PhilAndrews Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 New aerial photography. You can see the route the tornado took. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 1, 2021 Share Posted September 1, 2021 Sorry to see this, but it seems the Pontiac may have survived mainly intact...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john hess Posted September 1, 2021 Share Posted September 1, 2021 I think that will buff out...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted September 1, 2021 Author Share Posted September 1, 2021 2 hours ago, EmTee said: Sorry to see this, but it seems the Pontiac may have survived mainly intact...? I'm hoping the roof was lifted up and away from it. There's currently very little debris. Scratches and dents hopefully. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 Lowered suspension. Garage roof is sitting on the hood. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dosmo Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 (edited) Dang - I'm so sorry - I enjoy checking into this thread every day or two to see what is happening with this car. I'm so fond of this era of Pontiac. Maybe it won't be as bad as it seems that it could be. Edited September 5, 2021 by Dosmo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Ugh, I hope you and your family are safe and well (at least as well as circumstances will allow). She may be bumped and bruised, but those old Pontiacs are tough -- I think she'll be fine and can certainly wait until you are able to move back home and restore some semblance of normality to your life... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 12 hours ago, EmTee said: but those old Pontiacs are tough Sorry to hear the news and hope you and the family are ok. I was going to say the same, you probably couldn't get a tougher vehicle than that to survive. Best of luck getting things back again Phil! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 Managed to chainsaw the car out of the remains of the garage. Found the sun visor under the car at the back. Big old dent in the hood, not too bad. This one not so nice. Should mostly pop out. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Wow! That doesn't look too bad. Good luck with the repair. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Whew - I guess it certainly could have been a lot worse. I'll bet you can get her back in shape with a little patience... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51UKChieftan Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 Hi Phil Glad to hear you and your family are safe. Real shame about the damage to the car but I don’t believe the car could be in better hands to sort it. Regards Jor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted September 19, 2021 Author Share Posted September 19, 2021 So far I've done nothing to the car other than pop the trunk to pull tools out. Been working, though yesterday they got the power back on and I didn't the afternoon putting more tarps on the roof of the house to try stop a couple leaks, and picked up some of the trash in the yard and started to sort the broken parts of the garage. Nearly got sunstroke doing that, too. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted September 24, 2021 Author Share Posted September 24, 2021 Small victories. The dent in the hood mostly popped out. The roof needs more work, and I'm not sure I have the skill to remedy it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 Looking better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DscJ5PFkZxQ 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 (edited) After a long hiatus living in rented accommodation miles away, one end of the house is now completely (mostly) rebuilt and operational. So, I've had a little time to do a few things. Knocked the worst of that dent out. Still needs a little work but it's better. Thursday though. Back into tradition now the place is open again, chocolate malt at the drive-in. Phil Edited April 22, 2022 by PhilAndrews (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Hi Phil, Good to hear from you and hear your life is getting back to normal. Keep posting! Kurt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 Last week was tune-up time. The car had been sitting up for six months, in which time I had run it for a few minutes over three separate occasions. The car really doesn't like that at all. Pressed back into service, the condenser gave out, the coil shorted and one set of points was intermittent. Then the screws fell out of the bottom of the carburetor making it loose and terrible mixture; and the fuel pump started leaking. Replaced the screws (inadequate torque when I reassembled it, I guess but they were done to Carter specs) and tightened up the fuel pump where the new cork gasket had settled and shrunk slightly. Cleaned and gapped the points, new condenser and coil and we're back on the road again. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 Car was pinging slightly under heavy throttle at low RPM because the weather's been warmer this week. I checked the vacuum advance was working, broke out the strobe light and set the timing back a couple degrees. Cleaned out the screen wash jar because the blue fluid I bought had gone gooey and moldy yuk inside. Even the unopened bottle had gone bad. Weird. Fresh, slightly more expensive fluid installed, looking like orange soda. Fixed the low note horn (contacts had corroded) and put in a new magic tree. Need to tweak the headlight aim slightly. Lubricated the throttle linkage and now it's running really nicely. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 My air cleaner is different from yours.Mine is a round cleaner that sits directly over the carburetor,typical of what you see on most cars.I'll be looking closely at your under hood photos when I go back together because I neglected to take enough photos of EVERYTHING when I tore the car apart.A lesson learned and I guarantee it won't happen on my next one! