getting pretty excited about how this this car will look and drive. Shooting for this time next year to be done!

[chistech]

Had some restoration work done on my gauges by Instrument Specialties in North Kingstown, RI. They refaced the water temp/oil gauge and installed an new sender tube, recharged it and tested it. They refaced all the speedo dials and repaired some broken parts in in. They also refaced the amp and gas gauges then went through them for functionality. I had the non functional clock changed over to a electronic quartz movement and they refaced it also. I had the bezels all rechromed at R&D Plating of TN and put them back together tonight. I to make another gasket for the temp gauge as you can see it in the picture showing behind the glass and I temporarily put them in place on the dash panel. (I put the gas and amp gauges in the wrong locations as they need to be switched) The face panel is a spare that I won't be using and my good one is going out for refinishing. Lots of small pieces needing attention. LOL

[chistech]

Machine shop called today to tell me the valves were cut on a lathe and not ground,. Basically, the valves were not made very well. The shank of the valve was not cut high enough to clear the top of the guide either. It's amazing that vendors tell you they have the parts and then farm out the work to another who does sub par work all the while charging you plenty because "good parts cost good money". My shop ended up cutting the shanks higher and ground the face of the valves to make them the way the should have been. My block was is very good shape so the seats were re-ground and no inserts were necessary. They are putting it all back together the rest of this week and next so it should be all done soon. Was able to locate new, high head, grade 8 head bolts that were made 3-4 decades ago so it will go back together like a new motor.