1940 Oldsmobile Barn-Find Restoration

[Erndog]

Well, my son wanted his first car to be something he could work on and actually see around the engine. At first it was to be a 60's or late 50's car, 70's if absolutely necessary, but then I came across this one. He liked it immediately.

It is a 1940 Series 70 Four Door Sedan.

It sat on blocks in a barn in WV for at least 35 years as part of a 30+ car collection a car loving farmer had. Whether or not he was ever going to restore it, or just own it, who knows? Upon getting it home in VA, I managed to get the stuck hood latch open. It was the first time the hood had been open since it was driven into the barn. I checked the dipstick and found no water or evidence of moisture. I then grabbed the fan and pulled. It turned easily with a pleasant fwoosh! from the cylinders. God is good. The interior has a set of early seat covers installed and from the peeks I have managed, they were put there to protect the upholstry, not hide it. I can see a beautiful fresh grey material everywhere I look under it. The headliner is perfect, except for a small hole over the driver. The instruments look as fresh as the day it was built. Every piece of glass is perfect. Three original hubcaps are on the wheels and the fouth is in the trunk. The key was in the ignition. I tried it on the trunk (only made for ignition and door) and it locked it. However, it won't unlock it. The original horn button is in the glovebox, along with a pass to Skyline Caverns that expires in 1952 and two free tickets for five gallons of gas each at the local station.

Now we need to freshen it up. It has one ding on a front fender and a handful of minor bumps, but all are easily fixable. The one piece of missing trim was hiding in the glovebox. Of course, the bumpers will have to be redone.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Erndog (see edit history)

[Erndog]

First pictures.

[Larry J]

Looks like a good solid car that will make a sweet ride. I'm cutting my teeth on a 38 Olds and yours is in much better shape starting out. Good luck with the project.

[keiser31]

Nice ride!!

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Wonderful find! What else was in that barn?

Ben

[TexRiv_63]

Ernie, you are a good dad, hope your son appreciates you. I wish my first car was as neat as this one! Is he going to keep it stock?

[Erndog]

Suppossedly there were some 35 different cars in there, including at least two Packards. I think one was a '40 120 series (sold for $3800) and the other was a very nice 57 or so. There may be some left. The man's eBay name is boonieman41.

[Erndog]

Thank you. Yes, he wants to keep it as original as possible, other than going through everything to bring it up to snuff. I am also going to regretably put some seatbelts in it. Safety first. That will be the only modernization and they can be tucked away when not in use, anyway.

[Oldsfan]

We could use a young fella like him in the NAOC. We are always trying to encourage young people like him to join and become involved. He could bring it to the National Meet next year in Lansing - as is. The club members would love it.

Paul

[Guest jonfin826]

That sounds like fun! I'd love to join and attend. I can't right now though, all my money is going into the restoration right now.

Oh, by the way, I'm Erndog's son if you weren't sure.

[Oldsfan]

If you send me a private message with your name and address, I'll send you a sample copy of our magazine. It would really be a good idea for you to join, as the classified section is a great source for finding parts. Members are entitled to free adverstising. There's also a bunch of '40 guys in our directory - a great networking tool.

Maybe Santa Claus will sign you up for Christmas...

Paul

[Talarico8447]

Great car,best of luck. Now thats Oldsmobility.

[Erndog]

Well, we got the trunk open. Had to take the back seat out and remove the latch bar brackets. Unfortunately, I had to cause some damage to the still perfectly intact divider boards between the seat and the trunk. #&(*^$#! Found the two center bumperettes for the bumpers and a new taillight lens. Also found the missing brake shoes and hardware from one wheel. We knew the fourth hubcap and spare wheel were in the, but we did not know that there is still a little red paint in the emblem on the hubcap and the wheel is in new condition, except for dirt. The three vermillion stripes are perfect! Got the trunk latch off and removed the handle. FYI, the key/cylinder code is stamped on the base of the handle. True for the locking door's handle, too. Now I just need to find somebody that knows what to do with it. Also noted that the undersides of the seats look really good.

[Guest jonfin826]

We took out the air fiter today to wire-wheel it and paint it. The copper that is the actual filter will have to be cleaned with gasoline. The rest of the assembly is currently drying. Tomorrow, my dad is going to a locksmith to try to get a key made for the glove compartment/trunk.

