Bloo

Sleeve job as it came back from Brake and Equipment:

I have not ever seen oversize cups in modern times. In any event, you should NOT hone that much. The bore is going to have issues. It just is. Don't try to make it new. Often the pits will not be where the seal normally moves. Even if they are, it is truly amazing how bad of a bore you can get away with and have things seal up just fine, as long as you don't go crazy with the hone, and the rubber is brand new! Use the hone to clean and deglaze the bore and knock down the rust. It doesn't take much. Do NOT try to remove the pits. Even little ones are way too deep. Just scrape down the high spots, wash the bore REALLY clean, assemble the cylinder with a little sil-glyde and call it a day. Resleeving is readily available these days if you need it. It isn't even that expensive, and then you have a brand new bore.

My Pontiac crankcase vent system (1936) has a scoop right up in the air stream from the fan. It moves air through the engine even at ldle, and probably does better when the car is moving and the draft tube is actually in a draft. I have the heavy duty filters (optional), so there is a copper mesh breather filter on the inlet side. The draft tube (outlet) is in the valve cover (aka side cover) of the flathead 6. The important thing is that you never suck dirty air in. The heavy duty option on the Pontiac has copper mesh at the intake end (and probably a simple oil separator at the draft tube end (the details escape me right now). I had a Ford FE engine that had a copper or steel mesh at the draft tube end. It was packed under a plate in the bottom of the intake manifold, and the draft tube connected at one end. There must have been a breather cap at the intake end. On Small Block Chevys, they had a breather at the inlet, and an oil separator can (no mesh) under the intake manifold that drained the oil off before the air and vapors went out the draft tube. There is a hard limit to how much air a PCV system can move. There is only so much crankcase vapor and air you can mix with the incoming air/fuel charge to the engine and still have the carburetor work right, and the engine idle and run acceptably. All PCV systems blow backward part of the time because they cannot keep up. As the engine gets worn, and has more blowby, the situation only gets worse. The advantage is that PCV always moves SOME air, even at idle, and many draft systems do not. And as for the Pontiac system, it is pretty astounding how well it works, and how much air it moves. I really can't imagine PCV being any better, even idling in traffic. Yes. Here is mine when bought. It was still breathing like this. Don't ask me how. There must have been a hole in the sludge somewhere. What's actually in there:

And plywood is probably better too, and then there is also masonite. Either would be a better long term solution for a door panel than cardboard. But if I understood the original post, he is looking for that black stinky gooey stuff that will form to a compound curve. I have found it in cars with upholstery sewn or glued to it. When I was doing that work professionally, I never knew of a source. I do not recall how we dealt with that. Neither that "panelboard" that trim shops often use, nor plywood, nor masonite will form over a compound curve. I don't remember what I did, but I probably cut wedges out of panelboard, pushed the seams together, glued heavy cotton duck to both sides, sewed it, and then hit any remaining high spots with a mallet. It sure wouldn't look pretty from the back, but it would work (Trimacar is probably screaming while reading this). In my mind, trini's question remains. What was that flexible black stuff, and where do you get it?

Chevrolet Standard (not Master) in 1934, 1935, and 1936 use that weird 5 bolt pattern. I don't think anyone else inside or outside GM did. I have never heard of that pattern on a Pontiac. In 1934, 1935, and 1936 Pontiac used the familiar Chevrolet 6-bolt pattern. In 1937, they switched to a large Buick/Olds 5-bolt pattern IIRC. Before 1934, I don't know.

That can't possibly be repeated enough, so I'm repeating it.

That was my first guess too, but the fenders look all wrong.

Maybe not? The molecules are probably a different size. I'm not a chemist.... Even if the hoses sealed perfectly, for the master cylinder to work properly, there has to be a way for the level to go up and down in the reservoir. From the late 60s on they generally put a rubber bladder over the fluid that allowed this motion. Before that, there was a vent hole, so the reservoir was open to the air and pulling moisture from it 24-7.