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Andy J said: My air cleaner is different from yours.Mine is a round cleaner that sits directly over the carburetor,typical of what you see on most cars.I'll be looking closely at your under hood photos when I go back together because I neglected to take enough photos of EVERYTHING when I tore the car apart.A lesson learned and I guarantee it won't happen on my next one! Mine had the type you have originally, but one of the previous owners removed it and it never made it to me with the car. I bought that one because it was used on Packards (and I believe was an option on the Chieftain). It really quietens the intake noise down a lot. If you need any information or photos let me know. There's a couple pipes and wires on mine routed differently from stock, but overall it's pretty much as it should be. I am also jealous of your car's body. Really I need to pull mine off and get it on a rotisserie. The tin worms have been busy. Phil Edited April 27, 2022 by PhilAndrews (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 1 hour ago, Andy J said: I neglected to take enough photos of EVERYTHING when I tore the car apart. I never came close to a total restore but without hundreds of pics and the time in between, well let's just say the memory ain't what it used to be! I'm hardly a wealth of knowledge but if you need more pics just give a shout out. Good to hear from ya Phil! I love those washer reservoirs and picked one up on ebay a while back. My fluid is green to match the engine but yours is like orange sodey pop from the 50's! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 28, 2022 Author Share Posted April 28, 2022 On 4/27/2022 at 9:56 AM, Summershandy said: I never came close to a total restore but without hundreds of pics and the time in between, well let's just say the memory ain't what it used to be! I'm hardly a wealth of knowledge but if you need more pics just give a shout out. Good to hear from ya Phil! I love those washer reservoirs and picked one up on ebay a while back. My fluid is green to match the engine but yours is like orange sodey pop from the 50's! I prefer orange cream soda, personally! (Seeing the jar of orange gave me a hankering for it). Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 Needing to get a pair of new front shocks, the current ones are shot. Are there any cross references for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 Never mind, found a pair, got them on order. AC Delco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 I need a new wheel rim. Does anybody have one spare they want to sell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 Bye bye old, broken Monroe shocks. Hello, shiny new Delcos! What a difference that makes to the handling and ride. Should have changed them years ago. Best $30 I've spent in a while. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 6, 2022 Author Share Posted May 6, 2022 Went fuel up last night because I was on empty. My regular gas station closer to the house is closed, smashed by the storm and by the looks of it not to open again. Pumped 87 octane E10, to see how the car would run on it. Answer? Not well. It needs the idle mix and ignition adjusting, it's lumpy now. Gotta love it. Bonus, the radio fixed itself! (I think one of the output tubes was making a slightly poor contact). Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cevensky Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 Phil, what do you normally put in your tank? I always pump the cheapest, but if you notice a difference I’m willing to pay a premium to notice it too! glad to see you back on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 6, 2022 Author Share Posted May 6, 2022 18 minutes ago, cevensky said: Phil, what do you normally put in your tank? I always pump the cheapest, but if you notice a difference I’m willing to pay a premium to notice it too! glad to see you back on the road. This area is coastal so there's a number of places that sell 87 octane ethanol free, that one there included. Reason is, people don't like the ethanol for boats; it attracts water in the tank. I find I can dial in a bit more ignition advance with ethanol fuel, but in terms of overall driveability it's not as good, particularly when the engine gets hot. It's not a good carburetor fuel, more suited to fuel injection systems. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 Been driving about everywhere in the car lately, window down, warm breeze, radio on, gathering dead bugs on the windshield. Trailer queen it isn't. Phil 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 Flip side today. Horrible weather. I fitted new wiper blades, which work well. The old ones had gone hard and were chattering. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 17, 2022 Author Share Posted May 17, 2022 Adjusted the hood shut line and started cleaning the chrome. Still a ways to go, but it'll cheer up again. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 Everything looks like it lined up really nice.I'm waiting to get my chrome back from the platers,should be any day now.I finished painting my'51 Chieftain last Friday and I need that chrome to start putting it back together.The chrome will be my biggest expense of the restoration. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 A slow improvement. Going to get the paint buffed up too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 A hot and sweaty afternoon gave rise to some troubleshooting. Engine cold, sat 2 days without running. Compression test (dry, psi). 115 124 95 113 122 116 105 120 Compression test (wet, psi) 120 (+4.3%) 128 (+3.2%) 128 (+34.7%) 115 (+1.7%) 125 (+2.4%) 115 (-0.8%) 123 (+17.1%) 120 (+0.0%) So, cyl 3 is a touch low... and comes up real nice when oiled down, cyl 7 is a bit marginal and again comes up nicely when oiled. Result? Yea, the rings are tired. Dry, none of the cylinders leaked down over 5 minutes. All took about 5 compression strokes to come up to peak pressure. Do I want to do anything about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 NOS set std piston rings $100 Kurt 641-648-9086 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted May 25, 2022 Author Share Posted May 25, 2022 26 minutes ago, Kornkurt said: NOS set std piston rings $100 Kurt 641-648-9086 If I recall these are +40 thou' aluminum pistons. I would need to check the crowns for the stamps. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I don't have any .040's. Sorry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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