34’ Chevy pickup

[chistech]

14 hours ago, Bloo said:

Did your sector have ball bearings in it?

No, tapered roller bearings. The outer race for the end of the worm is pressed into the bottom end and the upper outer race floats with the cone nut to tighten the assembly. The inner races are machined into the ends of the worm.

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, chistech said:

No, tapered roller bearings. The outer race for the end of the worm is pressed into the bottom end and the upper outer race floats with the cone nut to tighten the assembly. The inner races are machined into the ends of the worm.

 

Oh I meant the part that connects to the pittman arm, and the bearings inside the roller That steering box looks a lot like the one in my Pontiac, and I have seen those sectors NOS/NORS on ebay, some with ball bearings, some apparently with no bearings, all listed for the same applications. I am not sure whether GM made any without bearings (cheaper car like a Chevrolet Standard maybe? Earlier model maybe?), or if the ones without bearings are just a cheapened-up aftermarket part.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[chistech]

The sector shaft is supported by a simple bushing. The diameter of the steering box body where it goes through the chassis is not large enough to support ball bearings with the diameter of the shaft. Possibly a small “wedding ring” of needle bearings but not conventional ball bearings

[Bloo]

I wish I has a picture handy!

 

Not that....

 

My sector has ball bearings on the roller that engages the worm. They are not repairable or adjustable or anything, GM put them in there and welded the nut. I am going by what I found in the steering box from my parts chassis, as I have not taken the box in my car apart yet.

 

I have seen that part on ebay with and without bearings in the roller. I assume the one without bearings is harder to steer. I don't really need to know, I was just curious how they were doing it in 34. I think my box is the same design as the one you are working on, It sure looks like it. Yes, the pittman shaft is on a plain bushing.

 

 

[chistech]

Are you saying the end of the sector, opposite of the splined end, is supported with a ball bearing and takes up any end play? That I’ve seen but this box simply has a stud with a lock nut to set the sector with no end play. 

[Bloo]

No, I am saying that the roller that engages the worm has a double row of ball bearings in it. They don't really show in this picture, but judging by the visible gap, I'd say this one has the ball bearings.

 

 

Interestingly, all the Chevy ones I saw before on ebay looked about like this, but now there are some on that are just a gear. In hindsight, I am guessing thats what you have. Maybe the units I saw before were miscategorized.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[chistech]

While this isn’t exactly they chevy box, this depicts its design well. No bearing assembly rotating on the worm. Pictures seem to show those as power steering models.

[chistech]

Worked on engine components today. Cleaned up the starter and carburetor. Completely disassembled the carb, bead blasted it, painted it, and installed a rebuild kit. Blasted the Carter filter housing and now need to get a filter. Blasted the air cleaner and it’s pretty pitted up. It’s going to get skimmed with glazing compound then painted up. It always seems the air cleaner is a focal point when opening the hood and this one needs to look better when it’s done.

     Up next is the generator. What’s funny about us guys who restore cars is one day we can be beating springs apart or dropping engines then the next day, cautiously drilling out and tapping 3-48 threads on a carburetor choke shaft, then gingerly assembling thin wire springs and metering rods like we’re working on a watch! 

[TexRiv_63]

13 hours ago, chistech said:

Worked on engine components today. Cleaned up the starter and carburetor. Completely disassembled the carb, bead blasted it, painted it, and installed a rebuild kit. 

 

 

 

 

 

Were those carburetors painted like that from the factory?

[chistech]

3 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

Were those carburetors painted like that from the factory?

I didn’t research for OEM authenticity but every restored  early Chevy W-1 I’ve seen has been. The cast body can get rusty and so can the steel bowl cover so the paint just keeps it looking nicer anyway. This truck while staying mostly original looking with the higher gears and hydraulic brakes, is more importantly wanted as a great driver with less upkeep. Things like the powder coated chassis and running gear is another of those subtle improvements. I personally can’t wait to drive this truck as I’m believing it going to be just about as perfect as an early Chevy pickup can drive while still being completely of its early antique design. It’s unfortunate that it took until 1950 for Chevy to make the 3.55 gears as the higher ratio probably would have added to a longer life of the car and its engine mainly. Of course, Chevy probably didn’t want them lasting that long though!

