1936 Chrysler Airstream C-8 Convertible Restoration

[VW4X4]

Nice....   I like the suicide cruise control, you have going on there.  Must be warm in your part of the world. 

I also noticed your steering column is chrome.   Mine are (both cars)  painted black.  Maybe the Converts.  were chrome from the factory.   As a side note most of the interior pieces that look like chrome on my cars are actually nickel plated, NOT chrome.  Lots of people restoring the Airstreams make the mistake of chrome plating these items.... Again the Convert. may be different...  

 

ERIC

 

 

[keiser31]

1 hour ago, VW4X4 said:

Nice....   I like the suicide cruise control, you have going on there.  Must be warm in your part of the world. 

I also noticed your steering column is chrome.   Mine are (both cars)  painted black.  Maybe the Converts.  were chrome from the factory.   As a side note most of the interior pieces that look like chrome on my cars are actually nickel plated, NOT chrome.  Lots of people restoring the Airstreams make the mistake of chrome plating these items.... Again the Convert. may be different...  

 

ERIC

 

 

My friend Russell Parker had one and the column was chrome plated.

[Professor]

Thanks Eric.  It is not normally warm in this part of North Carolina this time of year, but we are having a bit of a warm spell.  I love it; temperatures are in the mid 70s and it is sunny out; it is the perfect time to work outside.

 

Yes, when I am on the freeway, I use the throttle control to set speed.  On the aircrafts I have flown, the throttle is set the same way so it feels natural to pull it out to set the speed.  I drive so carefully and typically slower than the speed limit that I am not particularly worried about using the throttle as a speed control.  I suspect that there are plenty of horror stories about the foolishness of using the throttle this way… but what the heck; why not live dangerously (I run with scissors as well).  🙂

 

I appreciate your knowledge of these cars Eric.  Thanks so much for contributing.

 

Joe

 

10 hours ago, VW4X4 said:

Nice....   I like the suicide cruise control, you have going on there.  Must be warm in your part of the world. 

I also noticed your steering column is chrome.   Mine are (both cars)  painted black.  Maybe the Converts.  were chrome from the factory.   As a side note most of the interior pieces that look like chrome on my cars are actually nickel plated, NOT chrome.  Lots of people restoring the Airstreams make the mistake of chrome plating these items.... Again the Convert. may be different...  

 

ERIC

 

 

[Professor]

9 hours ago, keiser31 said:

My friend Russell Parker had one and the column was chrome plated.

 

I see Russ’s car quite frequently on the Internet and I downloaded and saved images of his car for reference.  With respect to the chrome, I have wondered whether or not it is factory or not.  My top frame is chrome as well. 

[keiser31]

16 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

 

I see Russ’s car quite frequently on the Internet and I downloaded and saved images of his car for reference.  With respect to the chrome, I have wondered whether or not it is factory or not.  My top frame is chrome as well. 

Russell also had two 1936 Chrysler Airstream 8 convertible sedans and if I remember correctly, the columns were chrome plated on those, too.

Edited December 28, 2021 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Professor]

Put a new muffler on today. Here is a few pictures of the old (original?) muffler. 

[Professor]

[Professor]

Engine serial number: C8-6119. I have no idea if it is original. 

[VW4X4]

You might want to write that number down.  IT looks like its fading fast. A GOOD machine shop.... and I stress

GOOD machine shop (that is hard to find these days) can re-stamp the number, and you'll never know they were

not original...... IF they do it right....   They typically do this only when the engine is out of the vehicle.

 

Now, On the front left frame horn, where the bumper mounts I have found more serial numbers.  You might want to find these and see it they match.  That said, I have never found a match on any of my cars..

 

ERIC

[Professor]

Thanks Eric.  I will check the frame for the number there.  Once Chrysler starts sending out build cards, I will order mine and compare the numbers.  I don’t really have much hope that the numbers will match the build card, but it doesn’t matter much to me if they do or not.  This car is my final restoration and I will not be selling it.  I would like to say my car matches the build card from Chrysler, but if not… meh!  🙂

 

Joe

[Professor]

Getting ready to remove the factory wiring harnesses and install new harnesses from Rhode Island Wiring.  I figure now is a good time to correct any possible non-factory hacks, and the first one on my list is to replace the wood at the bottom of my battery box.  Does anyone know if wood is correct here, or did someone chuck a piece of wood in there to avoid having to fix a rusty battery box floor.  I will pull it out regardless, perhaps the answer will be obvious once I remove it.

 

I have attached a few images.

[Professor]

Some of the rats-nest hack-job wiring that precipitates me replacing all wiring.  I am not comfortable pushing my luck any more, seems like this is a fire waiting to happen.

 

 

 

 

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Professor]

That’s all the images for today… tomorrow I start taking it apart.  Once the entire harness is removed, I will clean every place that a wiring harness goes and take new images.  Once everything is clean, I will start putting the new harnesses back in.  Oh… before I forget, I purchased two 6V optima red top batteries which I will place in parallel in my battery box (I measured and they should fit just fine with room to spare).

