Reconstruction of a '34 Chevy Master Coupe

[keiser31]

That is a 1964 Plymouth (I know....picky) and I absolutely LOVE it! Especially with those wheels on it.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The Pontiac is a Parisienne model, a product for the Canadian market!

[Landman]

Now that we are crowding 200 miles, I decided to get down and under and look for loose stuff and to try and take up what appears to be 3-6 inches of play in the steering . Turns out there was movement at the connection of the steering arm with the king pin housing. The nut was bottoming out on the threads and not pulling the arm all the way in. Installed a washer as a shim. That was likely why my alignment seemed to change from time to time. Reset it with my high tech tool. Found out the shock absorber covers were leaking. Will have to address that. At least the units aren't leaking around the shaft. I had bought a peep mirror which I couldn't set to see behind the car. Took it off, filed the base to decrease the angle and remounted it. It could use some more.

[Landman]

I'm having a hard time getting the pedal pads to stay on. This time gave them a shot of construction adhesive. Opened up the rear end plug to ensure it wasn't overfilled with oil from up front. That can happen when the driveshaft seal in the torque tube is bad. It wasn't overfull but the oil looks foamy. Is that bad? Also started masking the windows to inject windshield sealer in and around the rubber. Messy job.

[ply33]

. . . It wasn't overfull but the oil looks foamy. Is that bad? . . .

Any chance some moisture got in there? That is what I associate with that type of foamy oil. Maybe condensation during the time the car was being assembled.

I think I'd drain and refill the rear end and watch to see if it happens again.

[Guest RonB]

I just spent a couple of days reading the thread.I love all prewar Chevies ,and though I now work in a resto shop and specialize in Mercedes Benz,I still want a coupe .I had a 38 coupe.38 sedan, 50 sedan.56 sedan and others over the years , my favorite was the 32 Confederate coupe bought for my Mum when it had only 7000 miles on it... It was sold to a well known dealer in New Zealand when it still had under 10,000 miles after he had spun a line to my Dad that he wanted it for himself and was going to keep forever..blah blah ,he had already presold it to a buyer here in Australia who was going to use it as a parts car for a rare bodied '32. thankfully the Australian car was actually a 1931 so the coupe was sold off and I only have a rough idea where it is today. I commend you on saving the remnants of your Dads car ,when others would have looked for a better example .

It looks as though Canada still has a few of the old English cars such as the MkII Consul and MkI Zephyr and the Vauxhall in your pics... Amazing they had survived in your climate ,In New Zealand most were getting pretty rusty by the 70's.

And yes,there is a problem with the diff oil. Open the diff up and wash it all out. That looks like water in the oil because gear oil has a lot of anti foaming additives .Even when really hot ,it stays clear. i leanrned one thing with torque tube chevies,do not park on hill,you either drained the gearbox oil into the tube or if parked the other way,the gearbox would fill and oil wouild end up in the clutch.

Edited July 13, 2013 by RonB (see edit history)

[Guest stephen48]

I just spent a couple of days reading the thread.I love all prewar Chevies ,and though I now work in a resto shop and specialize in Mercedes Benz,I still want a coupe .I had a 38 coupe.38 sedan, 50 sedan.56 sedan and others over the years , my favorite was the 32 Confederate coupe bought for my Mum when it had only 7000 miles on it... It was sold to a well known dealer in New Zealand when it still had under 10,000 miles after he had spun a line to my Dad that he wanted it for himself and was going to keep forever..blah blah ,he had already presold it to a buyer here in Australia who was going to use it as a parts car for a rare bodied '32. thankfully the Australian car was actually a 1931 so the coupe was sold off and I only have a rough idea where it is today. I commend you on saving the remnants of your Dads car ,when others would have looked for a better example .

It looks as though Canada still has a few of the old English cars such as the MkII Consul and MkI Zephyr and the Vauxhall in your pics... Amazing they had survived in your climate ,In New Zealand most were getting pretty rusty by the 70's.

And yes,there is a problem with the diff oil. Open the diff up and wash it all out. That looks like water in the oil because gear oil has a lot of anti foaming additives .Even when really hot ,it stays clear. i leanrned one thing with torque tube chevies,do not park on hill,you either drained the gearbox oil into the tube or if parked the other way,the gearbox would fill and oil wouild end up in the clutch.

Ron , the 32 Chev coupe you mentioned was featured in an early issue of "Restored cars" magazine.Issue number 22.

[Landman]

[quote name=RonB;1192422

And yes' date='there is a problem with the diff oil. Open the diff up and wash it all out. That looks like water in the oil because gear oil has a lot of anti foaming additives .Even when really hot ,it stays clear. i leanrned one thing with torque tube chevies,do not park on hill,you either drained the gearbox oil into the tube or if parked the other way,the gearbox would fill and oil wouild end up in the clutch.

The new oil has been purchased . The change is the next thing I do. By the way, I don't know if it is mentioned in the thread, but the glove box door came from New Zealand. Edited July 14, 2013 by Landman (see edit history)

[Guest RonB]

Ron , the 32 Chev coupe you mentioned was featured in an early issue of "Restored cars" magazine.Issue number 22.

Hi,yes i have that issue. I was able to the then owner in the early 1980's (Nick) .He has since died. The car then passed to a Holden dealer in Sydney who refused to let us come and see the car. he said it weas under armed guard to prevent theft...

so ,the trail went cold .I am sure it's in Sydney and can only hope she is good hands.

I still have the original New Zealand tin Number plates for it. The Moonlight speedster was restored by a really nice guy here in Brisbane ,who told me of the plan by Nick to remove the body from the Coupe ,which never happened because of the big difference in a Holden delivered Chassis and the New Zealand Chassis.

[Guest RonB]

The new oil has been purchased . The change is the next thing I do. By the way, I don't know if it is mentioned in the thread, but the glove box door came from New Zealand.

All new Zealand Chevies were assembled in Wellington until 1966 from CKD kits using fisher bodies. They did have all the records when Dad enquired about how many 1932's were sold in NZ ...Six.

The Australian cars were all Holden bodied because of taxation and import tarif laws to protect jobs here,so the OZ versions were very different to the USA Fisher bodies > i see you had a problem with your glove box door, So were Canadian bodies different again with the sheet metal being stamped in Canada?.

I saw a very original 1934 master Sedean recently close to my place,still with it's Knee action .

[Landman]

All new Zealand Chevies were assembled in Wellington until 1966 from CKD kits using fisher bodies. They did have all the records when Dad enquired about how many 1932's were sold in NZ ...Six.

The Australian cars were all Holden bodied because of taxation and import tarif laws to protect jobs here,so the OZ versions were very different to the USA Fisher bodies > i see you had a problem with your glove box door, So were Canadian bodies different again with the sheet metal being stamped in Canada?.

I saw a very original 1934 master Sedean recently close to my place,still with it's Knee action .

My glove box door had been removed by a shotgun blast. My parts car had one but it had a broken hinge. Eventually I found one on eBay which happened to be in NZ.

[r1lark]

Pat, everytime I see pictures of your car prior to the start of restoration, I am simply amazed at the job you have done! Beautiful work, obviously a labor of love.

Now that you are getting close to the end of this project...........what's next?

Edited July 14, 2013 by r1lark
spellin' (see edit history)

[Landman]

Pat, everytime I see pictures of your car prior to the start of restoration, I am simply amazed at the job you have done! Beautiful work, obviously a labor of love.

Now that you are getting close to the end of this project...........what's next?

Hopefully an enclosed trailer and one weekend of car shows a month.

[Landman]

I

And yes,there is a problem with the diff oil. Open the diff up and wash it all out. That looks like water in the oil because gear oil has a lot of anti foaming additives .Even when really hot ,it stays clear. i leanrned one thing with torque tube chevies,do not park on hill,you either drained the gearbox oil into the tube or if parked the other way,the gearbox would fill and oil wouild end up in the clutch.

