C-Lamb

Front end disassembled, shocks sent off to Apple, we'll see what happens next. New stabilizer bar links in hand via e-bay. Looks like many modern cars use the same part? As others have noted, stabilizer to frame bushing are welded up - mine seem sufficient, so I guess I'll work with those for now. Lower control arms removed, so cleaning those and related parts is the next challenge, hopefully back together in a few weeks... we'll see.

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm afraid of, it's a literal can of worms filled with hard to find parts. For now, I think I'll just try to seal it up to keep dirt out, once I finish the front stabilizer link replacement (and maybe bushings if I can find them, first set doesn't seem quite right). And thank you for the great pointers and part numbers!!

Any suggestions if I should fill the boot with grease or anything like that, or just try to close it up to keep the dirt out?

By the way, when looking at this again, it's not a "J", it's a 'b' shaped 6, just like the other one. The rust or something makes it look like a J, but when you look just slightly more closely, you can see the 'b' clearly. Doh! Doesn't match the number on the frame, but I don't know that it should?

Thanks Mark, that was my understanding of the process. That's a bunch of 80 year old fasteners to get apart and replace - I'm sure there will be some part of unobtainium mixed in there too. And once I get that far, I should probably drop the transmission and clean it, check the clutch system out and replace the rear main seal... at which point I will have converted my running / driving vehicle to a kit, which I'm trying to avoid by tackling small projects. Since mine wasn't vibrating noticeably yet, is there anything I can do given condition of my boot to protect it, like packing with grease and patching with a piece of inner tube? No way to replace the boot w/out dropping the axle etc? I'll contact Bob's and see what the have. I think Steele Rubber had some too. Looks like Bob's still has them $450 including $150 core charge.

Thanks Mark, that was my understanding of the process. That's a bunch of 80 year old fasteners to get apart and replace - I'm sure there will be some part of unobtainium mixed in there too. And once I get that far, I should probably drop the transmission and clean it, check the clutch system out and replace the rear main seal... at which point I will have converted my running / driving vehicle to a kit, which I'm trying to avoid by tackling small projects. Since mine wasn't vibrating noticeably yet, is there anything I can do given condition of my boot to protect it, like packing with grease and patching with a piece of inner tube? No way to replace the boot w/out dropping the axle etc? I'll contact Bob's and see what the have. I think Steele Rubber had some too.

Thanks, I guess I'm hoping I don't have to tackle a full R&R right away. Specifically... - is it possible to replace the boot w/o the whole ordeal of removing or at least loosening the rear end etc? - what are the symptoms of a worn torque ball? I have driven it ~10 miles and haven't noticed anything... - any service I can do w/o removing the whole thing. Given I'm just driving 5-40 miles at a time, can I get by? So far, the biggest repair has been rebuilding the fuel pump and flushing the cooling system (w/ evaporust repeatedly), torque ball maintenance would be a much bigger ball of wax!

OK, gradually getting the front end apart and looking at which parts have to be replaced. No play in the tie rods, so I'm not going to fight getting those apart right now and focus on the shocks and the stabilizer links and bushings since those bits clearly need replacement. In the mean time, was underneath and noticed my torque ball didn't look so great... I haven't noticed any issues, have done a bit of reading and it seems like a real nightmare... what's the required maintenance at this point?

Thanks Gary, I'm going to have to totally rebuild the front end as there's basically no rubber left in any of the pieces. So an alignment will definitely be necessary. Thanks for the Apple recommendation!

OK, new questions... it's time to rebuild the front end and shocks. I see there are several kits for the front end and options for rebuilders - any thoughts about sources, process, or priorities? Also, looks like there's a 'rubber' cover over what I assume is the torque ball in the middle of the frame. This cover has a big hole in it. What's the 'easy' service I should perform to support continued short trips around town? I've done a first pass at adjusting all four shoes using the technique that the wheel should 'coast' for one revolution if I spin it vigorously. The brakes are considerably more satisfying. During the front end rebuilld, I'll take the drum off lube and adjust from the begining, so that should further improve them. I've now driven to town a couple of times (3 miles each way) and gaining confidence, but it's hard to believe this car will really reach beyond 60 comfortably. I'm easily cruising at 35-40 in 3rd gear and ready to upshift - if feels like another couple of gears would be nice. I'm going to install a simple tach to get a better idea of the actual engine speed. One factor - I'm currently running cheap used tires, which are only 24" OD instead of 27" OD of the spare tire, so that definitely influences things. I've read lots about the overdrives and other people with the same impression I have... , the overdrive seems like it may be the long term option. Any other thoughts or ideas? Thanks!

