chistech

Your issue is not uncommon with these old cars. I keep a couple spare axles for my own 31 chevy and have a pair of spare axles for my Oldsmobile. If you’re to order those new axles and there’s a long wait, you could always find a good used axle from a chevy and put it in for now so you can use the car while you wait for the new ones. If I had a 29 I’d send it to you but I don’t. There’s got to be someone out there who has one or knows someone who does.

Yes, thank you!

I’m looking for the name of the company that rebuilds our old coils. A friend has a keyed coil for a 32 Oldsmobile that needs rebuilding. I believe the company I’m thinking of is up here in the northeast. thanks in advance

I have to totally agree with this. When I first got my Olds and had done some research, I realized immediately that what parts I had missing were going to be impossible to find and started right away on planning an attack on how to make them. Some parts needed complete fabrication and others, working with bits and pieces, I was able to make back into fully useable parts. I really enjoyed learning how to use my machines because of these parts and the satisfaction I got from completing them. You do get a real sense of accomplishment when done. When I wasn't making parts, I was looking for other things needed though! Most of that time was spent ordering things that were available and getting other parts out like my gauges and chrome to the plater. Did mention that my wife was pretty sick and tired of "not" seeing me much! LOL

Another way is to leave one rear wheel on the ground and the car in gear. Remove the hubcaps so you can see the axle nut and try turning the wheel. If the wheel turns and the axle nut doesn't, then you sheared the keyway. Pay attention to the friction felt in the system. If the nut turns, repeat the process on the other side. If the nut turns again but the friction is more than the other side, you can figure you probably broke an axle on the other side. If the friction is greater, than you probably have a broken axle on that side. As you said the left is turning with the car running you pretty much determined the passenger side is the culprit. Another way is with the car fully jacked up and in gear. Turning one rear wheel will usually result with the other side turning opposite if all is well. Dragging brakes do it harder to do all this. I personally had a bad clunk in my 31 chevy. When I bought the car as a basket case, some things had been done and I was told by a friend of the deceased owner that the work was top notch. (My first foray into finding out just how many spectrums the phase "top notch" has. The motor was "fully restored perfectly" was one as it turns out only the head and pistons were done with the main babbit not in great shape. The chassis and wheels were all done, assembled and painted. Well it turns out the clunk was because the previous owner doing his "perfect work" had used terribly worn keyways on the rear hubs. I still don't understand why as both the axles and the hubs showed no real wear and two, new, full dimension keyways fixed my clunk. They were so worn that when the car was shifted from 1st to reverse and clutch engaged, you could see the axle nut rotate quite a bit. Though it's a bummer, it would have given you a problem down the road so it's better to get things sorted out now while your still in the restoration process. The thing I hate the most is having to go back into a car that I've believed was all set and ready to go down the road for a long time. It is part of the game though and unfortunately things like this rear their ugly head. Good luck my friend.

The reproduction sill tag is currently available on Ebay from a guy in Poland. Auction number is 181311769347. For the cowl tag you need to contact A. G. Backeast, PO Box 40011, Grand Junction CO, 81504. Email is dataplt@bresnan.net or datatags.com I have gotten one from him for a 31 Chevy that was an exact duplicate of the original. You will most likely have to send him a picture of mine and you will have to tell him what to stamp on it as we discussed earlier. The Job Number would be the 32418. The Body number you have to determine as I mentioned previously. I would think something like a 506 or 521 or anything in between should be about right based on your chassis number. The rivets for installing can be a couple different things. You can use aluminum rivets or you can use small chrome carriage bolts with nuts. They carriage bolts are used in small light fixtures or even headlights to mount the bottom mount to the bucket. The head is about .500 in diameter. I've also used aluminum flat head rivets with spring steel push nuts on the back as the inner firewall has a pad that covers the back side of whatever fastener you choose to use. The small stainless steel carriage bolts can be had from places like the Bolt Depot in MA. 10-24 X 1/2" works fine and the .500 head is about right for the cowl tag. The data plate simply gets nailed into the wood with small nails at each corner. My car has the correct Harrison Senior hot water heater that was a dealer installed accessory. You do not need a heater in your car to be correct but if you do install one, the Harrison Sr. was the the only correct one. I have a copy of the factory technical bulletin for the installation of the water heater. It shows how to install all the plumbing. The oil filter canister is an original and they can be somewhat hard to find but they are out there. The filter lines are hard to bend but can be done. There used to be a company making reproductions that had a modern filter inside the can but I'm not sure if they're still being made. The green engine paint is or was available from Bill Hirsch. Not sure if they're still in business as I've heard a couple stories. Not sure what rubber grommets you're referring to but they are available on the internet and most were found in local hardware stores here in the states. The upper middle grommet with the three holes is custom made and can be had from a fellow 32 olds owner who casts them in two part urethane. He also casts them with the proper metal insert. His name is Joe Pirrone of Severance CO. He and I also make many other reproduction parts for the Oldsmobiles.