Did that. The oil was no longer foamy but it wasn't clear.

[ply33]

Trick on an 1930s Plymouth rear end is to simply remove the bottom bolt holding the pumpkin in place to drain the rear axle. Looks like you could do the same on your Chevrolet with the bottom cover bolt. Might save on having to make a new gasket.

OTOH you wouldn't be able to do an inspection of the inside that way.

[Landman]

OTOH you wouldn't be able to do an inspection of the inside that way.

You are correct. You can drain it by just removing the three bottom bolts. I wanted to get the remainder on the bottom and wipe the housing to remove any moisture that might have caused the foaming.

[JustDave]

hello landman,saw a 34 chevy convert on ebay looks like cheap money,a littlt rough but wont scare you,i figure with all the parts left over from the coupe should only be about a to or 3 week project for you,i think the coupe needs some company,take care dave

[Landman]

Attempted to seal the passenger side suspension unit. Used blue silicone instead of a gasket. Didn't work. Someone told me to use the "right stuff". So I bought some. Also bought a suction gun to refill the units. It takes forever with a funnel. Took my snowblower auger apart to repair it. Has to be done. Had noticed that the generator wasn't keeping up when the headlights were on. Adjusted the third brush in the generator so I got a higher rate of charge. Bought a fire extinguisher. I will mount it in the trunk. I also noticed that the speedometer cable appears to be binding. It won't accelerate with the car then jump 10 mph. Is that lubrication or bad routing?

[Guest RonB]

I dont know about the USa but here in OZ we can buy little plastic pumps for filling gearboxes and diffs . They screw into the top of plastic oil bottles and cost $5-$7 each. I use them for everything including filling Autotrans with ATF from bulk containers. They will pump Shell 680 oil too,which is the thickest gear oil for early type trannys (preWW1)

[Guest RonB]

Regarding your speedo. If you do lube the cable ,make sure you dont lube it with 2 feet of the speedo head. You do not want oil getting from the cable into the speedo head. It can make the movement sluggish. What you need to do is get the bearing in the speedo head cleaned and lubed .

[Landman]

Regarding your speedo. If you do lube the cable ,make sure you dont lube it with 2 feet of the speedo head. You do not want oil getting from the cable into the speedo head. It can make the movement sluggish. What you need to do is get the bearing in the speedo head cleaned and lubed .

Ron, the rebuilder opened the head, removed all the old hardened grease and relubed it.

[Landman]

Attended the Earlton Steam Show this weekend. It is more farm oriented but still had some neat cars. The Group photo shows cars that belong to the one family. They're into farm drainage and even have some antique trenchers. The 1922 Velie runs just like a top.

[Landman]

And here's a few more...

[Landman]

Not trusting my roof and windows in the rain I took the car back to the upholsterer who installed the interior and had him make a roof cover. It can be installed easily if caught on the showfield. It can also be used when the car sleeps outside or during transit on an open trailer.

[SeventhSon]

Attended the Earlton Steam Show this weekend. It is more farm oriented but still had some neat cars. The Group photo shows cars that belong to the one family. They're into farm drainage and even have some antique trenchers. The 1922 Velie runs just like a top.

That P1800 looks just like the one I had, maybe a little earlier model. What brand of motorcycle is that? I was going to say Indian Chief but I don't see the Indian head on the fender. Must be an H-D?

[Landman]

It is a 1946 Harley Davidson.

[Luv2Wrench]

Not trusting my roof and windows in the rain I took the car back to the upholsterer who installed the interior and had him make a roof cover. It can be installed easily if caught on the showfield. It can also be used when the car sleeps outside or during transit on an open trailer.

She sure looks proud there in the driveway with her sleeping cap on. All Divas need something like this to keep the bright lights out of their eyes. Life in the spotlight isn't easy ya know.

