58L-Y8 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 11 hours ago, Joe West said: ... "I wonder why six cylinder shoes are plentiful but not eight cylinder. I would have thought that there would be more eight cylinders on the road, but perhaps there was a large disparity in production numbers."... Joe Chrysler Airstream Six. Series C-7: 43,471 Chrysler Deluxe Airstream Eight, Series C-8: 9,502 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said: Chrysler Airstream Six. Series C-7: 43,471 Chrysler Deluxe Airstream Eight, Series C-8: 9,502 That certainly explains it. Thanks for taking the time to look this up. What (if any) book did you get these numbers from? I need more books. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 You are welcome. The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942 by Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark et al, published by Krause Publications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Usually the parts like brake linings fit many years and probably other makes of cars from the era. If you had an old Greylock or similar linings book you would probably have alot more options to chose from. Also brake linings have been considered a curse to parts vendors over the years so few sell them though there are probably large quantities out there. If you knew of any really old garages in your town you could even ask if they have any. Those are usually left behind when guys buy the parts out. Also be a little cautious if you find a shop to do them as to what they used. A friend had a shop through one of our local parts stores do it that does heavy truck and the material they used locked up the wheels whenever they got damp. HE took them out , sent them to Whitepost which did a real nice job and arced them to match the drum, then never had a problem again. He said it was really strange as he had never seen that before and he's done alot of this work for years. The car was a 59 Dodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike3121 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Oh what a treasure. Keep us informed with photos of the restoration progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Joe, did you read the pm message I sent you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 5 hours ago, edinmass said: Joe, did you read the pm message I sent you? I did. Thanks so much. I replied. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 24 minutes ago, Joe West said: I did. Thanks so much. I replied. Pay close attention to what edimass has to say. He's one of the most knowledgeable members on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Awesome car, but an even BETTER story! Very, very happy for you. 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) You’ve won the lotto Joe. So happy for you. This is such a rare car. Please keep us in the loop here on your progress and enjoy every minute of it. You win! When it comes to rebuilding brakes, clutch linings etc, have the shop rebuild your parts so you won’t have fit issues. Be sure of their competence. Anyone will take your money, right? Edited May 24, 2020 by Steve9 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Update: All the wheel cylinders have been rebuilt and all brake lines replaced. The brake linings were used enough to barely scuff the surface of the lining, so I cleaned them (asbestos so I wore a mask) and reinstalled them. I greased the wheel bearings and every grease fitting I could find (and holy smoke was there a lot of them). Transmission and differential fluid are changed, and the undercarriage received it’s first power spray which I swear removed 3 pounds of grime and grease... and there seems to be more where that came from. I drained all the fuel from the fuel tank and gave it a rinse with fresh fuel, and then I drained that. Engine oil is drained and I will replace it as soon as my NOS filter comes in. If the filter has any rust internally, then I will install an aftermarket canister filter. I will drop the oil pan, clean the oil pickup and inspect the bottom end. Next up is to rebuild the master cylinder and bleed the brakes to see if I have any working brakes. Then drop the oil pan, rebuild the carb, clean the fuel filter, and flush the cooling system. With any luck, I should be ready to start this in a week or two. Joe 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24Chry48 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 The 36 C-8 is one of Chrysler's finest. You have a rare beauty. Take extra good care of it. Parts are relatively hard to find for these cars so don't throw any old parts away that you don't re-use. Also, my main reason for writing this is to tell you to take EXTRA care of the running board rubber. Nobody reproduces that pattern anymore. I have searched for over ten years to no avail. The only options I have found is paying for new molds to be made at great expense. That is the hardest item to replace on your car, so again, take care of those rubbers. Greg Biskey "The Old Chrysler Garage," a museum in Isanti, MN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Good to hear you used your like new old linings that are asbestos. They will feel right and not be grabby. I use NOS MoPar or types like Greylock asbestos linings. Modern linings on the old Lockheed's and later MoPar Center Plane brakes don't work right...can be grabby cold and soft and weak hot no matter what grade of linings used. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 On 5/20/2020 at 7:50 AM, Joe West said: I definitely will not assume he is giving me the car. His wife told me to stop discussing payment and to not say or do anything with respect to paying. She said “He will let you know when it is time to discuss payment... in a year or two... or perhaps never”. Honestly, I would prefer to pay quickly, but both he and his wife indicated I should drop the discussion. I will sit tight and show him what I am doing to the car. A gift is a gift!! Honor his gift and let him have pleasure in giving. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 I finished rebuilding the wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and replacing all three rubber brake lines. I now have a rock solid brake pedal. The car rolls so easily with the brakes adjusted properly and the wheel bearings cleaned, repacked, and adjusted. I also drained the engine block with the pet o kill and the fluid, still a light green, drained easily. A bit of rust came out at the end, but I flushed the system repeatedly until the water ran clear. A big thanks to John for this suggestion. Oil pan dropped tomorrow. by the way... I have a question I cannot find the answer to. What are these little chrome balls for at the top of the dash? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KURTRUK Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 (edited) On 5/22/2020 at 4:42 PM, Joe West said: I will search for a place to recline the shoes. I wonder why six cylinder shoes are plentiful but not eight cylinder. I would have thought that there would be more eight cylinders on the road, but perhaps there was a large disparity in production numbers. Ideally, I will try to find a used set and have them relined so that I can always have a spare set. I am in the process of rebuilding all of the wheel cylinders and the master cylinder now... and replacing all of the non metal brake lines. My very first step is to make the brake system perfect... then I will think about firing up the engine (as soon as I have a key made... lol). Thanks so much for your recommendations! Joe You really should replace the metal brake lines, as well as the non-metal brake lines! Rubbing against the frame and clips that hold them for 80plus years you can have pinholes and internal rust from moisture in the system. Plus possible sludge inside as well. Anything less on a car this old is not a complete job. Edited May 25, 2020 by KURTRUK (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 17 hours ago, Joe West said: by the way... I have a question I cannot find the answer to. What are these little chrome balls for at the top of the dash? I will guess. Control valves for the vacuum wipers? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 On 5/25/2020 at 7:44 PM, KURTRUK said: You really should replace the metal brake lines, as well as the non-metal brake lines! Rubbing against the frame and clips that hold them for 80plus years you can have pinholes and internal rust from moisture in the system. Plus possible sludge inside as well. Anything less on a car this old is not a complete job. Thanks! All the metal lines were replaced sometime. They are pristine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 9 hours ago, JACK M said: I will guess. Control valves for the vacuum wipers? lol. Nice guess! I have it started it yet so I had no idea. I’ve never had vacuum wipers before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Today’s update. I took a second pass at power spraying the undercarriage. I got enough of the grime off with this pass that spraying the undercarriage with citrus cleaner should finish getting off all the grease and oil. I don’t think the undercarriage has ever been cleaned from the day it was new. I also did a second pas on cleaning out the radiator and engine block. This time, I pulled the engine petcock valve and stuck my power sprayer in the hole and pulled the trigger. My pump is 4000 psi and 4.6gpm and you should have seen the rust that came out of that hole. I sprayed and let it drain close to 15 times before the water finally ran clear. Tomorrow I will fill the radiator with coolant and with any luck, drop the oil pan so I can see what’s going on there. I’ll post some images tomorrow. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 When you get it up and going, i would run some evaporust instead of coolant in the cooling system. Lots of threads on it on here. It will clean out all the stuff your washing didn't get to so that the block is like new. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 5 minutes ago, auburnseeker said: When you get it up and going, i would run some evaporust instead of coolant in the cooling system. Lots of threads on it on here. It will clean out all the stuff your washing didn't get to so that the block is like new. Thanks so much. I’ll order it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Happiness is finding original chrysler material in a hidden area under the bottom of the front seat. I stuck the vacuum cleaner in a crevice between sheet metal under the rear seat, and I heard the vacuum cleaner clog. I pulled out the nozzle and found the material shown in the attached images. Original material? Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 (edited) Looks like modern day MoPar material...Probably 60's/ 70's. Edited May 27, 2020 by c49er (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 5 minutes ago, c49er said: Looks like modern day MoPar material...Probably 60's/ 70's. Yep. That pentastar is a dead giveaway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 I hate throwing it away... I’ll try to figure out what year(s) it was used and give it to someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 Dropped the oil pan today to clean the oil-pickup screen. Here is what I saw (minus the oil pickup screen which was maybe 5-10% clogged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 There is far less sludge than I expected to see. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Pistons look like they are new......👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 (edited) Go buy a lottery ticket, now! You’re on fire. Edited May 29, 2020 by Steve9 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 You Might take a careful look at the connecting rod cotter pins for looseness or missing ends too. They should not be loose and flopping around as the ends camera and fall off. Such a wonderful car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 7 hours ago, Steve9 said: Go buy a lottery ticket, now! You’re on fire. LOL. I had no idea what to expect when I pulled the pan. Since the car has only 48,000 miles on it, I was hoping it was relatively clean. 6 hours ago, c49er said: You Might take a careful look at the connecting rod cotter pins for looseness or missing ends too. They should not be loose and flopping around as the ends camera and fall off. Such a wonderful car! You are spot on. When I pulled the pan, I found 7 cotter pin ends in the bottom (I used a magnet to search the bottom of the pan after I pulled it). I am planning to replace all of the cotter pins and check the torque on the connecting rod ends. Good idea? 10 hours ago, edinmass said: Pistons look like they are new......👍 I just uploaded some more images showing the cam. I think it is in pretty good shape as well. By the way, the oil pan gasket had small string ties holding the pan gasket to the pan. I think these ties are from the factory (see the attached image) since I do not believe that anyone has ever removed the pan from this engine. Do you know if the factory tied the oil pan gaskets to the oil pan? 10 hours ago, zepher said: There is far less sludge than I expected to see. 👍 I found quite a bit of lead (or at least I think it is lead since it is non-ferrous and the color seems to be correct) in the base of the pan (in addition to the cotter pin ends... lol) and some small metal filings that I removed with a magnet just to see how much metal there was in the base of the pan. I cleaned the oil pickup in these images, but nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 Today’s update: Oil pan is back on, NOS canister oil filter installed and engine filled with synthetic oil. All rod bearings have had their torque verified and new cotter pins installed. I will add zinc to the oil to be on the safe side, even if it is a waste of money. Battery charged and installed. All lights tested and working. Pulled all spark plugs and cranked engine... all seems well. Tomorrow I will run a compression test, and on Monday I should be receiving my cap, rotor, points, and reproduction plug wires. Locksmith comes tomorrow to create keys. I will fill the fuel tank with fresh fuel and run the pump to purge the fuel lines tomorrow. Fun day today. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 30, 2020 Author Share Posted May 30, 2020 Quick question. I notice that my water pump has a zerk fitting on it, and the factory maintenance manual calls out for a grease that no longer exists. What type of grease should I use? Thanks in advance. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 14 minutes ago, Joe West said: Quick question. I notice that my water pump has a zerk fitting on it, and the factory maintenance manual calls out for a grease that no longer exists. What type of grease should I use? Water pump grease (search forums, or a bearing house will have some). I strongly recommend that you replace the zerk fitting with a grease cup, the turn-down kind, and put the zerk in ONLY for points judging. The small grease gun used for water pumps in those days has a T handle at the end that you turn 90 or 180 degrees. A lever handled grease gun or pistol type will blow the seals immediately because they deliver far more pressure than your seals can stand! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 (edited) This...https://www.amazon.com/Millers-Oils-5256TB-Classic-Grease/dp/B00JFF4Y44. And another..https://www.lubriplate.com/Products/Grease/Multi-Purpose-Greases/100-Series/NO-115/No-115-Water-Pump-Lubricant-16-oz-Tub/ Edited May 30, 2020 by c49er (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Thanks so much! I ordered from Amazon. Another question. I measured compression on the engine and came up with the following results: 1. 82 2. 115 3. 120 4. 113 5. 111 6. 114 7. 120 8. 121 This engine has been sitting for the better part of 50 years, was stone cold during the compression test, all spark plugs were removed. I am a bit worried about cylinder 1. I will run a leakdown test, and assuming it is good, try squirting in some oil to test the rings. I suspect the rings may be sticking and perhaps I should just run the motor for awhile and see if things settle down after a few hundred miles. That’s it for today. I didn’t get much accomplished today on the Chrysler since I was taking pictures of the rest of the collection and uploading them to the forum post on the collection. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 I’ll bet you’re right, the shakedown cruise will probably loosen things up. Did you post the miles on that car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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