Bloo

Two teeth can definitely explain it. It is probably fixed. However, if it were me there is not a chance in hell I would put that back together, let alone put it back in the car, without absolutely establishing a correct TDC mark, and absolutely establishing that valve overlap occurs at TDC, 360 flywheel degrees from firing, with less error than one tooth could account for. This is the third time I have said so in this thread, so I'll stop harping now.

Day 15: Morning came in Plankinton, and the Pontiac almost didn't start. I had been running the headlights most of the day yesterday as northern Iowa had been foggy and rainy in places and everyone else seemed to be running headlights. I untaped the trunk and got out my spare battery, thinking I would put it in. I had fully charged it the day before I left Washington State. It was completely dead. No point in trying to put that in. There had been some question in my mind whether the tiny generator could carry the commonly available 50/32 candlepower headlight bulbs, since the originals would have been 32/21 candlepower, and those bulbs are no longer made. I brought my homemade charging system voltmeter along to figure that out while traveling. I always had bright lights on this trip, and sort of forgot about it after the deer incident in Montana. This is the voltmeter. It will get a custom scale eventually but for now, on the lower scale, 0=6v, 100=7v, 200=8v, 300=9v. It reads 7v in the picture, because although the system is charging, the battery is low and the generator is small. It should come up to the set voltage of 7.65 volts as the battery gets closer to fully charged. There is a thread about the voltmeter here if anyone is curious what is inside the box. I continued north on 281 toward Aberdeen: But then decided to cut back east over to Huron on highway 24 and pick up some oil. I also wanted to get on a different road because 281 is the same route I took on the trip out. Here is another spot with a bunch of cars, even a couple of Pontiacs! I think this was on 281 before Huron, but I am not sure. Steam Shovel? And then I noticed more cars hiding in the underbrush: I got more oil at an Oreilly in Huron, and they had a 6 volt battery so I bought it and put it in the plastic box my useless spare had been in. The car is cranking normally on the battery I drove out with, so this new spare is just for peace of mind. I put the plastic box in the front floorboard. It is getting really piled full of stuff now because it is so inconvenient to get into the trunk. I headed north on highway 37 toward Groton. An old filling station in Groton: And then back on highway 12 east toward Aberdeen for a meal. Looking out the window at Culver's: Here are a Ford and a Hudson parked in a field along highway 12 just west of Aberdeen: From Aberdeen on, I was just retracing my steps from the trip out. As the sun began to set I got a room for the night in Mobridge SD, which is on the east bank of the Missouri river.

The posts about AST are interesting, but I think you will find that "safety shift" in 1938 Pontiacs is just an optional column shifter for a 3 speed manual transmission, as was suggested earlier in this thread. I think that you will also find that the 3 speed transmission uses a setup that had a single arm on the transmission to move gears, and some other device (a cable?) to move the gate. If I am not mistaken, Buick also did this for a while. All Pontiac transmissions of that era are directly related to Buick Special 3 speed manual transmissions, but are not quite exactly the same. If the whole transmission is not completely full of rust, or run dry of oil, it is probably stuck in 2 gears at the same time due to linkage problems.

Day 14: I left Forest City IA on highway 9 west. Northern Iowa was cool and foggy in places that morning. I pulled over in Buffalo Center to take a picture in front of this old blacksmith shop. My headlights were on and I noticed one of them was out. Hmm. They both worked the night before. I had one spare bulb in the glovebox, and while I was changing it a lady in an early 90s LH Chrysler pulled over to say hi. We talked for a while about Studebakers. Estherville, IA: Estherville Public Library: Some antique tractors on display in Spirit Lake IA: There are some beautiful views of this lake, and opportunities for much better pictures, but no good place to pull off the road. This was taken near the tractors: Old gas station on the way out of town: Some old buildings in Rock Rapids, IA: After Rock Rapids, I had a decision to make. I could follow highway 9 into Sioux Falls SD, or drop to highway 18 into South Dakota, the route I would have taken on the way out had I not taken the wrong turn. It was about 5 PM, so I decided to avoid driving into Sioux Falls at rush hour. I turned south on highway 182 and caught highway 18 west at Inwood. I promptly ran into road construction at the Big Sioux River crossing into South Dakota. I waited there a long time, and was eventually lead across by a pilot car. Canton, SD: Back on highway 18: Highway 18 is common routed with Interstate 29, for about 3 miles. Interstate 29 turns out to have a speed limit of 80 mph, and a bunch of truck traffic, and it was raining. Ugh. Once back on highway 18 proper the rain cleared: I turned north on highway 281 toward Aberdeen, but did not go that far as it was getting dark. I spent the night in Plankinton, SD.

Use anything you can get your hands on. Porta power, jacks, bars, pull from outside with cable, etc. You will probably use a bunch of different things. The porta power tips will only be useful pushing directly on very strong points where support structure underneath is bent. Otherwise, push with blocks of wood as the part touching the dent, and on the lowest spots. As the dents come out, the wood will need to be shaped correctly to continue.

