1916 D-45 ENGINE and DRIVELINE REBUILD

[Terry Wiegand]

After following Gary Wheeler's account with his '37, it got me to thinking that maybe I should photo document what I am doing with my 1916 D-45.  The one thing that I will have to give credit to Gary about is his photography skills.  I'll bet he has spent almost as much time taking the photos as he has been working on the car.  Wonderful job Gary.  You are my inspiration to try my hand at this.  Photos can go a long way in telling the story of what a person is trying to do.  I will not be able to go as fast as Gary has, so with that said I will start by adding some photos to show where I'm at right now.  Everybody knows that a person should start with doing the chassis work first.  Well, with this project things didn't work just like that.

I have the car completely re-upholstered, new top, new side curtains, new wheels made, and then the decision was made to pull the engine and have it professionally rebuilt.  The car has not been started or driven since July 4, 1976.  I was the very last person to drive the car after the Bicentennial Parade in Hutchinson.  The water jacket is/was full of crud and replacing the freeze plugs did not allow for getting it cleaned out properly.  That was what made the decision for me to rebuild the engine.  With that said, here are a couple of photos of where things are at right now.  I will revisit this thread and post photos as this project moves along.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Gary W]

LOVE IT!!    KEEP IT COMING!

 

Good Luck with the restoration Terry

[ROD W]

Terry,  

I,ll be following the progress on your 1916.  Those cage valves  and restored carburetor looked amazing.

Rod

[Terry Wiegand]

Here are a couple of photos of the restored, brass-bodied Marvel carburetor for the car.  The guys at Classic Carburetors in Phoenix have restored all of the Marvel carburetors for my Buicks.  The before and after is quite drastic.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[KongaMan]

Don't put a car up on blocks unless you don't care about what it lands on if they crumble.

[dibarlaw]

Yes Terry, where are those timbers your were telling me about?

[Terry Wiegand]

Once the axle has been dropped and rolled out from under the car the timbers will be placed under the frame rails as a precautionary measure.  Just couldn't place them and remove the axle.  Safety is the most important thing to keep in mind while doing something like this.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Guest]

Cinder or Cement block are absolutely the most dangerous stand you can use unless you were to use a 2x4 on end.  I would never even reach under a vehicle on cinder or cement blocks.

[Terry Wiegand]

I hear and understand your concerns about the present blocking using the concrete blocks to support the rear of the car.  I had to do something in a way to free the rear axle to drop down and be rolled out from under the car.  Once this is done the timbers will be cross stacked under the frame.  No one is more concerned about my well being than me.  This is an example of the photos being worth a thousand words.  Concerning the rear axle assembly once it is out from under the car - I am going to build a carrier on casters to move it about like Gary W. did with the body on his '37.  I am going to take the axle and the transmission out to my John Deere dealership and they are going to high pressure and high heat clean it for me.   There is 102 years of crud to remove.  The timbers I am going to use are like what is under the front axle.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas