1932 confederate 2 door, "the other deuce" Saga

[cahartley]

I was, sort of, documenting what I found with the Chevrolet Confederate I bought from a member of this site.

The for sale thread is there >>> 

It's a conundrum which can never be understood but it is what it is so, hence, the story.

So........the stuck engine.

This isn't my first rodeo with a stuck engine so I used my favorite, never fail, elixir of brake fluid and penetrating oil/Marvel Mystery Oil.

Several times a day I'd rock the car back and forth with the transmission in high and hope for movement.........which didn't happen.

On July 17 a couple friends stopped over late afternoon  so we pushed the car onto the road where the tires would have decent footing.
I pulled it in 1st gear with my John Deere L while one of my friends popped the clutch on the car a few times.......nothing.
Absolutely zero movement so the handwriting is on the wall.
Off with its head and pan and go from there.

The most positive thing is if this had been a running car someone else would own it........ 
Engines I can deal with.......body work........not so much.

More to come........pics too.......  

 

 

[cahartley]

On July 20th I figured I'd call the Wisconsin DMV to get some clarification regarding evidence of ownership.
This isn't my first experience with such an issue but I like to be thorough.
So I get a good natured fella on the line and explain to him what I did and have a current State of Connecticut registration certificate (good through 03/25/2018), a Bill of Sale and an old CT title.
Connecticut is one of those states that quit fiddling with titles for old vehicles many years ago.
When I last called the WI DMV regarding a possible purchase from NY state a lady told me all I needed was a copy of the most recent Certificate of Registration and a Bill of Sale.
I knew I should have hung up the phone when DMV dude starts getting anal about the TITLE....... 
I explained to him that CT hasn't issued titles for old cars for YEARS but it was simply cool to have a title but he persisted.
Long story short I told him I'm going to send in the application with the CT Registration and the Bill of Sale and forget about the title.
The Collector Car Application also states the DMV MAY ask for photos of the car but I have always sent photos with the applications rather than avoid another 2 month delay as they are currently processing applications from JUNE 5!

the DMV cashed my check on August 8th so I'm set........ 

[cahartley]

On July 27th the head came off and this is how things looked.

I was accused of being a tad optimistic as I was happy to see what I saw....... 

Nice, shiny, cylinders for starters!

The head was sent out to be tanked, fluxed, checked for flatness and whatever else it might need.

I was shocked when the shop man called and said the head is a 1933 head!

Even more shocking was the engine had been bored .040" and had a set of aluminum pistons in it....... 

Furthermore all the rods had mismatched caps!

There had to have been a catastrophic failure somewhere early in the life of this car but nobody will ever know.

EVERYTHING about the car says the mileage is legit at 11,600ish miles.

The cylinders were all perfect as was the crankshaft.

Whoever refit the rod caps knew what they were doing as all the Babbitt bearings were evenly burnished.

The head checked out nicely but it seems whoever changed heads wasn't willing to spend much money as the guides were shot but the CHEVY valves required only a touch up.

That along with 6 new exhaust valve springs did the trick.

The head work cost $345 plus the valves which I had to get because they couldn't find them so I was pretty happy about THAT.

In the meantime I ordered all new rings but paid through the nose for some odd width top rings.

Odd because as I was this far I was not about to cut corners and I wasn't happy with the little taper there was in the top ring piston grooves so I cut the top ring grooves to make things right.

Oh.......almost forgot........a couple hits on #5 produced movement so that was a great relief!

[cahartley]

I had read on another site that '32 (and earlier?) heads were prone to cracking between the valves so maybe that's what happened.

I forgot to mention above why antifreeze had gotten into the cylinders.

It was clear as day by looking at the old head gasket.

The head was not flat and it had leaked between 4 and 5.

On the evening of August 10th we started the engine but not without difficulty.
The first thing we checked was spark from the coil which was very strong but the engine wouldn't pop even once.
A little digging revealed the center button on the rotor was loose, of all things!
Once that was tightened it fired up right away and showed 30 pounds on the oil pressure gauge at idle which came down after the engine got hot but well within specs.
A couple taps on the cutout did the trick and the generator was putting out 15 amps charging a, now low, 6 volt battery.
The headlights, cowl, brake and tail lights all worked too.

We let the engine idle for about an hour to settle in the rods since they were newly shimmed.
THAT was exciting....... 

Even more exciting was driving the car home.

I had set a "wish list" deadline of August 12 because I really really REALLY wanted to drive the car to a church event our sister congregation has called "Drive Your Tractor to Church" which has become a huge hit.

Not all of us have tractors so those of us with old cars take them........and I DID along with my wife and a family friend.

The car again and the car at the event........  

 

 

[Taylormade]

Great work.  Always nice to see another one on the road.

[ArticiferTom]

Thank you for the follow up . Looks like all the problems fell within your wheel house of talent . That makes a good deal great .

