Bloo

I thought water pump grease was intended to melt at a fairly low temperature. I have never heard of one that was not calcium based. The grease is going to wind up in the coolant. I was cautioned in the past not to use "waterproof" grease, such as one might use in boat trailer wheel bearings, because over time it would coat the radiator, drastically reducing cooling efficiency. Is that wrong?

Some years ago I helped a friend get a 1937 Buick running that had been stored indoors since about 1952. The fuel pump did not work for long before it started leaking, only a few minutes as I recall (a rebuild kit was in the mail but had not yet arrived). I don't know how old the diaphragm in the pump was, but it couldn't have been any newer than 1952. When rebuilding the pump I observed that the diaphragm was simply a bunch of layers of cloth. It appeared at the edges that were clamped in the pump body that the cloth had originally been doped with something, probably shellac based. The cloth was washed clean, and the gas was running right through it. A new alcohol-resistant diaphragm fixed that right up. What is different about a 1951 Canadian Statesman? Does it have hydraulic tappets? As a former driver of a Kenosha-built 1951 Statesman I am fairly sure my tappets were solid. Could yours be solid, and just in need of adjustment? Mine ran so quietly that standing next to it you could not tell whether the engine was running.

Err.... Small Block Chevy. I am gonna go with early 60s 283. I am no SBC expert, and those pics don't give a lot to go on. It has a generator (was 1966 the last?), It has an oil fill spout on the intake. It has the same type pulleys on front that you would expect for the mid 60s (maybe those go all the way back to the beginning?) Other clues would be the size of the spark plug (changed in 68 I think), but there is no picture. Also where the valve covers bolt to the head, the holes can be either straight across or staggered (changed around 1959 I think). They cut the picture off so you cant see. The location of the dipstick can be another indicator if you know when it changed.

I bought some here: https://www.restorationstuff.com/

Every type has its advantages and disadvantages. If I could have only one lift, a two-post with the posts offset toward the front is a clear winner. It all depends on what you want to do with it. Two-posters let the wheels hang. Four posters do not. Wheels hanging is better for almost every job. One notable exception is exhaust or driveshaft work, where you need to see the axles and suspension in the position they actually run. The old single-posters came both ways. Most of them let the axles hang, but a few had a framework of long I-beams, and blocks you slid along the I-beams to pick the car up by the axles.

Exactly. This particular set appears configured to drive cam bearings, or something like that, but with all those sizes you can probably improvise with most bearings and seals.

There is some information on Pontiac water pumps here: http://www.earlytimeschapter.org/waterpump1.html http://www.earlytimeschapter.org/waterpump2.html That page doesn't render properly for me, but here is an interesting part:

That pretty much nails it. Here's my driver:

Is the current spacer #8 locating the rotor properly? For instance, if you put the caliper bracket on, and put the rotor and inner bearing and #8 spacer on, and put the caliper on, and use something to center the outer race (like maybe the washer, held in with your fingers...), is the rotor centered in the slot in the caliper? Or is it off by the same 1/8"?

Dipstick heater?

Because at the disk brake takeover point, fixed anchor brakes like the ones in Spineyhill's graphic were long gone. The front shoe on such a system, Lockheed in Chrysler's case, tends to "apply" itself on braking in the forward direction, while the rear shoe wants to "unapply" itself. Step bores were an attempt to even things out. IIRC Ford also did it on their fixed-anchor brakes, along with a shorter piece of lining on the rear shoe. Lockheed soon fixed this by splitting the cylinder in two, and putting the second shoe and anchor on upside down. Now you have 2 leading shoes with equal braking ability. You will see a bunch of later Chrysler products with this type on front. By then, IIRC, the rears were just allowed to be less efficient (no step bore) because they don't do near as much of the braking as the fronts do. A competing system to Lockheed (and Chevrolet's "Huck", and Ford fixed anchor brakes) was Bendix "servo action" drum brakes. These have a floating anchor (actually no anchor) at the bottom. When the front shoe tries to "self apply", it pushes on the rear shoe, applying it too, as if it were all one big shoe. These appeared in the 30s on Pontiacs, Buicks, Lincolns, etc. They take less pedal effort than Lockheed typically do, but the self-application adds a tiny delay. They feel a little funny. Lockheeds are much harder to set up, but when really right, feel solid and linear like disc brakes, but require more pedal effort. The Bendix design literally took over. By the 60s even Delco was making them. When disc brakes came along in a big way, the fixed anchor system was long gone, and the step bore, a workaround for a known limitation, was long gone with them.

Ammeters measure current flow, and always go in series with the circuit you are trying to measure current in. They never connect from a measurement point to ground like a voltmeter. For a test, To measure output of a generator I would just disconnect the main charging wire from the generator, and connect the ammeter in-between the post and the wire you disconnected. Turn your lights on high, other accessories if you have them, rev it up. If you see higher current than the maximum in the book, shut right down and readjust. There are two factors to consider when adjusting a third brush. The first is protecting the generator, because it will happily run over it's own limit and melt if you let it. The second is keeping it from boiling the battery. For what it's worth, many of them wont really do the maximum in the book for long without damage. This was and is ok, because your actual setting to keep from destroying batteries will be less than the maximum. One more thing, since an ammeter only measures flow, it does not know the difference between charge and discharge. If your test ammeter reads backwards, reverse the leads. Many old cars with third brush systems discharge with the lights on. It depends on where the maker connected the ammeter, and how high the generator is set. That ammeter on the dash isn't necessarily wrong, and I wouldn't worry about that for now.