Yes, that is incorrect and the pump shaft is one diameter from the generator end to the impeller.

There are ways to increase the lighting all around to help with visibility of our old cars. LEDs were already mentioned with both taillight and headlight bulbs available. Recoating the reflectors or aluminizing them makes a huge difference. There is a small company that does a great job offering a third brake light which can easily be installed in a rear window on any hard top car. It is also a LED along with it working as a brake light, it will flash half its length to each respective side when wired in with a directional switch. Bumper mounted directional lights are another big help and even modifying single filament bulbs in cowl lights to dual filaments allowing the cowl lights to now be directional lights also is another modification that doesn’t effect the integrity of the car.

The graphite packing material is most likely still inside your pump as it gets compressed between the rear bushing face and the packing nut. The graphite packing is available at many antique restoration shops. Maybe someone can chime in where to purchase it. I found mine at Hershey PA one year. Your pump shaft looks to be two different diameters with the larger diameter running through the bearing all the way to the impeller. I haven’t measured mine but I would suspect it’s .500 the entire length. In the picture it appears your pump shaft was made oversized to most likely remedy a worn out bushing. The decarbonizer with the glass jar gets a tin can mounted on the top. I had a new can made for mine by a company called Victor Trading. The label for the can used to be available from a fellow 32 Olds owner called Gene Weider.Here’s a picture of my data plate. It lists the 32418 as the job # and the body number as 207. With a total of almost 1200 roadsters made, 6&8 cylinder, my car was most likely a first quarter production based on the 207 being early in the 1200 total and my chassis/motor number 306345. Your number is more than 2000 cars later so I would assume your car, based on a total of 19000+- cars made, 4500 per quarter, that your car was most likely produced the middle of the second quarter of production. You really don’t have a true body number on any paperwork but it would be an educated guess to figure your body number to be somewhere close to the middle of the roadster production around 485-560 range. You could basically pick any number in that range if you had your cowl tag reproduced.here’s a picture of my olds and the location of the cowl tag.Here is the decarbonizer with the tin can on top. The lever cam on the wire loop secures it to the decarbonizer frame. There is normally a brass tube with a sharpened end that sticks up from the decarbonizer body that punctures the can.

I noticed in one of your pictures that your sill tag is mounted on your cowl which is incorrect but it’s okay if you’re okay with it. If you want to have the correct cowl tag made I can get you more information about getting a new one reproduced and I can get a picture of the one on my own car so you know where it goes. Then the tag on your cowl can be moved to the inside sill where it belongs.Here is a picture of a cowl tag on a 1930 chevy I currently have in for some work. This is the tag on the olds that would have the 32418 for the convertible roadster number and it would also have the body number which is 16190.looking down from the top of a spare motor I have you can see the stud that the fan pulley bracket is mounted on. The engine number is on the flat and the number is visible in this picture.Here are the components of a badly worn water pump I have. You can see the shaft comes out with the impeller attached by driving out through the rear of the pump. The shaft on this pump is badly worn in the packing area, the bushing at the rear is badly worn, and the countersunk face of the packing nut is badly pitted. The countersunk face could be turned on a lathe to make it smooth again but the shaft and bushing would need to be replaced.Here is the front bearing, the pitted packing nut face, the worn shaft with a worn impeller.Here is the back of the rear bushing that is in bad shape.Here’s a picture of the inside of that rear bushing which is as large as the bore and also countersunk to accept the graphite packing. I have never seen this bushing offered anywhere and if yours is worn, a new one will have to be machined.here is a picture of the front bearing and it’s retaining wire on a spare good pump housing. It is a New Departure bearing #8103 I believe but I will double check. This bearing is special shielded and I luckily found NOS to replace mine. It can be replaced with a newer style bearing with no issue I believe. Hope all this helps. If you can’t get parts or your packing nut or housing is stripped of threads i have the two pieces shown but you will need both the packing nut face machined and the old bushing pressed out, then a new one made and installed.