  Congrats on  a beautiful car .

[440saw]

Hello Everyone!

You may recognize the car in my photo; it is the now healthy love of cahartley's life. I've been away on business and busy when back in the office and haven't been able to take the time to contact him when I'm away. It doesn't help that our awake hours are different. BUT, let me tell you that I am delighted at how this has turned out. I didn't anticipate that the engine had prior lower end work; I'm very surprised at that. Who knows why. But, he's handles it like the pro that he is. I'm so happy that this car will continue into the future un-cut and as it was. I am grateful to all who inquired and again happy it lives again. I'll be contacting CA when my office is again at full staff, in a few weeks.

[cahartley]

440.......I probably told you this but several years ago a '32 turned up somewhere on a google search and it was love at first sight!....... 

Never in my dreams did I expect to have one but when I saw your ad there was no way I was going to let a little thing like a stuck engine hold me back on yours!

It's basically the same engine in my '59 Chevy with which I am more familiar than I'd like to be....... 

However the saga isn't over yet.

I'm dealing with a generator which I CANNOT adjust to put out less than 20 amps........ 

There is no finding the null point as the stationary brushes are riveted to the end cover.

I had the generator out yesterday.

GM engineers should have been shot for having such a horrible mounting method which, by the way, is the identical setup on my '59!

I was so all in after leaning over that wide fender and practically standing on my head dripping sweat.......  .......and my back reminded me what I should and should not do too but they make pills for that....... 

The generator is not THE regulation one for the car and I CANNOT identify it.

3rd brush generators are not my favorite things so I'm considering replacing it with a conventional generator/regulator setup.

The only generator I have ever seen with a fused field is the North East starter/generator in my '24 Dodge.

The photos show what's what.

 

 

[ArticiferTom]

Hello Ca . Do not give up on the generator . remember you can add hidden solid state regulation if you feel it is necessary . Looks like you have a diode on it already instead of contacts . On the regulation only the third brush moves . Make sure it is contacting the communator bar .  Place a thin paper tab between it  and bar ,you should have resistance on pulling it out . Many time this brush will wear out letting power go to the end brush giving full charge . Also as warning never run without a good ,well contacted battery hooked in to the system . Or it will over charge wild and burn up the generator .  I do not know what that fuse does see where it in circuit . It can be part of regulation protection . I'll do some research on my end . Both my brother and I do electrical . He did lots of DC for Uncle Sam , I got his Delco how to repair manuals .

 

   Ps , take the damn .22 case out of the fuse holder and get a fuse .

Edited August 21, 2017 by ArticiferTom
.22 (see edit history)

[cahartley]

LOL.......you noticed that shell....... 

It's only temporary but it did the same thing with the blown fuse....... 

It does, indeed, have a solid state cutout.

I've aware of the solid state regulator that attaches to the band.

For what they cost I can probably get a newer conventional generator.

I anxiously await ANY further ideas!

[cahartley]

Just for giggles I searched for trunk racks.

I discovered the one on this car is a FACTORY accessory!

 

http://1931chevrolet.com/accessories2.htm

[ArticiferTom]

Well CA , I struck out nothing in Delco or Ford books . Did see similar and it is list for Dodges and was Northeast . It had that fuse field ,but terminals out the back . A search of repairing Model A and T generators will give some good DIY articles on check out of three brush units .

  I would start with VOM and test continuity of all wires and brushes . Found many times even the rivet fuse holders and terminal have invisible corrosion .    Good luck .   Tom 

[Spinneyhill]

How do you know it is the generator + regulator and not the amp meter?

 

Generator armature interchange:

Original equipment was a D-R 943-J.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Spinneyhill
More information (see edit history)

[J.H.Boland]

Your 22 caliber fuse reminds me of the story of one of the winners of last year's Darwin awards. Seems this fellow and his buddy were hunting fogs late one night (I won't mention which state) when the lights went out on their old pickup.They replaced the fuse with a LIVE 22 bullet and carried on.Soon after,the bullet went off,hitting the driver between the legs.He lost control of the truck and went down a steep ravine,hitting a tree.They were eventually found and rushed to hospital.When a state trooper advised the driver's wife of his life-changing event, she asked him "how many frogs did he catch ?".

[cahartley]

In answer to Tom and Spinney:

It was identified (?) as an old Auto-Lite though I can find nothing like it.

Over the years in the family business we repaired hundreds of generators and starters and have the tools to properly test them.

I know it's not the ammeter because it  registers lower with the lights on.

The end of the story is I bought a rebuilt, correct, generator ($$) on ebay which should be here tomorrow.

I had toyed with the idea of turning the Auto-Lite into a 2 brush generator and using a regulator (easily done) but I couldn't find a 20 amp (or ANY amp) Circuit B, NEG ground regulator to save my soul so I threw in the towel.