Rusty_OToole

I thought the outside exhaust pipes were only used on supercharged models originally? Was the supercharged engine even available in 1929?

52 Chrysler New Yorker has one.

One detail that can trip you up. The stick shift crankshafts are drilled to take a bushing for the transmission shaft, some auto trans crankshafts omit this detail. But some auto trans engines have the bushing. It's not too hard to machine the crank while it is out of the engine if you remember to check it.

You need to find an Olds expert for this. But the Olds motors were among the most rugged ever built. In the old days hot rodders used to bore the blocks 1/4" oversize that is .25". You don't need to worry about hitting water in any normal rebuild. The 1949 to 56 was one family, the 57-58 another, and the 59-64 another. In 65 they came out with a brand new engine that had nothing in common with the old one except a few dimensions. It was common to bore a 303 to take 324 pistons, use 324 heads, manifolds etc for a mild hop up. It was also possible to bolt a newer more powerful engine into the light weight 1950 88 body. I have a vague recollection that the early models like yours had the bellhousing cast into the back of the block and this was changed at some point but don't recall the details. The Olds Rocket was one of the most popular in the early days of hot rodding, before the Chev V8 came along. Speed equipment for this engine is still easy to find. I'm sure if you do a web search you will find plenty of info. Suffice to say a 1950 Olds 88 with stick shift and a mild hop up would be one of the coolest cars around, and not very difficult to pull off.

If you can clean the rust off the threads of the stud it will help. Try a wire brush in a drill or a sand blaster.

Most any nut will come loose if you heat it red. If you do not have an oxyacetylene torch a cheap arc welder with a carbon rod will do. A machine shop I know keeps a $40 "welder" about the size of a battery charger for just this purpose, plus installing and removing bearings and press fit shafts etc.

This question has come up before. Somewhere on the net I have seen an article about a Cadillac ca.1930 with a custom air conditioning system. The pump was driven by a small gas engine and sat on the luggage rack. It was built for a wealthy Texan.

I have a set of license plates, Ontario 1947 number 6X2.

If the engine is not stuck you should be able to turn it over with your hands especially with the plugs out and some oil down the plug holes. But then, the plugs should have come out too. You may have one of those engines that is too far gone to revive without taking off the head.

Plastic was not widely used in 1940 for things like that. So I would guess the chrome one would be correct for your car. Bright colored plastics became much more widely used in the fifties.

Something big. The length suggests a wheelbase of around 12 feet or 144 inches.

In the fifties there was an article in a hot rod magazine about forged racing pistons. The author stated that he had a set of solid skirt, forged aluminum racing pistons in the Corvette he used for every day transportation. They required .012 clearance when cold. He said he had driven it this way for 30000 miles with no problems from oil burning or piston slap. The secret was to fit the pistons with the required clearance then knurl the skirts. If your Corvette was built for racing it may have something like that. It may also have Grants plain cast iron rings which were a favorite of hot rodders. The worked well and broke in quickly but they only had a life of 30000 to 50000 which did not bother racers in the least.

The sleeves I have seen were for worn front crankshaft seals. They slid over the end of the crankshaft and made a fresh surface for the seal to ride on. I don't think they would work for bearings.The metal was very thin. The sleeve worked with a stock crankshaft seal.

The sleeve I refer to is very thin and is installed without machine work.

Didn't the 32 Ford have thermostats, one for each upper rad hose? Was the Winterfront even made for them?

That type of shock is supposed to last the life of the car. Try filling with jack oil. For firmer shocks you could also try motorcycle fork oil, it comes in different grades for this purpose. Leaky seals are the most common problem. You have to top them up if the fluid leaks out. Leaks can be slowed down by wrapping string tight around the shaft but if the seal is shot the only complete cure is to replace the seal or rebuild the shcoks.

Bearing shops sell thin metal sleeves for restoring worn shafts.

It may just need more breakin miles. An overnight soak of MM down the spark plug holes may help. Then drive it. 50 miles at a time or more if possible. Do another 2000 miles or so and if there is no change you may have to tear the engine down and install new rings. Incidentally a friend of mine bought a late 60s Chev pickup in similar condition. It started and ran well but burned oil. He drove it around town for several years with no problems. When he tore it down all the rings were still stuck in the grooves. He replaced the rings and honed the cylinders with a bottle brush hone and it ran like a new one. I suspect if he had taken some long trips instead of puttering around town the rings might have freed up.