Day 13: Heading out.... The parking lot is almost empty. But not quite.... Odometer says 46177: My plan was to go across Iowa on highway 9, as I intended to do on the way had I not missed the turn. After leaving Mineral Point I got a meal in Platteville and intended to head north on highway 81, but it was closed. A local kid at a gas station told me how to get around it by using Wisconsin roads "D" and "A". It was a beautiful drive, no doubt better than the highway. Somewhere along road "A": An Amish wagon: This was pulled by the slowest horse I have ever seen. He had huge feet, long hair, and looked a little swaybacked. He placed each foot slowly and deliberately like a tortoise. Clop.................................... Clop.................................... Clop.................................... Road "A" leads to Lanccaster, WI. From Lancaster, highway 35 leads to Bloomington: A 47 Dodge for sale in Patch Grove: Highway 35 gets common routed with highway 18 about as far as Prairie du Chien, then continues up the east side of the Mississippi River. The northernmost crossing into Iowa is at Lansing, Iowa. The last thing you see before you cross into Iowa is a wildlife conservation area, and it is beautiful. There would be great photo opportunities there if there was anyplace to stop. There isn't. Maybe with a second person in the car... This it the bridge that takes you across the Mississippi into Lansing, Iowa. The picture is from the Iowa side. The trains run right on the river's edge: Lansing is an old town with a lot of historic buildings: Finally on Iowa highway 9: Waukon, Iowa: Cresco, Iowa: Back on the highway: Some windmills: Riceville, Iowa: Osage, Iowa: I made it as far as Forest City, and spent the night. More to come....

Day 12: A show at the local High School. Lots of Pontiacs! This Willys drove through checking us out: Someone brought a picture of a 1935 and a 1936 in period, with 1938 license plates. I would love to get a good scan of this. I exchanged information with the guy who had the picture. I hope I can find it. Later there was an awards banguet. I did not realize this club even had a long distance award...

You might find that the New Departure number is the last 4 digits of the GM number. That may not hold true here, but it is worth looking at.

If it is not just linkage problems as wayne sheldon mentioned, it can probably be rebuilt. If it has not already become clear from TerryB's posts, the Pontiac transmissions from late 1935 forward are of the same architecture as the Buick Special, and probably quite a few internal parts interchange. The whole transmission is not the same as Buick, and most likely not the same as any other year Pontiac either thanks to that very early column shift. I'm betting it is just in 2 gears at the same time as in wayne sheldon's post.

They allow you to tighten the bolts to a useful torque without squirting the gasket out or bending the flange.

Those things are the difference between gaskets that actually work, and the gaskets on most of our antiques.

It is so hard to say without being there. If "B" is a point of strength with a crumpled support underneath, then that is where you want to push or pull with something powerful. Porta power? Maybe fabricate a tip to get in real close. At the same time, I would push out on "A". You might even be able to do that with a scissors jack against the tire. That one will be an easy push, but do it at the same time. You could use a little piece of 2x4 on edge on top of the jack to get started. As it comes out you will need to shape a piece or pieces of wood that will push against the factory crease without stretching the metal around it. If there is no strength underneath at "B" maybe you want to push at "A" and "C". Above all, you want to push most on the worst impact points, while pushing some on the lesser impact points at the same time. Attempt to undo the dent the same way it was done. If that contradicts my ideas above, then ignore them and do whatever it takes to reverse the impact forces. As it comes out you will see what needs tapping on. Use something with a very smooth face (polished body hammer or similar), and don't overdo it. Mostly push.

Call it superstition if you like, but we just don't EVER do that. One reason is that whatever grit, dust and dirt it runs over on it's way out often contaminates it. Maybe not very bad, maybe bad. Nobody knows. We assume the worst. Fresh oil out of a bottle can generally be assumed to be clean and free of contamination.

This!^^^ Well, except for the harbor freight stud welder. I had that. It was crap. I gave it away. The metal has memory. It WANTS to go back. If you could exactly reverse the forces that caused the dent, it would come out. It as almost always better to pull before taking things apart. Put some force on, and as it starts to come out you can tap on the kinks or high spots lightly with a smooth faced hammer while pulling more. It will probably want more movement than you expect. You may have to lightly nudge low parts with some wood or something. Keep the tension on. Pull a little further than you want because it will spring back some. Variations of this apply to 90 percent of all known dents. Have fun! EDIT: Stud welders can be amazing when they work right. I saw one back in the 80s or 90s when they were new and super expensive. That one REALLY worked.

Check the voltage at the fan, as well as the charging voltage of the car.

GAH!