[John348]

The price of the dues will come back ten fold! Join the club just for the classifieds let alone all for the technical help you will get. If the monthly magazine was on the stand for $5.00 you most likely would buy it, that would be $60, this is much cheaper.

good luck with the olds

[Guest jonfin826]

Made this with Photoshop. "Where I See Myself In One Year"

[1939_Buick]

Look good and rust free. The basic body, door etc are generally the same as 1939-1940 seriess 40 & 60 Buicks. The picture with the rear door open look like there is little or no rust at the floor. On Buicks leaking water from the quarter window run down the inner wheel arch and rusts the floor / pillar.

You may get more responses on Oldsmobile - General - AACA Forums You could ask the Moderator to move this thread.

Do join the Olds club if you are not already a member. Well worth it

Edited August 9, 2009 by 1939_buick (see edit history)

[nsbrassnut]

Good find, best of luck. It looks like a really good solid old car, so here is a thought. Go through the mechanics, brakes, etc. and make is safe & sound to drive, then wash and clean the rest and go have fun.

Reminds me of when I did when I got my first car, a '36 Packard 120 in similar condition. Drove it on the weekends through most of university, complete with the as found brush painted dark blue finish. I had more fun with it then then after it was restored.

By the way, 31 years and 30,000 miles later, its still number 1 in the garage.

Drive Safe, Have Fun

[Erndog]

Well, we are woefully behind on keeping this thread up. I will try to do some recapping.

Removed crossbars under hood, fan, and radiator. Removed hood latch assembly. Wired wheeled and painted crossbars and fan. Tested radiator and found no obvious leaks, but will probably have it looked at. Reassembled painted crossbars. Put second coat of paint on fan.

We got keys made for the trunk and glove compartment. Unfortunately, after we got them home we noticed that the two new keys were different from each other. one does nothing. The other will work for the glove compartment and the trunk. However, when you open the trunk the key won't come out. And when you close it, you have to lock it to get the key to come out. Is that the way it is supposed to operate??

• Removed left front fender. Required removal of left kickpanel to access three of the bolts. One problem bolt at very front of running board. It had a special thin flat head that came off. Needs replacing.
  
• 
  
• Removed all brakes and slave cylinders. Started honing and rebuilding same with nice kits from Fusick. They were rocked up pretty hard. We'll see if they are leak-tight after they get back together.
  
• 
  
• Removed left engine compartment sidewall. Started cleaning and painting same.
  
• Removed LF shock and wheel assembly.
  
• 
  
• Took brake shoes and original set of linings to Automotive Manufacturers in Richmond, VA to get them put on. Fantastic job! All four wheels for $50. That included drilling holes in the linings for the rivets.
  
• 
  
• Investigated the LF shock. Bone dry. Cleaned it as best I could. Verified the valves work.
  
• 
  
• Completely tore down the LF suspension, cleaned and painted same. Reinstalled.
  
• 
  
• Removed front bumper, RF fender (found a 1909 penny, 1951-D penny, and a beautiful 1937 Buffalo Nickel under the floor covering), grill, and hood.
  
• 
  
• Took 1930 Buick out of garage and rolled the Olds in.
  
• 
  
• Pulled out the engine and transmission. No problems.
  
• 
  
• Set engine on engine stand. Powerwashed the engine so we could see what we are working with.
  
• 
  
• Removed head, carburetor, manifolds, water pump, valve covers, and oil pan.
  

Glad we decided to tear the engine down. It is pretty well gooked up.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Erndog
Added photos (see edit history)

[Erndog]

Left fender removed.

Brakes as found.

Slave cylinder originally.

Slave cylinder rebuilt.

Time to go, old engine buddy!

I'm pulled at last, I'm pulled at last.

Jonathan gets down and dirty.

Edited September 7, 2009 by Erndog
Add photos (see edit history)

[Bill Stoneberg]

"However, when you open the trunk the key won't come out. And when you close it, you have to lock it to get the key to come out. Is that the way it is supposed to operate?? "

This is the way my 47 Buick operates so it wouldn't surprise me...

[Erndog]

Thanks! Thought we might have a bad key.

[Erndog]

Added some photos.

Took off the timing chain and gears. Took a peek at one main bearing. It looks good. After a lot of very dirty effort, got the oil pan relatively clean for evaluation. Found a few pinhole leaks that will need fixing. Waiting on a valve spring compresser and ridge reamer. Then we will remove the pistons, crank, and cam. Then it is off to the hot tank with the block. Of course, we will need to remove the cam bearings, freeze plugs water distribution tube, etc first.