Matt, All three on the side done. Picture above was the 3rd one (front). Middle one started leaking after the 2nd flush so I'm worried about the other 2, but not too badly ;-). Next replace the upper control arm pin and then bleed the brakes again and try to adjust them to reduce the pedal travel!

Thanks Neil, I guess at least it's on the head and not the block...

Since the evaporust I had was completely black and had been in there a few weeks, I wanted to refresh it. So, drained it and knocked out the 3rd freeze plug, which was remarkably solid. Found a little surprise behind it and complete lack of rusty sludge. Things looked pretty good inside. Flushed and refilled with evaporust and all seems good. Also opened up the drain port on the front of the engine, so that was one of the last places to clean. Anyone know how to get the 4th freeze plug out? I think it's on the back of the engine...

JF, just FYI, that is the degreased suspension!!At least relatively, when I got it there was a solid 1/4" on pretty much everything!

Ben, I'm going to look at some old pictures to see if I can tell if it was there when I got the car, but I suspect not. I've ordered a new pin and two caps from Bob, pricy but seems to include some rubber bits as well. We'll see!

Thanks '39, that's just what I needed. I have the same concern wrt the arm and shaft.

There should be a nut w/ zerk in it at both ends of the upper control arm joint. There is on the other side...

I also noticed that I'm missing a nut... kind of important one. Passenger side, upper control are, rear nut with zerk fitting. See picture below. What's it called and where can I find a replacement?

Here are a couple of pictures and a short video going down the road. https://photos.app.goo.gl/aCD1QHjx6m6F4rCx5

Well, it's been awhile since i updated my thread...lot-a life getting in he way! So today, I drove it, about 5 miles to the local car show/town festival.. needlees to say, it was a unique 'work in progress'. While hanging out, I thought I would make a list of things I've done to get her, mostly for my own memory. Replace wheel brake cylinders Replace front brake flex lines Clean and repack front wheel bearing Wheels sandblasted and primed New (used) tires Replaced master cylinder Replaced fuel tank with one from someone else's project Unclogged fuel lines Unclogged brake lines Rebuilt fuel pump and install filters freed up manual choke New spark plug wires pump and refill diff flush out most of transmission fluid through fill hole, didn't have time last night to drain and refill. Lube front end Replace 2 freeze plugs and clean out as much rust as I could Install temporary junkyard radiator and flush(ing) several times with water or evapo-rust. Replaced heater hoses and connected up to overflow tank Spent a fair amount of time with this and held up by foaming and various experiments Used spa anit-foam to prevent it from foaming else, it would foam a lot of the coolant out While doing the heater hose, hooked up my overflow tank so it works properly Built a custom fan shroud (crude) now idles 15minutes @ 80 degrees w/o overheating (thermostat removed) Blocked off the coolant bypass with a drilled freeze plug Wired up horn - need horn ring... interesting there is a wire, part of the harness, on the horn output which then goes into the bundle, but no wire on the steering wheel terminal and I haven't found a loose end. Removed and cleaned one of the brake lights and 1 of blinkers - all are working Tried LED's, not any brighter the incadescents. Tested on the bench to prove that out. I believe if you put LED's in your car and they're brighter than the incadescents, then there's loss in your system (contacts/ground). Test on the bench with your battery, I've tried 3-4 brands of LEDs and they are not brighter than new 6V bulbs. They do use a lot less current, so they will be less sensitve to bad connections or grounds. Messed with the dash lights and they were working w/ LEDs which are almost bright enough to be useful, but have stopped working. Lots of bad cloth insullation and old connectors, so I gotta get back in there and see what happened. I'll see if I can add pictures next.

Rumor has it there's a good deal on a '40 Century near me. I'm hoping to look at it next week, but I'm wondering if there are any real advantages 39 vs 40. It has the front fender lights, radio, and maybe a few other features vs. my '39? I'm slowly repairing my '39 but progress has been slow. This one has been driven more recently, which might be an advantage. ( Thanks! Chris

I guess I have to remove the water pump to see that?

Where would the casting number be?

Seems like a reasonable idea. Engine runs well and was a bit skeptical about it's condition, that could be a reasonable explanation. Thanks for the quick response.

When I looked it up, I don't think "J" was an option. Any idea what the leading character means? Did I overlook something in the decoder tables?