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.

Except that I had no clue what it looks like inside when I opened it!🤣 Today, 24 hours later, the clock continues its relentless tik-tok and did not miss a beat. Time is same as my cell phone, so for now it is fixed. With help from the younger generation, I was able to create a YouTube account and uploaded a short video. At 12 seconds you can see a good spark if you enlarge the image and again at the end at 56 seconds. The rewinding cycle is 2.5 minutes but my daughter edited the video to make it shorter. Otherwise is too boring !! This is the link

Yes, ground is provided by the glovebox door hinges to the dash. I just finished some testing following forum members suggestions. The problem is the contact points, not ground. I removed the clock and connected to power and ground at the battery. Exact same result, so I ruled out ground problem. Then I opened the clock and identified 2 very small contact points that were fully closed. That means the spring is fine. Points should be closed after the winding is exhausted. I was able to separate the points and found terrible pitting and corrosion shown in photo Next I activated winding manually which separated the points and they moved until touching each other and closing the gap but no spark or activation of the solenoid. A winding just exhausted itself and clock stopped Then I cleaned some of the corrosion using a “contact burnisher” that got today from an electronic supplies store and cleaned as much as possible. Hooked to power and ground and tested again and now working “like a clock”, activating the winding mechanism every 2.5 minutes. Points wide open after mechanism kicked the moving point downward. Points still looking sick but all edges are clean and they make good contact. Clock has been working steady with no failure for one hour and got 1 minute behind real time. I adjusted and will let it work overnight and assess in the morning I have a good video and if I am lucky the younger generation will upload to YouTube and will post the link tomorrow. The points are bad already. The center is pitted. Is ok to file them until it is flat and even? Or just leave as is now until stops working again? Thank you all! Manuel

Good idea, thank you. Cleaning the points sounds doable for me. Got a very fine contact cleaning file from an electronic store today and will try tonight. I will not go for a quartz conversion. Prefer to struggle with the original. It doesn’t matter if it is very inaccurate as long as is doing the legendary “Tiktok” all the time. 😁

My 41 Oldsmobile has an original Borg clock on the glovebox. A year ago it was cleaned, oiled and bench tested for over 24 hours and ran continuously ok but was not installed until recently. This clock has a winding mechanism that is activated by electrical current about every 3-4 minutes ( you hear a “clank” when winding is activated). Problem is that the electro mechanical winding mechanism works only for a few minutes and then the tiktok stops altogether and never restarts. The curious thing is that it starts back immediately after gently hitting the glovebox door edge with my fist and the tiktok resumes and continues sometimes for 4-5 minutes and stops again and will not self activate the solenoid unless I hit it again. I am trying to understand why the physical shake of the unit activates the electromechanical mechanism before sending the clock to a restorer. May be some simple fix that I can check inside the clock? Any thoughts? Any restorer that you recommend? I am aware these clocks were usually problematic from new but I am willing to try to make it work as it should and not just keep in place for the looks. Manuel

I started this post because my cowl vent lid seems loose when fully open and I wanted to adjust it and because the cowl vent gasket needs replacement. It is now evident that I can not make any adjustments unless I have full access to the hinge under the cowl which I won't do because requires removal of heater, is a major job. Therefore, I decided to replace the cowl gasket "in situ" without removing the lid. The shop manual has one line stating that it can be done without providing specific instructions and therefore I had to explore the process to follow. This was my first time doing this job. I took many photos to document the process and decided to post in case someday may help other enthusiasts who like me have no previous experience. All the initial steps were described earlier in this post and I follow from there. 1. Removing the old gasket and cleaning the gasket channel. The shop manual's language gives the impression that you just pulled the old gasket and it will come out easily. I presume they never imagined it will be still attached to the car 80 years later to the point of being fossilized into the channel, hardened like a rock and requiring hours to remove it given lack of space in the posterior channel where the opening to work is only 1/4" and in a very uncomfortable angle The rear of the lid is the big challenge. The more open the lid is, the more posteriorly it tilts preventing the insertion of any tool into the channel for cleaning it. This photo taken after the bulk of the gasket was already removed The front of the lid is very accessible to remove old gasket and begin cleaning the channel. It gets complicated on both ends, R and L and is virtually impossible on the rear part of the lid. Had to keep lid open at the exact best angle all the time - which usually requires an extra hand that I did not have - to reach the channel This is the only tool that effectively worked to remove dried up cement and old rubber from the posterior channel. You can appreciate how narrow the space is, which hardly accommodated this hook pick. It got stuck all the time in this hardened crusted material to the point that one of the picks broke down trying to extract debris from the channel. I tried several plastic upholstery tools but they don't fit in. Used a 3M adhesive remover as recommended by Steele Rubber to soften up the old material until eventually most of it was removed. Channel is getting cleaner. 2. Installing gasket. I used a gasket sold by Steel Rubber, which is the exact size of the original and appears very accurate reproduction. I placed a "dark cross" on the upper aspect of the old gasket as a reference and compared side by side with same spot on the reproduction. This step is necessary to know which side of the gasket is up and which is down. This is the bottom of the old gasket compared with the new one confirming which side is up and which is facing down. Now came the messy part of the job. I applied masking tape to protect all surrounding area from getting the nasty rubber adhesive.. Getting preparation done before applying the weatherstrip adhesive. The only tool that fit in the narrow 1/4" gap. I placed the gasket adhesive in a piece of cardboard, picked it up with the brush and applied to the gasket channel and to the bottom of the rubber seal, waited until getting tacky and then applied it into the gasket channel beginning with the rear side of the lid, which is the most difficult, and then coming forward on the corners and eventually to the front area which was the fastest and easiest part. 3. Adding the screen and filter. The filter is basically a dried vegetable, looks like hay or some type of grass and is packed as a sandwich between the metal screen in the front and a backing plate behind. Very delicate material that can not be cleaned effectively because it falls apart when disturbed. Best cleaning method is to place in hot water with the backing plate holder attached. I left in a sink for 30 minutes and a lot of powder was removed (shown below). Only safe way of cleaning this dried vegetable material. I submerged entire piece in hot water and let it sit there for a while. The dust filter is attached to the backing plate with a couple of staples that I did not notice until after cleaning. It helps to keep the unit complete. I added 2 staples toward the center in addition to the 2 localized on each end. The material is then applied loosely to cover the staples and are not visible. The dust filter is then attached to the screen in front using "paper fasteners" that were described at the beginning of this post. The screen body is now ready to be hooked to the cowl vent lid and is secured with 2 screws as shown in the last photo below The gasket is visible and looks good 4. Completing the job. Last step - which I still did not finish fully - is to clean debris of gasket sealant and apply touch up paint to edges of the cowl lid. Sorry for the long post. Hope helps somebody Manuel