The big nut is the packing nut. That should spin freely on the shaft and you should be able to free it up. Clean the shaft up in front of the nut with a strip of sandpaper the move it onto the sanded area and do the same behind it. Just clean it up, don’t over sand the shaft. Then move the nut back to where it goes and see if you can get it to start in the threads some. Then clean up the shaft in front of the front bearing the same way. Once the shaft is cleaned up, support the flange of the back of the housing and try tapping the shaft with the impeller back. It will go out through the rear. The shaft might be stuck on the front bearing but if it’s good, try using penetrating oil rather than heat as the front bearing is somewhat hard to get. Your impeller is In very good shape even if it’s welded and if your shaft is not worn in the packing area, i would just reinstall it as it is. I will get my pump parts out and take some pictures for you to reference. You will need some graphite pump packing when you put the pump back together. That goes behind that big nut and the nut is tightened enough to prevent the water from leaking by the shaft. On your registering in Belgium, I don’t understand what the problem is. That F308643 is a valid number to register it with. The 32418 is the year, 1932, and 418 is the number body style, convertible roadster. That aluminum plate should be on the drivers side upper engine side of the firewall. The aluminum tag you show is calling a sill tag and should be nailed to the floor on the passenger side near the front corner of seat by the door threshold plate. If you look closely at my picture you should be able to understand where it goes. If the tag you show is on your cowl then it’s in the wrong location and your original cowl tag is missing. I don’t have my Olds at home but I’ll take a picture of the cowl tag in my chevy that in the correct location. There is a company that makes up new cowl tags and you could have one made as you have the correct numbers to have it stamped with. I can get you all that info.

Your sill tag has me a little confused. If you look at the picture of mine the serial number is DCR 14071 and the engine number, 306343, is what is stamped on my engine, frame, and the sill plate itself. All serials in the F models started at 302001 and ended at 316568 mark I believe. Your cowl plate should have a 32418 stamped in it for convertible roadster model. Your DCR16190 is your car’s production number and is often used on the titles. Your F308643 number is your engine and chassis number. If you look on the front of the engine where the fan pulley bracket is attached, look down from the top of the head and there is a flat protrusion on the block right where the fan pulley bracket is attached and your engine number is stamped on that protrusion. The other 388888 number I have no idea as that number is beyond 1932 engine numbers. I was thinking it could possibly have a difference 32 engine and that’s why the number would be different but again, it’s not in the range of 1932engine numbers. I recognize this car that was sold a couple years back through an auction house I believe called Nancy’s. It was a southern car so Alabama tells me it’s got to be the same car. The only difference was it had a large trunk on it. The motor was also painted gray so it tells me it is most likely the same car. Is the information from PA the latest info or was it earlier information before the car went to Alabama? The reason I ask is if the sill plate doesn’t ave the DCR16190 on it, how did the PA paperwork have it? your car is one of 333, 6 cylinder wire wheeled DCR’s ever made and I know of 10-12 cars left known worldwide. I have still only been able to locate 3 of the 249 6 cylinder wood wheeled DCR’s ever produced. You have a very nice example that was done very close to original. I manufacture, along with a good friend, some new parts that replace things that can’t purchased from any other supplier. Things like springs to rubber pedal closeouts and shifter surrounds. Let me know what you need on the water pump. Be careful with disassembling it as the casting is fragile in some places.

I have some pump parts, Shafts can be made and all the seals are available. If i remember, one bearing is a little hard to find but I believe I found an NOS New Departure one. Let me know what you’re looking for.

My car is black not blue with cream door saddles and pinstripes. What are you looking for to rebuild your water pump? If you’re looking for the two steel covers over the oil cooler core those are impossible to find and have to be reconstructed or bypassed. There is a red and gray 32 roadster in Switzerland that I know of.