It's not the sending unit that changed for 12v, it was the gauge itself. Sending units remained 0-30 ohm until about 1963.

Yes, you can daily drive a 71 RIviera. No problem. There are things you will need to do differently than a modern car. In 1971, when you pulled into a gas station a bunch of guys ran out and filled your gas tank, checked your oil, checked your tires, washed your windshield, and maybe handed you cheap glassware. Check your oil, often. Too often. Often enough that you usually don't have to add any. It got done automatically at the gas station in 1971. Now, it is up to you. On the day some seal falls out, and the oil goes down suddenly, you will catch it before it runs too low. Learn how much oil (and ATF and gear oil) it uses (or leaks) and keep it full. Change your oil, and don't let it get nasty and stinky. If it uses a lot, don't fall into the trap of thinking it doesn't need changing because you are dumping more in. You change the oil and filter to get the nasty stuff out. Get good tires. If you don't plan on entering any "points" type shows in the near future, get radials. Maybe get them just a touch wider than stock, like 70 series instead of 75, and then one size wider. Don't buy the ones with the longest treadwear warranty. Soft rubber grips better. A medium to low mileage rating is no guarantee that it is grips well, but ones with a super long mileage rating probably wont stick worth a damn. Today, almost everything on the road can out-brake you. Good tires help a lot. Learn to drive defensively. It is a skill everyone should have. Always allow extra space in front when you can. Drive it!. Problems will crop up, fix them as they do, and eventually it will get where you can trust it. People drove cars like 71 Rivieras on long multi-state road trips without thinking twice, and you can too after you drive it enough to get a feel for its habits, and fix the little things that cause trouble. Most old cars need sorting out. Driving it what it takes. Daily driving just gets you there faster. The troublesome cars are the ones that just sit around. When you repair something that fails, make it as good as it was when it was new. If some part or system lasted 80K miles the first time, when you rebuild it make it so it will last 80k (or more) the second time. That way, you don't wind up with a bunch of important things broken at the same time. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. This 1970 Marauder was my dad's daily driver until 2002. It has 202k miles on it. I was daily driving it last fall sorting out some problems it developed from sitting around too much. You could go anywhere in this. Seriously.

Thanks, good idea.. I was on the fence anyway though, I think I'll paint them.

Interesting. I am facing this same choice with wheels right now. My local powdercoater told me I could fill the pits with Allmetal, and it would work fine. If it wont, I guess that means I will be doing paint.

Check that first. Shims at various spots under the body itself to correct height issues of the hinges, latches, or body lines. Shims under the hinge tilt the door if it sags (close to the ground) or is too high (from the ground) at it's outer edge. Whether you shim or unshim underneath the hinge mounting depends on the body gap at the hinges versus at the latch. If the gap at the hinges is too wide at the top, so that you would be pushing the door "out" too far by shimming the lower hinge (front to rear on the car), then you have to take some out at the top instead. If there are no shims to take out, a tapered shim (wider at the end toward the middle of the car) will tilt the hinge "back" (hinge pin toward the back/front of the car a little, away from the door), and close the gap at the upper hinge a little. Make absolutely sure you have replaced any worn hinge pins. If the outer corner of the door hangs out away from the body centerline, you may find a diagonal brace (steel rod) inside the door that either needs to be adjusted or shimmed with washers (or something) to pull the bottom of the outer corner of the door in toward the body. Back doors usually didnt have this rod, and if the outer corner of the door hangs out (too far from the centerline of the car) you can add a flat steel strap diagonally underneath the door card. Hold the door slightly "sprung" in the opposite direction while you screw the strap down (to put the strap under tension). Anyway, thats the short version. It's all in the FIsher body manual. Thats where I learned how to do it. Several editions are posted here, but the 1926-31 is the most useful no matter what year of wood bodied fisher you are working on. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/

Thanks for posting pics! How black are they? How large of a mostly unblemished piece (automotive cushion face or seat insert) would you be able to get out of the chunks you received?

Terry, Have you tried the Kevlar? Does it make the car any easier to drive? I have a 1913 Studebaker with a leather-lined cone clutch. I have never used fullers earth, and it is difficult to imagine a situation in which this clutch could ever slip much. I'm with you on the neatsfoot oil. It is the only thing that makes the car driveable, and it is a godawful slimy mess, and yes I pull my floorboards up all the time to put more on. I was under the impression that cone clutches lock the way they do because of the taper. If that is the case, I wonder how kevlar would make it any better?

That depends on how much you want to know. I suspect there is a firewall tag that will tell will tell you which of those colors it was originally (and probably a few other things).

Ask over here. These guys know more about early Chevrolet than you would think possible. https://vccachat.org/

I beg to differ. It is one-piece all-steel top on a wood body. My 1936 body is nearly identical, with the exception that the front doors are hung the other way. Two weeks ago I had a long conversation with a 1935 owner about his adventures replacing wood. I believe the first all-steel Pontiac was in 1937.

Have you bought any or seen them? Are they blacker black than the last "anthracite" batch?

More current handling ability in the armature. I doubt they are all the same. It wouldn't surprise me too much if the replacement parts are all the same now. Maybe everything has been superseded to the largest one?