Doctor's Pontiac

This is the process I followed to paint the horn button and the engraved word "Hydra-matic" on the transmission indicator by the steering wheel. I am sure is old news for many but some may find the description helpful. I first masked the surroundings with masking tape for protection. Notice the letters for "Hydra-matic" are carved into the metal and the red paint is almost all gone Another view before repainting Applied paint with a mini brush liberally into the carved letters and waited about 2-3 minutes to begin to dry. The idea is to have the paint settle in the channels and then remove the excess that is on the surface The plate with the letters is a chrome piece so using a very fine 0000 steel wool I began polishing the chrome plate. The fine steel wool does great with restoring chrome and in a case like this will not touch the paint that is seated deep in the channels. The letters came to life again. A second application will enhance the color further. Similar process was applied to the horn button. This is rather elaborate design on a chrome plate with the Oldsmobile emblem and numerous fine concentric circles as shown below. Horn button before restoration. The black paint is mostly gone. Started with the areas that needed black paint Then added the red paint to the corresponding areas and waited about 3 minutes. This paint dries quickly, it is a touch up prepared by my local auto paint store. Looks like the job of a toddler! Using same fine steel wool started removing the surface paint and polishing the chrome. In the section with concentric rings I noticed that is better to polish following the lines of the circles and not across them, which may remove some of the paint deep in the channels. After more polishing. Few small imperfections still visible but overall much better I happen to have an NOS horn button that I was planning to use because mine looked ugly but now have a hard time distinguishing which is the NOS. It is SO HARD TO GET GOOD PHOTOS WITH CHROME, it reflects everything and make it look stained! All the weird spots seen here are just reflection of the surroundings. I applied the same process to the grille and the red color is so much enhanced and provides a beautiful contrast with the chrome and the deep blue color of the car. I used a paint applicator that I found on e-Bay called "E-Z dabber by E-Z Mix", E-Z flow black striping enamel, custom red enamel prepared at Sturdevant's Auto parts paint shop and 0000 steel wool. I enjoy a lot restoring small detailed pieces like these.

Problem solved thanks to all your tips, thank you! In summary, the main issue was the wrong bulb. Evidently using a 2 filament bulb provided current all the time regardless of position of the dome light switch. These 3 photos show how I finally installed and is working correctly. Both door switches and the dome light switch operate independently and correctly. First of all had to check the socket wires that were suspected of grounding the circuit all the time. The first photo shows NO continuity between either one of the 2 socket wires with the case which confirmed there were no shorts in the socket. Then we (my friend and myself) made the connections from the 2 wires as shown in next photo: Notice an extra white wire coming from the metal tab on the roof to the dome switch ground connector. This is needed for this aftermarket switch in order to complete the ground circuit. With the above setting everything works correctly now ! Very happy with results I then cleaned and polished the dome light cover and is all done! Thanks again to all!!👍 Manuel

I got the #88 based on the Shop Manual. I am sure others will work but probably have different candlepower. The # 82 in the Manual is listed for the 1951-1954 Catalina and Convertible courtesy lamp (see below). The # 82 has 6 C.P and the #88 has 15 C.P., both single filament, dual contact. It seems several of you think the switch and/or connections are not insulated properly. Tomorrow will work on this issue with a friend who is very able and has helped me many times. Got to fix this tomorrow because have to travel the day after for a while away from this car!! Fingers crossed. Thank you

Thank you all. I am also amazed how many of you can spot tiny details that can get unnoticed easily (like the filaments in the photo above). I checked the bulb and indeed I used the wrong one. The correct one is the #88 with 2 contacts tips for the socket and a single filament. I had my bulbs in the same small package and accidentally I installed one with 2 filaments although I intended to use the single filament one. So far this is what I have accomplished: both door switches work well and turn the light on and off correctly but only while the assembly is not touching the body. As soon as the assembly contacts the top (metal to metal) the light turns on and can not be turned off with the switch. This happens with the correct bulb. Will try to figure out where is grounded, may be a short with old dry wires running through the car roof?