[Bloo]

I believe the black paint is correct. Carbking would know for sure.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[TexRiv_63]

Thanks, I just wondered. There is no trace of paint anywhere on my 34 engine except the air cleaner and I plan to leave it that way.

[John S.]

Ted, I love the work on the truck. This forum is a great way to take a break from the stress and reality of the  24/7 news about the virus. It is important that we should all be informed, but we also need time to stop and breathe, and this is the place to go. Thanks, John

[chistech]

Been getting a lot of work done on the truck. Chassis got rolled out an power washed, added front motor mount and other small item. Been doing a ton of blasting, priming, and painting. Rebuilt the starter, generator, and half done on the distributor. On another thread in another forum category,there was a discussion about how many “full” restorations concentrate more on the appearance of the car and less on the mechanics as cars are judged mainly on their looks. While I like a vehicle to look good, I also like it to drive as good or better  so I go through all those mechanical components like the starter, generator, and distributor. No one will ever look inside a distributor below the point plate but all that i do get disassembled, bead blasted, and painted, inside and out. Bushings miked for wear, shafts checked for wear, etc. and this truck is getting that treatment.

     Picked up the rear end parts from powder coating after the driveshaft shop cut the torque tube down by 6.5” and started assembling the rear banjo housing with its components. Drilled and tapped the passenger side top of the tube with a 1/8”pipe tap and installed the breather removed from the torque tube. The torque tube location was a one year item as the soon learned the driveshaft spinning inside the tube threw a ton of oil out onto the underside of the car. Later years and even on today’s cars, the breather is in the housing. Once the axle seals were changed from felt to rubber lips seals right around 35-36 I believe, the need for the breather was realized. Started adding the new emergency brake cables and found I needed the support flange for each side. Checked out one of the three rears and luckily found them along with the special cable end clevises for the E brake. Also looked on the axles finding the brake line banjos for the cylinders and the special brass brake line  T that mounts on the axle with the C clip which the brake hose from the chassis feeds. Installed the bearings and seals in the axle ends. I packed the bearings with grease before installing them and while I was packing them it brought up a memory of a conversation I has one time about greasing rear axle bearings. I had a guy ask me if I realized that those bearings were lubricated by the gear oil in the pumpkin. I told him I did then asked him if he knew how long it can take for the gear oil to get up to those bearings on the ends of the axle? I told him many new axle bearings were ruined in their first five minutes of replacement  because they were installed dry, hoping to get some lubricant on them in time to save them. 
      Made up my two rear end gaskets using my sharpened brass tubing to make all the bolt holes, cut the outside with an exacto and will cut the inside using the all peen hammer method on the inside edge of the housing. Measured up and marked the pinion bearing shims to start setting up the gears in the third member. Will be doing that today.

[John S.]

Ted, what do you do to strip the paint and rust off the chassis? John

[chistech]

4 hours ago, John S. said:

Ted, what do you do to strip the paint and rust off the chassis? John

John, I’ve been doing a fair amount of work with the powder coat shop and he has been using my stuff as advertising. His prices have been really good so all I do is strip the components off the chassis, mount it on the rotisserie, then degrease it the best I can. The shop completely sand blasts it removing all rust the primes and PCs it.. All the chassis pieces have been done this way.

[chistech]

Lot of work done today. Blasted all parts of the distributor then primed and painted the body. Assembled the vacuum advance bracketry. Put the pinion assembly on the driveshaft and put it in the torque tube. Check out the weld on the driveshaft socket done by the driveshaft shop. They do great work! Made up the brake lines and connected the to the banjo fittings. Installed the emergency brake cables with the cable retainers and new felt pads. Using Prussian Blue, I set the lash on the ring gear. The depth of the pinion was perfect with.025worth of shim. With the marks showing in the correct area on the face of the ring gears teeth. Everything was fully torqued, then checked again. Put the spider gears in place and held them all in with the pin and screw. Put sealer on the faces of the banjo and put the gaskets on. Put the tube/third member in place and tightened all the nuts securing the tube and banjo together. Slid both axles in, pulled the pin holding the spiders, installed the axle C clips, pushed the axles out to seat the clips, put the spacer block in and slid the pin back in place, then tightened in the pin screw.  Installed the rear cover and will start getting the rear ready to mount on the chassis. This was 6.5 hours of work alone. 

[Bloo]

What did you use for a rivet and how did you tighten the big staking nut? I am at this point in the process right now.