[Erndog]

Still no luck getting the water tube out. I will keep trying. Just got back from Hershey. Found many things we need, tune-up kit, carburetor rebuild kit, fuel pump kit, gas cap, tail lights, fenderwelt, hood lacing, and definately not least, four whitewall tires$$. It was amazing to us just how few old Olds parts were available at the Hershey. Also, we were unsuccessful at meeting up with any national club members. I tried to buy a ridge reamer there, but there were few and no bargains to be had. Met a great couple who were showing a 1940 four door sedan just like this one.

Since last post we removed the valves, lost three keepers in the gook, did a little painting on the firewall and cowl area, and replaced our parts washer. Fried the old one. Just for the heck of it, I asked the Autozone people if they had a ridge reamer (didn't even know what it was last time), and they said no. But, they had two they would loan for free! Used it tonight and removed all six pistons. Bearings look nice. We'll probably reuse them. Removed the crankshaft. The mains are not making me happy. I see cracking on one (from age?) and a little too much wear elsewhere. I guess we need new ones. Went through the oil pump and it looks ok. Removed the distributor. Started removing oil galley plugs and other items to improve hot-tanking results.

Gave up on eco-friendly parts washer and went back to washing parts in gasoline. So much better!

Does anybody have an oil pickup screen? Ours really needs replacing.

[TexRiv_63]

Ernie,

You are making good progress on your engine, better than I've done on my projects lately. Just a suggestion on parts washing, gasoline does a great job but is awfully dangerous. I have had good luck with a product called Super Clean which is water based, biodegradeable, non-flammable, and odor-free. Just spray it on, brush a little, and hose it off, it does an amazing job on grease. You do have to wear gloves to handle the concentrate but water neutralizes it, I have washed parts over my lawn and it does not even kill the grass! Available at NAPA and Walmart, give it a try.

[Guest 36chev]

Going back to the trunk lock issue: my 36 Chevrolet works the same way (the latch must be locked to remove the key). So yours is probably working the way it is intended.

[Erndog]

Thanks! Good to know.

By the way, couldn't remove any of the tappets. Felt like metal to metal, as though the adjusting nuts were hitting the sides of the holes. Used some brake cleaner spray and they came right out! It was just 40 years of goop stopping them. God, I love that brake cleaner!!!

[Guest Backyardmechanic]

Just a few words on the main bearings.These bearings are step bored (the rear being the largest the front being the smallest.) not the same size on all bearings,and are hard to fine.

Vern.

[Erndog]

Thanks. I will be replacing the mains for sure now. I just pulled out the upper shells and found that the rear bearing has a weird defect in it, almost like it was wire-drawn at one corner. Not sure if it is due to heat or something in the oil, but it's gotta go. Pity, other than the two problems I found they look really good.

I finally got the old water tube out after two weeks of trying!!!!!!

What a b****! It came out in many pieces and every one of the was thouroghly stuck. I had to make a special removal tool and also use a screwdriver down through the center head bolt holes. It was so rusted, it looked like it had been shot with a shotgun. As near as I can tell there are no little pieces left. :cool:

Got all the studs out,

Soon to go to the hot tank.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Erndog (see edit history)

[Guest CutNChop]

Need parts???

:eek:

[Erndog]

Is there a phone number for him?

[Guest CutNChop]

Is there a phone number for him?

Antique Auto Supply, Arlington, TX. (817) 275-2381

[Erndog]

Well, the engine block and crankshaft went to the hot-tank yesterday. The man said it may take several dips and a couple weeks to get it really clean. He uses the real deal, boiling caustic. He says the jugs have a lot of taper to them, but I explained I can't afford to rebore it right now, but would sure like to. That can come down the road. This is going to be a daily driver, so the engine will probably be coming back out again someday. He looked at the main jounals and was impressed with their condition. I liked that. However, the shells show signs of age (cracking, etc), so the bearings will be replaced.

I asked him about some scary looking cracks down the left side of the block, but he agrees that they don't look like actual cracks. He says they look more like a crappy casting job. We will see when it comes back.

He also clued me in as to why the old greasy oil from the engine is so incredibly messy; tracks everywhere and hard to remove. A lot of the oil back then (this car hasn't been driven since the early 60's and probably had even older oil in it) was parrafin base. So I have been experiencing a dirty, waxy oil. I will be glad when that's all gone.