I've owned this Pontiac 2 door sedan, 6 volt stock, for more than 12 years but I've never tried to fix the non-working dome light until now. I decided to disassemble to check and found there was no light bulb. I thought it would be an easy fix and installed a correct bulb #88 with 1 filament and 2 contacts. Well, the light turned on but I could not turned it off. I blamed the switch, which looked very damaged, so I installed a new one but the light still remains on. I suspect the prior owner gave up and just removed the bulb to "turn it off". I removed the assembly and found 3 wires shown in the photo: The hot wire goes to one of the bulb contacts and the wire from the door switches (both get connected together) goes to the other bulb contact. There was a 3rd wire attached to the light switch when I removed it but that seems some modification done by prior owner as it is not shown in the wiring diagram and I could not track it to any particular site. So I got the wiring diagram from my shop manual and connected everything as shown on the diagram (and left the 3rd wire loose). From the door switch wire I made a connection to one of the bulb contacts and spliced an other wire going to the light switch. The entire assembly is grounded to the body when touching the roof (see tabs in photo). Everything works fine when I test it with the dome light assembly hanging from the ceiling but as soon as it touches the metal on the body the light remains on all the time regardless of light switch position. The circuit is effectively grounded all the time and I find no way to interrupt it. The light switch is supposed to connect/disconnect the ground but it does not happen. I verified the connections multiple times. The assembly shown before making all the connections. What am I missing in my wiring connection? Thank you for any comments. Manuel

I am sure it is pretty simple for many of you but I am confused in which direction to insert the pin, from the front? or from the back? and which of the 2 ends of the pin is the one inserted first? When I removed the old one I found it to be in the position shown in the photo but when I installed it, it only went one way which is the opposite of this photo. This is the driver's side. Photo shows the knuckle support still attached to the spindle. Than you

I may have installed the wrong way then. So, which end of the lock pin goes in first (the one that is round or the one that has a flat section) and which one of the 2 ends is the one to be hit with the hammer? 🫤 (confused).

Thanks for all the comments. You are all correct, needs to be done properly. All these components are NOS GM parts, no aftermarket parts. What is not right is the installation. I will remove it and try again when I return to my car in 2 weeks and I will post results. I think the problem is that the flat part of the king pin is not perfectly aligned with the lock pin flat area. Safety first, so will make sure to do it correctly. Manuel

By the time I became concerned and posted the question I had already installed the caps at the end and the whole assembly is ready for install. Unless there is a high chance this lock pin can become loose, I would prefer to leave as it is. Whatever I post is usually my first time doing the job and don’t want to make any major mistake. If you guys think this is a serious concern, I will remove it and buy a new kit with caps and pin and start all over again. Thank you all!

It is showing that the pin did not reach the edge and is not flush with the knuckle support arm. It is about 1/8 inch away from being flush. I am asking if is safe to leave there

Had to replace the king pin and can not drive the lock pin all the way. It went relatively easy until it reached the position shown in the photo. It won’t get any further and head is mushroomed already from hitting with big hammer. This pin has no nut, it is held in place by pressure. Is it safe as it is to mount on car? Thank you

Solved !! Spring is back in place. Was about to head to an Auto Zone to get the spring compressor loaner they have when I gave one more try. I lowered the lower arm all the way and by doing so I found enough clearance to insert the spring upwards into the frame housing. While I was holding the spring as high as possible, my daughter helped with the jack under the arm. Once the arm touched the spring, it was still a fraction of an inch away from sitting well into the spacer but I was able to tap it with a rubber mallet until it reached the correct spot on the seat. Then I jacked it up a bit more to keep it safe. Yes, the top of the spring is the flat end. The bottom is the round one that curves on the seat channel at an angle. Thank you guys! 👍

Yes, that spacer has been there since I got the car. I thought was the actual “seat” but your comment may be the right explanation. I will leave it there as car was leveled and handled ok. It is making the install a bit more difficult though. Will look for the tool suggested by pont35cpe and give a try. Other ideas?

I have been working on the suspension of my 41 Oldsmobile and when replacing several rubber bumpers, stabilizer links and tie rods, inadvertently I lowered the lower arm too much while the stabilizer link was disconnected and the coil spring fell off its seat. I tried to reposition and attempted to raise it with the jack under the lower arm to compress it again but it is too much at an angle from its seat and slides off again (see photos). What is the proper way to reinstall the coil spring? I have safety concerns because these springs are dangerous if mishandled. Thanks for any tips. Manuel

I thought the opposite will happen. My understanding is as follows: When you disconnect the battery ( or battery is dead ) the points always close when the winding is completed ( about 3 minutes) and remain connected until you power again. Therefore, the sticking together by corrosion will happen much more likely when points have no power for extended periods simply because they are connected all the time. Having constant power keeps the points separated except the split second when the solenoid/coil fires. Sure, if points are already stuck together and power is applied, they may heat up and cause potential fire. Please correct me if I’m wrong.