kgreen

You're absolutely correct: https://jalopnik.com/these-are-what-the-first-modern-flashing-turn-signals-l-1845692668

Thanks rocketraider, always interesting to learn a bit of car trivia, as well as making sure I put the correct bulbs in the sockets.

The car looks exactly like one of these, only different. I was curious to see what a variety of 40 Desoto's would look like. Photos compliments of Mr. Google.

What color bulb is used in the parking light on the front fender of a 1940 Buick? From memory, prewar cars had a clear bulb in the front parking lights, where they existed. All the parking light lenses that I have seen were clear, but I may not have seen them all. I recall amber colored bulbs or lenses in the 70's. 1940 was also the first year that Buick used turn signals, I'm not sure what other cars had or when they had turn signals. Can anyone offer a little history lesson on turn signals and parking light colors on prewar cars?

1941 Ford pickup. The body had numerous functional repairs to keep it together enough to serve. I learned how to use the English Wheel, the welder, hammer and dolly on this truck. I managed to get a YOM tag with the correct weight designation Sold the truck before I put this fully rebuilt engine in it. The engine in the truck was an AB, this would have been the correct year engine, now making a great display in my office.

That was fun Billy. You stopped at more places than I usually do, and it looks like I miss out as a result. Did you see the Dignity statue; it was visible from the interstate right in your photo at the bridge where you crossed the Missouri river in Chamberlain, SD.

With regard to tying the car down for trailer transport, it is best to attach straps as close to the wheel as possible to secure the wheel from moving unless you have opportunity to tie the wheel itself onto the trailer. The desired outcome allows the body to bounce during the ride. The result from attempting to tie the car body will permit the tie down strap to loosen during extreme downward movement of the body, then snapping the strap tight as the car recovers in an upward movement. The location that you used to attach the cable to the body to pull the car onto the trailer is a good location for a tie down strap. I see that you had the front wheels tied directly to the trailer; that is optimum. For the rear attachment I go as far outboard on the axle shaft as possible then attach the left side axle strap to the right rear side of the trailer. The left side axle strap goes to the right side of the trailer. As for strap placement on the axle, I look for a place where the strap can be captured to prevent it from drifting back towards the center of the axle. I also lookout for brake lines, shock attachment and sway bar attachment, usually using the spring as the capture for the strap at the axle. As for changing a tire on the side of the road, the scissor jack is a great option providing you have a solid, level surface on which to place the jack. If the surface or the car isn't level, the jack may rotate out from under the car causing injury. I'm always wary of third party services helping with a tire change. If AAA or other, I would watch them like a hawk to keep them from attempting to jack at the running board, the rocker or less than stiff frame locations as noted above.

Pinstripe brush, but not by me. Rather a pinstriper who knew how to do what he did. The guy is located in the UP of MI so he is not too accessible.

Wheels completed. Research indicated that the outward face of the wheels were body color (or Dante red if elected) and the inner face of the wheel was black. I might have to mount the tires myself to keep the gorillas at the tire store from messing these up. I've not bought tires yet since I don't want the tires to be old by the time I get the car on the road. My guide for the pin stripes is from the 36-38 Buick club publication Torque Tube: Is Hugh Patterson still with us?

Darn it, I'm a member of that club too. I could have bought a Duesenberg for what I put into a low interest car.

Grille paint: The flat black block out areas on the grill were painted. After looking at dozens or more photographs, I was amazed at the variations in restored models for what was painted and what was not painted. With the help of vintage photographs, I'm rather sure the correct areas of the grill were painted. The grills are now fitted on the car: The hood latches are installed, check the uniform clearances between the hood, the grill and the fender: Now on to the back of the car, the interior of the wheel shields and rear fenders were painted black.

What does it look like with a bug smashed on it, which will likely occur during a nice leisurely 200 mile drive? Pix for evidence pls.

Check with the folks over at Ford Barn.

