Reconstruction of a '34 Chevy Master Coupe

[36 D2 Coupe]

It's looking great Pat. I love the profile of that car. The way the roof slopes down to the front. It looks like it's flying just standing still.

Wrench - I have always thought that of the early '30s coupes. I have lusted after a '33 Dodge or Plymouth coupe ever since I saw a guy rod one in the '60s when I was still in high school. Basically he dropped a '61 Dodge 361 V8 into it, painted it an electric blue-grey metallic and didn't cut it up. Likely upgraded the suspension and steering. Going down the street it looked to be going three times the speed it actually was. A real neat optical illusion:)

[Landman]

Finished installing the trim on the sidemount face plates and assembled the covers over the spare tires. Installed on the car.

[junkyardjeff]

Can not believe its the same car and looking good.

[Woodfiddler]

Just beautiful Pat. When nice weather hits, you'll be driving some major test miles - tip-of-the-hat my friend, enjoy!

Chuck

[Landman]

Can not believe its the same car and looking good.

Jeff, go to posting #80 on page 4. You'll see that a lot of it comes from a parts car that wasn't as rough.

p.s. Actually, the driver's side rear fender has been replaced by the car's actual fender, which was the only one salvageable, with some surgery mind you.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Landman
Added. (see edit history)

[Landman]

It's looking great Pat. I love the profile of that car. The way the roof slopes down to the front. It looks like it's flying just standing still.

Actually, the fact thar the rear wheels are on a dolly may accentuate that visual effect. It still does slope forward though.

[Landman]

Yesterday, had some repairs to do on the snowblower. I have used it everyday for the past three weeks. Last year the snow was gone at this time. Now we have 6 feet everywhere. So I thought I'd help it along and cleared the deck so we'd have a place to sit in case it does warm up. LOL.

Today, did some electrical debugging. Finally got the left rear tailight to work by adding a ground wire to the socket. Found that the extra wire marked "X" which wasn't mentioned in the harness installation instructions is the power source for the flashers. And flash they do. Maybe I'll change my 81's in the parking light socket for some 63's. We'll see.

I think the dimmer switch is faulty as the right headlight operated only occasionally. And the brake lights, well they don't work at all. Have to get under the car with the test light and see if it's the brake light switch.

[Roger Zimmermann]

I think the dimmer switch is faulty as the right headlight operated only occasionally. And the brake lights, well they don't work at all. Have to get under the car with the test light and see if it's the brake light switch.

Is there a separate outlet at the dimmer switch for the RH headlight? Usually it's not the case. You may have to check the ground at that headlamp; nice paint jobs can prevent to have a good ground.

[Landman]

That's right. Each side of the dimmer switch should energize elther the high or low beam on BOTH headlights at the same time. Not likely my problem then. Thanks Roger, it is in a difficult to reach location. You likely spared me several swears.

[Landman]

Turns out the problem with the right hand headlight was nothing but a burnt bulb. Plenty of light now. Rear ones work too. Hooked up the dome light. As for the brake lights, I discovered they only work when the switch is on. I feel soi dumb sometimes. Hooked up the wires for the horns according to the diagram provided. Mounted the relay to the firewall. All I get is a click in the relay. Test light shows juice everywhere. ?????

Installed the "new" steering wheel.

[F&J]

Test light shows juice everywhere. ?????

I don't have a wire diagram for that car, but.. I would think the 3 terminal relay should have one terminal that gets grounded as you use the horn button. Then using the button, grounds the relay which makes the relay clicks on. Then it will connect the power feed wire to the wire that feeds the horn itself.

"If" that is how Chevy did it, then there should be power showing at two terminals without pressing the horn button. One would be the hot feed, the other would be the wire that goes to the button.

also, when the relay does click, there should be one wire that gets power, that did not have power before the click.

[Landman]

Thanks F&J,

This isn't the Chevy setup. It ia a set of trumpet horns that I purchased. I wired it according to the diagram supplied. I'll scan and post them.

[Landman]

I don't have a wire diagram for that car, but.. I would think the 3 terminal relay should have one terminal that gets grounded as you use the horn button. Then using the button, grounds the relay which makes the relay clicks on. Then it will connect the power feed wire to the wire that feeds the horn itself.

"If" that is how Chevy did it, then there should be power showing at two terminals without pressing the horn button. One would be the hot feed, the other would be the wire that goes to the button.

also, when the relay does click, there should be one wire that gets power, that did not have power before the click.

That's what the problem was. The horn button wire was on the power side. I inverted them and found that the ground wire from the harness didn't do anything, so I put a jumper from the ground terminal to the ground wire on the horn and lo and behold, the horn worked. So I rewired it like that.

[Landman]

Well it's appraisal time again. So I uncovered the Mustang and moved all the junk from around it so he could do his job. He asked me to fire it up. That was cruel, listening to that rumble and not being able to go for a ride.

I had added a shutoff switch on the battery. It is too high for the floorboard so I made it a nice indent. Since I'll likely want in there more often, I installed a nice finger pull and left the screws along the edge out. The panel fits in there snugly with the felt border.

[Tinus]

Hi Pat, i bought a front suspension and enjin block for my 34 chevy. I will take some pics soon.

your car looks great and you made exellent progress.

hope you enjoyed a peacefull easter

Tinus

[Landman]

Hi Pat, i bought a front suspension and enjin block for my 34 chevy. I will take some pics soon.

your car looks great and you made exellent progress.

hope you enjoyed a peacefull easter

Tinus

Thanks Tinus. We did have a nice Easter. Lots of food and family.

Restarted the car after about 7 months, this time with its own gas tank as supply. Did the initial cranking with the 12V to bring the gas forward and get things all primed up. It runs smoothly, however it still bogs down upon application of the throttle. You have to feed it gradually and once it gets beyond a certain spot it revs freely.