Hello Conrad. If you’re talking about the video (attached below)by Mike’s Classic Auto World which came up at the top of the page, that is actually my own ‘32 Oldsmobile DCR and the car in this thread is an identical model. When done it will basically look and be the same other than the colors. I didn’t even realize that video with my own car was on YouTube. That was at the AACA Grand National down in VA. That is where my car was awarded its Sr. Grand National award. Congratulations on your own Oldsmobile. Be sure to post some pictures here. There’s not a lot of them around and those who own them make up a small group who help each other out.

I’m not arguing with you, just questioning what parts he was having trouble finding as I was able to find parts pretty easily. I was actually agreeing that if one wants to do a OEM restoration, seat frames and wheels are the hard items to find.

I rewood a lot of cars and those who are familiar with my threads in the restoration forums know the type of work I do. I try to practice the best techniques I can, use modern machinery like a vertical milling machine for many of my joints, and have even designed and built my own tooling to make my joinery the best it can be. I glue all joints with Titebond III waterproof glue. It is the only freely flowing wood glue that will not come apart under full submersion. What I like about it is its thinner consistency which allows it to sink into the tighter grain of the ash rather than just stay on the surface. It does run easily so when I’m working on a joint that requires the glue to have a thicker consistency to keep it from flowing out of a joint, I’ll use Gorilla carpenter wood glue. While it’s highly resistant to water, it’s not full submersion proof. One thing that everyone should know is no glue, including epoxy or even a mechanical fastener is a replacement for perfect joinery. With tight joints, thick glues can make things difficult and not allow joints to seat properly. All my joinery requires a light tap with a mallet to put together. If a joint is created properly, the joint itself will not have any flex even without the glue if it’s screwed together properly. The reason both are used was because of glue quality years ago and screws will rust causing wood sickness when the cars are used as cars were intended, all year, all seasons, in all weather conditions. I mentioned joints being screwed together correctly and this means the placement of the screws in the joints. You very rarely see one screw in a joint nor do you see them side by side. What you will often see screws staggered in a joint with one in close and one towards the outside of the joint. The outside screw is always put on the joint where the most pressure to open the joint would occur. That pressure can be from a twisting, downward, upward, or any load direction. Basically what I’m saying is when rewooding a car, joint fastener placement should be planned for the best integrity of the joint. When it comes to wood sickness, today we have plated and SS screws to use, plus our cars are never subject to the use they were originally intended. Most barely even get wet these days. I use bar soap on all my screws and use mostly cadmium plated or plain steel. I do believe a slight rusting of the screw will help them stay tight. Another important thing is proper drilling and counter sinking of the screw holes to help prevent splitting yet hold the screw with the best gripping action possible. Of course screw length is important also and wood screws should never pass through the other side at all because the screw actually twists the grain some and if the tip of the screw is outside the wood, the grains around the tip will wick In moisture quite readily because the twisted grain is more porous. A wood screw has a smooth upper shank and the counter sunk flat head which seals out the moisture from penetrating the screw hole. Sheet metal screws do not offer the same protection from water penetration around the head because the grain is twisted right up to the bottom of the head. Sorry for the long story but car wood and its processes are something I researched quite a bit. I didn’t even get into wood types, wood preservatives, and wood finishes plus the reasons why some accepted techniques used today are really not the best.

As we say here in New England, it looks freaking awesome!

If your friend was going for an OEM type restoration then trying to find original seat frames, as I mentioned, is a problem. It was a split bottom and I believe not very driver/passenger friendly. I’m willing to bet many were discarded in favor of something better. To still have a nice truck for driving and comfort, a bench seat will not deter any prospective buyers nor lower the value much. The same goes for the rear differential and brake mods i did on that 34. Those mods raised the drivability from a 35-40 mph old pickup to an everyday driving cool old looking pickup. If anything, those mods most likely not only raise the value but raise the number of prospective buyers when they go to sell it.

Kerosene is what I use. I made all those molds for the Olds rubber parts and learned after my first or second mold that the kerosene made a huge difference in the finish of the cutter on the cut.