Working the front of the car: fender louvers with hood pull. The louvers are an assembly containing steel with surface rust that require repainting and stainless that requires polishing. The 40 and 70 series louvers are the same length and thinking I hit the jackpot, I purchased a nice pair from Dave Tacheny from a Special that he was parting. Upon disassembly I found that there was a difference. The 40 series do not curve front to back like the 70 series. Also upon disassembly I found "tons" of anti-rattle parts. Polishing the stainless was a potentially dangerous task since the thin strips could, and in one case did, get grabbed by the polishing wheel. The stainless strip turned into an uncontrolled, flopping knife blade, narrowly missing operator vital parts. I also destroyed the piece. Good thing I had extra. Still, combining the best of the best resulted in a very nice pair of louvers. Finished louver: rechromed hood pull showing two lefts, I also have two rights also as a result of an accidental submittal of mismatched parts to the plater. Assembled and installed onto the fender. The lack of clearance between the fender and the firewall required louver assembly prior to fender attachment to the body. Buick used pesky split copper rivets to attach the louver to the fender, hard to save the old ones but managed. Buick used vibration isolation at numerous points in the body assembly. There are twelve fasteners holding the entire front clip onto the car with all but the center hood hinge having some form of non-metallic isolator. Except for the roads that Matt Harwoods notes in Michigan, most modern roads are smooth enough that the isolation pads won't be challenged as they were on 1940 era roads.

Matt, we've lost track of you. What's your progress? Could it be that I got ahead of you?

Are these the forward bolts that you mention? There are actually three of them. You don't need to play with them if your only looking to change the oil.

Searching for authentic paint colors is lot's of fun! I did it for my 1940 model. My best success was looking up owners on club membership rosters for the specific car, then calling owners/members to determine weather the car was restored or not. I eventually found many new friends and a couple people that had original cars. You will even find details that pass by current judging such as zinc oxide brake backing plates.

Desert cars in the southwest suffer when outdoors and exposed to the intense UV light. My car apparently spent a good amount of time outdoors and abandoned. The results of its' exposure was that wood did fine; fabric, leather and plastic were toasted. Since you are keeping the car under cover, most of the car should be fine as far as UV damage is concerned. High temperature could be a concern for some materials. While outdoor temps can get above 100F possibly even exceed 110F for short durations, indoor unconditioned space temperatures can be higher through conduction at roofs and walls. Roof temperatures can attain temperatures of 180F to 200F or more with this heat conducting to the interior space of the garage. Plastic parts are the only part that may suffer over time by warping or cracking. The older original plastic is a soy-based product that is susceptible to heat damage. The biodegradable plastics that you currently see advertised as sustainable are soy-based and advertised to degrade more quickly than petroleum-based plastics. The other plastic that may degrade more quickly with high temperatures is the laminate used within the safety glass. I'm not sure if a 1938 car would have a cellulose layer or one of Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB), which was just being introduced at about this time. The cellulose laminate is organic and can suffer accelerated decay. In both materials, soy-based plastics and cellulose, the degradation is not immediate, rather these materials have a shortened service life in high heat as compared to cold climates. All this to say that decay by the hot Arizona climate is quicker than the cold north, but you may never see the results of this heat damage. The more likely damage you could suffer is from the presence of drywood termites. These little critters exist in southern and western coastal states plus Arizona. They do not need moisture from the soil to survive; they fly through the air entering homes, garages and other wood structures looking for a place to nest and live. They bore a small hole into the wood and destroy it from the inside. Their damage is evident by the small hole and sawdust powder beneath the wood. The old saying is that everything manmade returns to dust. Looking beyond the possibilities and accepting that fact means that you can store your car in Arizona; it'll be fine. The car won't last forever and neither will we.

I bought a box full of 50's car mags when I was in Jr high. Read everyone of them, kept everyone of them. Why am I keeping them???

The decision then is "what do I like for the fact that the car is what it is", rather than "this is the car that will impress the heck out of my peers on the show circuit". Right? I've always liked Corvairs, the second generation. I like Mustangs and I think a 6-cylinder base model would be a lot of fun and easier to maintain than a fully loaded, big block 8-cylinder. I think an early 50's Chevy would be fun, basic, but I could be a successful mechanic in that car. I like the 59 Buick and the 57 Cadillac; probably too pricy now. I'd like to get a car like the one dad had when I was an infant; a 1950 Mercury woody. He always claimed it was the worst car he ever owned because the car knew where the county line was and would always break down at that point. I also think the early 60's Ford station wagons were cool. So no, none of these would light fires in any show circuit, but they would be well within my mechanical ability to maintain and I would have a blast driving them. OH; I forgot about a Model T...

Take a look at Salgado Automotive Rebuilders 3975 Whittier Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90023-2400 (323) 269-7977

I'd like to post several photos from yesterday, but they all want to post rotated 900 clockwise. Here's Mr. Wells, the hero of this past weekend's show. Thanks for fixing the rotated photo. How did you do it? [Fixed- GDW]

Great question gone unanswered. I've got a handful of photos to load from the Duluth show yesterday and eveyone of them want to post clockwise by ninety degrees.