[Landman]

First official showing yesterday in a display only event part of the local annual Lumberjack Festival. It and its garage mate were parked alongside a pair of Camaros. I thought the T & Lincoln photo illustrates the huge progress made in 33 years back then. 33 years ago was 1980, not that dramatic a difference with today. The '29 International was a local truck belonging to a grocer. They put the beer tent in front of the Town Hall so they didn't have too far to cart the drunks to jail which is next door. The woman by the driver's door in the second picture is the little girl in blue in the first post of this thread.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Landman (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

Not trusting my roof and windows in the rain I took the car back to the upholsterer who installed the interior and had him make a roof cover. It can be installed easily if caught on the showfield. It can also be used when the car sleeps outside or during transit on an open trailer.

NOOO!!! Do not keep the cover on during transport on an open trailer. I'm not even sure it would be a good idea to leave it on if you had an enclosed trailer. The vibration and flapping from the wind will rub the paint off right down to the metal. That goes for full covers, also.

[Landman]

The inside is fleece and it is very snug. I would only put it on in a down pour. Thanks for the advice. I was aware of that with tarps and such. Ideally it is an enclosed trailer and the cover when the car is caught while parked outside.

[Landman]

Rerouted the speedometer cable according to photo supplied by a VCCA member to give it a larger radius in the arc to the transmission. I had to raise the floorboard a bit to pass the cable over the frame rather than inside it.Still looks like it is binding. Lube is next, and yes I'll stay away from the top part. The arrow in one of the pictures shows where it was. The green shows where it is now.

[Landman]

If you look closely at the second picture in Post # 944 you'll see the horns have a "nose up" attitude. So I removed the brackets and reduced the angle and tried them back on. Looks like it did the trick. Of course that means everything has to be repainted. So tomorrow, I guess.

[Landman]

Put them back on. They look a lot better pointing ahead instead of up. Also traced my charging problem to the cutout. The rear mounting bolt had fallen off the generator causing some vibration which caused the cover of the cutout to move and short out. This led to burned points. It still charges but doesn't "cut out". So I'll get a solid state modified cut out.

[oldcar]

Ideally it is an enclosed trailer and the cover when the car is caught while parked outside.

I will have to remember that when we take the 1934 Lagonda Rapier to Europe for three months next year. The cover should pack up into Helens suitcase OK but I am not sure about towing an enclosed trailer with it. It is only 1500cc and going over Alpine passes a trailer may slow it down a bit. What should we be carrying in the trailer? We usually travel with a minimum of luggage as the car is only a two seater.

Bj

[Landman]

I will have to remember that when we take the 1934 Lagonda Rapier to Europe for three months next year. The cover should pack up into Helens suitcase OK but I am not sure about towing an enclosed trailer with it. It is only 1500cc and going over Alpine passes a trailer may slow it down a bit. What should we be carrying in the trailer? We usually travel with a minimum of luggage as the car is only a two seater.

Bj

I meant, ideally an enclosed trailer to haul the car in and use the cover when the car is outside. I know the idea hauling the car in the trailer will raise your hackles but it is the reality of where I live.

[Guest GaWajn]

Your car is turning out to be a real looker! I like it!

[benjamin j]

I want to say thank you for sharing so much of your time and experience. Your thread has helped me feel better about what I have ahead of me with my 1934 Oldsmobile. Your workmanship is fantastic. I have restored cars from the fifties and sixties but never thirties. I never thought I would take on another project car.

[Landman]

You are welcome Benjamin. Are you going to post your work here? If I was to do another one I'd look at the '34 Olds for sale in Massachssetts.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Just buff the body and it's ready to show! There is still air in the tires...

[benjamin j]

You are welcome Benjamin. Are you going to post your work here? If I was to do another one I'd look at the '34 Olds for sale in Massachssetts.

I will probably post some here. I have been looking at the one in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Massachusetts</st1:place></st1:State> too.