I wonder if the generator brushes are just shot? I think you could find that wire that goes to the voltage regulator and disconnect it at the starter relay. Tape it up or something because it will be hot if the car starts. Then, ground the terminal on the starter relay that you removed the wire from. If that makes it work, you may need to go looking for trouble inside the generator, or a broken wire somewhere in the starter relay >> regulator >>> generator area. If it doesn't make any difference, then its time to take a close look at the relay again, and make sure the other connections all still test good.

1953 Pontiac Laurentian (Pathfinder?)

I can appreciate that, although unless I missed a post, he never told us it was an E493A Ford Prefect. Leaving the existing main bearings alone, still in their original positions, on the original crank would certainly be acceptable as long as the clearance checked good. Plastigage tells the story. You certainly wouldn't want to grind the crank, and then expect to find a set of used bearings that would work. Nothing is impossible, but that is close.

Ok, you have 6v from the battery on the big terminal, and a center terminal feeding 6v down to the starter solenoid, right? These are the relay contacts. (They are also the two big posts on a Ford relay, but never mind that for now.) You have 6v from the key "crank" position feeding one outside terminal. Good. That is one end of the relay coil. The other end of the relay coil is the only mystery. It would need to be grounded to crank. A few years later, in the 12v days, Chrysler typically floated that ground and ran it through a neutral safety switch. That MIGHT be your last terminal. You said it goes to the voltage regulator. Which terminal? It MIGHT be a ground contact that keeps you from engaging the starter if the car is running. Also, does the car have any sort of clutch or neutral safety switch? I have no access to the wiring diagram. I gather you do. Follow that wire. It probably leads to the answer.

I'm driving a 36 Pontiac around in Washington State. It has a thermostatic heat riser similar to what you describe. When I fixed it, the car started running right. YMMV.

Lots of activity over here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/

I like the steelies.

Depending on how you look at it, yes. Chevrolet's improvements were incremental, making it sort of tough to separate them solidly into engine families. Popular lore would have you believe that the 1953 low-pressure engine was the last of the line. In reality, when you look closer, the 1936 207 had three main bearings (effectively 2 banks of 3 cylinders), and the 1937 216 has four main bearings (3 banks of two cylinders). No matter how you spin it, that is a major redesign.

Moisture in brake fluid not a problem? You have to be kidding. Glycol brake fluid (DOT3, 4, 5.1) is hygroscopic. It literally sucks water out of the air. Many if not all of these old systems prior to 1966 or so are open to the atmosphere. I wouldn't trust NOS brake hoses to actually drive with no matter what fluid is in them. As for the wheel cylinders, how special are they? If they take ordinary cups, get some new cups, and just use the original stuff (boots, etc.) for the parts that show.

Yes. The measurement is at the bottom of the rim where the tire bead sits.

I agree, but was hesitant to suggest setting them to spec unless they are too tight. Too tight is always bad and could cause valves to burn. Too loose might just mean some crud or rust on the valves from sitting, and those valves would tighten up from driving. I would make sure none are too tight and then break the engine in. Then, I would recheck all of them and set to factory spec.

Not really too generic, but I still have no idea. The partially exposed wood firewall with the cowl lights recessed looks kind of like 1913 Inter-State, but the hood with the slanting vents does not. In any event, that cowl dates it to approximately 1913, whatever it is. The lights appear electric, and that wasn't a given in 1913, so even though it does not seem to be a huge expensive car, it probably isn't a really cheap one either.

It depends. Has it been running much lately? 95-120 is more variation than we want to see, but 95 isn't really low enough to indicate a burned valve. if it hasn't been running daily (or even occasionally) for a long time, its probably just some rust or crud on a valve seat, and most likely there isn't anything wrong. If that is the case, drive it. It will probably improve. You might want to check the valve clearances on the low cylinder, and make sure they aren't too tight.

When replacing a fuel pump it is normal to smear a little grease on the fuel pump arm where it contacts the thing that does the pushing (usually a cam). Almost any grease within reach will do. Assembly lube, chassis grease, Vaseline, white lith, etc. It is a temporary measure to make sure nothing galls up before the oil gets splashing around.

Greetings from another NA base model owner! Beautiful car! You did well. I really like the blue. 107k miles? It might take you a while to wear that out....

I saw that.....

I wouldn't change anything. It's gorgeous.