My 33 model B had same problem. I finished restoring car back in 2016 and had used an aftermarket bendix, some Chinese part because car is hardly driven, may be every 2 months, and was expected to be sufficient for such low intensity use. But junk is junk and it lasted only 4+ years and some of its splines wore out and produced same sound you described and was not engaging. Put an NOS bendix a year ago that solved problem. I do have a 6 volt positive ground alternator. I gave up on trying the generator after several unsuccessful rebuilds. I know, if I just find the right electrician……

Thank you for bringing it up. You are right. I have another good meter and I verified it and it was very similar reading. This cheap meter was goofy that day but normally shows with the decimals as it should. I just did a comparison again shown on the photos. In addition, the car starts perfectly every time which won’t happen with a low voltage battery.

Yes, you are right, it is a dust filter. Found this drawing in the parts manual under “accessories” and it mentions the dust filter but no part number. Evidently what I have is from factory. This illustration also shows the cowl vent lid on top of heater and the flow of air but provides no information on the location of hinges. I will study the heater and see if I can handle removing it. Another winter project!

I obtained this measurement with tire inflated to 34 lb psi and used a ruler on top of tire trying to keep it horizontal. I got 29” which falls within expected value. So the Coker bias ply looking radials 650-R-16 have the correct size.

I made some progress and at least I could get access to what is going on behind the screen and have room to replace the gasket that is in terrible shape. The cowl vent itself still can not be removed. These are the steps I followed. Please comment if you have suggestions First step was to remove a bolt and nut that connects the cowl handle to the linkage. Hard to reach in my car as everything that could be installed is already there and not much room for anything. Picture shows both handle and linkage separated. I placed a green tape as a reference to the notch that provides tight seal of the vent once it is closed. Interestingly, after linkage was free there was significant play of the cowl vent and appeared will come upwards. I played with it in all directions until it came up enough to expose the entire front screen as shown below Had to place a wrench to hold screen in place. Now have access to the screws holding the screen. I was hopeful that behind the screen may be access to rest of hardware that is connected to the hinges so started removing the screen. Screen came out only by tilting to the passenger's side and lifting sideways. It was hard but came off Now I can confirm that the material seen behind the screen is a type of additional filter that is secured with a metal mesh behind and a few brass paper fasteners. I presume this is not original and hope some of you will be able to comment. The bad thing is that behind the screen there is nothing at all that can be loosened up or removed to get the cowl vent out. The linkage is riveted and welded at the top under the lid. The cowl lid has a lot of play and free movement at the passenger's side and does not appear to have anything holding it on that corner. Passenger's side shows nothing. Close to the center of the anterior aspect of the cowl body there is a slotted screw that I don't know what is for and can not access what is behind. I did not want to remove this screw in case is connected to the hinge because I will not be able to reinstall unless I totally dismantle the dash, which I don't feel like doing at this time. The driver's side has the Z linkage that goes down to under the dash through a rubber boot. When pulling the vent upwards there is definitely something on that side holding in place. If there are hinges on both sides I expected some resistance also on the passenger's side but this seems more to the driver's side only. With tremendous difficulty I introduced my hand and touched the rubber boot trying to feel any nuts or bolts but could not. All I get was pain and scratches all over from very sharp edges. So this may be the end of road to remove the vent, at least for now. I am sure many Forum members have done similar jobs and I would like to hear any suggestions. Meantime I will work on cleaning old gasket and see if I can install a new one. This is also challenging because there is no access to clean the seat of the gasket in the rear section of the vent, where the lid hinges, and which provides only about 1/4 inch space between the lid and the edge of the opening. Will see, thank you for any comments. Manuel