MercMontMars

So I figured while waiting for the solenoid to come I’d figure out what I’m working with, starting with the starter. I’m using a 6v battery with jumper cables, positive to positive ground and ground to starter to “simulate” a positive ground as the car would work on. I have my buddy stand on the clutch and I contact the negative cable to the starter cable. I get a little clunk then it gets stuck and I have to hand turn the motor to un-stick it. I opened the little inspection cover and all the copper inside looks pretty good, still shiny. What might be going on? I’m contemplating taking it out, but that’s a can of worms I’m not ready for at the moment cause then I have to realign it and all that fun stuff.

@R Walling Oh boy, that’s the exact scenario I’m worried about and I’m probably in the same boat. I’m in no rush to get it running, I want to make sure I tend to everything before trying it. Electrical problems have stopped me from even trying. My rings hold up oil and I can turn the motor by hand with reasonable resistance, but when I checked the dipstick before doing anything I could see some black crud on it. Gonna drop the pan and maybe take the head off once I have new gaskets for everything. One step at a time, but slow and steady wins the race..

Gonna buy one of these and try it, it is identical to what I’ve got and it is for a 6v system. Guess we’ll see how it goes when it gets here. Excited to read up on my shop manual when it gets here, thanks again @TerryB! https://brillman.com/product/6-volt-solenoid-curved-bracket/?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwsKqoBhBPEiwALrrqiNJqCqNXJemVoM03okuKE_pHMSJSJnmpGE-Cq21Arp_Vj5nCC56Z1RoCyO4QAvD_BwE

@Oldtech I’m not sure, I haven’t looked too closely at it but it looks very out of place. I know for sure one is a dimmer switch but the other one I have no clue.. I’ll have to trace it and see where it goes and if it’s even factory. As for the solenoid I’m definitely getting a new one, just a worthy investment.. only trouble I’m having is that I found 12v ones that look like an exact fit for under $40 or one that’s labeled as a reproduction 6v solenoid for $80. Not sure if it’s interchangeable like that, I can’t imagine it’s a dramatic difference but I’m being very cautious because this is a well preserved 6v system and I don’t want to mismatch anything.

Some glamour shots I took after filling her tires, looks so much nicer seeing her raised up and not so dilapidated. Slowly breathing life back into er’!

So I might’ve gotten lucky here fellas.. I just tried em out of curiosity and apparently they wanna come back! ZOMBIE TIRES!

This thing actually looks thoroughly rusted inside and out, I don’t know if it’ll ever be conductive again no matter what I do to it. Is there a way to open it up? I don’t really know how to work on these, if I even can. https://intellaparts.com/p/CLA-6631939/solenoid_12_volt.html

Some photos of today’s venture.. found out my new cables are FAR too short, gonna have to return those. Removed the solenoid completely so I can give it a bath and hopefully revive it to working condition. There was a mess off handmade wiring near the batter side of the solenoid, looks like a harness that goes into the car.

@The 55er Oh wow.. that’s good to know. I wonder how hard it’d be to find one of those along with an applicable coil. Looks like there is a special connection on the coil in the photo.

@Joe Cocuzza I do not unfortunately, there was an ignition switch in the trunk however that has a key. I might try wiring that in soon, that way I’ll at least have a switch I can turn. My 52’ Pontiac has a push button switch, I always thought it was odd how you can turn the motor without keys, it won’t start but just the fact that you can is.. odd.

@c49er Indeed I do! I found the overdrive knob while tinkering with the interior the other day, thought it was pretty neat. Would you know how I might go about checking and or filling the transmission? I haven’t been able to look at it or access much since the car is on 4 flats. Will have that fixed soon.

@Bloo I was trying to figure out that ring terminal last night, it looks like it goes to a relay that goes into the cabin. I’ll try hooking it up after cleaning my connections and see if it does anything. For the starter switch the car has a push button surprisingly. At first I thought it had a floor button because there’s two, but from videos I’ve seen on this car they start it with the dash button. Still don’t know what that other switch is for on the floor. Will get pictures of those today.

@keiser31 Definitely gonna look into that, I want to try and revive what I have for now but once the car proves itself and runs I will absolutely buy a new harness, she’s gonna need it.

Hi there, I’m working on the electrical connections and wiring of my 39 Chrysler Windsor. I’m trying to get a little life out of the electrical system, but I wanted to ask some questions before I go pulling anything apart. Where I’m at right now is when I put a hot 6v battery in and hook the terminals I get nothing. It looks like my positive ground goes to the transmission and my negative goes to the solenoid. I’m replacing the cables tomorrow and cleaning my connections. Anyway, my question is, what are some things I should look for? There is some screwy wiring going on under the dash, someone’s obvious efforts at “restoring” the wiring. Looking at my solenoid, it looks original and I’m not really sure what is inside of these things.. can they really go “bad?” It’s all corroded but I’m wondering if it’s fixable or if I should try to find a new one. Will get some more pictures soon. My goal is to at least get some sign of life, dim headlights or maybe even a little spin from the starter. The battery that was in the car actually took a charge, it looks relatively new which is odd to me. I don’t think someone would take the time to hook in a 6v battery on a non-functioning system but who knows. Thanks for any help!

Im interested in these, exact size I need but unfortunately they’re in PA. If I’m ever up that way I’ll definitely grab these but I don’t think that’ll be any time soon.

@keiser31 Oh yeah, way ahead of you there! I’m very tedious with all of it, both of the cars I bought before this were torn up by previous owners, this is the first time I’ve had a relatively untouched car and I love it. Photos of every little bit and bob.

Worked all day just tinkering and having fun with the interior, got it as clean as I can in its condition and made it sittable. I’m pretty proud of it, it’s nothing permanent but just for now I like it a lot.

@Bloo Thanks! I will check that out and try to either find or make one. When you say cut back to good metal, how much should I cut? I don’t wanna take too much off.

Got some work with the interior done today, pulled out some of the seats and got a little life out of them, enough to make them sittable. Looking at my dashboard, it appears my speedometer has… melted? No idea what happened here, but I also can’t see the mileage because a ring in there fell down. Will fix that eventually. Coming along quite nicely. Found some era correct trinkets still in the car.

@Marty Roth Looks like that’s what I’ll have to use, these are “new” enough to be 4-ply tubeless tires. Good to know that they’ll take tubeless.

@keiser31 Yes thank you, that would’ve been really confusing if I didn’t find that out before removing the wheels.

So far with this car I’ve made great progress in about 3 days, cleaned out the interior and I’m going to try restoring the seats enough to sit in the car. I put a brand new tight belt on the motor and discovered that the motor is free! The seller found the taillights and license plate lamp housing for the car along with some other bits and bobs. Car is coming along quite well and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with everything so far. Next goal is to put my new battery wires in and try to get some kind of electronic life.

@Joe Cocuzza Interesting, I’ll have to look into it a bit more, if it is a repaint this is a verrrrry old repaint. I’ll try to take the plate off and see what might be underneath. By the looks of it, the interior used to be off white with navy blue carpet, seats and door accents.

Anyone who would like to continue following this project, I’m going to continue posting updates in this Our Projects topic!