[chistech]

If you mean rivet for the two perch keepers on the axle I drilled the hole out on the keeper to 1/2” then welded in the hole to the axle tube. When you say staking nut, if you mean the big nut on the pinion, I had a few from three different rears. I screwed one on that had been staked in a different location so I simply used a Dremel cutoff wheel, put a slit right at the edge of the groove, and staked it into the groove.

[Bloo]

But how on earth did you get it tight? It looks like you would have to clamp either the pinion or the spline, neither of which sounds like a good idea. That nut has a bunch of fine threads and looks like it should be really tight.

 

The rivet i meant is the one locking the driveshaft to the pinion spline.

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[chistech]

Simply put the driveshaft in a vice clamping on the socket end like my picture shows. Put the pinion into the socket a 1/2”+- then tighten the nut. Mark it where the cut needs to be made, loosen the nut, pull it out of the socket, remove the nut, cut the slot, put it back on, in the reverse to tighten it back up, swage it with a cold chisel to stake it. Every one of those nuts haven’t been especially tight on three rears that I’ve opened up. One nut even turned close to a half turn tighter once I broke the staked piece out. The pin is a grade 5- 5/16” bolt with a long enough unthreaded area. Probably at least 2 1/2” long to get enough. Cut off the extra with a hack saw leaving a generous 1/16” above the tube on each side. Put one end on the vice and using a Sharp cold chisel, put a + on the end. Roll it over do the same to the other. Then use a sharp pin punch and hit each center hard with the pin punch. This starts to spread the four quadrants made with the chisel. Then hit the center again with a blunt, rounded tip punch. This really stakes the end of the pin in. The pin has no load on it. It’s only purpose is to keep the pinion in its correct height in the driveshaft. All the real load is on the splines.

Edited March 27, 2020 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Put the rear into the car and it dropped right onto the spring pins perfectly. The length of the tube and driveshaft matched perfectly to the original. Put the ball end on the torque tube then assembled temporary the trans to the bell housing. Because the rear motor mounts are on the bell housing and the transmission has its own mount, I realized I could put those two pieces into the frame to start running brake lines and emergency cables. I put the ujoint onto the driveshaft and  the trans main shaft when putting the assembly together and all fit correctly. Bolted in the pedal/master cylinder bracket assembly to the trans and bell housing and the master to it. Using some blocks of 1” square steel I had in my metal scrap box, I milled up two blocks to hold the ferrules on the end of the emergency brake cables. These blocks will be fastened to the bottom of the frame just ahead of the front spring shackle pins. I installed the emergency brake lever assembly on the trans and the mechanical brake cross shaft along with the emergency brake control rod. The idea will be to weld two 1/4” thick arms to the cross shaft and make up two rods that will connect the emergency cables to the cross shaft. When the emergency lever is pulled back, it will rotate those tabs forward pulling the cables and actuating the emergency brakes.

        From there, the day went down hill on mistakes made by me. First thing I noticed was I forgot the axle bumpers so I had to loosen the ubolts and put them in, tightening everything back up for a second time. Then I put on the emergency brake clips that attach the end of the cable to the arm on the brake shoe. That went good. Then I tried the drum to find the drum sticking out about 3/4” from the backing plate! WTH, what did I do? (Check out the first couple pictures and how far out the axle end is, evidently, it didn’t register in my brain originally!) Turns out I got the axles from the wrong 37’ rear mixed up with the correct ones. I had blasted, primed, and painted them up nice of course and now I had to do the same to the right ones. Did I say that I had filled the diff with gear oil too! Yup, drained it out, removed the back cover, pulled the spider block screw, pin, block, axle C clips, then the axles, one more time😡. Damnit! Stupid on my part. So I blasted, primed, and painted up the correct length axles letting them dry out in the nice warm sunshine. Installed them into the axle putting everything back in reverse. Refilled the rear and now it’s right. Adjusted the shoes evenly until a slight drag on the drum and put the wheels on. Now it’s done and done right.

       Went to the auto parts store and got enough brake line and components to run the brake lines. Running them through holes in the chassis cross member ends after adding fuel hose bushings to prevent rattling and chafing. Today’s work will be running all the brake lines and finally getting the chassis on the ground.

[John S.]