Pontiac had its own design of oil filter built into the oil pan. Unlike other makes, they never offered an add on oil filter - none was needed. This feature ran from the mid 30s to 1954. Not sure if your 34 has it or not.

You are in for a treat. I especially like Tom McCahill's road tests in MI and the Owner's Reports in Pop Mech. It is eye opening to see the contemporary opinions of an honest, utterly frank expert (McCahill) and the people who bought our antiques and collectibles as new cars.

Wichita was the home of many aircraft companies at that time including Beechcraft Cessna Mooney and Stearman. The car could have been made as a prototype for a post WW2 reconversion project. Or possibly as a hobby by an aircraft mechanic. There are photos of the people involved in the project. At least one of the photos has names on the back. It should be possible to trace them and figure out what kind of project it was.

It's a price GUIDE not a price written in stone by GOD. You have to use your common sense. I find the prices tend to be on the high side but every time I quote one on this board someone who owns the same model comes on and says the price is way too low. Possibly best used to compare values. For example, a look in the price guide reveals a Dodge from the 30s or 40s is worth less money than a Ford even though when new, the Dodge sold for more money and was a better car. The prices reflect the opinions of the public but there is no reason you can't form your own opinion. The trick is to find someone who agrees with you , when you want to buy or sell.

There was a long discussion on tire aging on an Airstream trailer bulletin board I frequent. Trailers are even more critical on tires than cars, and frequently suffer blowouts. It came out that any tire will lose half its strength after 5 years even if sitting in a warehouse. If the rubber is dried out and weather cracked it is even worse. So, they routinely replace tires after 4 years even if the trailer has not been used much and the tires look perfect. Otherwise you risk a blown tire, damage to the trailer body and possibly a serious accident. How does this apply to old cars? Here is where you have to use your judgement. If a car was used only for short neighborhood drives at low speeds I wouldn't worry about it, but if I was going to drive on today's highways for any distance I would want new tires.

They did shine when new but the shine did not last. You had to polish the paint then wax it immediately with Simoniz or Johnson's wax. If you wanted the paint to last and look good you had to wash, polish and wax it every 2 or 3 months, oftener if it was parked outside. If the finish was not maintained it would go dull. But you could always polish and wax it, and it would shine as good as new. Notice I said polish and wax. In those days polish and wax were 2 separate products, you had to polish the car first to make it shine, then wax it to preserve the shine. Otherwise it would turn dull in a week or 2. Even with a good Simoniz job they did not shine like a new car today. The modern base/clear finish has a coat of clear on top that gives a glassy shine. The old paint or lacquer finish at its best was more like a piece of furniture. Look at a piano to see what a new car from the 30s 40s or 50s would look like if it was polished and waxed to the nines.

Body design of the first Lincolns was indeed conservative but so was everyone else's luxury car that year. Look at pictures of expensive cars from the period 1915 to the early 20s. They are very boxy, they are painted black or a dark color and almost completely stripped of brightwork. I have studied pics of Packards from this period and the only bright trim I can find is the door handles and hub caps. Everything else is painted including the radiator and bumpers. The standard colors used at this time were black, navy blue, very dark green, and crimson lake or maroon. Compare this to cars of 1913 and earlier with their white tires, shiny brass and bright colors. You know the eye popping orange paint on Case tractors? That is Poppy Orange, the standard color used on Case cars before WW1. Lincoln bodies were made by the best custom body makers who put the same bodies on other luxury cars. It happens that boxy formal bodies were the style at that time. Of course if any customer wanted something flashier the body makers were happy to oblige. In those days most expensive cars came with bodies made by outside suppliers. I have heard the argument before, that Lincoln's stodgy bodies killed their sales but I don't think there is anything to it. Their bodies were the same as everybody else's. Launching an expensive new car at the start of a severe recession, and not having enough capital were what got them in trouble. As far as this "3 P's " business goes, I do not recall ever seeing that before about 1980 and then it was from an English old car expert. I seriously doubt that Peerless was ever mentioned with Packard and Pierce Arrow in this way when they were in production. If anyone can show any reference to the "3 P's" by an American before 1930 I would be surprised. In fact I would be shocked. This is not to take anything away from Peerless quality. Just that they were never that popular. If anyone was thinking of the leading luxury cars the list would have included Pierce Arrow and Packard in the lead, then Cadillac Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial. Peerless would have been classed with the less popular high grade cars like Stutz, Locomobile, Marmon or Stearns.