While I believe $6500 is a little high, it's not delusional as those who are honestly interested will still call. Adding "best offer" or "all offers considered" opens up the buyers to investigate what might appear as a high asking price. I used to raise rodeo roping cattle here in New England and once had the largest permanent herd in the area. I used Australian Cattle dogs or "healers" to help move my cattle and I raised and bred the breed going back 40years now. I was the first or one of the first breeds of them here in New England. They became very popular after one was featured with Mel Gibson in the movie Mad Max. The reason for this background is I saw an add for a blue male cattle dog with a price of $2500 in the old "Want Advertiser" pamphlet. This was an absurd price as I was selling pure bred, registered, foundation bred actual working dog pups for $2-300. The ad mentioned lots of obedience training which intrigued me as cattle dogs are very hard to train so I called the add and asked if the price was a mis-print. The owner of the dog's mother answered the phone and when she said it wasn't I said thank you and was prepared to hang up when she said wait, my son, a dog trainer purposely put the price that high hoping only someone knowledgeable in the breed would call. The son called me back and gave me the rundown on the dog explaining that he only wanted someone genuinely interested in the dog to call. I bought that dog for $300 and he went on to sire a lot of my good working dogs allowing me to breed both red and blues. So a "too high" asking price doesn't stop potential buyers more than it stops the tire kickers.

What parts did he have a hard time finding? I found most parts pretty easily. The wheels, original sheet metal radiator aprons, and original seat frames are the hardest parts. Most of everything else is repopped, including the bent side bed strips. There is a reproduction fuel tank that while it's not fully original, it fits in without issue and gets the job done. There is even brand new full sheet metal beds available. There were two of these chevys for sale recently in unrestored condition here in the New England area so they are out there in pretty good numbers. Bill Cartwright told me he's currently working on over a dozen complete wood orders for these pickups, so they are out there in pretty good numbers being restored and there are people out there who are restoring them. Again, don't give this one away. It's not a tudor or four door model sedan. I can tell you that while my wife says I have enough vehicles, she fell in love with the '34 Chevy I restored and even said that she wouldn't mine having one. These trucks appeal to many including the women. If I didn't have that many projects going already I would consider getting one for myself and doing it up the same way I did the other. It went easily down the road at highway speeds and stopped on a dime while still being extremely close to original and only the most knowledgeable could tell it wasn't 100% original.

As someone who's restored this same style chevy pickup ('34) I'm surprised at some of the comments and assumptions. This is a high cab pickup and these trucks had full metal roofs, no cloth roofing, no wood roof bows. While there is wood consisting of A, B pillars, Sills, rear sill, and other pieces, the wood is not that difficult to make having personally made all the cab wood other than the doors which the owner was able to purchase to speed up the restoration time. The motor was rebuilt, truck painted, interior done, rear axle converted to a 37', modified to fit in the 34 frame, 3.55 gears installed, hydraulic brakes all around, and the 36 master cylinder pedal assembly added. Even with all the work mentioned the restoration was under $35K three to four years ago. If someone bought this truck, did the work themselves the most they could, bought a good used drop in engine, and just made a nice driver it could be done for less that the $35K. It depends on what someone wants ultimately. These model trucks are desirable and many are still being restored currently. While this truck needs a bit, it is more than just a parts vehicle. There are 35 engines out there that are fully assembled and in running condition that can be bought for $500 as I just passed on one because I had no need for it. Wheels will probably be the hardest to find but everything else is pretty easy. I would think going by what I see these typically bringing in this condition you're looking at $4250 to $5500 as an asking price. If your sheet metal is good without much rust it will bring that to a die hard truck guy who's looking for his project. If the new buyer needs wood done, they can send me the cab and I can make it up. Don't give this truck away, they are bringing a fair value.

In all honesty Joe I always felt you very capable of making your square holes but didn’t say anything. I know how it can be when I feel somewhat apprehensive about doing something I’m questioning myself about. While I do appreciate when others tell me to go ahead and do whatever it is I’m considering, that i should have no problems, I prefer to make my decision based strictly on my own thoughts. Then if things go sideways I only have myself to blame rather than thinking I shouldn’t have listened to so and so or thought it out better. The big surprise in your post is the last thing you mentioned! Congrats

Probably what aircraft stayed was being worked on and out of service at the time. I can’t imagine any airline leaving any flyable aircraft behind.