 

Joe

[VW4X4]

2 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

Getting ready to remove the factory wiring harnesses and install new harnesses from Rhode Island Wiring.  I figure now is a good time to correct any possible non-factory hacks, and the first one on my list is to replace the wood at the bottom of my battery box.  Does anyone know if wood is correct here, or did someone chuck a piece of wood in there to avoid having to fix a rusty battery box floor.  I will pull it out regardless, perhaps the answer will be obvious once I remove it.

 

I have attached a few images.

 

 

 

JOE......  This is very interesting.....  I HAVE THE exact same piece of wood.   I have no idea if that is where i goes..

but I've been looking at it for 30 years, and wondering...  SO, I have to assume it belongs to the car..

Battery box and cover look the same..

ERIC

2 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

 

 

 

 

 

[VW4X4]

2 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

 

2 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe, 

           You're in for some real fun.

In this picture the blue wire to the ignition switch is suppose to be an armored cable directly to the back of the coil.

I wonder what all the ty-wraps are for?   I don't think a new wiring harness is going to fix this.

 

ERIC

[VW4X4]

2 hours ago, Moderator and Professor said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe,

          Here's another thing I've noted.  Your rear springs where they meet the shackles have a funny arch to them.

Maybe its a convert. thing again....    BOth of my cars, the springs in the rear go straight to the shackles...

ERIC

[Professor]

Today’s progress:

 

Replaced the rear tail light harnesses, removed the rear main lighting harness, and started cleaning all the grime from the areas where the harness has laid for the past 84 years.  As you will see from the images, the harnesses were quite a mess.  Images to follow.

 

Joe

 

 

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[SuperJonas]

On my '35 Airstream CZ, the battery box has a steel bottom and looks to have never been tampered with; otherwise looks identical to yours.  I use a 6v Optima as well (just one) and it fits just fine and works great; I modified a strap for an anchor to the battery hold-down. 

 

Joe - One question if you please slightly off-topic: Have you found any replacement oil filters? Mine is exactly as yours though I have found it most difficult to locate the correct filter, any tips on where to look would be most helpful, thanks!

Greg

[VW4X4]

47 minutes ago, SuperJonas said:

On my '35 Airstream CZ, the battery box has a steel bottom and looks to have never been tampered with; otherwise looks identical to yours.  I use a 6v Optima as well (just one) and it fits just fine and works great; I modified a strap for an anchor to the battery hold-down. 

 

Joe - One question if you please slightly off-topic: Have you found any replacement oil filters? Mine is exactly as yours though I have found it most difficult to locate the correct filter, any tips on where to look would be most helpful, thanks!

Greg

Greg,   Those oil filters are long gone.  If you do find one available they are so old, I would not trust it, because  the inside would likely be dry roughed anyway.   Also, the oil filters on these engines were called a "by pass" filter.  They were not directly in  the oil pressurized system.  They only received oil when the oil pressure relief valve was over pressured.  This means it did little good to clean the oil going to the bearings.  If I recall correctly the manual states it to be replace at 25,000 miles...

          I did find a few years ago, a guy who was placing a modern filter inside the   old style filter making it look

correct and function properly.  Of course they were expensive...

     The real fix would be to install the filter directly inline with the oil pump, like a modern engine.  Also installing a PCV system would help a lot.  That being said , with modern day engine oil, a proper oil change is all you really need.

 

ERIC

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by VW4X4 (see edit history)

[SuperJonas]

Eric,

 

   Thanks for the reply; I have been changing the oil yearly as you mentioned, though would love to replace my obviously old canister; I may investigate opening it up and seeing if I could replace the cartridge with a modern element of some type, I appreciate the information regarding the bypass operation of this system!

Greg

[VW4X4]

1 hour ago, SuperJonas said:

Eric,

 

   Thanks for the reply; I have been changing the oil yearly as you mentioned, though would love to replace my obviously old canister; I may investigate opening it up and seeing if I could replace the cartridge with a modern element of some type, I appreciate the information regarding the bypass operation of this system!

Greg

   You could also make a mount for a modern oil filter and plumb the lines into it...

I've had to do this on both of my cars...  I just hate it, but it was the only way to get the engines running, normally.

I have also  seen more than one engine where the filter was  just eliminated.   I'm sure this, is not ideal, but better than a non-running engine.    Last there must have been a manufacture of a filter can that was an add on, with a replaceable cartridge.  I've seen these on Dodge, and Plymouth motors, and several others.  Unfortunately, these are long gone, but I think the replacement cartridge is still available.  You might be able to find this style filter system and get it working..