What is nice is about 10 psi of oil pressure at idle, a slight charge also at idle and an indication of gas in the tank. The temp gauge started going up as well. Didn't run it long enough to see how high it goes.

Started unwrapping the upholstery kit. Made another attempt at painting the black lines on the hubcaps. I wassuccessful this time.

Other good news, both sets of plates cleared with the MOT (Ministry of Transportation) for YOM use. One 1967 for the Mustang and 1934 for the Chevy.:cool:

[Roger Zimmermann]

Has your carb an accelerator pump? If yes, when the air filter is removed, you should see a jet of fuel when moving the throttle (engine not running, of course!) If you see nothing, remove the accelerator pump's piston and enlarge the leather with a small screwdriver. Makes wonders...

[ply33]

Has your carb an accelerator pump? If yes, when the air filter is removed, you should see a jet of fuel when moving the throttle (engine not running, of course!) If you see nothing, remove the accelerator pump's piston and enlarge the leather with a small screwdriver. Makes wonders...

Or soak the leather in motor oil to swell it up.

[Landman]

I do have a squirt. I think it has to do with timing or too rich a mixture.

[Landman]

Found that 1 layer of foam was not thick enough for the armrest covers. So I cut more from the foam that was in my church pew kneelers. It cuts well on the bandsaw. Went through the entire stash of panels and identified where they go except two little ones which aren't so obvious. Sent a help request to the supplier. Fitted the carpet edges to the bottom of the door. Have to decide whether to nail or glue them.

[Landman]

For some reason the file selector in the Attachment Management thing doesn't "see" my folder anymore. So I shut down and restarted the confuser to see whether it fixed it. It didn't. So I moved the folder into another library and it "sees" it there. Go figure.:confused:

[Landman]

Today, put the covers on the armrests. Nailed the carpet strip along the bottom of the doors. Made the two little blocks required to mount the rear window blind. Mounted the hardware on the sunvisors. Re-registered the Mustang with its new YOM plates.

[Tinus]

hubcaps and graining looks great

[Landman]

Thanks for the kind words Tinus. Received my NORS door lock. Removed the parts not needed for the 1934 application and cleaned, primed and gave it a coat of cadmium paint. Began installing the door upholstery. Assembled my grandson new ATV. He's coming tomorrow, so he'll ride around while I work.

[Landman]

Do those springs go between the regulator board and the panel or between the panel and the escutcheon?

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Between panel and escutcheon.

Car is looking good!

Ben

[jpage]

The springs on my '36 Dodge were between the door and the panel to put pressure on the panel so there is no gap between the plate, panel and handle. They were in with the narrow side facing the door and the wide side against the panel . When compressed the spring might fill the back of the plate and hold it away from the panel.

[West Peterson]

I don't think I've ever taken apart a door handle or window crank where the spring was between the door and the panel. They've all been between the door handle escutcheon, and the upholstery. It is meant to hold the escutcheon tight against the handle, which hides the pin holding the handle to the shaft.

Edited April 4, 2013 by West Peterson (see edit history)

[keiser31]

I don't think I've ever taken apart a door handle or window crank where the spring was between the door and the panel. They've all been between the door handle escutcheon, and the upholstery. It is meant to hold the escutcheon tight against the handle, which hides the pin holding the handle to the shaft.

I agree. It also keeps the pin from falling out.

[dalef62]

I agree with jpage. I have seen them behind the door panel, when they are there they push the panel and the escutcheon towards the handle and keeps the pin in. This keeps the escutcheon and handle close to the panel. I think after someone removes the panel, when they put it back together is when the spring gets put between the panel and escutcheon. My two cents worth.

PS. Looking great!!!

[Ian_Greenlaw]

Hi Pat,

definitely between the panel and escutcheon BUT a few people get this wrong, the widest diameter of the spring sits inside the escutcheon, not the smallest diameter. they look as though the smallest diameter sits up against the door handle but it's not the case. not sure if you already knew that but I've seen a few put back that way and they had to be removed again.

great work on the car.......I'm really enjoying your approach to the restoration...well done

cheers

Ian

[Landman]

Thanks, for the comments and suggestions. Turns out there aren't any in a '34 Chevy, just the little coil spring inside the shaft. Finished one door. There is no way I could have pushed those handles in with those springs behind them. This upholstery work is hard work. I feel like I did 2 cords of firewood.

[keiser31]

Makes you wonder how they put so many together in a day, huh?

[Guest ggdoorguy]

Thanks, for the comments and suggestions. Turns out there aren't any in a '34 Chevy, just the little coil spring inside the shaft. Finished one door. There is no way I could have pushed those handles in with those springs behind them. This upholstery work is hard work. I feel like I did 2 cords of firewood.

Do you know if the 34 chevy master has a vin # or did they use the engine # for a vin

Thanks

Gary

[Guest ggdoorguy]

Do you know if the 34 chevy master has a vin # or did they use the engine # for a vin

Thanks

Gary<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

[Landman]

Hi Gary, it has a "serial number". On American cars it is on a plate mounted on the passenger side sill, near the front of the seat. On Canadian cars, it is on the firewall plate. As far as I know it didn't match the engine number. However I have seen engine numbers being used to register a car whose plates had disappeared. That has been discussed at length on the Chevy club forum. Here is the link. You should find more info there. VCCA Chat - Forums powered by UBB.threads™ . Are you doing a '34 Master as well? If so, what body style is it?

[Guest ggdoorguy]

Its a 3 window coupe with a rumble seat.

Thanks

Gary

[Landman]

Any photos Gary?

[Guest ggdoorguy]

[Landman]

What's that in the foreground, a Ranchero?