chistech

I’ve spent a lot of time in TN and have many friends there that will never leave. Depending where, they have all 4 seasons with winter being fairly light. Property costs are reasonable just outside the big cities, it’s pretty central in the US, and I think it’s a state income tax free state. It has some great scenery and really great roads for driving on. I live in MA and own a house in FL now. Not planning on selling my MA home and living here in the summer when I retire but I will not be wintering in FL when my in laws pass. Don’t like FL much asthe traffic is now very heavy and all the idiots from up north, including my state (no offense to you Ed) have moved there or the Carolinas. I-75 is often a three lane parking lot for miles and miles. Never used to be like that. My son lives and works there now for 8 years and he wants out. He’s been looking at TN himself. He tells me there’s a lot of drugs and crime and his house was broken into twice.

Ron, there’s a guy on the vcca that does a ton with old trucks. I’ll ask if he has a rear.

Don’t know the year but I saw a split window bug in a building where my 32’ Olds had been stored up in Potsdam NY. Saw it about three years ago and it was part of a 80 or so car collection that got sold off. It was unrestored or at least, an older restoration though every car I saw in that building appeared to be in original condition.

I’ve got a friend who kept a runnable model 9 cylinder radial engine on his coffee table. He passed a few years ago and and his wife still keeps it there. It is about 14” in diameter. It’s a technical work of art and is just amazing to look at. Company that made it is Technopower. Not sure if they’re still in business.

Really looking great Joe.

I believe #2 is from a 28’ Chevy coupe or other 28’ trunk model. Both are educated guesses so I could be wrong but going on what I’ve seen and looking at pictures of both compared to the respective model cars they appear to be correct assumptions.

I believe #1 lid is from an early 31’ 3 window coupe. The early lid hinge line went right up to the vertical part of the roof and it had two small exposed hinges at each top corner. Later models used a shorter trunk lid and had a piece of metal deck between the back vertical of the roof and the hinge line.

Thanks for explaining that Doug. As I mentioned, I’m new to showing and I’m just concerned with having everything right and being prepared best I can. While I’m confident my car will do well, I still can’t stop being somewhat nervous I suppose.

Thanks Phil. Yes, I have documentation on most everything from factory bulletins, factory photos, and forensic photos taken during disassembly. I am preparing a folder with all that info. That’s a good idea to let the head judge know at the start that I have documentation of things that they might consider incorrect, as my fear was they might not ask me and assume something is incorrect having seen it done another way on another 32’ Olds that’s already won previous AACA awards. Very little is known on the 32’ Olds models and I have done many hours of research and spoken with the few who know the most. I just don’t want my goal of exactly OEM to come back and hurt me in the scoring. Don’t get me wrong that I’m insinuating the judges don’t know their job, it is that someone really has to dig deep into the Olds to really know of all the small and different things done in these cars. To give you an idea, we’ve discovered at least three running changes in the hood assemblies during the production year, two very significant chassis/front motor mount changes, even the use of eight cylinder indented firewalls on six cylinder cars, and small things like angle cut exhaust pipe ends on deluxe cars with luggage racks to rear spare tire models with straight cut tailpipes! As you can see, I probably went way overboard with my research. 😆

Thanks Matt.

Yes, some deck/trunk lids had wood. The 31’ 5 passenger coupe I pictured has a wood frame to the lid. The 31’-32’ rumble seatlids did not for Chevy, Olds, and Pontiac. I’m not sure if all the trunk lids did. Buick’s from what I recently was told, even had wood in the rumble lid, unlike the other GM models I mentioned.

The 3 window coupe trunk lid had exposed upper hinges, the five window coupe didn’t. The term 5 passenger coupe is correct and was a new model in 31’ with seating for 5, two doors, and a small hump trunk. Ford called them a Victoria model I believe. Here’s on I restored.

All this is good to know but I am worried on some things with my car. The reason is I’ve done a ton of research on my Olds and have worked with the current NAOC 32’ Olds technical adviser plus the prior one to make my restoration as close to OEM as possible. There are other 32’ Olds that have won their juniors that have items that are known to those few who are knowledgeable with the 32’ Olds, as being incorrect. Some are very noticeable, some aren’t, but those items were done differently on Olds compared to most other 32’ brands so I assume the judges might miss them. If they look at my car and see that only the bell of my horns are chrome and the trumpet tube is painted, they might deduct points because most cars aren’t that way and other Olds that have won the junior aren’t either. Same for the wheel and body pinstripes. If the judges don’t question me and just assume my car is incorrect, how will I be able to address this? also have another question: are the classes kept together? In other words, would all class 20B cars, 32-33’ production cars, all be lined up in the same area? Are cars and their general classes kept in the same area of the show grounds year after year? If so, where are the cars of the early 30’s parked?