 

ERIC

[40phil41]

That's a PB1/2 oil filter. The same as on my '41 Dodge. They were available from Andy Bernbaum MOPAR Parts a few years ago. Worth a check there. Here is a link to the filter https://www.oldmoparts.com/parts/l_engine/oil-filter-sealed-can/ 

 

Phil

Edited January 5, 2022 by 40phil41
link added (see edit history)

[Professor]

All,

 

A quick update before I start my work day.  Yesterday, I managed to remove the main lighting harness and dash harness, essentially completing the removal of all the wiring.  I cut the wires from the back of the dash instruments, and will remove the speedometer and instrument pods after work today to finalize wiring removal.  In the process, I will clean up the instrumentation connections and gauges a bit.  All of my instrumentation works so I will not attempt to rebuild any of the instruments.  I may remove the glass to clean all of the dust out, but that should be it.

 

A couple of comments.  Noting the coloring of the wiring is absolutely impossible.  All of the wiring has faded to a light brown color, and there is no way to determine wire color.  Even when I pull back the shielding on the wires, the color is completely missing.  I have the schematics from Rhode Island Wiring, and will simply re-wire the car with their harnesses and wiring schematics.  The hardest part of this job will be to undo the changes put in place by previous owners.  For example, my voltage regulator is wrong, I do not have the appropriate shielded ignition coil so there is a hack on the ignition cable, someone added a headlight relay which I need to decide whether to keep or remove, etc.  I do not expect any of this work to be difficult, but it will be time consuming.  

 

Joe

[Walt G]

Joe

Hang in there and keep going, there are a lot of us here reading what you take the time to write/share and that are rooting for you as every step is closer to seeing this wonderful car return to the road the way it was built and functioned wonderfully!  Sharing what you have is giving you a place to confirm that what you are doing will be saving a great piece of moving history. Sure there were a lot of not so great "fixes" to keep the car on the road but it also let the car survive until today.

Keep well keep sane (!!) and keep going.

 

Walt

[Professor]

Hi All,

 

I spent today scraping the undercarriage and then using engine degreaser followed by some soak time and a power sprayer to rid the areas where the wiring harnesses were routed of the accumulated grease and dirt.

 

While the car was up on ramps, I took a look at all the tires and noticed that one of my relatively new Coker tires (roughly 5k miles on it) is starting to fail.  I purchased the Coker 5 year warranty (thankfully) so I contacted them.  It looks to me as if the tread is starting to separate from the sidewall.  I ordered all of my tires at the same time so hopefully this is not a lot related failure.

 

Pictures attached.

 

 

[VW4X4]

54 minutes ago, ... and Professor said:

Hi All,

 

I spent today scraping the undercarriage and then using engine degreaser followed by some soak time and a power sprayer to rid the areas where the wiring harnesses were routed of the accumulated grease and dirt.

 

While the car was up on ramps, I took a look at all the tires and noticed that one of my relatively new Coker tires (roughly 5k miles on it) is starting to fail.  I purchased the Coker 5 year warranty (thankfully) so I contacted them.  It looks to me as if the tread is starting to separate from the sidewall.  I ordered all of my tires at the same time so hopefully this is not a lot related failure.

 

Pictures attached.

 

 

 

 

54 minutes ago, ... and Professor said:

 

Joe,

          Check the date code on the tires....  I check this on every tire I buy.   For that matter, also batteries.

If you fine the date code to be old, I would demand all the tires to be replaced.   That would be really bad for there business.....

         That's a real job your doing.... Are you going to paint the chassis parts? POR-15 make a great "Chassis BLack" paint exactly for what you are doing.  

ERIC

[Professor]

Thanks Eric.  I will look at the date codes on the tires today when I go out.  You raise a good point, just because a tire is sold new, it doesn’t mean it is lot date code new.

[Professor]

I removed both dash instrument pods today, but have run into a problem that doesn’t have a clear solution.  Somewhere along the line, someone installed a non-factory light switch and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to remove the pull shaft and knob, or just the knob by itself.

 

I have looked for a release button or hole on the body of the switch, and I cannot find any.

I have looked at the base of the knob to see if the knob removed separately, but there is no spring loaded release tab.

 

For all I know, someone glued the knob on the non factory switch.  I have uploaded some images.  Stuck for the moment.  Oh… I ordered the correct factory switch, and it appears that as this left the factory, the knob was indeed separate from the shaft and it was held on with a spring loaded tab.  I confirmed separate part numbers for the knob and the switch, and the new correct switch has a flat side on the shaft that should accept a spring loaded knob.

 

 

[Professor]

Figured out how to fix the problem.  LOL

 

Issue resolved.

[ericmac]

That's how I would have solved it. Nice work. 

[Professor]

Today’s accomplishments:

 

Drilling an ignition lock for which I had no key out of a correct shielded ignition cable, installing the ignition lock from my hacked ignition switch, and cleaning out and lubricating the push-button starter switch.  It took far too long to carefully drill out the ignition lock; I was afraid I would accidentally drill too deep and ruin the correct shielded ignition switch.

 

Only one picture for today.

 

 

[Professor]

The past two days were spent removing instruments, cleaning the back of the dash area, restoring the vacuum wipers and installing them, and installing the new shielded ignition cable and NOS 6V coil <—-(tests good but who knows).  Here are a few images.