I will put up pictures when I get it back. :cool:

[Erndog]

The block is in its third week in the hot tank. Should be done this week. Said the shop,"that thing was really nasty!" I actually cleaned it a lot before I took it in.

[Guest mystarcollectorcar.com]

That is a really interesting find-looks like you got it in time too.

[Erndog]

Well, we finally got the engine parts back from the machine shop. We had the block, head, crankshaft, camshaft, and oil pan hot-tanked.

The openings for the cam bearings were so tight that he had to line bore the bearings after he installed them to get the camshaft in. The "cracks" in the block were verified to be a bad casting after all. The crankshaft mic'd out beautifully and the rod journals are all within a 1/10,000th of each other and still in the factory specs! We ended up buying new mains and rod bearings. That is really the ONLY way to do it right, although the mains were in good enough shape that the shop said to keep them for spares. Good idea, since I got the last set of std's from Egge and they said they probably will never make any more.

Somewhere, I have misplaced the three camshaft gear bolts. Along with that, I can't locate the spring or thrust plunger that go in the end of the shaft. I sure hope they are together somewhere!!

We decided the valves looked good, so we just lapped them real good. We then installed them, the springs, lifters, camshaft, and crankshaft. We had to trim the vertical cork inserts on the rear main a little to get the cap installed. Sure hope it doesn't leak, but it was impossible to install otherwise. We left a little extra in length so maybe the oil pan will squish it into a better sealing situation.

Now we will rebuild the fuel pump and carburetor. We will wait on the pistons, as the weather is bad and they need cleaning. I do most of that outside.

Here are a few pictures to show how it is going.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Erndog (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

WOW, what a great looking cleaning. One note is you might consider using the new gray Loctite #5699 high performance sealer when you are assembling the engine. It is the current material that GM has been recommending to keep it from leaking. That is what I use and I have had great luck with no leaks.

[Guest 1959olds]

Ernie, how weird is it that my last name is Howard, and I have a 1940 Olds Series 60? Mine was purchased off the showroom floor in Anderson, Indiana by my grandfather in November of 1940. The bill of sale shows he paid $ 835 for it, and apparently he didn't have all the money at the time because he had to pay $1.75 / month, but it doesn't say for how long. The car set in a gravel floored garage since his death in 1963, and I finally was able to rescue it 5 years ago. It was sunk up to the floorboards, but I was able to get it out. This was the first car I restored all by myself. The car only has 16,000 original miles.

Seeing how you have torn the car down, you need to check the steering out. I put the whole car back together, painted it, and on my first ride down the road I was all over the place! I checked the steering box, and it had been bone dry for who knows how long. I then had to jack the car up and pull it from underneath which was a hell of a job. While you have it in font of you right now is the perfect time to have it checked out.

If you are in need of anything that you can't find, drop me a line and I may have it or be able to direct you.

showard@mmmw.com

[Erndog]

That's an awesome story! Thanks for the tip and the offer. I will take a look at it. It is definately out in the open at the moment and easy to get to. One thing I need right now is the plunger w/spring that goes in the end of the camshaft. I haven't been able to locate the set that came out of my son's. It was there, but I guess my brain wasn't.

I would sure like to see some pictures sometime of your project if you took any.

ernie

[Erndog]

I still haven’t found the cam plunger and spring, but I still have half of my garage to go over with a fine tooth comb.

We were putting in the pistons yesterday with new rings and bearings and #5 somehow broke the second land from the top and part of the XS500 compression ring (neat set of “period” rings with special names for their rings). It was my son’s first time installing pistons and I think he may have been a little heavy handed in conjunction with my letting the compressor slip a ring out.

I ordered a new piston from Kanter and I have most of the old rings, so I will substitute one of the old fire rings for the broken one. Since it uses two compression rings and two oil rings I think we will be ok.

Now for my technical question…

While we were installing those pistons, my son noticed that the crank seemed to be sitting a bit to the aft. This morning I applied some pressure and discovered that the endplay on the crank is about 1/8”. The specs call for .004”. The thrust washers are in the right places at #1 bearing; one in and one out and lined up with their pins. The only thing I can think of is that we have yet to install the small timing gear and pulley and cinch them down. I think that will pull the crank in, as the gear rides on the outer thrust washer that sits against the brass thrust washer. Am I right or am I looking at a major problem?

Edited January 4, 2010 by Erndog (see edit history)