Ted, it looks like one big kit. Great work as always. Love your post. Stay safe. John

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

Ted, we all have had those day of doing thing twice. It sucks, but we all do learn from our mistakes

[chistech]

Finished up with the brake lines today. There is a lot of layout planning so that the brake lines or emergency cables don’t interfere with any moving parts through their entire range, other lines like fuel and wiring, etc. I am very particular about lines, whether fuel or brakes, that they are installed in a very professional manner. They must be straight where they should be, bent with correct angles, bent to clear all obstacles, and look neat. I absolutely hate when lines are bent by hand, look like tangled spaghetti, or left too long simply because the installer is to lazy to cut the line to its proper length and flare it. On a restored vehicle, even a driver, the lines should still look like factory in my opinion. Installing lines as I just described takes at least twice as long and easily longer but the results are worth it.

      The 1/4” main brake line comes off the back Of the master cylinder, loops around to the drivers side of the frame, and passes through a hole in the cross member. (All brake lines passing through the frame are protected with pieces of rubber fuel line installed on the brake line before the ends are flared.) This line had to be shaped not to interfere with the original brake cross shaft that will be used for the emergency cables. On the other side of the cross member, the line enters a T fitting. The drivers side front brake is supplied by a 3/16” line and it’s fastened to the T with a 3/16 to 1/4” adapter. The other outlet of the T is antique 1/4” line which passes down under the master cylinder along the front of the transmission cross member and into another T fitting. The brake line along the cross member had to be bent not to interfere with the cross shaft bolts, kept low enough so the speedometer cable can pass over it to enter the stepped under drive required because of the gear change, then bent to clear all brackets and hardware where it passes through the battery box side. The other T supplies the passenger side front 3/16 line through an adapter and the line to the rear brakes. A standoff had to be made at the rear of the chassis to support the end of the rear brake hose and installed in the right location so that 5he hose can flex up and down with the rear and not interfere with anything. The front brake lines also had to be planned carefully for all the reasons already mentioned. Holes were drilled right below each front shock and the hoses held in place with the factory type C clips. In this location full movement of the wheels left to right along with the axle up and down allowed no interference with the front brake hoses. All brake lines are held down with clips or isolated with the rubber hose pieces. I still have one or two clips to install on the trans cross member and will remove the standoff to paint it before the lines are completely done. That’s for tomorrow along with working on finishing up the emergency brake linkages. 

[JV Puleo]

Nice! I share your attitude about fuel and oil lines...

[Mike Macartney]

Ted, just interested to know what brake line material you use, in the photos they look like steel? I have always used Kunifer as it does not rust and is easy to form the bends.

[chistech]

Welded on two ears to the brake cross shaft and primed/painted it. Mounted the two emergency brake cable ferrule blocks to the chassis. Using some clevis from some spare Oldsmobile parts, made up two brackets to attach the cables to the cross shaft. Assembled all the components and tested the emergency brake system. All works correctly so it got disassembled and parts were primed up. Also painted up the rear brake line chassis bracket then installed it. All brake line clamps have been installed.

    The chassis will be coming off the rotisserie and put aside because the engine is at the machine shop and it’s closed because of the Coronavirus closure rules. Will be moving on to the sheet metal soon.

[Laughing Coyote]

Looks like your brother is getting his car ready for paint now.

[chistech]

12 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said:

Looks like your brother is getting his car ready for paint now.

Yes, he’s very close now. He’s finishing up the front clip and aligning up everything now. Once all the gaps and lines are right, he is going to drill 1/8” holes through the hinges before taking anything off. The car is going to paint with the front fenders on and the hood, doors, trunk, off. The 1/8” holes allow the use of pins to align the doors, hood, and trunk correct the first time.

[chistech]

On 3/30/2020 at 9:53 AM, Mike Macartney said:

Ted, just interested to know what brake line material you use, in the photos they look like steel? I have always used Kunifer as it does not rust and is easy to form the bends.

Some are steel, some are off the copper/steel alloy. In open areas, like the loop out of the master, where the line can be bumped into and bent, I like the steel for its stiffness and it’s ability to spring back. Lines that run along the chassis and are mostly protected, I use the blended tubing.

[Laughing Coyote]

Your brother may have to put a post or two on progress of his car. More stuff for us folks to look at while were cooped up. 