Hi George, I’m in class 20B, production cars, ( non-ford) 32’-33’. I don’t know where on the grounds I’ll be located and I don’t know if they keep the classes together. I’ll ask that in another forum and possibly I’ll find out. Gene wieder, who owns a very nice 32’ Olds sport Coupe will also be showing his car. He already has his junior and is going for his senior award. Not sure if we’ll be in the same area.

Thanks Matt. So it’s pretty much you trying to determine what they found wrong on whatever they checked.

There should be a number stamped on the drivers side chassis rail in the vicinity above the front axle. There is a second at the rear on the front fuel tank cross member, again on the drivers side. This number is the same as the number stamped on the front engine location if the engine has not been changed. They are not easy to see if there’s any corrosion but the numbers average about 3/8” in size. The chassis number is also on the data plate along with the body number which is different. My body number is what my car is titled with. Do you have a title? L

I’m going to my first AACA show with a car in Hershey this year and I’m trying to understand a little more. My question is, after your car is judged and deductions are made, does the head judge explain the deficiencies found with you so you can correct them. I understand that the other judges cannot speak with you but I’m curious how one knows what to correct for future showing.

That’s a good line appreciated by a guy who grew up in a USDA slaughterhouse and retail meat market! I too prefer to use tacks as often as I can and have gotten pretty good getting the right location with the setting swing of the hammer (that took some practice!) What’s crazy is how I look for the old Atlas brand tacks whenever I go to flea markets and yard sales now. These crappy Chinese galvanized tacks have so much taper to them that they easily work right out of the wood. With the blue tacks, a good wet mouth of spit helps them rust slightly and is supposed to aid in the staying fast in the wood. If I do use staples on a roof, I do use SS ones so there’s less chance of rust staining though the blue tacks are exactly the opposite. I enjoyed reading your roofing tips tips and learning something new.

It’s the guy who’s willing to break something that actually finds out the way to get things done!

The 31’ water jacket cover is different on the 31’. Check with rich Janouskovec for a correct 31’ plate, I think he has one or two. He could probably help with the spare tire clamp too. He has his car and big part collection for sale. You could probably fix your car and his up for a decent price.

My dad bought a brand new K30 Chevy pickup for the family business when I was a kid. Front grill emblem, tailgate, hubcaps, and steering wheel all had Chevy emblems. Upper fender badges and passenger side dash badge were GMC High Sierra! Can you imagine if this truck was restored and being shown today in the AACA, would it be accepted as an original?

When I purchased my 32’ Olds roadster it had a valid title even though it had been put in storage 50yrs prior. Registration is no joke in MA either and thankfully the PO had titled the car in his name when he acquired it. He knew the system though as he owned a car dealership so he didn’t fool around. When I bought the car 3+ years ago, I immediately went to the RMV, paid the sales tax and title fees getting the new title in my name. All went easily and I just went last week to register it with my title receipt and RMV 1 form from my insurance company. $60 and 14 minutes later I’m walking out with my plates. Had to be the easiest registration I’ve ever done. The correct paperwork is a lifesaver!

The biggest mistake is everyone puts the shut off on the feed side and it should be on the return side close to the pump. 5he reason being if it’s on the feed side, the hose could be collapsed by the suction. I have a copy of the 1932 Olds technical service bulletin for installing the Harrison Senior heater which was a GM heater, dealer installed. The bulletin says to mount the valve as I described for the reason I gave. I believe Chevrolet had the first private labeled heater in late 1931’, again made by Harrison

How about this. Purchased a few model airplane kits in Japan. Sent out Japan Post service, arrived in NY 1 day, one day in customs, next day at my door with special USPS! I can’t get a package from south shore MA to NH in less than two! I’ve order 4 times from the same Japanese hobby shop because these WWII war bird kits are only made and sold in Japan and the quality along with the different, often never seen airframes make the long distance purchases necessary. I’ve ordered four times and up to 5 kits (48 x 10 x 8” boxes) at one time with the longest ever taking four days. Pretty 😜!

Drained the radiator today and went about lowering the radiator on the cross member. There was 3/8” of shim under each bolt and I ended up removing all but 1/8”. Spoke with my Buddy joe and he told me his car only had one 1/8” shim. Removing the shims got the whole shooting match much more in line where it should be though it’s not completely perfect. Looking at my catalog of 32’ Olds pictures it seems the hood alignment was an issue right from the factory and mine is just as good or better than most so I’m happy with where it all sits and tightened it all up. Removed the headlight bars with buckets and horns so the front fenders can be buffed up. Going to polish up all the front chrome while it’s off the car so it’s all cleaned up and ready for final assembly.