There are two distinct kinds of polyspherical engines made by Chrysler Corporation. They get confused in threads like this because Chrysler didn't really go out of their way to specify the difference. Both are stellar engines. The second type didn't exist yet in 1955, so this is the first. This engine uses the same block casting as the Chrysler Hemi. I imagine the pistons were contoured different, as I don't recall the heads being a direct swap. It was a downmarket engine in Chrysler at the time. Today wouldn't really be a downgrade from the Hemi except for bragging rights, unless the Hemi was one of the go-fast versions. Both types of polyspherical engine last long and run cool in hot weather. I can't really say enough good about them. I'm not casting any shade on the Hemi here, as it is just as good, but in the era you could sure do a lot worse. Ask @Matt Harwood about his wife Melanie's car.

What is that?

The frustration is understandable. Keep up the good work everyone.

I won't speak for Ronnie, but in my opinion this isn't victim blaming. This kind of scam has become rampant and the word needs to get out. Peter more often than not has a big red banner at the top of the page warning people about it. He currently has last minute Hershey information there, but no doubt the warning will come back at some point. Many other car forums have a warning banner at the top of the page. So many people still don't get it. The scammer will take the "sale" off the forum right away thanks to moderator's efforts to fight it, such as a minimum post limit before the PM function becomes available, and so on. They use fake names. Reporting the name they used does no good as it changes constantly. Typically there is some reason you cant contact them directly. Working on an offshore oil rig was the excuse for a while, but that has worn out. They love Western Union. The person (wife/SO/aunt/uncle/ etc.) to pay will be in a different state than the alleged car parts, making it hard to trace, harder to prosecute, and some jurisdictions wont even bother if the dollar amount is too low. Scammers continue to do this with impunity, and we must get the word out in the auto restoration community. Big red banners at the top of nearly every forum don't seem to be doing it. Posting a phone number in a public forum is NOT a good idea, nor is posting an email address unless it is a throwaway account made just for the sale. I'll admit I have got ultra-focused like that when someone claims to have exactly what I need, and have almost responded, and I know better! Poor English can be a red flag, although many native English speakers confuse their/they're/there, its/is's, and so on. I fat finger things while typing all the time. People posting from phones make mistakes constantly either from fat fingers or autocorrect. That said, when you see some grammatical or spelling error that you, as a native English speaker have never seen before, that is an enormous red flag. It certainly should make you look at all the other details closer.

I am planning to post want ads for those parts, here and a couple other places tonight when I am at the motel. I also got some leads at the event, and a club member even brought me one hinge, but it is missing the pin. I believe it is the left hinge. I also have a lead in Idaho, and that may affect my route back if he has one or both hinges. The hinges are common to 1936 Pontiac (all), 1936 Chevrolet Master, 1936 Chevrolet Standard, and 1936 Buick 40 series. Maybe some Oldsmobiles too, not sure about that. They are used on sedans with trunk only. Part numbers are 4065201 and 4065202 (right and left). Pictures are below. The gas cap was the locking one with the little flip lid that says "GM" on it. The part number is 985076. I believe those are available in reproduction, but they use a different key blank and cannot be keyed to match the car like mine. Mine had the little flip cover broken off. I am considering going back that way and looking for it. It would probably be like a needle in a haystack, but maybe on a bright day I might see some glimmering chrome. I don't have a picture of the one I lost, but I found one in an old VCCA thread. It is below.

I am on my way back and am sort of winging it. On other long trips I have tried to figure out what routes are historic slow paced 2-lane highways. Unfortunately, they don't connect well for long distances as much as you might expect. The late C Carl provided some insight into what routes might be good, as did the president of the ETC, the club that hosts this event. We have even had a thread about it here on the forums, and though it had some good information, there was a lot less than you would expect. To answer the question directly, I will be retracing part of it. I'll be only a little further north, and not at all once I am west of Iowa. My goal as always will be to avoid Interstates and certain sections of road that I think would be white knuckle drives in an antique at 53mph, and try to get on old highways that go through the towns rather than around them. One thing I learned driving back from last year's Flathead Reunion in a modern car is that sticking to 2-lane highways doubles my days on the road. That is while driving the posted speed limit. At 53 mph it is bound to be worse. This trip could have been done much faster in a modern car, or a more modern antique capable of freeway speeds. It probably could have been done a day or 2 faster in this car.

Have you checked with Blockley?

If you mean true average speed I don't know. I intended to track gas and oil mileage, and possibly hours on the road, but lost part of my receipts and notes. I might still find them but I don't hold out much hope. On the open highway I drive 53 MPH, so something less than that.

Day 7 was a fairly short jaunt from Fort Dodge, Iowa to Mineral Point, Wisconsin via highway 20 and highway 151. Odometer now at 46046.4 for a total of 2158.3 miles. Beginning of trip: Day 8: Other people start to arrive, and an excursion was planned the following day for early arrivals. Day 9: A trip to a pottery studio located in a historic brewery building. Day 10 was technical sessions and a club meeting Day 11 was a tour 31 miles to New Glarus, Wisconsin, an early Swiss settlement. Today there is a museum featuring several buildings, 3 of which are original.