[chistech]

Finished up assembling the emergency brake system with the painted turnbuckles and decided to put the rear section of the cab down on the frame. I didn’t put any of the springs or mounts in place, just put it right on the frame and checked alignment of the mounting bolts. All lined up correct so that’s good thing! Rolled the old Olds chassis that I was using as a dolley, outside my garage. Wow, with the chassis off the rotisserie, cab on the chassis, the rotisserie broke down, and the chassis outside, man, I’ve got a lot of my garage back! It feels good. Gave one side of my garage a total cleaning, from my metal lathe to my vertical mill. It needed it! Next up is fixing the rotted toe plate metal in the passenger side of the cowl.

 

Got some news from work today that they’re cutting everyone’s hours back. My wife and I have always played our cards right and always kept the “when the SHTF” fund liquid so we’re prepared. So this means more time to work on this truck and the 30’ 4dr Chevy up next.

[chistech]

Cut the welds at the top of the right toe board support and removed the right toe board support. Using my big vice and bars of steel, I cut out and bent up a copy of the lower rotted section of the toe board support. Cut the rotted section off and welded on the piece I made up. The new piece mated right up with the original support piece and I welded the two together the put it in the cowl for a test fit. So far, so good, it fit well.  Still need to make up the doubler in the multi-bend section and also replace some of the bottom plate of the main right cowl support. Not sure if I'm just going to lay new steel over the old then weld it in or cut out the rotted steel and weld it in and make it as new. With this being a driver more and less a show vehicle, the end result of safety is the main focus. I have to be conscious of costs and doing a replacement rather than a repair will definitely take considerably more time.

Edited April 4, 2020 by chistech (see edit history)

[chistech]

Finished rebuilding the toe board support and blasted it up, primed, and painted it. Both lower cowl cab mounts were bent up badly so both go hammer/dollied to straighten them out. Welded in a patch plate to repair the rotted area of the cowl cab mount. Adjusted the repaired toe board to square it all up then welded it into the upper cowl and the lower cab mount. Like so many other things on the prior restoration, I found the front lower cowl wood had never been installed. This wood supports plus adds rigidity to the cowl cab mount and also supplies the support for the bottom edge of the cowl sheet metal to be nailed into. I made up both sides using 1 1/2” thick ash   blocks along the bottom and 3/4” ash screwed to the sides of the blocks to support the bottom of the cowl sheet metal. The blocks mount to the bottoms of the cab supports with 1/4-20 screws and nuts. Once everything was tightened up and with the toe board rebuilt the cowl cab mounts are nice and solid the way they should be. The cab was sagging badly and these issues were part of the problem. 

[John S.]

Very nice work Ted. The truck is nicely coming along. What color will the Cutlass be. Thanks. John

[chistech]

He is going a burnt orange on the cutlass. 

[chistech]

Put the cowl on the frame and assembled the cab. Found the previous mounting shims and hardware then bolted the cab to the frame. Checked both rocker panels for fit and that’s where the good part of the day ended. When I originally started on the truck, the doors sagged and dragged badly. Well it turns out the problems arise again by bad prior work. The door has bad wood and metal work along with other small things so more time will be fixing bad work.  I worked for about two hours trying to get the drivers door to line up and I finally almost have it right. The hinges have been bent and the door gaps are pretty big. I have to get a better look at it all to try and straighten it all out.

[chistech]

Worked on the door and the cab today. As I suspected, the previous restoration work is the reason for my troubles. The lower cab mounts were not mounted at the right height and the hinge pillars, though they appear decently made, are not as good as they should be. I managed to move the drivers side down about 3/8” and about 3/16” on the passenger side. I’ve tried every way to Sunday to shim the front of the cab to get the doors right and the only thing that has worked is using 3/4” ash blocks under the front supports including the outer pad. When I did this, the door lined up perfectly. The issue is the front of the cab needs to be lifted up to raise the doors to the right height. It doesn’t matter if if I shim the front (position 1) up or down or the 2nd position up or down, it doesn’t change the height of back of the door at all. Shimming this cab doesn’t work like shimming does on car bodies. So now my dilemma is how the nose will line up with the front up the cab up 3/4” off the frame rails. I will need to assemble the whole truck now to see if I can get everything to line up.

[Mike Macartney]

Ted, all very frustrating and time consuming. I know you will sort the problem out in the end. My Dad used to say "These things come to try us - and try us they will!"